AP Psychology Unit 9

Psychological disorder

A clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior.

Deviant

Refers to actions that drastically violate accepted social norms and cultural expectations.

Distress

The subjective feeling of negative emotional pain or suffering caused by a psychological symptom.

Maladaptiveness

Describes behaviors that severely interfere with a person's ability to function normally in daily life.

Biopsychosocial approach

Explains mental disorders by examining the combined influence of biological, psychological, and social factors.

DSM-V

A standardized manual used by clinicians and psychiatrists to diagnose and classify mental disorders.

People-first language

A respectful phrasing approach that places the individual before their medical diagnosis.

Rosenhan study

An experiment using pseudopatients that demonstrated the dangers and lasting impacts of diagnostic labels in psychiatric hospitals.

Anxiety disorders

A category of conditions characterized by persistent dread or maladaptive behaviors used to reduce that anxiety.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Involves chronic, uncontrollable worry and physical tension regarding everyday events.

Phobias

Intense, irrational fears directed toward specific objects, activities, or situations.

Panic Disorder

Marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense physical dread and terror.

Dissociative Disorders

Occur when a person's conscious awareness suddenly separates from their previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

A rare condition in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities.

Dissociative Amnesia

The inability to recall important personal information, usually following a highly traumatic or stressful event.

Personality Disorders

Involve inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that significantly impair an individual's social functioning.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Characterized by a profound lack of conscience and a blatant disregard for the rights and feelings of others.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Involves severe and dramatic instability in a person's emotions, relationships, and self-image.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Defined by an inflated sense of self-importance and a deep need for excessive attention and admiration.

Depressive Disorders

Conditions characterized by pervasive feelings of sadness, emptiness, and a loss of interest in daily activities.

Major Depressive Disorder

Diagnosed when a person experiences five or more severe depressive symptoms for at least two consecutive weeks.

Persistent Depressive Disorder

Involves experiencing a mildly depressed mood that lasts for at least two consecutive years.

Bipolar and related Disorders

Involve alternating periods of severe depression and hyperactive mania.

Bipolar Disorder

Specifically features full manic episodes alternating with major depressive episodes.

Bipolar II Disorder

Involves major depressive episodes alternating with milder, less disruptive hypomanic episodes.

Schizophrenia

A severe psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech.

Positive symptoms

The inappropriate added behaviors, such as experiencing hallucinations or delusions.

Negative symptoms

Refer to the absence of appropriate behaviors, such as exhibiting a flat affect or lacking motivation.

Delusions

False, fixed beliefs that a person maintains despite overwhelming contrary evidence.

Hallucinations

False sensory experiences, such as hearing voices or seeing things that are not actually present in the environment.

Flat affect

A severe reduction in emotional expressiveness, often seen as a blank face or a monotone voice.

Word salad

A highly disorganized, random mixture of words and phrases that makes no logical sense to the listener.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts and the urgent need to perform specific physical actions.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Involves haunting memories, nightmares, and hypervigilance that linger for weeks or more after a traumatic event.

NeuroDevelopmental Disorders

Early-onset conditions that cause impairments in a child's personal, social, or academic functioning.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Marked by significant communication deficiencies, impaired social interaction, and rigidly fixated interests.

ADHD

A developmental disorder characterized by extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that disrupt normal functioning.

Behavioral Therapy

Applies the principles of learning and conditioning to eliminate unwanted or maladaptive behaviors.

Counterconditioning

Uses classical conditioning techniques to evoke new, positive responses to stimuli that previously triggered unwanted behaviors.

Systematic Desensitization

An exposure therapy that gradually exposes deeply relaxed people to their specific fears to safely reduce anxiety.

Biofeedback

A technique that electronically records and displays subtle physiological states to help a person learn to consciously control them.

Aversive Conditioning

A type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior to stop that behavior entirely.

Token Economy

An operant conditioning procedure where desired behaviors are rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges or treats.

Biomedical Therapy

Treats psychological disorders by physically changing the brain's functioning through medications or surgery.

Psychopharmacology

The scientific study of how drugs affect the mind, human behavior, and psychological functioning.

Antipsychotic drugs

Powerful medications primarily used to treat severe thought disorders like schizophrenia.

Tardive dyskinesia

A condition involving involuntary facial and body movements caused by the long-term use of antipsychotic drugs.

Antianxiety drugs

Medications prescribed to depress central nervous system activity to help control severe agitation and excessive worry.

Antidepressants

Medications that alter neurotransmitter availability to treat mood disorders, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Lithium

A simple chemical salt used as a mood-stabilizing drug to effectively treat the severe mood swings of bipolar disorder.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Involves sending brief electrical currents through the brain to treat severe, treatment-resistant depression.

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (RTMS)

Uses a magnetic coil to send pulses into the brain to safely stimulate or dampen neural activity.

Psychosurgery

A highly invasive procedure that involves removing or destroying brain tissue in a permanent effort to change problematic behavior.

Lobotomy

An obsolete psychosurgical procedure that cut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain.

Cognitive Therapy

A treatment approach that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking about themselves and their problems.

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy

An integrative approach that aims to alter both a person's self-defeating thoughts and their maladaptive actions.

REBT

A confrontational cognitive therapy that vigorously challenges a person's illogical and self-defeating attitudes.

DBT

Combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices to help people regulate intense emotions and improve relationships.

Cognitive restructuring

A therapeutic process that involves identifying and actively disputing a patient's irrational or harmful thoughts.

Group and Family Therapy

Treats multiple individuals simultaneously to improve communication and heal complex interpersonal relationships.

Humanistic Therapy

Aims to boost a person's self-fulfillment by helping them grow in genuine self-awareness and self-acceptance.

Client-Centered Therapy

A humanistic approach that uses active listening within a genuinely accepting environment to facilitate personal growth.

Active Listening

An empathic communication technique where the therapist echoes, restates, and clarifies what the speaker is expressing.

Unconditional Positive Regard

A caring, completely nonjudgmental attitude that humanistic therapists believe helps clients develop self-acceptance.

Psychoanalytic Therapy

Aims to bring a patient's repressed or unconscious feelings into conscious awareness so they can gain insight into their struggles.

Dream Interpretation

A psychoanalytic technique that analyzes the literal manifest content of a dream to reveal its hidden, symbolic latent meaning.

Free Association

A psychoanalytic method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind without filtering.