Understanding Psychopathology

•How do psychologists define a psychological disorder?
•What is a scientist–practitioner?
Today you may have gotten out of bed, had breakfast, gone to class, studied, and, at the end of the day, enjoyed the company of your friends before dropping off to sleep. It probably did not occur to you that many physically healthy people are not able to do some or any of these things. What they have in common is a psychological disorder, a psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected. Before examining exactly what this means, let’s look at one individual’s situation.