Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders Key Terms Flashcards
Syndrome:
A group, or cluster of related symptoms that are characteristic of a disorder.
Comorbidity:
The occurrence of two or more psychological disorders at the same time.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD):
A childhood disorder characterized by inability to focus attention for more than a few minutes, to remain still and quiet, to do careful work.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD):
A childhood disorder characterized by severe language and social impairment along with repetitive habits and inward-focused behaviors.
Joint attention:
The ability to make eye contact with others and to look in the same direction that someone else is looking.
Psychotic disorders:
Psychological disorders of thought and perception, characterized by inability to distinguish between real and imagined perceptions.
Schizophrenia:
A psychotic disorder characterized by significant disturbances in thought and emotion, specifically problems with perception, including hallucinations.
Positive symptoms (of schizophrenia):
The perceptual experiences associated with schizophrenia, including hallucinations, delusional thinking, and disorganized thought and speech.
Hallucinations:
Convincing sensory experiences that occur in the absence of an external stimulus.
Delusions:
One of the symptoms of schizophrenia: false beliefs or exaggerations held despite evidence to the contrary, such as the idea that one is a famous person.
Negative symptoms (of schizophrenia):
Symptoms that include nonresponsiveness, emotional flatness, immobility, catatonia, problems with speech, and inability to complete tasks.
Cognitive symptoms (of schizophrenia):
Problems with working memory, attention, verbal and visual learning and memory, reasoning and problem solving, processing, and speech.
Word salad:
The speech of people with schizophrenia, which may follow grammatical rules but be nonsensical in terms of content.
Diathesis-stress model:
An explanation for the origin of psychological disorders as a combination of biological predispositions (diathesis) plus stress or an abusive environment.
Depressive disorder:
The category of psychological disorders that encompasses all forms of depression, including major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder.
Major depressive disorder:
A mood disorder characterized by pervasive low mood, lack of motivation, low energy, and feelings of worthlessness and guilt that last for at least 2 consecutive weeks.
Learned helplessness:
The sense of powerlessness that arises from the repeated inability to control or escape from stressful situations.
Manic episodes:
One mood cycle in bipolar disorder, typically involving increased energy, sleeplessness, euphoria, irritability, delusions of grandeur, increased sex drive, and “racing” thoughts that last at least 1 week.
Hypomanic episodes:
Symptoms of mania (e.g., increased energy, euphoria, racing thoughts) that are less severe.
Cyclothymia:
A relatively mild form of bipolar disorder.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD):
A state of pervasive and excessive anxiety lasting at least 6 months.
Panic attacks:
An anxiety disorder associated with perceptions of threat and occurring because of fear of danger, inability to escape, embarrassment, or specific objects.
Panic disorder:
An anxiety disorder characterized by panic attacks and persistent anxiety about having more attacks.
Phobia:
An anxiety disorder: an ongoing and irrational fear of a particular object, situation, or activity.
Social phobia (social anxiety disorder):
An anxiety disorder: fear of humiliation in the presence of others, characterized by intense self-consciousness about appearance or behavior or both.
Agoraphobia:
An anxiety disorder involving fear of being in places from which escape might be difficult or in which help might not be available, should a panic attack occur.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD):
An anxiety disorder in which uncontrollable thoughts lead to repeated, unwanted behaviors.
Compulsion:
A repetitive behavior performed in response to uncontrollable urges or according to a ritualistic set of rules.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD):
A type of trauma- and stressor-related disorder that involves intrusive and persistent cognitive, emotional, and physiological symptoms triggered by catastrophic or horrifying events.
Dissociative disorders:
Psychological disorders characterized by extreme splits or gaps in memory, identity, or consciousness.
Dissociative identity disorder (DID):
A dissociative disorder in which a person develops at least two distinct personalities, each with its own memories, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions; some psychiatrists question the legitimacy of the disorder.
Personality disorders:
Patterns of cognition, emotion, and behavior that develop in late childhood or adolescence and are maladaptive and inflexible; they are more stable than clinical disorders.
Schizoid personality disorder:
An odd-eccentric personality disorder characterized by a desire to avoid close relationships as well as by emotional aloofness, reclusivity, and a lack of humor.
Schizotypal personality disorder:
An odd-eccentric personality disorder characterized by a desire to live an isolated and asocial life, but also by the presence of odd thoughts and beliefs.
Paranoid personality disorder:
An odd-eccentric personality disorder characterized by extreme suspicions and mistrust of others in unwarranted and maladaptive ways.
Histrionic personality disorder:
A dramatic-emotional personality disorder characterized by the desire to be the center of attention and by dramatic, seductive, flamboyant, and exaggerated behaviors.
Borderline personality disorder:
A dramatic-emotional personality disorder characterized by out-of-control emotions, fear of being abandoned by others, and vacillation between idealizing and despising people who are close to the person with the disorder.
Narcissistic personality disorder:
A dramatic-emotional personality disorder characterized by having an extremely positive and arrogant self-image and being extraordinarily self-centered; other symptoms are an exaggerated sense of self-importance and grandiosity.
Antisocial personality disorder:
Dramatic-emotional personality disorder characterized by extremely impulsive, deceptive, violent, ruthless, and callous behaviors; a serious and potentially dangerous disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD):
An anxious-fearful personality disorder characterized by rigid habits and extreme perfectionism; more general than obsessive-compulsive disorder.
