Psychology Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders

Question 1

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer 1

a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

Question 2

psychological disorder

Answer 2

deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors

Question 3

medical model

Answer 3

the concept that diseases, in this case, psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital

Question 4

DSM-IV-TR

Answer 4

American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition, with an updated “text revision”; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

Question 5

anxiety disorders

Answer 5

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

Question 6

generalized anxiety disorder

Answer 6

an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

Question 7

panic disorder

Answer 7

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations

Question 8

phobia

Answer 8

an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation

Question 9

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Answer 9

an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

Question 10

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Answer 10

an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jump anxiety, and/ or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

Question 11

post-traumatic growth

Answer 11

positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises

Question 12

mood disorders

Answer 12

psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes

Question 13

major depressive disorder

Answer 13

a mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs of another medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods or diminished interest or pleasure in most activities, along with at least four other symptoms

Question 14

mania

Answer 14

a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state

Question 15

bipolar disorder

Answer 15

a mood disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder.)

Question 16

schizophrenia

Answer 16

a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and behaviors

Question 17

psychosis

Answer 17

a psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distorted perceptions

Question 18

delusions

Answer 18

false beliefs, often of persecution of grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders

Question 19

dissociative disorders

Answer 19

disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings

Question 20

dissociative identity disorders (DID)

Answer 20

a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Formerly called multiple personality disorder.

Question 21

anorexia nervosa

Answer 21

an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly (15 percent or more) underweight

Question 22

bulimia nervosa

Answer 22

an eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) with purging (by vomiting or laxative use), or fasting

Question 23

binge-eating disorder

Answer 23

significant binge eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa

Question 24

personality disorders

Answer 24

psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning

Question 25

antisocial personality disorder

Answer 25

a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist