What type of symptoms are characterized by behaviors not found in normal individuals?

Positive symptoms are characterized by the presence of behaviors, thoughts, or feelings that are not typically found in individuals without mental health conditions. This includes symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking. These symptoms reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions, indicating that the individual's perception, cognition, or behavior has deviated from the norm.

Negative symptoms, on the other hand, refer to the absence or reduction of normal emotional responses or behaviors, which is fundamentally different from the presence of abnormal behaviors seen in positive symptoms. Disorganized symptoms involve a lack of coherent thought processes and can make communication difficult, but they are often encompassed within the larger category of positive symptoms. Functional symptoms are related to the impact of a disorder on a person's daily functioning, rather than the specific behaviors themselves.

By understanding that positive symptoms reflect an excess of behaviors not seen in healthy individuals, one can better grasp how such symptoms manifest in various mental health disorders and influence diagnosis and treatment.