Physical And Mental Health

AP Psych

Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders

A range of disorders involving psychosis or other severe mental disturbances that affect thinking, feeling and behavior

Delusions

False beliefs based on incorrect inferences about reality

Delusions Of Persecution

Beliefs that others are out to harm or harass the individual

Delusions Of Grandeur

Beliefs that one holds special power, unique knowledge, or is extremely important

Hallucinations

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

Disorganized Thinking

Fragmented or bizarre thinking that is often illogical

Disorganized Speech

Incoherent or nonsensical talk

Word Salad

Jumbled words and phrases that are disconnected or incoherent

Disorganized Motor Behavior

Behavior that is unpredictable and inappropriate for the situation

Catatonia

A state of unresponsiveness to one’s environment, including a lack of motor skills or interaction with others

Flat Affect

A lack of emotional responsiveness

Dopamine Hypothesis

The theory that schizophrenia results from excessive activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine

Positive Symptoms

Symptoms of schizophrenia that are excesses of behavior or occur in addition to normal behavior; includes hallucinations, delusions, and distorted thinking

Negative Symptoms

Symptoms of schizophrenia that are less than normal behavior or an absence of normal behavior; tend to appear as deficits in functioning, such as flat affect, lack of emotional response, and withdrawal from reality.

Dissociative Disorders

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

Dissociative Amnesia

A disorder characterized by the sudden loss of memory for significant personal information

Dissociative Fugue

A disorder in which one travels away from home and is unable to remember details of his past, including often his identity

Dissociative Identity Disorder

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities