We hypothesized that patients who complain of dysphagia without demonstrable organic abnormality may have an underlying psychological dysfunction. We thus conducted a comprehensive assessment in three groups of patients with dysphagia. Dysphagia was classified as obstructive (Obst) when an obstructive lesion was present on esophagoscopy or barium swallow, motility-related (Mot) when abnormal motility was shown on esophageal manometry in the presence of normal esophagoscopy or barium swallow, or nonobstructive, nonmotility-related (NONM) when manometry and esophagoscopy or barium swallow were both normal. We prospectively evaluated 71 patients with Obst-dysphagia, 15 patients with Mot-dysphagia and 10 patients with NONM-dysphagia with a battery of standardized psychological tests including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI). The results indicate that patients with NONM-dysphagia have psychological attributes similar to those found in patients with Obst-dysphagia or Mot-dysphagia. Combination of scores for parameters such as somatization, depression, and anxiety could not distinguish among the three groups of dysphagia patients. We thus conclude that patients with NONM-dysphagia, as a group, have similar psychological profiles compared to patients with dysphagia due to organic causes.