Phobias, Anxiety, Bipolar & Mood Disorders – Vocabulary Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards summarising key terms, theories, assessments, causes and treatments related to phobias, anxiety disorders, depression and bipolar disorder.

Phobia

An intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation that leads to avoidance and significant distress.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

A chronic condition marked by excessive, uncontrollable worry about various aspects of life for at least six months.

Panic Disorder

An anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and persistent concern about having more attacks.

GAD-7

A 7-item self-report scale used to screen for and measure the severity of Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms.

BIPI (Blood-Injection Phobia Inventory)

Questionnaire developed by Mas et al. to assess severity of fear and avoidance related to blood-injury phobia.

Little Albert Experiment

Watson & Raynor’s 1920 study showing that classical conditioning can create a fear response in humans.

Ost’s Genetic Explanation

Research by Ost suggesting that specific phobias can run in families, supporting a hereditary component.

Little Hans Case

Freud’s psychoanalytic explanation of a boy’s horse phobia as displaced fear of his father (Oedipal conflict).

Systematic Desensitization

Behavioral therapy that gradually pairs relaxation with feared stimuli to extinguish phobic responses.

Joseph Wolpe

Psychologist who developed systematic desensitization for treating anxiety and phobias.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Structured, time-limited psychotherapy focusing on identifying and modifying distorted thoughts and behaviours.

Applied Tension (AT)

Technique that trains patients to tense muscles to raise blood pressure and prevent fainting during exposure to blood stimuli.

Chapman & DeLapp Study

Key research comparing CBT and Applied Tension for treating blood phobia, finding both methods effective.

Depression

Mood disorder featuring persistent sadness, loss of interest, and cognitive and physical symptoms lasting at least two weeks.

Bipolar Disorder

Mood disorder involving alternating episodes of depression and mania or hypomania.

Mania

A period of abnormally elevated mood, energy, and activity, often with inflated self-esteem and reduced need for sleep.

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)

21-item self-report scale assessing severity of depressive symptoms.

Beck’s Negative Cognitive Triad

Cognitive theory positing that depression stems from negative views about the self, the world, and the future.

Seligman’s Attributional Style

Theory that a pessimistic explanatory style (internal, stable, global) contributes to depression (learned helplessness).

Monoamine (Serotonin) Hypothesis

Biological theory that depression results from deficits in neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Lithium

Mood-stabilizing medication widely used to reduce manic episodes in bipolar disorder.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

Class of antidepressants that increase serotonin availability by blocking its reabsorption in the synapse.

Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT)

Ellis’s cognitive-behavioural approach that challenges irrational beliefs to reduce emotional distress.

Oruc et al. Genetic Study

Key study linking specific gene polymorphisms to increased risk for bipolar disorder.