Psychological Disorders and Models

Flashcards covering key concepts related to psychological disorders and their classifications.

Diathesis-stress model

A concept that genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorders.

Epigenetics

The study of the molecular mechanisms by which the environment can influence genetic expression without a DNA change.

DSM-5-TR

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision, a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Anxiety Disorder

A group of disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety and related maladaptive behaviors.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Intense fear and avoidance of social situations.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

An anxiety disorder characterized by continual tension, apprehension, and a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

Panic Disorder

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.

Agoraphobia

Fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one may experience a loss of control and panic.

Specific phobia

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

Obsessive-Complulsive Disorder (OCD)

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

Hoarding disorder

A persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value.

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hyper vigilance, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, social withdrawal, jump anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

Depressive disorders

a group of disorders characterized by an enduring sad, empty, or irritable mood, along with physical and cognitive changes that affect a person’s ability to function.

Bipolar disorder

a group of disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder.)

Major depressive disorder

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

Persistent depressive disorder

a disorder in which people experience a depressed mood on more days than not for at least 2 years (formerly called dysthymia.)

Bipolar I disorder

the most severe form, in which people experience a euphoric, talkative, highly energetic, and overly ambitious state that lasts a week or longer.

Mania

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

Bipolar II disorder

a less severe form of bipolar in which people move between depression and a milder hypomania.

Schizophrenia Spectrum disorders

a group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized or unusual motor behavior, and negative symptoms (such as diminished emotional expression); includes schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder.

Psychotic disorders

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

Delusion

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

Chronic 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.

Acute schizophrenia

a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age; frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event, and from which recovery is much more likely.

Dissociative disorders

a controversial, rare group of disorders characterized by a disruption of or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior.

Dissociative identity disorder

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

Dissociative amnesia

a disorder in which people with intact brains reportedly experience memory gaps; people with dissociative amnesia may report not remembering trauma-related specific events, people, places, or aspects of their identity and life history.

Personality disorders

a group of disorders characterized by enduring inner experiences or behavior patterns that differ from someone’s cultural norms and expectations, are pervasive and inflexible, begin in adolescence or early adulthood, are stable over time, and cause distress or impairment.

Antisocial personality disorder

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.

Feeding & Eating disorders

a group of disorders characterized by altered consumption or absorption of food that impairs health or psychological functioning. (Feeding disorders typically occur in infants and young children, whereas eating disorders affect people who self-feed.)

Neurodevelopmental disorder

central nervous system abnormalities (usually in the brain) that start in childhood and alter thinking and behavior (as in intellectual limitations or a psychological disorder).

Autism spectrum disorder

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by limitations in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

ADHD

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

Psychotherapy

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

Eclectic approach

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

Psychodynamic therapy

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

Person-centered therapy

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 client-centered therapy.)

Active listening

empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and seeks clarification. A feature of Rogers’ person-centered therapy.

Behavior therapy

therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors.

Counterconditioning

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

Exposure therapy

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.

Systematic desensitization

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

Aversive conditioning

associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol).

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.

Cognitive therapy

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

Rational-emotive behavior therapy

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

Cognitive behavioral therapy

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior).

Group therapy

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

Therapeutic aliance

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

Antipsychotic drugs

drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorders.

Antianxiety drugs

drugs used to control anxiety and agitation.

Antidepressant drugs

drugs used to treat depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

a biomedical therapy for severe depression in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized person.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

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

Psychosurgery

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

Hypnosis

a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur; in a therapeutic context, the hypnotist attempts to use suggestion to reduce unpleasant physical sensations or emotions.

Trauma-and-stressor related disorders

a group of disorders in which exposure to a traumatic or stressful event is followed by psychological distress.