Selected Vocabulary from the Glossaries

Question 1

affect

Answer 1

A pattern of observable behaviors that is the expression of an emotion such as sadness, elation, and anger. Short term and fluctuating as opposed to longer term nature of mood.

Question 2

emotion

Answer 2

A subjectively experienced feeling state

Question 3

mood

Answer 3

Pervasive and sustained emotional “climate”

Question 4

blunted affect

Answer 4

Significant reduction in the intensity of emotional expression

Question 5

flat affect

Answer 5

Absence or near absence of any sign of affective expression.

Question 6

inappropriate affect

Answer 6

Discordance between affective expression and the content of speech or ideation

Question 7

labile affect

Answer 7

Abnormal variability in affect with repeated, rapid and abrupt shifts in affective expression

Question 8

restricted/constricted affect

Answer 8

Mild reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression

Question 9

agnosia

Answer 9

Loss of ability to recognize objects, persons, sounds, shapes, or smells that occurs in the absence of either impairment of the specific sense or significant memory loss.

Question 10

alogia

Answer 10

An impoverishment in thinking that is inferred from observing speech and language behavior. There may be brief and concrete replies to questions and restriction in the amount of spontaneous speech. Sometimes the speech is adequate in amount but conveys little information because it is over concrete, abstract, repetitive or stereotyped.

Question 11

poverty of speech

Answer 11

Restriction in the amount of spontaneous speech

Question 12

poverty of content

Answer 12

Spontaneous speech that is adequate in amount but conveys little information because it is over concrete, abstract, repetitive or stereotyped

Question 13

amnesia

Answer 13

An inability to recall important autobiographical information that is inconsistent with ordinary forgetting.

Question 14

anhedonia

Answer 14

Lack of enjoyment from, engagement in, or energy for life’s experiences; deficits in the capacity to feel pleasure and take interest in things. Anhedonia is a faces of the broad personality trait domain “Detachment.”

Question 15

anosognosia

Answer 15

A condition in which a person with an illness seems unaware of the existence of his or her illness

Question 16

antagonism

Answer 16

Behaviors that put an individual at odds with other people such as an exaggerated sense of self-importance with a concomitant expectation of special treatment, as well as a callous antipathy towards others, encompassing both unawareness of others’ needs and feelings, and a readiness to use others in the service of self-enhancement. “Antagonism” is one of the five broad personality trait domains.

Question 17

antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

Answer 17

A set of symptoms that can occur after abrupt cessation, or marked reduction in dose of an antidepressant medication that had been taken continuously for at least 1 month.

Question 18

anxiety

Answer 18

The apprehensive anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of worry, distress, and/or somatic symptoms of tension. The focus of anticipated danger may be internal or external.

Question 19

anxiousness

Answer 19

Feelings of nervousness or tenseness in reaction to diverse situations; frequent worry about the negative effects of past unpleasant experiences and future negative possibilities; feeling fearful and apprehensive about uncertainty; expecting the worst to happen. Anxiousness is a facet of the broad personality trait domain “Negative Affectivity.”

Question 20

arousal

Answer 20

The psychological and physiological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli

Question 21

asociality

Answer 21

A reduced initiative for interacting with other people

Question 22

attention

Answer 22

The ability to focus in a sustained manner on a particular stimulus or activity. A disturbance in attention may be manifested by easy distractibility or difficulty in finishing tasks or in concentration on work.

Question 23

attention seeking

Answer 23

Engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and to make oneself the focus of others’ attention and admiration. Attention seeking is a facet of the broad personality trait domain “Antagonism.”

Question 24

autogynephilia

Answer 24

Sexual arousal of a natal male associated with the idea or image of being a woman.

Question 25

avoidance

Answer 25

The act of keeping away from stress-related circumstances, a tendency to circumvent cues, activities, and situations that remind the individual of a stressful even experienced.

Question 26

avolition

Answer 26

An inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities. When severe enough to be considered pathological, avolition is pervasive and prevents the person from completing many different types of activities (e.g. work, intellectual pursuits, self-care).

Question 27

callousness

Answer 27

Lack of concern for the feelings or problems of others; lack of guilt or remorse about the negative or harmful effects of one’s actions on others. Callousness is a facet of the broad personality trait domain “Antagonism.”

Question 28

catalepsy

Answer 28

Passive induction of a posture held against gravity. Compare with “Waxy Flexibility.”

Question 29

circadian rhythms

Answer 29

Cyclical variations in physiological and biochemical function, level of sleep-wake activity, and emotional state. Circadian rhythms have a cycle of about 24 hours,.

Question 30

ultradian rhythms

Answer 30

Cyclical variations (of less than 1 day) in physiological and biochemical function, level of sleep-wake activity, and emotional state.

Question 31

infradian ryhtms

Answer 31

Cyclical variations (lasts weeks or months) in physiological and biochemical function, level of sleep-wake activity, and emotional state.

Question 32

cognitive and perceptual dysregulation

Answer 32

Odd or unusual thought processes and experiences including depersonalization, derealization, and dissociation; mixed sleep-wake state experiences; and thought-control experiences. Cognitive and perceptual dysregulation is a facet of the broad personality trait domain “Psychoticism.”

Question 33

coma

Answer 33

State of complete loss of conciousness