AP Psych: CH12 Key Terms

Insane

A legal term to describe those who, because of a psychological disorder, cannot be held fully responsible for their actions

DSM

Manual that contains the symptoms of everything currently considered to be a psychological disorder

Anxiety disorders

Disorders sharing the common symptom of anxiety

Specific phobia

Intense unwarranted fear of a situation or an object

Agoraphobia

Fear of open, public spaces

Social anxiety disorder

Fear of a situation in which one could embarrass themselves in public

Generalized anxiety disorder

Disorder characterized by the experience of constant, low-level anxiety

Panic disorder

Disorder characterized by acute episodes of intense anxiety without any apparent provocation

Somatic symptom disorders

Disorders that occur when a person manifests a psychological problem through a physiological symptom

Conversion disorder

Disorder where patients report the existence of a severe physical problem such as paralysis or blindness, but no biological reason can be identified

Dissociative disorders

Disorders involving a disruption in conscious processes

Seasonal affective disorder

Disorder where patients experience depression but only during certain times of the year, usually winter, where there is less sunlight

Bipolar disorder

Disorder involving both depressed and manic episodes

Cognitive triad

3 negative ideas people have about themselves that cause depression (themselves, their world, and their futures)

Learned helplessness

Acting helpless due to the lack of ability to control ones own fate

Schizophrenic disorders

Disorder characterized by distorted thinking often demonstrated through delusions, hallucinations, disorganized language, and usual affect and motor behavior

Delusions of persecution

The belief that people are out to get you

Delusions of grandeur

The belief that you have greater power and influence that you do

Hallucinations

Perceptions in the absence of any sensory stimulation

Neologisms

Making up your own words

Clang associations

Stringing together a series of nonsense words that rhyme

Flat affect

Lacking any emotional response

Catatonia

A motor problem, such as remaining motionless in strange posture for prolonged periods or moving jerkily and quickly for no apparent reason

Waxy flexibility

Allowing ones body to be moved into any alternative shape and then holding that new pose

Dopamine hypothesis

High levels of dopamine seem to be associated with schizophrenia

Tardive dyskinesia

Muscle tremors and stiffness

Double bind

When a person gives contradictory messages

Diathesis-stress model

Environmental stressors can provide the circumstances under which a biological predisposition for illness can express itself

Personality disorders

Well-established, maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect people’s ability to function

Antisocial personality disorder

Disorder characterized by little regard for other people’s feelings

Dependent personality disorder

Disorder characterized by overly relying on the attention and help of others

Paranoid personality disorder

Disorder characterized by the feeling of being persecuted

Narcissistic personality disorder

Disorder characterized by seeing oneself as the center of the universe

Histrionic personality disorder

Disorder characterized by overly dramatic or attention-seeking behavior

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

PERSONALITY disorder characterized by the extreme concern with certain thoughts and performing certain behaviors

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Disorder characterized by flashbacks or nightmares following a person’s involvement in or observation of an extremely troubling event

Paraphilia

Sexual attraction to an object, person, or activity not usually seen as sexual

Anorexia nervosa

Form of self-starvation, characterized by a fear of food and fat

Bulimia

Involves a binge-purge cycle / eating very large quantities of food in a short time while experiencing feelings of loss of control

Autism spectrum disorder

Disorder characterized by seeking out less social and emotional contact than others, hypersensitive to sensory stimulation and often exhibit intense interest in objects not viewed as interesting by most people, and often engage in simple, repetitive behaviors

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Difficulty paying attention or sitting still

Dementia

Deterioration of cognitive abilities