psych 101 chapter 13

Psychological disorder

a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior that is usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, and other important activities

Syndrome

a cluster of physical or mental symptoms that are typical of a partner condition or psychological disorder that tend to occur simultaneously

Symptom

a physical or mental feature that may be regarded as an indication of a particular condition or psychological disorder

Psychopathy

the scientific study of psychological disorders, or the disorders themselves

Point prevalence

the percentage of people in a given population who have given psychological disorder at a particular point in this time

Lifetime prevalence

the percentage of people in a certain population who will have a given psychological disorder at any point in their lives

Clinical assessment

a procedure for gathering the information that is needed to evaluate an individual’s psychological functioning and to determine whether a clinical diagnosis is warranted

Clinical interview

an interview in which a clinician asks the patient to describe their problems and concerns

Self-report measures

a standardized clinical assessment tool that consists of a fixed set of questions that a patient answers

Projective tests

a form of clinical assessment in which a person responds to unstructured or ambiguous stimuli; it is thought that responses reveal unconscious wishes and conflicts

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychological Disorders

the major classification scheme used in the United States

Diathesis-stress model

A model of clinical disorders suggesting that genes provide a susceptibility for a disorder that will manifest as symptoms only under certain levels of stress.

Biopsychosocial model

A way of understanding what makes people healthy by recognizing that biology, psychology, and social context all combine to shape health outcomes.

Learned helplessness

A state of passive resignation to an aversive situation that one has come to believe is outside of one’s control.


Neuroticism

A personality dimension associated with heightened levels of negative affect.


Anxiety

A feeling of intense worry, nervousness, or unease.

Specific phobia

A marked fear of or anxiety about a particular object or situation.

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)

An anxiety disorder characterized by extreme fear of being watched, evaluated, and judged by others.

Panic disorder

An anxiety disorder characterized by the occurrence of unexpected panic attacks.

Panic attack

A sudden episode of uncontrollable anxiety, accompanied by terrifying bodily symptoms that include one or more of the following: labored breathing, choking, dizziness, tingling hands and feet, sweating, trembling, heart palpitations, chest pain.

Agoraphobia

A fear of being in situations in which help might not be available or escape might be difficult or embarrassing.

Generalized anxiety disorder

An anxiety disorder characterized by continuous, pervasive, and difficult-to-control anxiety.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder that manifests itself through obsessions (unwanted and disturbing thoughts) and compulsions (ritualistic actions performed to control the obsessions).

Obsession

A recurrent unwanted or disturbing thought.

Compulsion

A ritualistic action performed to control an obsession.

Trauma- and stressor-related disorders

Psychological disorders that are triggered by an event that involves actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.

Acute stress disorder

A trauma- or stressor-related disorder lasts less than one month.


Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A trauma- or stressor-related disorder that lasts one month or longer.

Comorbidity

The occurrence of two or more disorders in a single individual at a given point in time.

Concordance rate

The probability that a person with a particular familial relationship to a patient (for example, an identical twin) has the same disorder as the patient.

Major depressive disorder (or “depression”)

A mood disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, emptiness, and anhedonia.

Anhedonia

Diminished interest or pleasure in nearly all of the activities that usually provide pleasure, such as eating, exercising, or spending time with friends.

Rumination

The process of repetitively turning emotional difficulties over and over in the mind.

Bipolar disorder

A mood-related disorder characterized by both manic (excited and energetic) episodes and depressive episodes, with normal periods interspersed; formerly called manic-depressive illness.

Hypomania

A mild form of mania marked by high spirits, happiness, self-confidence, and a high level of nervous energy. 


Mania

A state of high excitement and energy often characterized by racing thoughts, a feeling of invincibility or omnipotence, and a lack of boundaries or inhibitions.