Psychological Disorders

Question 1

A syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognitions, emotion regulation, or behavior.

Answer 1

Psychological disorder

Question 2

The concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.

Answer 2

Medical model

Question 3

“Above” or “in addition to” (epi) genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change).

Answer 3

Epigenetics

Question 4

The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Answer 4

DSM-5

Question 5

Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

Answer 5

Anxiety Disorders

Question 6

An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

Answer 6

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Question 7

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack.

Answer 7

Panic Disorder

Question 8

An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.

Answer 8

Specific Phobia

Question 9

A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both.

Answer 9

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Question 10

A disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.
Somatic symptom disorder: A psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause.

Answer 10

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD):

Question 11

A disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease. (Formerly called hypochondriasis.)

Answer 11

Illness anxiety disorder

Question 12

A disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drug use or a medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

Answer 12

Major depressive disorder

Question 13

A group of disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder.)

Answer 13

Bipolar Disorders

Question 14

A hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common.

Answer 14

Mania

Question 15

Compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes

Answer 15

Rumination

Question 16

A disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression.

Answer 16

Schizophrenia

Question 17

A group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.

Answer 17

Psychotic disorders

Question 18

A false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

Answer 18

Delusion

Question 19

A form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten.

Answer 19

Chronic schizophrenia

Question 20

A form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event, and from which recovery is much more likely.

Answer 20

Acute schizophrenia

Question 21

Controversial, rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

Answer 21

Dissociative disorders

Question 22

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

Answer 22

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Question 23

Inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

Answer 23

Personality disorders

Question 24

A personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

Answer 24

Antisocial personality disorder

Question 25

An eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight, and has an inaccurate self-perception; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise.

Answer 25

Anorexia Nervosa

Question 26

An eating disorder in which a person’s binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) is followed by inappropriate weight-loss-promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

Answer 26

Bulimia Nervosa

Question 27

Significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory behavior that marks bulimia nervosa.

Answer 27

Binge-eating Disorder

Question 28

Central nervous system abnormalities (usually in the brain) that start in childhood and alter thinking and behavior (as in intellectual limitations or a psychological disorder).

Answer 28

Neurodevelopmental disorder

Question 29

A condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence test score of 70 or below and difficulty adapting to the demands of life. (Formerly referred to as mental retardation.)

Answer 29

Intellectual disability

Question 30

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant limitations in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

Answer 30

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD):

Question 31

A psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Answer 31

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)