The psychological syndrome: analytical tool or psychologizing social reality?

Abstract

The concept of syndrome has experienced an enormous importance in both psychology and psychopathology in the last years. In this article we will not only describe how its use has increased, but also why it is increasingly accepted. Moreover, different types of syndromes will be described, as well as critical aspects of the current use of the term will be highlighted. Finally, we will show how the syndromes are been used to give common sense explanations of different problems by resorting to the processes of anchoring and objectifying described by Serge Moscovici in his theory of social representations.