Chapter 15 - Psychological Disorders

mental disorder

a disturbance in thinking, emotion, or behavior that causes a person to suffer, is self-destructive, seriously impairs a person’s ability to work or get along with others, or makes a person unable to control the impulse to endanger others

projective tests

psychological tests used to infer a person’s motives, conflicts, and unconscious dynamics on the basis of the person’s interpretations of ambiguous stimuli

major depression

a disorder involving disturbances in emotion (excessive sadness), behavior (loss of interest or pleasure in one’s usual activities), cognition (thoughts of hopelessness), and body function (fatigue and loss of appetite)

bipolar disorder

a mood disorder in which episodes of both depression and mania (excessive euphoria) occur

vulnerability-stress model

an approach that emphasizes how individual vulnerabilities might interact with external stresses or circumstances to produce specific mental disorders such as depression

generalized anxiety disorder

a continuous state of anxiety marked by feelings or worry, apprehension, difficulties in concentration, and signs of motor tension

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder in which a person experiences recurring and impairing panic attacks, periods or intense fear, and feelings of impending doom or death, accompanied by physiological symptoms such as rapid heart rate and dizziness

phobia

exaggerated fear and avoidance of a specific situation, activity, or object

social anxiety disorder

a disorder marked by fear or anxiety and avoidance of social situations involving possible scrutiny and negative evaluation by others

agoraphobia

a fear and avoidance of places where escape or rescue might be difficult in the event of a panic attack or other incapacitating symptoms

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

a disorder in which a person who has experienced a traumatic or life-threatening event has symptoms such as intrusive memories, nightmares, avoidance, insomnia, and hypervigilance

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

a disorder in which a person feels trapped in repetitive, persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive, ritualized behaviors or mental acts (compulsions)

borderline personality disorder

a disorder characterized by extreme negative emotionality and an inability to regulate emotions, which often results in intense but unstable relationships, impulsivity, self-injurious behavior, feelings of emptiness, and a fear of abandonment

antisocial personality disorder (APD)

a personality disorder characterized by a lifelong pattern of irresponsible, antisocial behavior such as law breaking, violence, and other impulsive, reckless acts

psychopathy

a set of personality characteristics that can accompany antisocial personality disorder and is marked by fearlessness; lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse; the use of deceit; and coldheartedness

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

a controversial disorder marked by the apparent appearance within one person of two or more distinct personalities, each with its own name and traits; formerly known as multiple personality disorder

schizophrenia

a psychotic disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, inappropriate behavior, and cognitive impairments

psychosis

an extreme mental disturbance involving distorted perceptions of reality, irrational behavior, and impaired functioning

positive symptoms of schizophrenia

delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior

delusions

false beliefs held with absolute certainty despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary

hallucinations

false sensory perceptions created by the mind

negative symptoms of schizophrenia

flat affect, alogia, avolition

flat affect

severe reduction or total absence of outward emotional expression

alogia

a reduction in the quantity or content of speech, often reflecting reduced thought processes

avolition

a severe lack of motivation or ability to initiate and complete purposeful tasks