General Psychology: Psychopathology – Flashcards
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Psychopathology
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Sickness or disorder of the mind.
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Melancholia
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Extreme sadness or depression (too much black bile).
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Etiology
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Factors that contribute to the development of a disorder.
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Dementia Praecox
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Former name for Schizophrenia
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Multiaxial System
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The system used in the DSM. It calls for assessment along five axes that describe important mental health factors.
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Axis 1
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On the DSM. Clinical disorders and other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention. ex. Schizophrenia, mood disorders, sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders.
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Axis 2
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On the DSM. Mental retardation and personality disorders. ex. Antisocial, paranoid personality disorder, borderline personality disorder.
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Axis 3
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On the DSM. General medical condition that may be relevant to mental disorders. ex. cancer, epilepsy, obesity, alzheimer's.
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Axis 4
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On the DSM. Psychosocial and environmental problems that might affect the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of mental disorders. ex. Unemployment, divorce, legal problems, poverty.
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Axis 5
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On the DSM. Global assessment of functioning (social, psychological, and occupational), rated on a scale from 1-100 with 1 representing danger of hurting self and others, and 100 meaning superior functioning in a wide range of areas.
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Categorial Approach
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Diagnosis is categorial, a person is either in a category or not. (Problem with the DSM)
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Dimensional Approach
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To consider mental disorders along a continuum in which people vary in degree rather than in kind.
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Assessment
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In psychology, examination of a person's mental state to diagnose possible psychological disorders.
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Mental Status Exam
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This exam involves behavioral observations: evaluations of the person's personal grooming, ability to make eye contact, tremors or twitches, mood, speech, thought content, and memory.
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Unstructured Interviews
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In most interviews, the topics of discussion vary as the interviewer probes different aspects of the person's problems.
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Structured Interviews
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Clinicians ask standard questions in the same order each time. Each patient's answers are coded according to a predetermined formula, and the diagnosis is based on specific patterns of responding.
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Structured Clinical Interview for DSM
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Diagnoses are made according to DSM criteria. It begins with general questions, and continues with questions about the client's symptoms and severity.
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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
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The most widely used questionnaire for psychological assessment. 567 true/false items that assess emotions/feelings.
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Evidence-based Assessment
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An approach to clinical evaluation in which research guides the evaluation of mental disorders, the selection of appropriate psychological tests and neuropsychological methods, and the use of critical thinking in making a diagnosis.
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Comorbidity
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Many mental disorders occur together.
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Diathesis-stress Model
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A diagnostic model which proposes that a disorder may develop when an underlying vulnerability is coupled with a precipitating event. This diathesis can be biological or environmental (childhood trauma).
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Family Systems Model
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A diagnostic model that considers symptoms with an individual as indicating problems within the family.
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Sociocultural Model
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A diagnostic model that views psychopathology as the result of the interaction between individuals and their cultures.
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Cognitive Behavioral Approach
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A diagnostic model that views psychopathology as the result of learned, maladaptive thoughts and beliefs.
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Internalizing Disorders
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Mental disorders characterized by negative emotions, they can be grouped into categories that reflect emotions of distress and fear. More common among females. ex. Generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, panic disorder.
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Externalizing Disorders
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Mental disorders characterized by disinhibition. More common among males. ex. Alcoholism, conduct disorders, antisocial behavior.
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Culture-bound Syndromes
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Mental disorders that occur mainly in specific cultures or regions.
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Anxiety Disorders
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Phobic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
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Specific Phobias
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Anxiety disorder. Fears involving particular objects or situations.
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Social phobia
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Anxiety disorder. A fear of being negatively evaluated by others.
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Social Anxiety Disorder
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Anxiety disorder. Fears of public speaking, speaking up in class, meeting new people, eating in front of others.
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder
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Anxiety disorder. A difficult state of constant anxiety not associated with any specific object or event.
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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
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Anxiety disorder. A mental disorder that involves frequent nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and flashbacks related to the trauma.
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Panic Disorder
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Anxiety disorder. Consists of sudden, overwhelming attacks of terror. Cued by external stimuli or internal thought processes.
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Agoraphobia
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Anxiety disorder. Fear of being in situations in which escape may be difficult or impossible.
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
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Anxiety disorder. Characterized by frequent intrusive thoughts and compulsive actions.
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Mood Disorders (Affective Disorders)
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Depression, Bipolar Disorder
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Major Depression
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A mood disorder characterized by severe negative moods or a lack of interest in normally pleasurable activities.
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Dysthymia
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A form of depression that is not severe enough to be diagnosed as major depression.
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Bipolar Disorder
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A mood disorder characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania.
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Manic Episodes
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Characterized by elevated mood, increased activity, diminished need for sleep, racing thoughts. Excessive involvement in pleasurable but foolish activities.
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Hypomanic Episodes
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Characterized by heightened creativity and productivity. They can be extremely pleasurable and rewarding.
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Kay Redfield Jamison
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"An Unquiet Mind"
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Selective Serotonin Reptake Inhibitors (SSRI's)
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Medications that decrease levels of neurotransmitters that regulate emotion and arousal. (Prozac)
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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
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Results in periods of depression that correspond to the shorter days of winter in northern latitudes.
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Cognitive Triad
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Negative thoughts about the self, situation, and future. (Aaron Beck)
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Learned Helplessness
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A cognitive model of depression in which people feel unable to control events in their lives.
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Dissociative Disorders
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Mental disorders that involve disruptions of identity, of memory, or of conscious awareness. ex. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative Fugue.
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Dissociative Amnesia
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A disorder where a person forgets that an event happened or loses awareness of a substantial block of time.
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Dissociative Fugue
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This disorder involves a loss of identity, involves travel to another location, and sometimes the assumption of a new identity.
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Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
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Dissociative Disorder. Formally called multiple personality disorder. The occurrence of two or more distinct identities.
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Schizophrenia
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A psychological disorder characterized by a split between thought and emotion; it involves alterations in thoughts, in perceptions, or in consciousness.
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Positive Symptoms
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Symptoms of Schizophrenia that are marked by excesses in functioning, such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech or behavior.
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Negative Symptoms
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Symptoms of Schizophrenia that are marked by deficits in functioning, such as apathy, lack of emotion, and slowed speech and movement.
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Paranoid Type
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A Schizophrenic who is preoccupied with delusions or auditory hallucinations, little or no disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, or inappropriate or flat affect.
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Disorganized Type
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A Schizophrenic who has disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, and inappropriate or flat affect are prominent, but not catatonic criteria are met. Delusions or hallucinations may be present but only in fragmentary or noncoherent form.
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Catatonic Type
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A Schizophrenic who has at least two of the following: extreme motor immobility, extreme negativism, mutism, peculiar or bizarre voluntary movement.
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Undifferentiated Type
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A Schizophrenic that does not fit any of the other sub types, but meets the symptom criteria for schizophrenia.
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Residual Type
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A Schizophrenic that has experienced at least one episode of schizophrenia, but currently does not have prominent positive symptoms, however does continue to show negative symptoms.
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Delusions
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False beliefs based on incorrect inferences about reality.
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Delusions of Grandeur
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People believe themselves much more powerful and important than they really are.
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Delusions of Harassment
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People believe that they are being slandered by others.
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Hallucinations
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False sensory perceptions that are experienced without an external source. (Frequently auditory)
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Loosening of Associations
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A speech pattern among some people with schizophrenia in which their thoughts are disorganized or meaningless.
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Disorganized Behavior
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Acting in strange or unusual ways, including strange movement of limbs, bizarre speech, and inappropriate self-care, such as failing to dress properly or bathe.
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Echolalia
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People might mindlessly repeat words they hear.
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Schizoid
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Socially isolated, with restricted emotional expression.
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Schizotypal
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Peculiarities of thought, appearance, and behavior that are disconcerting to others
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Histrionic
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Seductive behavior, needs immediate gratification and constant reassurance, rapidly changing moods
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Narcissistic
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Self absorbed, expects special treatment, envious of attention to others.
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Borderline-personality Disorder
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A personality disorder characterized by disturbances in identity, in affect, and in impulse control.
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Antisocial Personality Disorder
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A personality disorder marked by a lack of empathy and remorse.
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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A childhood disorder. A pattern of hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive behavior that causes social or academic impairment.
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Autistic Disorder
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A childhood disorder. Characterized by unresponsiveness, impaired language, social, and cognitive development, and restricted and repetitive behavior.
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Elimination Disorders
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Childhood disorders. The repeated passing of feces or urination in inappropriate places by children from whom continence should be expected.
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Learning Disorders
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Childhood disorders marked by substantially low performance in reading, math, or written expression with regard to what is expected for ace, amount of education, and intelligence.
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Mental Retardation
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A childhood disorder characterized by low-average intellectual functioning and limited adaptive functioning that begins before age 18.
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Selective Mutism
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A childhood disorder, failure to speak in certain social situations, interferes with social or academic achievement.
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Tourette's Disorder
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A childhood disorder. Recurrent motor and vocal tics that cause marked distress or impairment and are not related to a general medical condition.
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
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A disorder characterized by restlessness, inattentiveness, and impulsivity.
