Key terms Flashcards
What is Abulia?
A lack of will or initiative; inability to act or make decisions independently.
Define Abreaction.
A process of intensely repressed memories and emotions related to past events.
What is Abstract Thinking?
Ability to appreciate nuances of meaning and multidimensional thinking with hypothesis use.
What does Addiction refer to?
Strong dependence, both physically and emotionally, on alcohol or other substances.
What is Affect?
A short-lived emotional response to an idea or event.
Define Agitation.
Presence of anxiety with severe motor restlessness.
What is Akataphasia?
A syntactic disturbance of speech resulting from dissolution of logical ordering of thoughts.
What is Ambivalence?
The co-existence of two opposing desires, feelings, or emotions toward the same person or object.
What does Amnesia mean?
Pathological impairment of memory.
Define Anhedonia.
Inability to experience pleasure in any activity.
What is Apathy?
Lack of emotional feeling.
What does Apraxia refer to?
Inability to carry out normal activities despite intact motor function.
What is Autistic Thinking?
Preoccupations that remove a person from reality.
True or False: Automatic Obedience involves a patient obeying commands despite being told not to.
True.
What is Automatism?
Undirected behavior that is not consciously controlled, as seen in complex partial seizures.
What does Avolition mean?
Lack of motivation or inability to initiate tasks, often seen in schizophrenia.
Define Battering.
Harmful or offensive touching of another person.
What is Bipolar (Mood) Affective Disorder (BPAD)?
Characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and depression in the same patient at different times.
What is Blunted Affect?
A reduction in emotional experience.
Define Bulimia.
Uncontrolled ingestion of large amounts of food followed by compensatory methods to prevent weight gain.
What is Cataplexy?
Temporary loss of muscle tone and weakness precipitated by emotional states.
Define Catharsis.
Expression of ideas and suppressed material accompanied by an emotional response that produces relief.
What is Circumstantiality?
Digression into unnecessary details that distract from the central theme but returns to it afterward.
What does Compulsion refer to?
Pathological need to act on an impulse, leading to anxiety if resisted.
What is Concrete Thinking?
Thought processes focused on specifics rather than generalizations; inability to comprehend abstract meanings.
Define Confabulation.
Unconscious filling of memory gaps with imagined or untrue experiences due to memory impairment.
What is Catatonia?
A state of psychologically induced immobilization, interrupted by episodes of extreme agitation.
What does Conversion refer to?
Transference of a mental conflict into a physical symptom to release tension or anxiety.
Define Crisis.
A situation where customary problem-solving methods are inadequate.
What is Cyclothymic?
Swings of mood between elation and depression.
What is Delirium?
An etiologically non-specific syndrome characterized by disruptions in perception, thinking, memory, and the sleep-wake cycle.
What is a delusion?
False belief not true to fact and not ordinarily accepted by other members.
What characterizes a primary delusion?
Appears suddenly and with full conviction, without any previous events leading up to it.
What is a secondary delusion?
Derived from some preceding morbid experience.
Define delusional mood.
Change of mood, often a feeling of anxiety with the foreboding that some event is about to take place.
What is delusional perception?
Attaching new significance to a familiar percept without reason.
What is a delusion of grandeur?
Exaggerated conception of one’s importance, power, or identity.
What does a delusion of persecution involve?
Belief that one is being attacked, harassed, spied on, cheated, or conspired against.
What is a delusion of reference?
Belief that events, objects, or behavior of others have unusual significance for oneself.
What does a delusion of control refer to?
Belief that one’s thoughts or feelings are being controlled by external forces.
What is a delusion of infidelity?
Delusion that one’s spouse is unfaithful.
Define delusion of guilt.
Belief that one is a sinner responsible for the ruin of family or society.
What is a somatic delusion?
Belief involving functioning of the body, e.g., belief that the brain is rotating or melting.
What characterizes a nihilistic delusion?
Belief that others, oneself, or the world do not exist.
Define dementia.
Diffuse brain dysfunctions characterized by gradual progressive and chronic deterioration of various cognitive functions.
What is denial in psychological terms?
Unconscious refusal to face intolerable thoughts, feelings, wishes, or needs.
What does depersonalization involve?
Experience of unrealness, feelings of separation, isolation, and loss of personal identity.
Define derealization.
Unawareness of one’s position in relation to surroundings or other persons.
What is dissociation?
Separating and detaching a strongly emotionally charged conflict from one’s consciousness.
What is dysthymia?
Chronic low-level depression lasting for more than two years.
What does flat effect refer to?
Absence or near absence of any sign of affective expression.
Define flight of ideas.
Rapid movement of thoughts and conversation from one topic to another.
What does functional mean in a psychological context?
Having a psychological rather than an organic pathology.
What is dissociative fugue?
Characterized by episodes of wandering away, usually from home.
What is echolalia?
Pathological repetition by imitation of the speech of another.
Define echopraxia.
Pathological repetition by imitation of the behavior or actions of another.
What does egocentric mean?
Self-centered and preoccupied with one’s own needs.
What is ego-dystonic?
Aspects of a person’s thoughts or behaviors that are felt to be repugnant or inconsistent with self-conception.
What is grandiosity?
A person’s exaggerated conception of his or her importance, power of identity, or unrecognized talent.
Also referred to as megalomania.
Define grief.
A normal, appropriate emotional response to an external and consciously-recognized loss.
It is a common and necessary reaction to the loss of a beloved individual or object.
What is a hallucination?
A false sensory perception in the absence of an actual external stimulus.
Hallucinations can be described in terms of their sensory modality.
What are auditory hallucinations?
False perception of sound, usually voices.
The voices may give instructions or commentary on actions.
Define visual hallucination.
False perception involving sight consisting of formed and unformed images.
Most common in medically determined disorders.
What is an olfactory hallucination?
False perception of smell, most common in medical disorders.
Define gustatory hallucination.
False perception of taste.
It may also refer to false sensations associated with touch or surface sensation.
What is a tactile (or somatic) hallucination?
False sensation of things occurring in or to the body, most often visceral in origin.
Define hypochondriasis.
Exaggerated concern with one’s physical health, not based on organic pathology.
What characterizes hysteria?
Many somatic symptoms that cannot be explained adequately by physical examination.
What are ideas of reference?
Incorrect interpretation of incidents and external events as having special meaning specific to a person.
Define illusions.
Misinterpretation of external stimuli, likely to occur when sensory stimulation is reduced.
What is impulsiveness?
Emotional instability and lack of impulse control seen in personality disorders.
What does labile mean?
Moving from point to point or unstable, often associated with rapid changes in emotional feeling tone.
Fill in the blank: Freud defines libido as ‘that force by which sexual instinct is represented in the _______’.
mind
What is malingering?
Deliberate stimulation or exaggeration of an illness or disability that is non-existent or minor.
Define manipulation in interpersonal relationships.
A behavior pattern characterized by exploitation of interpersonal contact to meet one’s own ends.
What is a mannerism?
Ingrained, habitual involuntary movement.
Define narcissism.
Obsessive and exclusive interest in one’s own self.
What is narcoanalysis?
A procedure where a chemical is injected to encourage the venting of unconscious desires and motives.
What does negativism refer to?
Motiveless resistance to all attempts to be moved or to all instructions.
Define neologism.
A newly coined word or an everyday word used in a special way not readily understood by others.
What is an obsession?
Pathological persistence of an irresistible thought or feeling associated with anxiety.
What does paranoid mean?
Oversuspicious individuals.
Fill in the blank: Para-suicide is any act deliberately undertaken by one person which mimics the act of _______ but does not result in a fatal outcome.
suicide
What is a phobia?
Persistent, irrational, exaggerated and invariably pathological dread of specific stimulus or situation, resulting in a compelling desire to avoid the feared stimulus.
Phobias are often classified into specific types, such as social phobia, agoraphobia, etc.
What is a phobia?
Persistent, irrational, exaggerated and invariably pathological dread of specific stimulus or situation, resulting in a compelling desire to avoid the feared stimulus.
Phobias are often classified into specific types, such as social phobia, agoraphobia, etc.
Define perseveration.
Persistent repetition of words or themes beyond the point of relevance.
Common in various psychological conditions, including autism and certain types of brain injury.
Define perseveration.
Persistent repetition of words or themes beyond the point of relevance.
Common in various psychological conditions, including autism and certain types of brain injury.
What is pseudodementia?
Clinically similar to dementia, but has a non-organic cause and is reversible.
Often associated with depression and can improve with appropriate treatment.
What is pseudodementia?
Clinically similar to dementia, but has a non-organic cause and is reversible.
Often associated with depression and can improve with appropriate treatment.
What does psychometry involve?
The science of testing and measuring mental and psychological ability, efficiency, potentials and functioning.
Used in educational settings and psychological assessments.
What does psychometry involve?
The science of testing and measuring mental and psychological ability, efficiency, potentials and functioning.
Used in educational settings and psychological assessments.
What is psychopathology?
The study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental disorders.
Includes research on the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to mental illness.
What is psychopathology?
The study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental disorders.
Includes research on the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to mental illness.
What is stupor?
A state in which the individual does not respond to their surroundings and appears to be unaware of them.
Commonly seen in catatonic and depressive disorders.
What is stupor?
A state in which the individual does not respond to their surroundings and appears to be unaware of them.
Commonly seen in catatonic and depressive disorders.
Define tangentiality in thought processes.
A form of thinking/speech in which the client tends to wander away from the intended point and never returns to the original idea.
Often observed in conditions like schizophrenia.
Define tangentiality in thought processes.
A form of thinking/speech in which the client tends to wander away from the intended point and never returns to the original idea.
Often observed in conditions like schizophrenia.
What is thought blocking?
Also called thought withdrawal, the individual might or might not be unable to continue the idea.
A type of formal thought disorder seen in schizophrenia.
What is thought blocking?
Also called thought withdrawal, the individual might or might not be unable to continue the idea.
A type of formal thought disorder seen in schizophrenia.
What is thought insertion?
Subject experiences thoughts imposed by some external force on their passive mind.
This phenomenon can be distressing and is often reported in psychotic disorders.
What is thought insertion?
Subject experiences thoughts imposed by some external force on their passive mind.
This phenomenon can be distressing and is often reported in psychotic disorders.
Define thought withdrawal.
Thoughts cease and the subject experiences them as removed by external forces.
Similar to thought insertion, it is a form of delusion experienced in some mental health disorders.
Define thought withdrawal.
Thoughts cease and the subject experiences them as removed by external forces.
Similar to thought insertion, it is a form of delusion experienced in some mental health disorders.
What is a trance?
A sleep-like state of reduced consciousness and suggestibility.
Trances can occur in various contexts, including hypnosis and certain psychological states.
What is a trance?
A sleep-like state of reduced consciousness and suggestibility.
Trances can occur in various contexts, including hypnosis and certain psychological states.
What is trichotillomania?
Also known as ‘hair pulling disorder’, it is an impulse control disorder characterized by a long-term urge that results in the pulling out of one’s hair.
It can lead to noticeable hair loss and distress.
What is trichotillomania?
Also known as ‘hair pulling disorder’, it is an impulse control disorder characterized by a long-term urge that results in the pulling out of one’s hair.
It can lead to noticeable hair loss and distress.
Define verbigeration.
Senseless repetition of some words or phrases over and over again.
Often seen in individuals with certain psychiatric conditions.
Define verbigeration.
Senseless repetition of some words or phrases over and over again.
Often seen in individuals with certain psychiatric conditions.
What does verstimmung refer to?
An ill-humored mood state often accompanied by low mood and depressive symptoms.
This term can be used in clinical settings to describe mood disturbances.
What does verstimmung refer to?
An ill-humored mood state often accompanied by low mood and depressive symptoms.
This term can be used in clinical settings to describe mood disturbances.
What is waxy flexibility?
Parts of the body can be placed in positions that will be maintained for long periods of time, even if very uncomfortable.
The end result is called catalepsy and can be seen in severe mental health disorders.
What is waxy flexibility?
Parts of the body can be placed in positions that will be maintained for long periods of time, even if very uncomfortable.
The end result is called catalepsy and can be seen in severe mental health disorders.
What is a phobia?
Persistent, irrational, exaggerated and invariably pathological dread of specific stimulus or situation, resulting in a compelling desire to avoid the feared stimulus.
Phobias are often classified into specific types, such as social phobia, agoraphobia, etc.
Define perseveration.
Persistent repetition of words or themes beyond the point of relevance.
Common in various psychological conditions, including autism and certain types of brain injury.
What is pseudodementia?
Clinically similar to dementia, but has a non-organic cause and is reversible.
Often associated with depression and can improve with appropriate treatment.
What does psychometry involve?
The science of testing and measuring mental and psychological ability, efficiency, potentials and functioning.
Used in educational settings and psychological assessments.
What is psychopathology?
The study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental disorders.
Includes research on the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to mental illness.
What is stupor?
A state in which the individual does not respond to their surroundings and appears to be unaware of them.
Commonly seen in catatonic and depressive disorders.
Define tangentiality in thought processes.
A form of thinking/speech in which the client tends to wander away from the intended point and never returns to the original idea.
Often observed in conditions like schizophrenia.
What is thought blocking?
Also called thought withdrawal, the individual might or might not be unable to continue the idea.
A type of formal thought disorder seen in schizophrenia.
What is thought insertion?
Subject experiences thoughts imposed by some external force on their passive mind.
This phenomenon can be distressing and is often reported in psychotic disorders.
Define thought withdrawal.
Thoughts cease and the subject experiences them as removed by external forces.
Similar to thought insertion, it is a form of delusion experienced in some mental health disorders.
What is a trance?
A sleep-like state of reduced consciousness and suggestibility.
Trances can occur in various contexts, including hypnosis and certain psychological states.
What is trichotillomania?
Also known as ‘hair pulling disorder’, it is an impulse control disorder characterized by a long-term urge that results in the pulling out of one’s hair.
It can lead to noticeable hair loss and distress.
Define verbigeration.
Senseless repetition of some words or phrases over and over again.
Often seen in individuals with certain psychiatric conditions.
What does verstimmung refer to?
An ill-humored mood state often accompanied by low mood and depressive symptoms.
This term can be used in clinical settings to describe mood disturbances.
What is waxy flexibility?
Parts of the body can be placed in positions that will be maintained for long periods of time, even if very uncomfortable.
The end result is called catalepsy and can be seen in severe mental health disorders.
Zoophilia
One of the paraphilias, characterized by marked distress over, or acting on, urges to indulge in sexual activity that involves animals
