Unit 8

Question 1

psychological disorder

Answer 1

a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior.

Question 2

medical model

Answer 2

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 3

epigenetics

Answer 3

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change

Question 4

DSM-5

Answer 4

the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Question 5

ADHD

Answer 5

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

Question 6

anxiety disorders

Answer 6

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

Question 7

social anxiety disorder

Answer 7

intense fear and avoidance of social situations. (Formerly called social phobia.)

Question 8

generalized anxiety disorder

Answer 8

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

Question 9

panic disorder

Answer 9

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 10

agoraphobia

Answer 10

fear of avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic.

Question 11

phobia

Answer 11

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

Question 12

OCD

Answer 12

a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both.

Question 13

PTSD

Answer 13

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

Question 14

major depressive disorder

Answer 14

a disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

Question 15

bipolar disorder

Answer 15

a 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

mania

Answer 16

a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgement is common.

Question 17

rumination

Answer 17

compulsive fretting; overthinking about our problems and their causes.

Question 18

schizophrenia

Answer 18

a disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression.

Question 19

psychotic disorders

Answer 19

a group of psychological disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.

Question 20

hallucinations

Answer 20

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

Question 21

delusion

Answer 21

a false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

Question 22

chronic schizophrenia

Answer 22

(also called process schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten.

Question 23

acute schizophrenia

Answer 23

(also called reactive schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age; frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event.

Question 24

somatic symptom disorder

Answer 24

a psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause. (Formerly called somatoform disorder; see conversion disorder and illness anxiety disorder.)

Question 25

conversion disorder

Answer 25

a disorder related to somatic symptom disorder in which a person experiences very specific, physical symptoms that are not compatible with recognized medical or neurological conditions.

Question 26

illness anxiety disorder

Answer 26

a disorder related to somatic symptom disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease. (Formerly called hypochondriasis.)

Question 27

dissociative disorders

Answer 27

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

Question 28

DID

Answer 28

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

Question 29

personality disorders

Answer 29

inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

Question 30

antisocial personality disorders

Answer 30

a personality disorder in which the 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.

Question 31

anorexia nervosa

Answer 31

an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise.

Question 32

bulimia nervosa

Answer 32

an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating (usually of high-calorie foods) is followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

Question 33

binge-eating disorder

Answer 33

significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory behavior that marks bulimia nervosa.