Psych terms Flashcards
Illusion
Perception when a sensory stimulus is present but is incorrectly perceived
Hallucination
Sensory perception occurs in absence of stimulus
Pseudo-hallucination
Externalised sensory image vivid enough to be a hallucination but recognised as unreal
Overvalued idea
Solitary abnormal belief neither delusional nor obsessional in nature but preoccupying to the extent of dominating the sufferers life
Delusion
Abnormal belief which is held with absolute subjective certainty which requires no external proof, which may be held in the face of contradictory evidence, and which has personal significance to person involved.
Absolute certainty, cant be rationalised away, held in face of contradictory evidence, not part of cultural or religious background
Delusional perception
A true perception to which a patient attributes a false meaning
Loosening of association
Disorganised speech due to a lack of connectivity between ideas
Perseveration
Continual repetition of thought or behaviour e.g. finger wiggling
Confabulation
Memory error in which gaps are unconsciously filled with fabricated information
Somatic passivity
Experience of bodily sensations imposed by external agency
Pressure of speech
Rapid and frenzied speech
Anhedonia
Inability to experience plasure in normally pleasurable acts
Incongruity of affect
Mismatch between experienced emotions and its expression
Blunting of affect
Diminished facial expressions, expressive gestures and vocal expressions, Difficulty expressing emotions
Belle indifference
Absence of psychological distress despite serious illness
