Unit 8 Vocab

Question 1

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

Answer 1

psychological disorder

Question 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.

Answer 2

medical model

Question 3

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

Answer 3

epigenetics

Question 4

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

Answer 4

DSM-5

Question 5

a psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity
and impulsivity.

Answer 5

ADHD

Question 6

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

Answer 6

anxiety disorders

Question 7

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

Answer 7

social anxiety disorder

Question 8

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

Answer 8

generalized anxiety disorder

Question 9

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a
possible next attack.

Answer 9

panic disorder

Question 10

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

Answer 10

agoraphobia

Question 11

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

Answer 11

phobia

Question 12

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

Answer 12

OCD

Question 13

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

Answer 13

PTSD

Question 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.

Answer 14

major depressive disorder

Question 15

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

Answer 15

bipolar disorder

Question 16

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

Answer 16

mania

Question 17

compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes.

Answer 17

rumination

Question 18

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

Answer 18

schizophrenia

Question 19

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

Answer 19

psychotic disorders

Question 20

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

Answer 20

hallucinations

Question 21

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

Answer 21

delusion

Question 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.

Answer 22

chronic schizophrenia

Question 23

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

Answer 23

acute schizophrenia

Question 24

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

Answer 24

somatic symptom disorder

Question 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. (Also called functional neurological symptom disorder.)

Answer 25

conversion disorder

Question 26

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

Answer 26

illness anxiety disorder

Question 27

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

Answer 27

dissociative disorders

Question 28

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

Answer 28

DID

Question 29

inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning

Answer 29

personality disorders

Question 30

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.

Answer 30

antisocial personality disorder

Question 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.

Answer 31

anorexia nervosa

Question 32

an eating disorder in which a person’s binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) is followed by inappropriate weight-loss promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

Answer 32

bulimia nervosa

Question 33

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

Answer 33

binge-eating disorder

Question 34

treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth.

Answer 34

psychotherapy

Question 35

prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person’s physiology.

Answer 35

biomedical therapy

Question 36

an approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy.

Answer 36

eclectic approach

Question 37

Sigmund Freud’s therapeutic technique. Freud believed the patient’s free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist’s interpretations of them—released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.

Answer 37

psychoanalysis

Question 38

in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material.

Answer 38

resistance

Question 39

in psychoanalysis, the analyst’s noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight.

Answer 39

interpretation

Question 40

in psychoanalysis, the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships (such as love or hatred for a parent).

Answer 40

transference

Question 41

therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition; views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and seeks to enhance self-insight.

Answer 41

psychodynamic therapy

Question 42

therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person’s awareness of underlying motives and defenses.

Answer 42

insight therapies

Question 43

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within an accepting, genuine, empathic environment to facilitate clients’ growth. (Also called person-centered therapy.)

Answer 43

client-centered therapy

Question 44

empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers’ client-centered therapy.

Answer 44

active listening

Question 45

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

Answer 45

unconditional positive regard

Question 46

therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors

Answer 46

behavior therapy

Question 47

behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; include exposure therapies and aversive conditioning.

Answer 47

counterconditioning

Question 48

behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization and virtual reality exposure therapy, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imaginary or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid.

Answer 48

exposure therapies

Question 49

a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias.

Answer 49

systematic desensitization

Question 50

a counterconditioning technique that treats anxiety through creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking.

Answer 50

virtual reality exposure therapy

Question 51

a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol).

Answer 51

aversive conditioning

Question 52

token economy an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange tokens for privileges or treats.

Answer 52

token economy

Question 53

therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions.

Answer 53

cognitive therapy

Question 54

a confrontational cognitive therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, that vigorously challenges people’s illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions.

Answer 54

REBT

Question 55

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing selfdefeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior).

Answer 55

CBT

Question 56

therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, providing benefits from group interaction.

Answer 56

group therapy

Question 57

therapy that treats people in the context of their family system. Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members

Answer 57

family therapy

Question 58

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies.

Answer 58

meta-analysis

Question 59

clinical decision making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics and preferences.

Answer 59

evidence-based practice

Question 60

a bond of trust and mutual understanding between a therapist and client, who work together constructively to overcome the client’s problem.

Answer 60

therapeutic alliance

Question 61

the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior.

Answer 61

psychopharmacology

Question 62

drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder

Answer 62

antipsychotic drugs

Question 63

drugs used to control anxiety and agitation.

Answer 63

antianxiety drugs

Question 64

drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. (Several widely used antidepressant drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors—SSRIs.)

Answer 64

antidepressant drugs

Question 65

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient.

Answer 65

ECT

Question 66

the application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity.

Answer 66

rTMS

Question 67

surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior

Answer 67

psychosurgery

Question 68

a psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. The procedure cut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain.

Answer 68

lobotomy

Question 69

the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma.

Answer 69

resilience

Question 70

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

Answer 70

posttraumatic growth