unit 5 psych

compulsions

The person's need to perform repetitive behaviors.

agoraphobia

A morbid fear of open spaces (as fear of being caught alone in some public place).

antisocial personality disorder

A personality disorder in which the person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

anxiety disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

bipolar disorder

A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania; was once known as Manic Depression.

catatonia

A form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed stuporous state for long periods.

major depressive disorder

A mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminishes interest or pleasure in most activities.

positive symptoms

Schizophrenic symptoms that involve behavioral excesses or peculiarities, such as hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behavior, and wild flights of ideas.

psychological disorder

A mental or behavioral pattern or anomaly that results in distress.

mania

A mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state; extravagant shopping sprees may happen or a flight of ideas.

catatonic stupor

An immobile, expressionless, coma-like state associated with schizophrenia.

persistent depressive disorder

Depressive disorder characterized by a chronically sad and melancholy mood for two or more years.

specific phobia

Fear of objects or specific situations or events.

nonmaleficence

Do no harm.

free association

In psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

ADHD

A psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

delusions

False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

dissociative amnesia

The sudden loss of memory for significant personal information.

dissociative disorders

Disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings; the person may become 'detached' from themselves.

dissociative fugue

The sudden loss of memory for one's personal history, accompanied by an abrupt departure from home and the assumption of a new identity.

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; formerly called multiple personality disorder.

diathesis stress theory

An individual is born with a genetic predisposition towards a mental health problem; the problem is only expressed if the individual is exposed to certain environmental triggers.

dopamine

Neurotransmitter that influences voluntary movement, attention, alertness; lack of dopamine linked with Parkinson's disease; too much is linked with schizophrenia.

DSM-V

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition: A reference for coding psychiatric disorders or conditions. Organized by symptoms.

generalized anxiety disorder

An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

hallucinations

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

mood disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.

negative symptoms

Schizophrenic symptoms that involve behavioral deficits, such as flattened emotions, social withdrawal, apathy, impaired attention, and poverty of speech.

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions).

obsessions

Persistent ideas, thoughts, or impulses that are unwanted and inappropriate, causing marked distress.

panic disorder

An anxiety disorder characterized by unpredictable panic attacks; may be triggered by the amygdala.

personality disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

phobia

An anxiety disorder characterized by a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation.

post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A disorder in which a person has lingering memories, nightmares, and other symptoms for weeks after a severely threatening, uncontrollable event.

prevalence

The percentage of a population that exhibits a disorder during a specified time period.

schizophrenia

Psychological disorder marked by disturbances in thought that spill over to affect perceptual, social, and emotional processes (split from reality).

paranoia

A tendency toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness; irrational fear; delusions of persecution.

stress

The process by which we appraise and respond to things that challenge/threaten us.

eustress

A positive stress that energizes a person and helps a person reach a goal.

distress

Negative stress that exceeds an individual's ability to cope effectively, leading to feelings of anxiety, frustration, or overwhelmed.

general adaptation system

Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

coping

Alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.

problem-focused coping

Alleviating stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

emotion-focused coping

Alleviating stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction.

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

People's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.

maladaptiveness

Abnormal indicator involving acting in ways that make others fearful or interfere with their daily lifestyle.

posttraumatic growth

Positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises.

biopsychosocial model

A model of health that integrates the effects of biological, behavioral, and social factors on health and illness.

diathesis-stress model

A diagnostic model that proposes that a disorder may develop when an underlying vulnerability is coupled with a precipitating event.

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

catatonic excitement

Excessive motor activity, purposeless and not influenced by external stimuli.

social anxiety disorder

Intense fear and avoidance of social situations (formerly social phobia).

acrophobia

Fear of heights.

disassociative disorders

Disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

disassociative amnesia

Loss of memory for personal information, either partial or complete.

disassociative identity disorder (DID)

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; formerly called multiple personality disorder.

anorexia nervosa

An eating disorder in which an irrational fear of weight gain leads people to starve themselves.

bulimia nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

borderline personality disorder

Condition marked by extreme instability in mood, identity, and impulse control.

psychotherapy

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

biomedical therapy

Prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the patient's nervous system.

eclectic approach

An approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy.

fidelity

To follow the standards of conduct, have responsibility.

psychodynamic therapy

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

dream-analysis

The therapist interprets the symbolic meaning of the client's dreams.

cognitive therapy

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

behavioral therapy

Focuses on changing behavior by identifying problem behaviors, replacing them with appropriate behaviors, and using rewards or other consequences to make the changes.

exposure therapy

Therapy that confronts clients with what they fear with the goal of reducing the fear.

systematic desensitization

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

aversion therapy

Treatment that uses punishment to decrease the frequency of undesirable behaviors.

token economy

An operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats.

rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)

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

humanistic therapy

Focuses on removing obstacles that block personal growth and potential.

client-centered therapy

A humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth.

antipsychotic drugs

Drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder that block dopamine activity.

tardive dyskinesia (TD)

A late-onset, irreversible neurologic side effect of antipsychotic medications; characterized by abnormal, involuntary movements of body parts.

antianxiety drugs

Drugs used to control anxiety and agitation.

antidepressant drugs

Drugs used to treat depression; also increasingly prescribed for anxiety.

lithium carbonate

A chemical used to counteract mood swings of bipolar disorder.

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

A biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient.

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

The use of strong magnets to briefly interrupt normal brain activity as a way to study brain regions.

deep brain stimulation

Electrical stimulation applied through surgically implanted electrodes; used to treat some anxiety and mood disorders.

psychosurgery

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