Theories of Psychological Disorders (College Board AP® Psychology): Study Guide

Different perspectives on the causes of psychological disorders

The eclectic approach

• Most psychologists employ an eclectic approach, drawing on more than one psychological perspective when diagnosing and treating clients

  • This reflects the complexity of psychological disorders, as no single perspective fully explains their causes

• Clinicians select explanations and treatments based on the client's presentation, history, and needs, often combining approaches

  • E.g. a client's depression may be explained by biological (neurotransmitters), cognitive (negative thinking), and sociocultural (isolation) factors, and treated with both medication and therapy

• The perspectives below represent different lenses through which the causes of psychological disorders can be examined

  • Each highlight different contributing factors

The 7 perspectives on causes of disorder

Behavioral perspective

• Psychological disorders result from maladaptive learned associations to stimuli

• Disorders are learned through the same mechanisms as normal behavior:

  • classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning

    • E.g. a phobia develops when a neutral stimulus is conditioned to produce a fear response

• Treatment implication: behavior therapy seeks to unlearn maladaptive associations and replace them with adaptive ones

Psychodynamic perspective

• Psychological disorders result from unconscious conflicts often developed during childhood:

  • Unresolved conflicts from early childhood are repressed into the unconscious and continue to drive behavior

  • Defense mechanisms use to manage these conflicts may contribute to dysfunction

    • E.g. depression may reflect repressed anger turned inward

• Treatment implication: psychodynamic therapy seeks to bring unconscious conflicts into awareness so they can be consciously processed and resolved

Humanistic perspective

• Psychological disorders result from being unable to fulfill one's potential due to:

  • lack of unconditional positive regard due to conditions of worth being placed upon them

  • persistent incongruence between their real and ideal self

    • E.g. low self-esteem and depression may result from a lifetime of conditional positive regard and the internalization of conditions of worth

• Treatment implication: humanistic therapy (e.g. person-centered therapy) provides unconditional positive regard and promotes movement toward self-actualization

Cognitive perspective

• Psychological disorders result from maladaptive thought patterns leading to negative emotional states and maladaptive behaviors:

  • Cognitive distortions, such as catastrophizing, overgeneralization, or all-or-nothing thinking, generate and maintain psychological disorders

    • E.g. a person with depression may engage in negative automatic thinking

• Treatment implication: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) identifies and challenges maladaptive thought patterns to change emotional and behavioral responses

Evolutionary perspective

• Psychological disorders result from maladaptive expressions of once-adaptive traits

  • Behaviors that were useful in ancestral environments may be dysfunctional today

    • E.g. anxiety responses that were adaptive for detecting predators may be triggered maladaptively by modern social or environmental stressors;

• The evolutionary perspective helps explain why certain disorders are universal across cultures, as they may reflect shared human evolutionary history

Sociocultural perspective

• Psychological disorders result from maladaptive social and cultural relationships and dynamics:

  • Racism, sexism, ageism, poverty, discrimination, and social inequality all produce and maintain psychological disorders

  • Lack of social support and social isolation are significant contributors to mental health problems

    • E.g. higher rates of depression in marginalized groups may reflect the psychological burden of discrimination and social exclusion

• Treatment implication: sociocultural approaches emphasize community-based approaches, social support systems, and addressing structural inequalities

Biological perspective

• Psychological disorders result from physiological or genetic issues, such as:

  • neurotransmitter imbalances, hormonal regulation, or brain structure

    • E.g. schizophrenia is associated with dysregulation of dopamine systems and structural brain differences

• Treatment implication: medication targeting the neurobiological causes of disorder, e.g. antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics

Summary table

Interaction models

• No single perspective provides a complete account of psychological disorders

  • Instead, disorders are best understood as the result of interacting biological, psychological, and social factors

• Interaction models emphasise that causes do not operate in isolation

  • Multiple influences combine to produce disorder.

• Two key interaction models that illustrate this are:

  • the biopsychsocial model

  • the diathesis-stress model

The biopsychosocial model

• The biopsychosocial model proposes that psychological disorders arise from the interaction of three levels:

  • Biological factors: genetic predispositions, neurochemical imbalances, brain structure, hormonal influences

  • Psychological factors: maladaptive thought patterns, unresolved emotional conflicts, learned associations, self-concept

  • Sociocultural factors: social support (or lack of), cultural norms, discrimination, poverty, relationships, community

• These factors are interdependent:

  • biological vulnerabilities may be shaped by psychological and social experiences

  • social stress can lead to psychological and physiological changes

• For example:

  • Depression is understood as involving:

    • a biological predisposition (e.g. reduced serotonin activity)

    • psychological factors (e.g. negative cognitive style, learned helplessness)

    • sociocultural factors (e.g. social isolation, adverse life events, cultural stigma around help-seeking)

• The biopsychosocial model is widely seen as the most comprehensive, reflecting the eclectic approach that is used in clinical practice

The diathesis-stress model

• The diathesis-stress model explains disorder as the interaction between vulnerability and stress

  • Diathesis: a genetic or biological predisposition that makes a person vulnerable to developing a disorder

  • Stress: environmental triggers (e.g. life events, adversity) that activate the diathesis

• The disorder develops when stress exceeds the individual's threshold of vulnerability:

  • A person with high vulnerability may develop the disorder under relatively mild stress

  • A person with low vulnerability may only develop the disorder under severe or prolonged stress, or not develop it at all

• The diathesis-stress model has strong support from twin studies:

  • identical twins show higher concordance rates for psychological disorders than fraternal twins

    • This demonstrates a genetic (diathesis) component

• However, concordance rates are not 100% even for identical twins

  • This shows that genetic predisposition alone is insufficient, as environmental stress is also required

Comparing the two interaction models

• Both models show that psychological disorders are multifactorial, arising from the interaction of internal vulnerabilities and external experiences