What are the major categories of psychological disorders, and what symptoms define them?
Topic 5.4 Categories of Psychological Disorders: describe the major categories of psychological disorders, including anxiety, OCD, depressive and bipolar, schizophrenia spectrum, dissociative, trauma- and stressor-related, feeding and eating, neurodevelopmental, and personality disorders, and their defining symptoms.
A focused answer to AP Psychology Topic 5.4, surveying the major categories of psychological disorders: anxiety disorders, OCD, major depressive and bipolar disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders with positive and negative symptoms, dissociative disorders, PTSD, feeding and eating disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and personality disorders, with their defining features.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 5.4 surveys the major categories of psychological disorders and their defining symptoms. The College Board wants you to recognize anxiety disorders, OCD, depressive and bipolar disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, dissociative disorders, trauma- and stressor-related disorders, feeding and eating disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and personality disorders.
Anxiety disorders and OCD
Depressive and bipolar disorders
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Schizophrenia is a severe disorder involving disturbances in thought, perception, and behavior, characterized by:
- Positive symptoms (additions): hallucinations (false sensory experiences), delusions (false beliefs), and disorganized thinking and speech.
- Negative symptoms (deficits): flat affect (reduced emotional expression), social withdrawal, and reduced motivation.
Other major categories
The exam also expects recognition of:
- Dissociative disorders: disruptions of memory, identity, or consciousness, including dissociative identity disorder (distinct identities) and dissociative amnesia.
- Trauma- and stressor-related disorders: notably post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with intrusive memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, and anxiety following a traumatic event.
- Feeding and eating disorders: anorexia nervosa (restriction and a distorted body image) and bulimia nervosa (binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors).
- Neurodevelopmental disorders: emerging in development, such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.
- Personality disorders: enduring, inflexible, maladaptive patterns of behavior, such as antisocial personality disorder (disregard for others' rights) and borderline personality disorder (instability in mood, relationships, and self-image).
This is a memorization-heavy topic, and the exam reliably gives a symptom description and asks for the category, or names a disorder and asks for its symptoms. The connective skill is to lock onto the single most diagnostic feature of each: free-floating worry signals generalized anxiety; obsessions plus compulsions signal OCD; the presence of mania separates bipolar from depression; hallucinations and delusions signal schizophrenia; a triggering trauma plus intrusive re-experiencing signals PTSD. The positive-versus-negative symptom distinction in schizophrenia is among the most tested single facts in the unit. Linking back to Topic 5.3, remember that any of these is best explained through the biopsychosocial or diathesis-stress lens rather than a single cause.
Try this
Q1. Distinguish the positive from the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. [2 points]
- Cue. Positive symptoms are additions to experience (hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech); negative symptoms are deficits (flat affect, social withdrawal).
Q2. State the feature that distinguishes bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder. [1 point]
- Cue. Bipolar disorder includes manic episodes, whereas major depressive disorder does not.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2024 (style)1 marksMultiple choice. A person experiences hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech, along with flat affect and social withdrawal. These positive and negative symptoms are characteristic of which disorder? (A) Major depressive disorder (B) Generalized anxiety disorder (C) Schizophrenia (D) Bipolar disorder (E) Dissociative identity disorderShow worked answer →
The answer is (C) Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is marked by positive symptoms (additions to normal experience, such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech) and negative symptoms (deficits, such as flat affect and social withdrawal). The combination described fits schizophrenia.
(A) major depression involves persistent low mood, not psychosis. (B) generalized anxiety involves chronic worry. (D) bipolar disorder alternates between depression and mania. (E) dissociative identity disorder involves distinct identities, not hallucinations and delusions.
AP 2023 (style)5 marksConcept-application free-response question. A clinic intake describes several clients. Explain how EACH of the following disorders is defined: generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.Show worked answer →
A 5-point concept-application FRQ; one point per term.
Generalized anxiety disorder (1): persistent, excessive, free-floating worry not tied to a specific object or situation.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (1): intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) performed to reduce anxiety.
Major depressive disorder (1): a prolonged period of deep sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest, with no recent manic episode.
Bipolar disorder (1): alternation between depressive episodes and manic episodes of elevated mood and energy.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (1): lingering memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, and anxiety following a traumatic event.
Markers reward each disorder being correctly defined AND matched to its key symptoms.
Related dot points
- Topic 5.3 Explaining and Diagnosing Psychological Disorders: explain how psychological disorders are defined and classified, the diagnostic systems (DSM and ICD), and the models used to explain disorders, including the biopsychosocial and diathesis-stress models.
A focused answer to AP Psychology Topic 5.3, covering how psychological disorders are defined (deviance, distress, dysfunction), the DSM and ICD diagnostic systems, the medical, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and sociocultural perspectives, the biopsychosocial and diathesis-stress models, and the risks of labeling.
- Topic 5.5 Treatment of Psychological Disorders: describe the major approaches to treatment, including psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, and biomedical therapies, and the formats and ethics of treatment.
A focused answer to AP Psychology Topic 5.5, covering psychodynamic, humanistic (person-centered), behavioral (exposure, systematic desensitization, token economies), cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies, and biomedical treatments including drug therapies, ECT, and TMS, plus treatment formats, the eclectic approach, and therapeutic ethics.
- Topic 5.1 Introduction to Health Psychology: explain stress and stressors, the general adaptation syndrome, the effects of stress on health, and the strategies people use to cope with stress.
A focused answer to AP Psychology Topic 5.1, covering health psychology and the biopsychosocial model, types of stressors, Selye's general adaptation syndrome, the tend-and-befriend response, the effects of chronic stress on the immune and cardiovascular systems, and problem-focused and emotion-focused coping.
- Topic 5.2 Positive Psychology: explain the aims of positive psychology, subjective well-being, the concepts of flow, gratitude, character strengths and virtues, resilience, and posttraumatic growth.
A focused answer to AP Psychology Topic 5.2, covering the aims of positive psychology, subjective well-being and the adaptation-level phenomenon, flow, gratitude, character strengths and virtues, resilience, posttraumatic growth, and the role of positive subjective experiences in flourishing.
- Topic 3.7 Classical Conditioning: explain classical conditioning, including the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and responses, acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.
A focused answer to AP Psychology Topic 3.7, covering Pavlov's classical conditioning, the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and responses, acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination, higher-order conditioning, and applications such as the Little Albert study and taste aversion.
Sources & how we know this
- AP Psychology Course and Exam Description — College Board (2024)