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PsychBuddy

APA Style Tip! Don’t Capitalize the Names of Disorders, Therapies, Theories, and More!

A common APA style error I see students make relates to the use of capitals.


According to the APA 7th edition manual:


"in general do not capitalize the names of diseases, disorders, therapies, treatments, theories, concepts, hypotheses, principles, models, and statistical procedures."

Here are some examples from the APA 7th edition manual,


Do NOT capitalise:


  • Disorder names (e.g., major depressive disorder; autism spectrum disorder)

  • Names of therapies (e.g., cognitive behaviour therapy)

  • Theory names (e.g., theory of mind)

  • Type of analysis (e.g., regression analysis; factor analysis)

DO capitalise:

  • Names that appear within the above terms, e.g., Alzheimer's disease; Maslow's hierarchy of needs; Pavolvian conditioning.

  • Titles of tests or measures, including subscales (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory).


Happy Researching!



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