Psychological Disorders
Classify and explain anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, trauma, mood, psychotic, personality, neurodevelopmental, and dissociative disorders.
A lesson of AP Psychology, in Clinical and Social Psychology, about 10 minutes.
Psychological Disorders and Treatment
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe the criteria for psychological disorders, explain major categories of disorders from the DSM-5, describe major therapeutic approaches, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatments.
Defining Psychological Disorders
A psychological disorder is a pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behavior that:
- Causes significant distress or impairment
- Is not culturally expected or normative
The 3 Ds:
- Deviance: behavior that deviates from cultural norms
- Distress: causes suffering to the individual
- Dysfunction: interferes with daily functioning
No single criterion is sufficient — unusual behavior alone is not a disorder (walking upside down in a circus is unusual but not disordered if it's your job and you're not distressed).
The DSM-5
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition, 2013): the standard classification system for psychological disorders used in the US.
Medical model: disorders have biological, psychological, and social causes; symptoms can be identified and treated; like physical illness.
Criticism: labeling effects — a diagnosis can affect how others treat the individual; Rosenhan's study (1973) — "normal" people admitted to psychiatric hospitals by reporting one symptom; hospital staff couldn't distinguish them from real patients (though this study has been disputed).
Major Disorder Categories
Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): persistent, excessive, uncontrollable worry about multiple life areas; muscle tension; sleep problems; lasts 6+ months.
Panic Disorder: recurrent unexpected panic attacks (intense fear with physical symptoms: racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness); fear of future attacks; may lead to agoraphobia.
Specific Phobia: intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation (spiders, heights, flying); exposure → immediate anxiety; avoidance.
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia): intense fear of social situations; fear of judgment, embarrassment; impairs social and occupational functioning.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): recurrent obsessions (unwanted, intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors to reduce anxiety from obsessions); recognized as distinct from anxiety disorders in DSM-5 but often covered together.