Unit 12-Abnormal Psychology

AP Psychology College Board Learning Objectives

• Describe contemporary and historical conceptions of what constitutes psychological disorders.
• Recognize the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association as the primary reference for making diagnostic judgments.
• Discuss the major diagnostic categories, including anxiety and somatoform disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, organic disturbance, personality disorders, and dissociative disorders, and their corresponding symptoms.
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of various approaches to explaining psychological disorders: medical model, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, biological, and sociocultural.
• Identify the positive and negative consequences of diagnostic labels (e.g., the Rosenhan study).
• Discuss the intersection between psychology and the legal system (e.g., confidentiality, insanity defense).

Unit Study Guide Based on APA National Standards

Use these standards as a checklist to make sure you've mastered this unit.

• Perspectives on abnormal behavior
  • 1.1 Define psychologically abnormal behavior.
  • 1.2 Describe historical and cross-cultural views of abnormality.
  • 1.3 Describe major models of abnormality.
  • 1.4 Discuss how stigma relates to abnormal behavior.
  • 1.5 Discuss the impact of psychological disorders on the individual, family, and society.
• Categories of psychological disorders
  • 2.1 Describe the classification of psychological disorders.
  • 2.2 Discuss the challenges associated with a diagnosis.
  • 2.3 Describe symptoms and causes of major categories of psychological disorders (including schizophrenia, mood, anxiety, and personality disorders).
  • 2.4 Evaluate how different factors influence an individual’s experience of psychological disorders.