Test 2 Terminology

Question 1

Agoraphobia

Answer 1

an irrational fear of being in a situation where escape might be difficult or impossible.

Question 2

Anxiety

Answer 2

an emotion that leaves an individual feeling threatened by the potential occurrence of a failure negative event

Question 3

Biological Preparedness

Answer 3

refers to the idea that humans and animals are biologically prepared to fear certain stimuli as opposed to others. That is, evolution has “hard-wired” organisms to easily learn those associations that facilitate species survival.

Question 4

Catastrophic Misinterpretation

Answer 4

in the context of panic, when one misinterprets normal bodily sensations as signals that one is going to have a heart attack, go crazy, lose control, or die.

Question 5

Anxiety Sensitivity

Answer 5

the tendency to catastrophically misinterpret arousal-related bodily sensations because one believes the sensation to have harmful consequences, such as death, insanity, or loss of control.

Question 6

Compulsions

Answer 6

repetitive behaviours performed in response to an obsession, or according to certain rules or in a stereotyped manner.

Question 7

Obsessions

Answer 7

recurrent and uncontrollable thoughts, impulse, or ideas that an individual finds disturbing and anxiety - provoking

Question 8

Fear

Answer 8

an emotion that occurs in response to a real or procured current threat.

Question 9

Fear hierarchy

Answer 9

a list of feared situations or objects that are arranged in descending order according to how much they evolve anxiety. This list is then used in therapy for exposure experiences.

Question 10

Flooding

Answer 10

intense exposure. It involves facing one’s fear at a very high level of intensity rather than working gradually through the fear hierarchy.

Question 11

Invevo exposure

Answer 11

a therapeutic technique for overcoming anxiety. Invivo (“real life”) exposure, patients face their feared objects or situations directly.

Question 12

Panic attacks

Answer 12

a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by at least 4 of 13 specific somatic, behavioural, and cognitive symptoms such as palpitations, shaking, chest pain, and fear of dying, going crazy, or losing control.

Question 13

Systematic desensitization

Answer 13

a therapeutic technique whereby patients imagine the lowest feared stimuli and combine this image with a relaxation response. Patients gradually work their way up the fear hierarchy so that they can learn to handle increasingly disturbing stimuli.

Question 14

Bender Visual - Motor Gestalt Test

Answer 14

The eldest and most commonly used of neuropsychological assessments often used to screen children for neuropsychological impairment. The test consists of a series of 9 cards containing lines and shapes drawn in black on a piece of white cardboard. Children are asked first to copy the images on another card and then to draw them from memory.

Question 15

CAT Scan: Computerized tomography

Answer 15

A brain imaging technique in which a narrow band of x-rays is projected through the head. The x-ray source and detector rotate very slightly and project successive images. The exposures are combined by a computer to produce a highly detailed cross-section of the brain.

Question 16

PET Scan: Positron emission tomography

Answer 16

A combination of computerized axial and radioisotope imaging. Radiation is generated by injected or inhaled radioisotopes - that is, common elements or substances with the _______ to be radioactive. As the substance is used in brain acuity, radiation is given off and detected, allowing measurements of a vanity of biological activities as the processes occur in the living brain.

Question 17

MRI Scan

Answer 17

Magnetic resonance imaging, also called nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. A non-invasive technique for examining the structure and the functioning of the brain. A strong homogeneous magnetic field is produced around the head and brief pulses of radio waves are introduced. When the radio waves are turned off, radio waves of a characteristic frequency are emitted from the brain itself, which can be detected. The information gathered is integrated into a computer-generated image of the brain.

Question 18

EEG

Answer 18

Electroencephalogram uses electrodes placed on various parts of the scalp to measure the brain’s electrical activity.

Question 19

MMPI

Answer 19

Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory. The most widely used objective test of personality. The adjective “multiphasic” means that it assesses many aspects of personality. The test contains 567 grouped to form 10 content scales plus additional scales plus additional scales to detect sources of invatiality such as carelessness, defensiveness, or evasiveness. The revised and updated version, called MMPI -2, focuses primarily on the main clinical disorders.

Question 20

Mental status examination

Answer 20

the most frequently used semi-structured interview in psychiatric settings. Screens for patients emotional, intellectual, and neurological functioning used in formal diagnosis or to plan treatment.

Question 21

Psychological assessment

Answer 21

a systematic gathering and evaluation of information pertaining to an individual with suspected abnormal behaviour.

Question 22

Benzodiazepines

Answer 22

Referred to as minor tranquilizers, they provide rapid, short-term relief from psychological symptoms of acute anxiety such as heart palpitations, muscle tension, and gastrointestinal distress.

Question 23

Dissociative amnesia

Answer 23

inability to recall important personal information.

Question 24

Dissociative identity disorder

Answer 24

presence of 2 or more personality states.

Question 25

Depersonalization/derealization disorder

Answer 25

feelings of being detached from oneself and one’s physical and social environment.

Question 26

Somatic symptom disorder

Answer 26

1 or more somatic symptoms (eg. chronic pain, fatigue) that are distressing or cause significant disruption to daily life, accompanied by disproportionate concerns about seriousness, anxiety, and/or recessive time and energy devoted to health concerns a diagnosis medical illness may or may not be present.

Question 27

Illness anxiety disorder

Answer 27

preoccupation, anxiety and worry about having or acquiring a serious illness in the absence of significant somatic symptoms and despite the fact that through evaluation fails to identify a serious medical condition

Question 28

Conversion disorder

Answer 28

symptoms of feelings voluntarily motor or sensory functions (eg. blindness, paralysis, loss of feeling) that are incompatible with recognized neurological or medical conditions.

Question 29

Psychological factors affecting other medical conditions

Answer 29

the individual has a medical condition (eg. asthma, heart disease, diabetes) that is adversely affected by psychological or behavioural factors (eg. stressful work environment causing high blood pressure).

Question 30

Factitious disorder

Answer 30

faking or inducing symptoms of illness to gain sympathy, medical care, and attention (eg. intentionally injuring oneself).