Psychological Disorders: Schizophrenia and Related Conditions

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to schizophrenia and related disorders, providing definitions for important terms, aiding in the understanding and memorization of the material for the upcoming exam.

Alogia

Deficiency in the amount or content of speech, a disturbance often seen in people with schizophrenia.

Anhedonia

Inability to experience pleasure, associated with some mood and schizophrenic disorders.

Associative splitting

Separation among basic functions of human personality (for example, cognition, emotion, and perception) seen as a characteristic of schizophrenia.

Attenuated psychosis syndrome

A disorder involving the onset of psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, indicating high risk for schizophrenia.

Avolition

Apathy, or the inability to initiate or persist in important activities.

Brief psychotic disorder

Psychotic disturbance involving delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech lasting less than one month, often in reaction to a stressor.

Catatonia

Disorder of movement involving immobility or excited agitation, often accompanying psychotic or mood disorders.

Delusional disorder

Psychotic disorder featuring persistent beliefs contrary to reality (delusions) but no other symptoms of schizophrenia.

Dementia praecox

Latin term meaning 'premature loss of mind,' an early label for schizophrenia.

Disorganized speech

A style of talking often seen in schizophrenia involving incoherence and lack of logical patterns.

Double bind communication

An unsupported theory suggesting conflicting messages could cause schizophrenia.

Expressed emotion (EE)

Hostility, criticism, and overinvolvement by families that can contribute to a person's relapse.

Flat affect

Emotionless demeanor, including toneless speech and vacant gaze, when a reaction is expected.

Inappropriate affect

Emotional displays that are improper for the situation.

Negative symptoms

Symptoms involving deficits in normal behavior in areas such as speech, affect, and motivation.

Paranoia

Irrational beliefs that one is especially important or that others seek to do them harm.

Positive symptoms

Symptoms referring to distorted reality, such as hallucinations and delusions.

Psychotic behavior

Severe psychological disorder characterized by hallucinations and loss of contact with reality.

Schizoaffective disorder

Psychotic disorder featuring symptoms of both schizophrenia and major mood disorder.

Schizophrenia

A devastating psychotic disorder involving disturbances in thinking, perception, speech, emotions, and behavior.

Substance-induced psychotic disorder

Psychosis caused by the ingestion of medications, psychoactive drugs, or toxins.

Token economy

A behavior modification system where individuals earn items to exchange for rewards by displaying appropriate behaviors.

Schizophrenogenic mother

A cold, dominating, and rejecting parent thought to cause schizophrenia in her offspring.

Schizotypal personality disorder

A personality disorder featuring interpersonal deficits, discomfort with relationships, and cognitive distortions.

Shared psychotic disorder (folie à deux)

Psychotic disturbance where individuals develop a delusion similar to that of a close relationship.

Schizophreniform disorder

Psychotic disorder involving symptoms of schizophrenia lasting less than 6 months.