Psychology: DSM-5, Disorders, Treatments, and Key Concepts

DSM-5

The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. The main book clinicians use to diagnose mental disorders.

David Rosenham's study

A study where healthy people pretended to hear voices to get admitted to mental hospitals; once admitted, they acted normal, but staff still saw them as mentally ill.

The medical model

The idea that psychological disorders are illnesses with biological causes that can be diagnosed and treated.

Disordered behavior

Behavior that is deviant and dysfunctional.

Anxiety disorder

A category of disorders involving excessive fear or anxiety.

Obsessions

Unwanted intrusive thoughts.

Compulsions

Repetitive behaviors done to reduce anxiety caused by obsessions.

Generalized anxiety disorder

Excessive worry about many things for at least 6 months.

PTSD

A disorder following trauma with symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and avoidance.

Phobia

An intense fear of a specific object or situation.

Panic attack

Sudden episode of intense fear with physical symptoms like heart racing and sweating.

Agoraphobia

Fear of being in places where escape may be difficult, due to possibilities of having a panic attack.

Genetic predispositions

Increased likelihood of developing a disorder due to genetics.

Schizophrenia

A severe disorder with symptoms of hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and impaired functioning.

Flat affect

Lack of emotional expression.

Catatonia

Motor problems such as maintaining motionless for long periods or unusual movements.

Bulimia nervosa

Eating disorder involving binge eating followed by purging (vomiting, laxatives, excessive exercise).

Personality disorder

Long term patterns of behavior and thought that are inflexible and impaired.

Stress

The process of perceiving and responding to threatening or challenging events.

Dissociative disorder

Disorder involving disruptions in memory, identity, or consciousness.

Histrionic personality disorder

Personality disorder characterized by excessive emotional and attention seeking.

Narcissistic personality disorder

Need for admiration and lack of empathy.

Psychopath

A person with antisocial personality who shows lack of empathy.

Mania

A state of elevated mood, high energy, impulsivity, part of bipolar disorder.

Major depressive disorder

A mood disorder with at least two weeks of persistent sadness, loss of interest, and other symptoms.

Depression's vicious cycle

Depression, negative thoughts, withdrawal, worse mood, deeper depression.

Breaking the cycle of depression

Taking small steps towards activity, social connection, and healthier thoughts.

Schizophrenia and genetic predispositions

Genes influence risk and family history increases likelihood.

Mood disorders

Disorders involving emotional extremes (depression).

Biopsychosocial approach

Mental health is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors.

Biomedical treatment and drug therapy

Using medication or medical procedures to treat psychological disorders.

Therapeutic lifestyle change

Using healthy habits to improve mental health (exercise, sleep, diet).

Token economy

Behavior modification where people earn tokens for good behavior that can be exchanged for rewards.

Free association

Saying whatever comes to mind without censoring.

Transference

When a patient projects feelings about important people onto their therapists.

Biomedical therapy

Treatment for psychological disorders that uses medications or medical procedures to directly change brain chemistry or nervous system functioning.

Aversive conditioning

Associating an unwanted behavior with unpleasant feelings.

Psychophysiological illness

Physical illness caused by stress.

B lymphocytes

White blood cells that fight bacterial infections.

T lymphocytes

White blood cells that attack cancer cells and viruses.

Lymphocytes

The two types of white blood cells involved in the immune response (B and T cells).

Resistance

The client's blocking of anxiety provoking material.

Psychoanalytic perspective

Freud's theory that behavior is influenced by unconscious drives and childhood experiences.

Stimulus generalization

When a conditioned response occurs to similar stimuli.