Complete Summary and Solutions for Psychological Disorders – NCERT Class XII Psychology, Chapter 4 – Concepts, Causes, Classification, and Major Disorders

Comprehensive summary and explanation of Chapter 4 ‘Psychological Disorders’ from the NCERT Class XII Psychology textbook, covering definitions, causes, models of abnormality, classification systems (DSM-5 & ICD-10), and major psychological disorders — along with all NCERT exercises, key terms, and review questions with answers.

Updated: 6 days ago

Categories: NCERT, Class XII, Psychology, Chapter 4, Psychological Disorders, Abnormal Behaviour, Mental Health, DSM-5, ICD-10, Summary, Questions, Answers, Concepts, Models
Tags: Psychological Disorders, NCERT, Class 12, Psychology, Summary, Explanation, Questions, Answers, Abnormal Behaviour, DSM-5, ICD-10, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Mental Health, Chapter 4
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Psychological Disorders - Class 11 Psychology Chapter 4 Ultimate Study Guide 2025

Psychological Disorders

Chapter 4: Psychology - Ultimate Study Guide | NCERT Class 11 Notes, Questions, Examples & Quiz 2025

Full Chapter Summary & Detailed Notes - Psychological Disorders Class 11 NCERT

Overview & Key Concepts

  • Chapter Goal: Understand abnormality concepts, criteria, historical views, classifications, underlying factors, and major disorders. Exam Focus: Models (bio-psycho-social, diathesis-stress), disorders (anxiety, depressive, schizophrenia), classifications (DSM-5, ICD-10); 2025 Updates: Links to modern mental health stigma, neurodiversity in disorders, pandemic impacts. Fun Fact: Demonology in Middle Ages treated disorders via exorcism. Core Idea: Abnormality as maladaptive; interlinks to therapy (Ch5). Real-World: Anxiety in exams. Expanded: All subtopics point-wise with evidence (e.g., 4 Ds of abnormality), examples (e.g., Deb's panic), debates (e.g., social norms vs. maladaptive).
  • Wider Scope: From supernatural to bio-psycho-social; sources: Activities (4.1, 4.2), boxes (4.1, 4.2, 4.3), Table 4.1.
  • Expanded Content: Include socio-cultural triggers, role of stress, biological vs. psychological; multi-disciplinary (e.g., neuroscience in schizophrenia, sociology in stigma).
Activity 4.1: Identifying Abnormal Behaviour Description

Step-by-step exercise: Talk to three people about mentally ill person, understand why abnormal, signs/symptoms, causes, help. Reflects subjective views of abnormality.

Introduction

  • Psychological Disorders Overview: Unhappiness, anxiety, maladaptive behaviour; failures in adaptation to life challenges.
  • Historical Mystification: Studied for 2,500+ years; causes discomfort/fear; viewed as unusual.
  • Adaptation Failure: Inability to modify behaviour to environment; maladaptive when interferes with functioning.
  • Abnormal Psychology Focus: Causes, consequences, treatment of maladaptive behaviour.
  • Expanded: Evidence: Global unhappiness; debates: Illness vs. label; real: Exam anxiety normal vs. disorder if extreme.

Concepts of Abnormality and Psychological Disorders

  • Four Ds: Deviance (extreme), Distress (upsetting), Dysfunction (interferes daily), Danger (to self/others).
  • Deviation from Norms: Away from normal; no ideal model.
  • Social Deviation View: Breaks societal norms; cultural influence (e.g., aggressive acceptable in competitive societies).
  • Maladaptive View: Interferes with well-being/growth; better criterion than conformity.
  • Stigma: Shame attached; view as illness to reduce hesitation for help.
  • Expanded: Evidence: Definitions evolve; debates: Norms change over time; real: Silence in class maladaptive.
Activity 4.2: Contextual Abnormality Description

Examples: Eating sand normal if stranded; talking to self praying; standing in street as policeman. Highlights context in abnormality.

Historical Background

  • Supernatural Approach: Evil spirits/exorcism; shaman medium; still used in societies.
  • Biological Approach: Body/brain defects; linked to disorders; treatments correct processes.
  • Psychological Approach: Thinking/feeling/perception inadequacies.
  • Ancient Greece: Hippocrates/Plato: Conflicts emotion/reason; Galen humours (blood/black bile/yellow bile/phlegm); similar to Indian doshas (vata/pitta/kapha).
  • Middle Ages: Demonology/witch-hunts; St. Augustine anguish/conflict for psychodynamic.
  • Renaissance: Humanism; Weyer psychological causes for witches.
  • Age of Reason (17th-18th): Scientific over faith; reform movement/deinstitutionalisation/community care.
  • Modern Convergence: Bio-psycho-social interactional approach.
  • Expanded: Evidence: Recurring themes; debates: Supernatural vs. scientific; real: Asylums reforms.

Classification of Psychological Disorders

  • Purpose: Communicate, understand causes/development/maintenance.
  • DSM-5 (APA): Discrete criteria presence/absence; current version.
  • ICD-10 (WHO): Behavioural/Mental Disorders; clinical features/diagnostic guidelines; used in India.
  • Expanded: Evidence: Grouped shared characteristics; debates: Categorical vs. dimensional; real: Anxiety category.

Factors Underlying Abnormal Behaviour

  • Biological Factors: Genes/endocrine/malnutrition/injuries; neurotransmitters (GABA low anxiety, dopamine excess schizophrenia, serotonin low depression).
  • Psychological Models: Psychodynamic (Freud unconscious conflicts id/ego/superego); Behavioural (learned maladaptive via classical/operant/social); Cognitive (irrational assumptions/overgeneralisation); Humanistic-Existential (avoid responsibility inauthentic lives).
  • Socio-Cultural Factors: War/violence/prejudice/economic problems/social change; enmeshed families/isolation/labels.
  • Diathesis-Stress Model: Biological predisposition + vulnerability + stressors lead to disorder.
  • Expanded: Evidence: Multi-factor; debates: Biology alone insufficient; real: Maternal deprivation anxiety.

Major Psychological Disorders

  • Anxiety Disorders: Vague fear/apprehension; symptoms (heart rate/shortness breath); generalised (unexplained fears), panic (recurrent terror), phobias (irrational specific/social/agoraphobia).
  • Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders: Obsessions (persistent thoughts), compulsions (repetitive behaviours); OCD cycle.
  • Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders: PTSD post-trauma (flashbacks/avoidance).
  • Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders: Physical symptoms without medical cause; illness anxiety/conversion.
  • Dissociative Disorders: Disruption identity/memory; amnesia/identity/fugue/depersonalisation.
  • Depressive Disorders: Sadness/loss interest; major depressive (hopelessness/suicidal).
  • Bipolar and Related Disorders: Mania/depression cycles; elevated mood/grandiosity.
  • Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders: Delusions/hallucinations/disorganised thought/speech/behaviour; negative symptoms (avolition).
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Intellectual disability/autism/ADHD from early development.
  • Disruptive, Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorders: Aggression/rule-breaking; oppositional defiant/conduct.
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders: Anorexia/bulimia/binge-eating.
  • Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders: Dependence/abuse; alcohol/cannabis/opioids effects (Box 4.2, 4.3).
  • Expanded: Evidence: Symptoms/causes; debates: Spectrum vs. categorical; real: Deb's panic disorder.
Table 4.1: Types of Anxiety Disorders Description

Generalised: Prolonged vague fears; Panic: Recurrent terror; Phobias: Specific/social/agoraphobia; OCD: Obsessions/compulsions; PTSD: Trauma re-experiencing.

Box 4.1: Salient Features of Somatic Symptom and Dissociative Disorders Description

Somatic: Physical complaints no cause; Dissociative: Memory/identity loss; examples like conversion/amnesia.

Box 4.2: Effects of Alcohol - Some Facts Description

Central nervous depressant; impairs judgment/coordination; chronic liver/brain damage.

Box 4.3: Commonly Abused Substances Description

Alcohol, opioids, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives, nicotine, caffeine; effects/addiction.

Why This Guide Stands Out

Comprehensive: All subtopics point-wise, 10+ diagram/activity descriptions; 2025 with links (e.g., stigma in mental health), disorders analyzed for depth.

Key Themes & Tips

  • Aspects: Abnormality, history, classification, factors, disorders.
  • Tip: Memorize 4 Ds/models; compare tables; debate social vs. maladaptive.

Exam Case Studies

Diathesis-stress application; anxiety types; schizophrenia symptoms.

Project & Group Ideas

  • Timeline of abnormality views.
  • Debate: Is abnormality cultural?
  • Survey stigma in society.