Psychology Chapter 15

Question 1

Mental disorder

Answer 1

A persistent disturbance or dysfunction in behaviour, thoughts, or emotions that causes significant distress or impairment

Question 2

Medical model

Answer 2

An approach that conceptualizes abnormal psychological experiences as illnesses that, like physical illnesses, have biological and environmental causes, defined symptoms, and possible cures

Question 3

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM)

Answer 3

A classification system that describes the features used to diagnose each recognized mental disorder and indicates how that disorder can be distinguished from other, similar problems

Question 4

Comorbidity

Answer 4

The co-occurrence of two or more disorders in a single individual

Question 5

Biopsychosocial perspective

Answer 5

Explains mental disorders as the result of interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors

Question 6

Diathesis-stress model

Answer 6

Suggests that a person may be predisposed to a psychological disorder that remains unexpressed until triggered by stress

Question 7

Research domain criteria project (RDoC)

Answer 7

A new initiative that aims to guide the classification and understanding of mental disorders by revealing the basic processes that give rise to them

Question 8

Anxiety disorder

Answer 8

The class of mental disorders in which anxiety is the predominant feature

Question 9

Phobic disorders

Answer 9

Disorders characterized by marked, persistent, and excessive fear and avoidance of specific objects, activities, or situations

Question 10

Specific phobia

Answer 10

A disorder that involves an irrational fear of a particular object or situation that markedly interferes with an individual’s ability to function

Question 11

Social phobia

Answer 11

A disorder that involves an irrational fear of being publicly humiliated or embarrassed

Question 12

Preparedness theory

Answer 12

The idea that people are instinctively predisposed towards certain fears

Question 13

Panic disorder

Answer 13

A disorder characterized by the sudden occurrence of multiple psychological and physiological symptoms that contribute to a feeling of stark terror

Question 14

Agoraphobia

Answer 14

A specific phobia involving a fear of public places

Question 15

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Answer 15

A disorder characterized by chronic excessive worry accompanied by three or more of the following symptoms: restlessness, fatigue, concentration problems, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance

Question 16

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Answer 16

A disorder in which repetitive, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and ritualistic behaviours (compulsions) designed to fend off those thoughts interfere significantly with an individual’s functioning

Question 17

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Answer 17

A disorder characterized by chronic physiological arousal, recurrent unwanted thoughts or images of the trauma, and avoidance of things that call the traumatic event to mind

Question 18

Mood disorders

Answer 18

Mental disorders that have mood disturbance as their predominant feature

Question 19

Major depressive disorder (or unipolar depression)

Answer 19

A disorder characterized by a severely depressed mood and/or inability to experience pleasure that lasts 2 or more weeks and is accompanied by feelings of worthlessness, lethargy, and sleep and appetite disturbance

Question 20

Persistent depressive disorder

Answer 20

The same cognitive and bodily problems as in depression are present, but they are less severe and last longer, persisting for at least 2 years

Question 21

Double depression

Answer 21

A moderately depressed mood that persists for at least 2 years and is punctuated by periods of major depression

Question 22

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Answer 22

Recurrent depressive episodes in a seasonal pattern

Question 23

Helplessness theory

Answer 23

The idea that individuals who are prone to depression automatically attribute negative experiences to causes that are internal (their own fault), stable (unlikely to change), and global (widespread)

Question 24

Bipolar disorder

Answer 24

A condition characterized by cycles of abnormal, persistent high mood (mania) and low mood (depression)

Question 25

Expressed emotion

Answer 25

A measure of how much hostility, criticism, and emotional overinvolvement that people communicate when speaking about a family member with a mental disorder

Question 26

Schizophrenia

Answer 26

A disorder characterized by the profound disruption of basic psychological processes; a distorted perception of reality; altered or blunted emotion; and disturbances in thought, motivation, and behaviour

Question 27

Positive symptoms

Answer 27

Thoughts and behaviours such as delusions and hallucinations, present in schizophrenia but not seen in those without the disorder

Question 28

Hallucination

Answer 28

A false perceptual experience that has a compelling sense of being real despite the absence of external stimulation

Question 29

Delusion

Answer 29

A false belief, often bizarre and grandiose, that is maintained in spite of its irrationality

Question 30

Disorganized speech

Answer 30

A severe disruption of verbal communication in which ideas shift rapidly and incoherently among unrelated topics

Question 31

Grossly disorganized behaviour

Answer 31

Behaviour that is inappropriate for the situation or ineffective in attaining goals, often with specific motor disturbances

Question 32

Catatonic behaviour

Answer 32

A marked decrease in all movement or an increase in muscular rigidity and overactivity

Question 33

Negative symprtoms

Answer 33

Deficits in or disruption of normal emotions and behaviours (emotional and social withdrawal; apathy; poverty of speech; and other indications of the absence or insufficiency of normal behaviour, motivation, and emotion) that are present in those with schizophrenia

Question 34

Cognitive symptoms

Answer 34

Deficits in cognitive abilities, specifically executive functioning, attention, and working memory, present in those with schizophrenia

Question 35

Dopamine hypothesis

Answer 35

The idea that schizophrenia involves an excess of dopamine activity

Question 36

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Answer 36

A condition beginning in early childhood in which a person shows persistent communication deficits as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviours, interests, or activities

Question 37

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer 37

A persistent pattern of severe problems with inattention and/or hyperactivity or impulsiveness that cause significant impairments in functioning

Question 38

Conduct disorder

Answer 38

A persistent pattern of deviant behaviour involving aggression towards people or animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness or theft, or serious rule violations

Question 39

Personality disorders

Answer 39

Enduring patterns of thinking, feeling, or relating to others or controlling impulses that deviate from cultural expectations and cause distress or impaired functioning

Question 40

Antisocial personality disorder (APD)

Answer 40

A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood

Question 41

Suicide

Answer 41

Intentional self-inflicted death

Question 42

Suicide attempt

Answer 42

Engagement in potentially harmful behaviour with some intention of dying

Question 43

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI)

Answer 43

Direct, deliberate destruction of body tissue in the absence of any intent to die