Key features that define Psychotic Disorders Flashcards
Define delusions
fixed beliefs that aren’t amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence.
Different types of delusions
- Persecutory delusions
- Referential delusions
- Grandiose delusions
- Erotomanic delusions
- Nihilistic delusions
- Somatic delusions
Persecutory delusions
- belief that one is going to be harmed, harassed & so forth by an individual, organization, or other group.
Referential delusions
- belief that certain gestures, comments, environmental cues & so forth are directed at oneself.
e.g. ppl on the radio or tv are talking abt them
Grandiose delusions
- when an individual believes tha the or she has exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame
Erotomanic delusions
- when an individual believes falsely that another person is in love with him or her.
Nihilistic delusions
- involve the conviction that a major catastrophe will occur
Somatic delusions
- focus on preoccupations regarding health & organ function.
e.g. being so itchy & they feel like there are insects crawling on them despite showering.
Bizzare delusions
- delusions that are clearly implausible & not understandable to same-culture peers & don’t derive from ordinary life experiences.
e.g. belief that one’s thoughts
have been “removed” by some outside force (thought withdrawal), that alien thoughts have been put into one’s mind (thought insertion), or that one’s body or actions are being acted on
or manipulated by some outside force (delusions of control).
Define Hallucinations
perception-like experiences that occur without an external stimulus.
Types of Hallucinations
- Auditory
- Visual
- Olfactory
- Tactile
- Sensory
Which type of hallucination is the most common in schizophrenia & related disorders?
Auditory hallucinations
Define Alogia
diminished speech output
Circumstantial speech
the person will eventually answer a question, but in a markedly roundabout manner.
e.g. Doctor: when did the pain start?
pt: On Saturday I woke up from bed, had a shower & wore my red t-shirt, then I had cereal for breakfast & then I went to work by my car which I brought a month ago. However, on Monday I started feeling the pain.
Derailment
the person will suddenly switch topics without any logic or sequence.
Neologism
the creation of new, idiosyncratic (unique to an individual) words.
Tangential speech
the person goes off the topic & never returns to it.
e.g. Doctor: Have you had any trouble sleeping lately?
pt: I usually sleep in my bed but now I’m sleeping on the sofa.
Catatonic behaviour
- a marked decrease in reactivity to the environment.
Passive Negativism
an attitude characterized by persistent resistance to the suggestions of others
Active Negativism
the tendency to act in ways that are contrary to the expectations, requests, or commands of others, typically without any identifiable reason for opposition.
Mutism
an inability or unwillingness to speak, resulting in the absence or scarcity of verbal output.
2 negative symptoms that are particularly prominent in Schizophrenia:
- Diminished emotional expression
- Avolition (decrease in motivated self-initiated purposeful activities)
Diminished emotional expression
includes reductions in the expression of emotions in the face, eye contact, intonation of speech (prosody) & movements of the hand, head, face that normally give an emotional emphasis to speech.
Avolition
a decrease in motivated self-initiated purposeful activities.
e.g. the individual may sit for long periods of time & show little interest in participating in work or social activities.
Anhedonia
decreased ability to experience pleasure from positive stimuli or a degradation in the recollection of pleasure previously experienced.
Asociality
refers to the apparent lack of interest in social interactions & may be associated with avolition, but it can also be a manifestation of limited opportunities for social interactions.
