Glossary

Abreaction

Abreaction is a process of vividly reliving repressed memories and emotions related to a past event. Sigmund Freud used hypnosis to rid his patients of pathological memories through abreaction.

Absentmindedness

lapses in memory that are caused by breaks in attention or our focus are somewhere else

Abulia

Aboulia or Abulia, in neurology, refers to a lack of will or initiative. The individual is unable to act or make decisions independently. The condition may range from subtle to overwhelming severity.

Accommodation

Change how you think about something based on information. Adjustment of a schema by changing a scheme to accommodate new information different from what was already known

Achromatopsia

Achromatopsia is a term referring to or acquired agnosia for color. This term includes color blindness. Achromatopsia is a condition characterized by a partial or total absence of color vision. People with complete achromatopsia cannot perceive any colors; they see only black, white, and shades of gray. Incomplete achromatopsia is a milder form of the condition that allows some color discrimination. Achromatopsia also involves other problems with vision, including increased sensitivity to light and glare (photophobia), involuntary back-and-forth eye movements (nystagmus), and significantly reduced sharpness of vision (low visual acuity). Affected individuals can also have farsightedness (hyperopia) or, less commonly, nearsightedness (myopia). These vision problems develop in the first few months of life. Achromatopsia is different from the more common forms of color vision deficiency (also called color blindness), in which people can perceive color but have difficulty distinguishing between certain colors, such as red and green.

Acoustic encoding

The input of sounds, words, and music

Acquisition

period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which a human or an animal begins to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will start to elicit the conditioned response

Actor-observer bias

The phenomenon of explaining other people’s behaviours are due to internal factors, and our behaviours are due to situational forces.

ADHD

Symptoms prior to age 7 that need to exist in school or work. Having a tough time focusing on one activity

Adolescence

period of development that begins at puberty and ends at early adulthood

Adrenarche

maturing of the adrenal glands

Advance directive

a written legal document that details specific interventions a person wants (see living will)

Affect illusion

Illusions or misperceptions associated with or based on mood changes; for example, at midnight a person may take a shadow like a ghost, but in the early part of the night this may not be the case.

Ageism

prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their age

Aggression

seeking to cause harm or pain to another person

Agnosia

Loss of ability to recognize objects persons, sounds, shapes, or smells that occur in the absence of either impairment of the specific sense or significant memory loss.

Akataphasia

Akataphasia (Kraepelin 1896) refers to a syntactic disturbance of speech resulting from the dissolution of the logical ordering of thoughts. It manifests as rambling speech. Compare Derailment.

Akathisia

Akathisia refers to a subjective feeling of restlessness in the lower limbs that is related to abnormal activity in the extrapyramidal system in the brain, often due to antipsychotic medication. It tends to manifest as an inability to sit still.

Alarm reaction

The first stage of the general adaptation syndrome; is characterised as the body’s immediate physiological reaction to a threatening situation or some other emergency, analogous to the fight-or-flight response.

Alexithymia

Alexithymia refers to an inability to identify and describe emotions in the self. Deficits in cognitive processing of emotions

Algorithm

problem-solving strategy characterised by a specific set of instructions

Alice in Wonderland experience

In Alice in Wonderland experience, individuals perceive objects (including animals and other humans, or parts of humans, animals, or objects) as appearing smaller. The object appears far away or extremely close at the same time. The alternate term for this is somesthetic aura. Also, see Lilliputian hallucinations

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words. For example, “When I struck and slapped my humble horse, he began to run rapidly.”

Alogia

This term means “not having words”. The term may refer to either “poverty of speech” or “poverty of thought”. In the former, speech, though adequate in verbiage, conveys very little information and may consist of stock phrases or vague references. In poverty of thought, by contrast, there is a far-reaching impoverishment of the entire thinking of the individual, who, as a result, says very little. It is typically a negative symptom of schizophrenia although it may also be seen in advanced dementia. In impoverishment in thinking that is inferred from observing Speech & Language Behavior, there may be brief and concrete replies to questions and restriction in the amount of spontaneous speech. Sometimes the speech is adequate in amount but conveys little information because it is over concrete abstract repetitive or stereotyped.

Alpha wave

type of brain wave characteristic during the early part of NREM stage 1 sleep, which has relatively low amplitude and a frequency of 8–12 Hz

Altruism

humans’ desire to help others even if the costs outweigh the benefits of helping

Amnesia

loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma

Amok

The phrase “running amok” describes the behavior of an individual, who is very agitated and can become a danger to others and himself. The syndrome of “Amok” is found in the DSM-IV TR.

Anal stage

psychosexual stage in which children experience pleasure in their bowel and bladder movements

Analytical intelligence

aligned with academic problem solving and computations

Analytical psychology

Jung’s theory focuses on balancing opposing forces within one’s personality and the significance of the collective unconscious.

Anchoring bias

faulty heuristic in which you fixate on a single aspect of a problem to find a solution

Anhedonia

Anhedonia refers to an inability to experience pleasure, lack of enjoyment from engagement in or energy for life’s experiences; deficits in the capacity to feel pleasure and take interest in things. It may be described as a feeling of emotional emptiness. It can be a negative symptom of schizophrenia. It also may be seen in severe depressive states and schizoid personality disorder. It is a facet of the broad personality trait domain detachment.

Anorexia nervosa

Has a body weight of less than 17.5 body mass index. The refusal to eat, binge eating, get so thin (remarkably thin) that they might stop having menstrual cycles

Anorexia nervosa

An eating disorder characterised by an individual maintaining bodyweight that is well below average through starvation and excessive exercise

Anosognosia

Anosognosia is a condition in which a person who suffers a certain disability seems unaware of the existence of their disability. A condition in which a person with an illness seems unaware of the existence of his or her illness. Hemiasomatognosia is a subtype of anosognosia in which the person suffering from hemiplegia neglects one half of their body.

Antagonism

Behaviors that put an individual at odds with other people such as an exaggerated sense of self-importance with a concomitant expectation of special treatment as well as a callous antipathy with others encompassing both an unawareness of others needs and feelings and a readiness to use others in the service of self-enhancement.

Anterograde amnesia

loss of memory for events that occur after the brain trauma

Antisocial

Must be 18 years old and evidence of conduct disorder before -5 years. Have a pattern in the rights of others, law breaking behaviors, lying, etc…

Anton’s syndrome

Anton syndrome, occasionally known as Anton-Babinski syndrome, is a form of cortical blindness in which the individual denies the visual impairment. The individual may attempt to walk, bumping into objects and injuring himself. Anton syndrome is caused by damaging the occipital lobes bilaterally or from disrupting the pathway from the primary visual cortex into the visual association cortex.

Anwesenheit

Anwesenheit refers to the feeling of presence of something or some person. It can be seen in normal grief reaction, schizophrenia and some emotionally arousing situations.

Aphemia

Aphemia is the alternate term for mutism. Mutism is absence of speech with apparently normal level of consciousness. Mutism can be dissociative (hysterical) in which an individual (commonly a child or adolescent) stops speaking at once without involvement of any neurological or physical contributing factor; or it can be elective (selective) in which a child does not speak at all in certain situations (such as in school) but speaks well in other conditions (like at home or at play). A rare cause of mutism is akinetic mutism which results due to a lesion around the 3rd ventricle of the brain.

Apophanous perception

This is an alternate term for delusional perception. It is one of the Schneiderian first rank symptoms and is defined as a true perception, to which an individual attribute a false meaning. For example, a person may see written “No Trespassing” on a board and may infer from this that intelligence agencies are spying on him.

Apperception

Apperception is a normal phenomenon and refers to the ability to understand sensory inputs in their context, to interpret them and to incorporate them into experience. Failure of apperception is seen in delirious states.

Archetype

The pattern that exists in our collective unconscious across cultures and societies

Archival research

method of research using records or data sets to answer various research questions or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

Arousal theory

strong emotions trigger the formation of intense memories, and weaker emotional experiences form more fragile memories

Artificial concept

The concept that is defined by a particular set of characteristics

Asceticism

Rigor and self-denial an adult refuse to eat or sleep until a major work project is complete. An adolescent uses this defense mechanism to cope with sexual tension and desire by refusing to engage in all pleasurable activities.

Asch effect

group majority influences an individual’s judgment, even when that judgment is inaccurate

Asociality

A reduced initiative for interacting with other people.

Assimilate

Incorporate information into something you already know

Assimilation

adjustment of a schema by adding information similar to what is already known

Associative learning

form of learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment (classical and operant conditioning)

Astasia-abasia

Astasia-abasia is a form of psychogenic gait disturbance in which gait becomes impaired in the absence of any neurological or physical pathology. The person usually walks in a bizarre manner. They stagger and appear as if going to fall, but always manage to catch hold of something in time. Sometimes these people cannot even stand, but on the other hand they are well able to move their legs while lying down or sitting. Often associated with conversion disorder or somatization disorder.

Asthma

psychophysiological disorder in which the airways of the respiratory system become obstructed, leading to great difficulty expelling air from the lungs

Asylum

The institution c was created for the specific purpose of housing people with psychological disorders.

Asyndesis

Alternate term for loosening of association. A milder form of derailment of thought, it is marked by the individual leaping from topic to topic which have only the most tenuous, if any, connection with each other. This is in contrast with flight of ideas, whereby the individual’s successive ideas may be linked and “understandable” to the listener. See also Akataphasia and Entgleisen term introduced by (Cameron).

Ataque de Nervios

syndrome among individuals of Latino descent prize for symptoms of intense emotional upset including acute anxiety anger or grief screaming and shouting uncontrollably attacks of crying trembling heat in the chest rising to the Head and becoming verbally and physically aggressive. Dissociative experience seizure-like or fainting episodes and suicidal gestures are prominent in some attacks but not others. a general feature is a sense of being out of control. Attacks frequently occur as a direct result of a stressful event relating to the family such as news of the death of close relative conflicts with a spouse or children or witnessing an accident involving a family member. For some individuals, no social event triggers their attacks and their vulnerability to losing control comes from the accumulated appearances of suffering.

Atkinson-Shiffrin model

memory model that states we process information through three systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

Attachment

long-standing connection or bond with others

Attitude

evaluations of or feelings toward a person, idea, or object that are typically positive or negative

Attribution

The explanation for the behaviour of other people

Attrition

reduction in the number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time

Authoritarian parenting style

parents place a high value on conformity and obedience, are often rigid, and express little warmth to the child

Authoritative parenting style

parents give children reasonable demands and consistent limits, express warmth and affection and listen to the child’s point of view

Autism

From aut =”self” and -ism = state or orientation. Originally, Eugen Bleuler used this term to describe schizophrenia. In general, it refers to any (pathological) tendency to be self-absorbed to such a degree that the feelings, thoughts and desires of a person are governed by their internal apprehension of the world and not by an external reality shared with others. Today the term is used most often to refer to a specific developmental syndrome (see autism spectrum)

Autistic disorder

Prior to age 3 with a lack of socialization and lack of language.

Autistic thinking

Autistic thinking is a term used to refer to thinking not following consensus reality that emphasizes preoccupation with inner experience. See also Dereistic thinking. More generally, it means thinking that is guided by internal wishes and desires regardless of external real-world factors.

Autochthonous delusion

Jaspers defined this as a delusion arising without apparent cause. For example, suddenly, without apparent cause, having the delusional belief that one is an alien.

Autogynephilia

Sexual arousal of a natal male associated with the ideal image of being with a woman

Autokabalesis

Autokabalesis is a term for committing suicide by jumping from a very high place.

Automatic obedience

Automatic obedience is an exaggerated co-operation with an examiner’s request, as if the individual were an ‘automaton’ robotically obeying a command. It is often a sign of catatonia.

Automatic processing

encoding of informational details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words

Automatism

Automatisms are sequences of activity that occur without conscious control. They may be simple and repetitive (tic-like) or complex and are usually natural-looking but purposeless; for example, repeatedly going through the motions of buttering a piece of bread when there is no bread there. Automatic behavior is not usually recalled afterwards.

Autoscopy

Autoscopy is the reduplicative hallucination of “seeing one’s own body at a distance” and the person sees it from the place where they are located. Autoscopy is sometimes used synonymously with out-of-body experience.

Availability heuristic

faulty heuristic in which you make a decision based on information readily available to you

Aversive conditioning

counterconditioning technique that pairs an unpleasant stimulant with an undesirable behaviour

Avoidant attachment

characterised by child’s unresponsiveness to parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, and does not care if parent leaves

Avoidant personality

People who are lonely. Want to connect with others but are very social inhibited. Want to relate to others, but have a, it of anxiety.

Avolition

Avolition is an inability to initiate and complete goal-directed behavior. It can sometimes be misinterpreted as laziness, but it is a negative symptom of schizophrenia.

Avolition

an inability to initiate and pursue goal-directed activities. When severe enough to be considered pathological avolition is pervasive and prevents a person from completing many different types of activities.

Bariatric surgery

type of surgery that modifies the gastrointestinal system to reduce the amount of food that can be eaten and limit how much of the digested food can be absorbed

Basolateral complex

part of the brain with dense connections with a variety of sensory areas of the brain; it is critical for classical conditioning and attaching emotional value to memory

Behavior therapy

therapeutic orientation that employs principles of learning to help clients change undesirable behaviours

Belle indifference

Belle indifference or la belle indifférence is characterized by a lack of concern and/or feeling of indifference about a disability or symptom. It can be seen in conversion disorder.

Bereavement

The state of having lost through death someone with whom one has had a close relationship. This state may include a range of grief and mourning responses.

Beta wave

type of brain wave characteristic during wakefulness, which has a very low amplitude and a frequency of 13–30 Hz

Bias

how feelings and views of the world distort the memory of past events

Binge eating disorder

type of eating disorder characterised by binge eating and associated distress

Biofeedback

A stress-reduction technique using electronic equipment to measure a person’s involuntary (neuromuscular and autonomic) activity and provide feedback to help the person gain a level of voluntary control over these processes

Biological rhythm

The internal cycle of biological activity

Biomedical therapy

treatment that involves medication and medical procedures to treat psychological disorders

Bipolar 1

Full manic episode, rapid speech, racing thought, excessive happiness, irritable mood. These feelings must be severe that it causes in everyday life. Must be present for at least 7 days.

Bipolar disorder

A serious mood disorder characterized by cyclical periods of mania and depression.

Bisexual

emotional and erotic attractions to both same-sexed individuals and opposite-sexed individuals

Bizarre delusion

A false belief that involves a phenomenon that the person’s culture would regard as physically impossible

Blocking

memory error in which you cannot access stored information

Body dystrophic

Imagine defect in specific area of the body.

Body language

emotional expression through body position or movement

Borderline personality disorder

Known for instability in relationships, black and white thinking. One minute they really like you, the next minute really hate you. Person might have recurrent suicidal gestures or attempts. Hard for them to keep jobs or relationships.

Bouffée délirante

Bouffée délirante is a French term used in the past for acute and transient psychotic disorders (F23 in ICD-10). In DSM-IV, it is described as Brief Psychotic Disorder (298.8). The symptoms usually have an acute onset and reach their peak within two weeks. The symptoms start resolving in a few weeks and complete recovery usually occurs within 2–3 months.

Brain fag syndrome

Brain fag syndrome is an example of a culture-bound syndrome. “Brain fag” was once a common term for mental exhaustion. Today, the syndrome describes students (predominantly males, particularly in West Africa) experiencing symptoms including somatic, sleep-related and cognitive complaints, head and neck pains, difficulty in concentrating and retaining information, and eye pain.

Brain Fog

Brain fog is another term for clouding of consciousness.

Brief psychotic disorder

Psychotic disorders present for up to 1 month.

Bruxism

Bruxism refers to teeth grinding behavior that is usually seen in children.

Bulimia

The person must be binge eating to have a diagnosis of

Bulimia nervosa

type of eating disorder characterised by binge eating followed by purging

Bullying

a person, often an adolescent, being treated negatively repeatedly and overtime

Bystander effect

The situation in which a witness or bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress

Callousness

Lack of concern for the feelings of others; for the feelings of others; lack of guilt or remorse about the negative and harmful effects of one’s actions of others. It is also a facet of the broad personality domain antagonism.

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

physiological arousal and emotional experience occur at the same time

Capgras’ syndrome or Illusion des sosies

In Capgras syndrome, the individual feels that a person familiar to him, usually a family member has been replaced by an imposter. This is a type of delusion that can be experienced as part of schizophrenia. Capgras Syndrome and several other related disorders are referred to as delusional misidentification syndrome.

Cardiovascular disorders

disorders that involve the heart and blood circulation system

Catalepsy

Catalepsy is the term for catatonic rigidity of the limbs which often results in abnormal posturing for long intervals. Passive induction of a posture held against gravity.

Cataplexy

Cataplexy involves a sudden loss of muscle tone and is generally precipitated by a sudden emotional response. Episodes of sudden bilateral loss of muscle tone resulting in the individual collapsing often occurring in association with intense emotions such as laughter anger fear or surprise

Cataplexy

lack of muscle tone or muscle weakness, and in some cases complete paralysis of the voluntary muscles

Catatonia

Catatonia involves a significant psychomotor disturbance, which can occur as catalepsy, stupor, excessive purposeless motor activity, extreme negativism (seemingly motiveless resistance to movement), mutism, echolalia (imitating speech), or echopraxia (imitating movements).

Cause-and-effect relationship

changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design

Cenestopathic state

An individual in a Cenestopathic state has a localized distortion of body awareness.

Central nucleus

part of the brain involved in attention and has connections with the hypothalamus and various brainstem areas to regulate the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems’ activity

Central route persuasion

logic-driven arguments using data and facts to convince people of an argument’s worthiness

Central sleep apnea

sleep disorder with periods of interrupted breathing due to a disruption in signals sent from the brain that regulate breathing

Cerea flexibilitas

Cerea flexibilitas, meaning “waxy flexibility”, refers to people allowing themselves to be placed in postures by others, and then maintaining those postures for long periods even if they are obviously uncomfortable. It is characterized by an individual’s movements having the feeling of a plastic resistance, as if the person were made of wax. This occurs in catatonic schizophrenia, and a person suffering from this condition can have their limbs placed in fixed positions as if the person were in fact made from wax.

Child maltreatment

A term used to group the range of distinct types of abuse which result in actual or potential harm to a child. Types of abuse include sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and negligent treatment, and exploitation.

Child physical abuse

Physical abuse of children involves someone deliberately hurting a child, causing injuries such as bruises, broken bones, burns or cuts. Children may suffer violence such as being hit, kicked, poisoned, burned, slapped, having objects thrown at them or intentionally being made unwell.

Child protection

Activity that is undertaken to protect children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.

Child sexual abuse

Sexual abuse of children involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities. The activities may involve physical contact, and non-contact activities such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse including via the internet. Child sexual abuse includes child sexual exploitation.

Child sexual exploitation

Sexual exploitation of children is a form of child sexual abuse. It involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where a child receives something, as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities. Child sexual exploitation can occur using technology.

Chorea

Chorea is manifest by abnormal involuntary movements. The term comes from Greek word “choreia” as meaning dance, since large groups of muscles are usually involved, which leads to writhing dance-like movements.

Chunking

organising information into manageable bits or chunks

Circadian rhythm

The biological rhythm that occurs over approximately 24 hours

Circumstantial speech

Circumstantial thinking, or circumstantial speech, refers to a person being unable to answer a question without giving excessive, unnecessary detail. This differs from tangential thinking, in that the person does eventually return to the original point, circling back on-topic.

Clang association

Clang associations are ideas that are related only by similar or rhyming sounds rather than actual meaning. Example: “He ate the skate, inflated yesterday’s gate toward the cheese grater.”

Claparede’s paradox

Claparede’s paradox refers to retention of non-verbal and implicit memory in sufferers of Korsakoff’s syndrome.

Classical conditioning

learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behaviour and then gets paired or associated with the behaviour

Clinical or case study

An observational research study focusing on one or a few people

Clouding of consciousness

Clouding of consciousness, also known as brain fog or mental fog, is a global impairment in higher central nervous functioning. All aspects of cognitive functioning are affected. On mental status examination it is manifest by disorientation in time, place and person, memory difficulties caused by failure to register and recall, aphasia, and agnosia. Impaired perception functioning leads to illusions and hallucinations often in the visual sensory modality. This then causes agitation and distress and secondary delusions. The term ‘confusion state’ is sometimes used to mean clouding of consciousness but should be avoided if possible because it is ambiguous.

Codeine

opiate with relatively low potency often prescribed for minor pain

Cognition

thinking, including perception, learning, problem-solving, judgment, and memory

Cognitive and perceptual dysregulation

Odd or unusual thought processes and experiences including depersonalization derealization and dissociation mixed sleep-wake experiences and thought control experiences. Is also a facet of the broad personality trait domain psychoticism

Cognitive development

The domain of lifespan development examines learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity.

Cognitive dissonance

psychological discomfort that arises from a conflict in a person’s behaviours, attitudes, or beliefs that runs counter to one’s positive self-perception

Cognitive empathy

ability to take the perspective of others and to feel concerned for others

Cognitive map

The mental picture of the layout of the environment

Cognitive psychology

field of psychology dedicated to studying every aspect of how people think

Cognitive script

set of behaviours that are performed the same way each time; also referred to as an event schema

Cognitive therapy

form of psychotherapy that focuses on how a person’s thoughts lead to feelings of distress to help them change these irrational thoughts

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

form of psychotherapy that aims to change cognitive distortions and self-defeating behaviours

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

psychotherapy that focuses on cognitive processes and problem behaviours that is sometimes used to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia

Cognitive-mediational theory

our appraisal of the stimulus determines our emotions

Collective unconscious

common psychological tendencies that have been passed down from one generation to the next

Collective unconscious

theoretical repository of information shared by all people across cultures, as described by Carl Jung

Collectivist culture

A culture that focuses on communal relationships with others such as family, friends, and community

Comorbid disorder

An individual who has two or more diagnoses, which often includes a substance abuse diagnosis and another psychiatric diagnosis, such as depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia

Companionate love

type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment, but not passion; associated with close friendships and family relationships

Components of emotion

physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and subjective experience

Compulsion

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly. The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety or distress or preventing a dreaded event or situation. However, these behaviors or mental acts are not connected in a realistic way with what they’re designed to neutralize or are excessive.

Compulsive personality

Obsessive orderliness, anal, must be done a certain way.

Concept

category or grouping of linguistic information, objects, ideas, or life experiences

Conception

when a sperm fertilises an egg and forms a zygote

Concrete operational stage

7-11 years children can perform mental operations using logic and abstracted thinking.

Concrete operational stage

The third stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from about 7 to 11 years old, children can think logically about real (concrete) events.

Conditioned response (CR)

The reaction caused by the conditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

The stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Conduct disorder

Violations of the basic rights of others and societal norms, vandalism. There is been a law broken and violating the rights of others. Under age 18.

Confabulation

Confabulation is the confusion of imagination with memory, and/or the confusion of true memories with false memories.

Confederate

A person who works for a researcher and is aware of the experiment but a participant is sed to manipulate social situations as part of the research design.

Confidentiality

A therapist cannot disclose confidential communications to any third party unless law mandates or permits.

Confirmation bias

seeking out information that supports our stereotypes while ignoring information that is inconsistent with our stereotypes

Confirmation bias

faulty heuristic in which you focus on information that confirms your beliefs

Confirmation bias

tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs

Conformity

when individuals change their behaviour to go along with the group even if they disagree with the group

Confounding variable

The unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest often gives the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable when, in actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables

Congruence

state of being in which our thoughts about our natural and ideal selves are very similar

Conscious

mental activity (thoughts, feelings, and memories) that we can access at any time

Consciousness

awareness of internal and external stimuli

Conservation

The idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it is still equal in size, volume, or number as long as nothing is added or removed

Construction

formulation of new memories

Consummate love

type of love occurring when intimacy, passion, and commitment are all present

Contemporized-themes concerning blacks test (c-TCB)

A projective test designed to be culturally relevant to African Americans, using images that relate to African-American culture

Continuous development

The view that development is a cumulative process: gradually improving on existing skills

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

A device used to treat sleep apnea; includes a mask that fits over the sleeper’s nose and mouth, which is connected to a pump that pumps air into the person’s airways, forcing them to remain open.

Continuous reinforcement

rewarding a behaviour every time it occurs

Control group

serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups

Convergent thinking

providing correct or established answers to problems

Conversion disorder

Conversion disorder involves the unintentional production of symptoms or deficits affecting motor or sensory function that are not fully explained by a neurological or medical condition. This can manifest as paralysis, for example. It generally involves psychological factors, and symptoms may worsen in the context of situational conflict.

Conversion symptom

A loss of or alteration in the voluntary motor or sensory functioning with or without apparent impairment of consciousness. The symptom is not fully explained by neurological or other medical condition or the direct effect of a substance and it is not intentionally produced or feigned

Coping

mental or behavioural efforts used to manage problems relating to stress, including its cause and the unpleasant feelings and emotions it produces

Coprolalia

Coprolalia is the involuntary utterance of socially inappropriate phrases. It is a phonic tic associated with Tourette syndrome, although less than 15% of persons with Tourette’s have coprolalia.

Correlation

relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does

Correlation coefficient

The number from -1 to +1, in icatesg the strength and direction of the relationship between variables and is usually represented by r

Cortisol

stress hormone released by the adrenal glands when encountering a stressor; helps to provide a boost of energy, thereby preparing the individual to take action

Cotard delusion

Cotard delusion involves the belief that one of the person’s own bodily organs has changed in a bizarre way, has ceased functioning, or has disappeared. It is a type of delusion that can be experienced in schizophrenia.

Counterconditioning

classical conditioning therapeutic technique in which a client learns a new response to a stimulus that has previously elicited an undesirable behaviour

Couples therapy

two people in an intimate relationship, such as husband and wife, who are having difficulties and are trying to resolve them with therapy

Creative intelligence

ability to produce new products ideas or invent a new, novel solution to a problem

Creativity

ability to generate, create or discover new ideas, solutions, and possibilities

Critical (sensitive) period

The time during fetal growth when specific parts or organs develop

Cross-sectional research

compares multiple segments of a population at a single time

Crystallized intelligence

characterised by acquired knowledge and the ability to retrieve it

Cultural competence

therapist’s understanding and attention to issues of race, culture, and ethnicity in providing treatment

Cultural display rule

one of the culturally specific standards that govern the types and frequencies of emotions that are acceptable

Cultural intelligence

ability with which people can understand and relate to those in another culture

Culture

all of the beliefs, customs, art, and traditions of a particular society

Cyberbullying

repeated behaviour that is intended to cause psychological or emotional harm to another person and that takes place online

Daily hassles

minor irritations and annoyances that are part of our everyday lives and are capable of producing stress

Debriefing

when an experiment involves deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the investigation at its conclusion

Deception

purposely misleading experiment participants to maintain the integrity of the experiment

Decerebrate posture

A posture in which the arms and legs are out straight and rigid the toes point downward, and the head is arched backward

Declarative memory

type of long-term memory of facts and events we experience

Decorticate posture

The body is rigid the arms are stiff and bent the fists are tight and the legs are straight out

Deductive reasoning

results are predicted based on a general premise

Defenestration

Literally jumping out of window. Usually used in context of attempted or completed suicide. Also see Autokabalesis. |

Defense mechanism

A mechanism that mediates the individual’s reaction to emotional conflicts and external stressors. They may be invariably maladaptive, or they may be adaptive depending on their severity inflexibility and the context in which they occur

Defense mechanism

unconscious protective behaviours designed to reduce ego anxiety

Defense mechanisms

Help the ego cope with anxiety, frustration, and unacceptable impulses. Each person has their unique set of defenses that make up their personality. Helps relieve tension between inner psychological reality and demands of the external world.

Deinstitutionalization

process of closing large asylums and integrating people back into the community where they can be treated locally

Déjà pensé

In Déjà pensé, a completely new thought sounds familiar to the person and they feel they have thought the same thing before at some time. This feeling can be caused by seizures which occur in certain parts of the temporal lobe and possibly other areas of the brain as well.

Déjà vu

In Déjà vu, a person feels undue familiarity to an event or a person. For example, he feels that the same thing has happened before or he or she has met this person before, etc.

Delirium

Rapid onset caused by confusion, related to illness. Or medication.

Delta wave

type of brain wave characteristic during stage 3 NREM sleep, which has a high amplitude and low frequency of less than 3 Hz

Delusion

A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly held despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes inconvertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person’s culture or subculture.

Delusional jealousy

false beliefs about one’s partner being unfaithful what are held firmly despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes inconvertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary

Delusions of being controlled

The false belief that one’s feelings impulses thoughts or actions are under the control of some external force rather than being under one’s control

Delusions of reference

False beliefs in which events objects or other persons in one’s immediate environment are seen as having a particular and unusual significance. The beliefs are usually of a negative or pejorative nature but also may be grandiose in content

Delusions of thought broadcasting

A false belief that one’s thoughts are being broadcast aloud so that they can be perceived by others

Dementia praecox

Dementia praecox refers to a chronic, deteriorating psychotic disorder characterized by rapid cognitive disintegration, usually beginning in the late teens or early adulthood.

Dementia pugilistica

Dementia pugilistica, also called “chronic traumatic encephalopathy”, “pugilistic Parkinson’s syndrome”, “boxer’s syndrome”, and “punch-drunk syndrome”, is a neurological disorder which affects career boxers and others who receive multiple dazing blows to the head. The condition develops over a period of years, with the average time of onset being about 16 years after the start of a career in boxing.

Demoralize

To cause to lose hope, confidence, and courage

Denial

Distorts reality and does not acknowledge emotion. Continues to eat unhealthy foods despite his doctor’s orders to eat healthier.

Dependent personality

Dependent on someone else. Quite easy going, going alone in relationships, not speaking up, seek relationships as a support to have the other person be there main source of making decisions.

Dependent variable

variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had

Depersonalization disorder

Feeling detached or like there in a dream. Feeling detached or in a trauma state of time.

Depressant

A drug that tends to suppress central nervous system activity

Derailment

Derailment, also known as loosening of associations, refers to disorganized thinking that jumps between ideas that seem entirely unrelated. Compare Akataphasia, Asyndesis, Entgleisen, Flight of ideas, Knight’s Move thinking, and Logorrhoea. It can be seen in individuals with schizophrenia, as well as those experiencing mania.

Dereistic thinking

Dereistic means: Away from reality, undirected fantasy thinking. Jung wrote, “This is the basic activity of psychic life, this fantasy making”, and he used the term “image” not from afterimage, something you’ve experienced or seen, but he says he takes it from poetic usage. Dereistic Thinking: An old descriptive term used to refer to thinking not in accordance with the facts of reality and experience and following illogical, idiosyncratic reasoning. This term is also used interchangeably with autistic thinking though they are not exact synonyms: dereistic emphasizes disconnection from reality and autistic emphasizes preoccupation with inner experience.

Dermatozoenwahn

Alternate term for organic hallucinosis and delusional parasitosis, the continuous belief that one’s skin or body has been infested by parasites or insects. This state cannot be diagnosed if the hallucinatory state is produced while the individual is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or if the individual fulfills the criterion for delirium. In general, if an individual is under the influence of a drug, or experiencing the symptoms of withdrawal from that drug, this condition is not psychiatric but medical, and termed formication.

Developmental milestone

approximate ages at which children reach specific normative events

Dhat

In Dhat syndrome there is a complaint of premature ejaculation or impotence and a belief that semen is being passed in the urine.

Diffusion of responsibility

The tendency for no one in a group to help because the responsibility to help is spread throughout the group

Discontinuous development

The view that development takes place in unique stages, which happen at specific times or ages

Discrimination

negative actions toward individuals as a result of their membership in a particular group

Disinhibition

Orientation towards immediate gratification leading to impulsive behavior driven by current thoughts feelings an external stimulus without regard for past learning or consideration of future consequences.

Disorganized attachment

characterised by the child’s odd behaviour when faced with the parent; type of attachment seen most often with kids that are abused

Displacement

ego defence mechanism in which a person transfers inappropriate urges or behaviours toward a more acceptable or less threatening target

Dispositions

describes a perspective familiar to personality psychologists, which asserts that our behaviour is determined by internal factors, such as personality traits and temperament

Dissociation

The splitting off of clusters of mental contents from conscious awareness. The term is also used to describe the separation of an idea from its emotional significance and affect as seen in the inappropriate effect of schizophrenia. Often a result of psychic trauma it may allow the individual to maintain allegiance to 2 contradictory truths while remaining unconscious of the contradiction

Dissociative amnesia

The inability of not being able to recall personal information. Period when the person experience lack of memory of who they are

Dissociative identity disorder

One or more episode of amnesia with personal travel for home.

Distorted body image

individuals view themselves as overweight even though they are not

Distress

The lousy form of stress, usually high in intensity, often leads to exhaustion, fatigue, feeling burned out; it is associated with erosions in performance and health.

Divergent thinking

ability to think “outside the box” to arrive at novel solutions to a problem

Do not resuscitate (DNR)

a legal document stating that if a person stops breathing or their heart stops, medical personnel such as doctors and nurses are not to take steps to revive or resuscitate the patient

Doppelgänger

The Doppelgänger is a phenomenon in which the person feels that their exact “double” is present alongside them every time and goes with them wherever they go.

Double-blind study

An experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments

Dream analysis

technique in psychoanalysis in which patients recall their dreams and the psychoanalyst interprets them to reveal unconscious desires or struggles

Drive theory

deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs that result in psychological drive states that direct behaviour to meet the demand and ultimately bring the system back to homeostasis

Drug dependence.

Withdrawal or tolerance related to drug use.

Dysarthria

A disorder of speech production due to structural or motor impairment affecting the articulatory apparatus.

Dyscalculia

A learning disability that causes difficulty in learning or comprehending mathematics

Dysgraphia

A learning disability that causes extreme difficulty in writing legibly

Dyskinesia

Distortion of voluntary movements with involuntary muscle activity

Dyslexia

common learning disability in which the brain does not appropriately process letters

Dyspareunia

Having pain while having sex.

Dysphoria

A condition in which a person experiences intense feelings of depression discontent and in some cases indifference to the world around them

Dyssomnias

Disorders of sleep and wakefulness characterized by insomnia or hypersomnia as the major presenting symptom

Dysthymia

Presents while depressed of two or more of the following 1 poor appetite or overeating 2 insomnia or hypersomnia 3 low energy or fatigue 4 low self-esteem 5 poor concentration or difficulty making decisions or 6 feelings hopeless

Dystonia

Disordered tonicity of muscles

Early full remission

Have not used any alcohol for up to 1-12 months

Eating disorder NOS

Have a normal body weight to the body weight is not less than 85% and it’s not bulimia because they are not binge eating, but e person is having body issues and vomiting after meals.

Eccentricity

Odd unusual or bizarre behavior appearance and/or speech having strange unpredictable thoughts saying unusual or inappropriate things. It is a facet of the broad personality trait domain psychoticism

Écho de la pensée

In écho de la pensée, meaning “thought echo” in French, thoughts seem to be spoken aloud just after being produced. The individual hears the ‘echo’ of their thoughts in the form of a voice after they have made the thought. See also Gedankenlautwerden and Thought sonorization.

Echopraxia

Mimicking the movements of another

Effortful processing

encoding of information that takes effort and attention

Ego

The aspect of personality that represents the self, or the part of one’s personality that is visible to others

Egocentrism

preoperational child’s difficulty in taking the perspective of others

Elaborative rehearsal

thinking about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

type of biomedical therapy that involves using an electrical current to induce seizures in a person to help alleviate the effects of severe depression

Embryo

multi-cellular organism in its early stages of development

Emerging adulthood

A newly defined period of lifespan development from 18 years old to the mid-20s; young people take longer to complete college, get a job, get married, and start a family.

Emotion

The subjective state of being is often described as feelings

Emotional intelligence

ability to understand emotions and motivations in yourself and others

Emotional lability

Instability of emotional experiences and mood emotions that are easily aroused intense and or out of proportion to the circumstances. It is a facet of the broad personality trait domain negative affectivity

Empathy

capacity to understand another person’s perspective—to feel what they feel

Empirical

grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing

Encoding

The input of information into the memory system

Engram

physical trace of memory

Entgleisen

Literally means jumping off the rails. Alternate term used for derailment of thought (a morbid form of loosening of association or asyndesis). A Schneiderian term by origin. In this form of thought the individual jumps from one topic to another during conversation and both topics have literally no connection with each other. This is in contrast with flight of ideas where connection is present between one topic and another. Compare #Akataphasia, #Asyndesis, and #Derailment.

Epidemiology

The study of the distribution and causes of diseases in populations.

Episodic memory

type of declarative memory that contains information about events we have personally experienced, also known as autobiographical memory

Equipotentiality hypothesis

some parts of the brain can take over for damaged parts in forming and storing memories

Erotomanic delusions

False beliefs that another person, usually of higher status, is in love with the individual

Euphoric high

feelings of intense joy and pleasure from drug use

Eustress

A good form of stress; low to moderate in intensity; associated with positive feelings, as well as optimal health and performance

Euthymic

The normal range of mood which implies the absence of depressed or elevated mood

Event schema

set of behaviours that are performed the same way each time; also referred to as a cognitive script

Evolutionary psychology

discipline that studies how universal patterns of behaviour and cognitive processes have evolved as a result of natural selection

Excitement

The phase of the sexual response cycle that involves sexual arousal

Expansive mood

A mood characterized by a lack of restraint in expressing one’s feelings often with an over-evaluation of one’s significance or importance

Experimental group

The group was designed to answer the research question; experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance.

Experimenter bias

researcher expectations skew the results of the study

Explicit memory

memories we consciously try to remember and recall

Exposure therapy

counterconditioning technique in which a therapist seeks to treat a client’s fear or anxiety by presenting the feared object or situation with the idea that the person will eventually get used to it

Extinction

decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus

Extracampine

Extracampine hallucinations are hallucinations beyond the possible sensory field, e.g., ‘seeing’ somebody standing behind you is a visual extracampine hallucination experience.

Extra-familial sexual abuse

Sexual abuse perpetrated by someone outside of the family unit. For example, abuse perpetrated by a stranger, organized groups/networks or a trusted person within an institution. See also: institutional sexual abuse.

Extrinsic motivation

The motivation that arises from external factors or rewards

Facial feedback hypothesis

facial expressions are capable of influencing our emotions

Fact

objective and verifiable observation established using evidence collected through empirical research

False memory syndrome

recall of false autobiographical memories

Falsifiable

able to be disproven by experimental results

Family annihilation

it is when a person kills their entire family without consent and then kills themselves.

Family ther

A unique form of group therapy consisting of one or more families

Fantasy

Fantasy is imagining that expresses desires and aims.

Fatuous affect

The moods of an individual with fatuous affect resemble the moods of a child. This condition is seen in hebephrenic schizophrenia.

Fictitious disorder

A person acts as though they have a illness because they like the attention of being sick.

Fight-or-flight response

set of physiological reactions (increases in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and sweat) that occur when an individual encounters a perceived threat; these reactions are produced by activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system

Fine motor skills

use of muscles in fingers, toes, and eyes to coordinate small actions

Five-factor model

The theory that personality is composed of five factors, including openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

Fixed interval reinforcement schedule

behaviour is rewarded after a set amount of time

Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

set number of responses must occur before a behaviour is rewarded

Flashbulb memory

apparent recollection of an important event

Flight of ideas

Flight of ideas describes excessive speech at a rapid rate that involves causal association between ideas. Links between ideas may involve usage of puns or rhymes. It is typical of mania, classically seen in bipolar disorder. Compare Derailment.

Flow

state involving intense engagement in an activity; usually is experienced when participating in creative, work, and leisure endeavours

Fluid intelligence

ability to see complex relationships and solve problems

Flynn effect

The observation that each generation has a significantly higher IQ than the previous generation

Folie à deux

Also called induced psychosis, folie à deux is a delusional disorder shared by two or more people who are closely related emotionally. One has real psychosis while the symptoms of psychosis are induced in the other or others due to close attachment to the one with psychosis. Separation usually results in symptomatic improvement in the one who is not psychotic.Folie communiquée, folie imposée, folie induite, and folie simultanée are the four subtypes of folie à deux.

Folie communiquée

Folie communiquée, or subtype C of folie à deux, occurs when a normal person suffers a contagion of their ideas after resisting them for a long time. Once they acquire these beliefs they maintain them despite separation.

Folie imposée

Folie imposée, or subtype A of folie a deux, is the most common form in which the dominant person imposes a delusion into a person who was not previously mentally ill. Separation of the two results in improvement of the non-dominant person.

Folie induite

In folie induite, or subtype D of folie a deux, a person who is already psychotic adds the delusions of a closely associated person to their own.

Folie simultanée

In folie simultanée, or subtype B of folie a deux, a delusional system emerges simultaneously and independently in two closely related persons, and the separation of the two would not be beneficial in the resolution of psychopathology.

Foot-in-the-door technique

persuasion of one person by another person, encouraging a person to agree to a small favour or to buy a small item, only to request later a more considerable acceptance or purchase of a more oversized item

Forgetting

loss of information from long-term memory

Formal operational stage

The final stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from age 11 and up, children can deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations.

Formication

The sensation of something creeping or crawling on or under the skin

Free association

Letting the client drive what they want to talk about

Free association

technique in psychoanalysis in which the patient says whatever comes to mind at the moment

Fregoli delusion

In Fregoli delusion, the person has a delusional belief that various different people are in fact a certain other person, even if there is no physical resemblance. Fregoli syndrome is considered a form of delusional misidentification “in which the false identification of familiar people occurs in strangers”.

Functional fixedness

inability to see an object as valid for any other use other than the one for which it was intended

Fundamental attribution error

tendency to overemphasise internal factors as attributions for behaviour and underestimate the power of the situation

Gedankenlautwerden

In Gedankenlautwerden, an individual hears thoughts spoken aloud. Thoughts are heard in the form of a voice at the same time as they are thought, not afterwards. See also Écho de la pensée and Thought sonorization

Gegenhalten

Gegenhalten is a catatonic phenomenon in which the subject opposes all passive movements with the same degree of force as applied by the examiner. It is slightly different from negativism in which the subject does exactly the opposite to what is asked in addition to showing resistance.

Gender dysphoria

diagnostic category in DSM-5 for individuals who do not identify as the gender associated with their biological sex

Gender identity

individual’s sense of being male or female

General adaptation syndrome

Hans Selye’s three-stage model of the body’s physiological reactions to stress and the process of stress adaptation: alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and stage of exhaustion

Generalize

inferring that the results for a sample application to the larger population

Generalized anxiety

Anxiety or worried about everything. Symptoms must be present for at least 6 months.

Genital stage

psychosexual stage in which the focus is on mature sexual interests

Geometric hallucinations

Visual hallucinations involving shapes such as tunnels funnels spirals or lattices

Gonadarche

maturing of the sex glands

Grammar

set of rules that are used to convey meaning through the use of a lexicon

Grandiose delusions

False beliefs of inflated worth power knowledge Identity or special relationship to a deity or famous person

Grandiosity

Believing that one is superior to others and deserves special treatment. Typically includes self-centeredness feelings of entitlement condescension toward others. It is a facet of the broad personality trait domain antagonism

Grooming

The criminal offence of solicitation whereby a relationship with a child is formed in order to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse or exploitation.

Gross motor skills

use of large muscle groups to control arms and legs for large body movements

Group polarisation

strengthening of the original group attitude after discussing views within the group

Group therapy

treatment modality in which 5–10 people with the same issue or concern meet together with a trained clinician

Groupthink

group members modify their opinions to match what they believe is the group consensus

Gustatory hallucinations

Hallucinations involving the perception of taste. These are usually unpleasant

Habit

The pattern of behaviour in which we regularly engage

Hallucination

Perception life experience with the clarity and impact of a true perception but without the external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ. This should be distinguished from Illusions and which an actual external stimulus is misperceived or misinterpreted. The person may or may not have insight into the nonveridical nature of these perceptions.

Hallucinogen

one of a class of drugs that results in profound alterations in sensory and perceptual experiences, often with vivid hallucinations

Happiness

enduring state of mind consisting of joy, contentment, and other positive emotions; the sense that one’s life has meaning and value

Health care proxy

a legal document that appoints a specific person to make medical decisions for a patient if they are unable to speak for themself

Health psychology

The subfield of psychology devoted to studying psychological influences on health, illness, and how people respond when they become ill

Heart disease

several types of adverse heart conditions, including those that involve the heart’s arteries or valves or those involving the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs; can include heart attack and stroke

Hemiasomatognosia

Hemiasomatognosia is a subtype of anosognosia in which the person suffering from hemiplegia neglects one half of their body.

Heritability

The proportion of difference among people that is attributed to genetics

Hero -alcoholic family

The oldest family member who is aware of what is going own and tries to assume responsibility for the family by being successful.

Heterosexual

emotional and erotic attractions to opposite-sexed individuals

Heuristic

A mental shortcut that saves time when solving a problem

Hierarchy of needs

The spectrum of needs ranging from basic biological needs to social demands to self-actualisation

Higher-order conditioning

(also, second-order conditioning) using a conditioned stimulus to condition a neutral stimulus

Hindsight bias

The belief that the event just experienced was predictable, even though it wasn’t

Histrionic personality

Seductive behaviors, wants to be the center of attention

Homeostasis

tendency to maintain a balance, or optimal level, within a biological system

Homophily

The tendency for people to form social networks, including friendships, marriage, business relationships, and many other types of relationships, with others who are similar

Homophobia

prejudice and discrimination against individuals based solely on their sexual orientation

Homosexual

emotional and erotic attractions to same-sexed individuals

Hospice

service that provides death with dignity; pain management in a humane and comfortable environment; usually outside of a hospital setting

Hostile aggression

aggression motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain

Humanistic therapy

therapeutic orientation aimed at helping people become more self-aware and accepting of themselves

Hyperacusis

Increased auditory perception

Hyperorality

A condition in which inappropriate objects are placed in the mouth

Hypertension

high blood pressure

Hypnosis

state of extreme self-focus and attention in which minimal attention is given to external stimuli

Hypochondriasis

Do not believe the doctors when they tell you that nothing is wrong with you. The person is wanting to believe that they have an illness.

Hypofrontality

Decreased activity of the prefrontal cortex; believed to be responsible for the negative symptoms.

Hypopnea

Episodes of overly shallow breathing or an abnormally low respiratory rate

Hyposchemazia; Aschemazia

Hyposchemazia is characterized by the reduced awareness of one’s body image and Aschemazia by the absence of it. These disorders can have many varied causes such as physical injuries, mental disorders, or mental or physical states. These include transection of the spinal cord, parietal lobe lesions (e.g. right middle cerebral artery thrombosis), anxiety, depersonalization, epileptic auras, migraines, sensory deprivation, and vertigo (i.e. “floating on air”).

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

set of structures found in both the limbic system (hypothalamus) and the endocrine system (pituitary gland and adrenal glands) that regulate many of the body’s physiological reactions to stress through the release of hormones

Hypothesis

(plural: hypotheses) tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables

Id

The aspect of personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex

Ideal self

The person we would like to be

Ideas of alienation

Thoughts that one’s own body part or action is not of one’s own.

Ideas of influence

Thoughts that one’s own action is caused by someone else’s will or some other external cause.

Ideas of reference

Ideas of reference are a delusional belief that general events are personally directed at oneself. For example, someone might believe that he or she is receiving messages from the TV that are directed especially at him or her.

Ideas of reference

The feeling that casual incidents and external events have a particular and unusual meaning that is specific to the person

Idée fixe

Idée fixe is an alternate term for an overvalued idea. In this condition, a belief that might seem reasonable both to the individual and to other people comes to dominate completely the individual’s thinking and life.

Identification

The display of a characteristic or trait that has been absorbed into one’s own personality. A young person decides to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a lawyer.

Illusion

An illusion is a false perception of a detectable stimulus. A misperception or misinterpretation of a real external stimulus such as hearing the rustling of leaves as the sound of voices

Illusory correlation

seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists

Immune system

various structures, cells, and mechanisms that protect the body from foreign substances that can damage the body’s tissues and organs

Immunosuppression

decreased effectiveness of the immune system

Implicit memory

memories that are not part of our consciousness

Inappropriate affect

Discordance between (b/w) affective expression and content of speech or ideation.

Incongruence

state of being in which there is a significant discrepancy between our actual and ideal selves

Independent variable

variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter; in a sound experimental study, the independent variable is the only significant difference between the experimental and control group

Individual psychology

school of psychology proposed by Adler that focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority

Individual therapy

treatment modality in which the client and clinician meet one-on-one

Individualistic culture

A culture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy

Inductive reasoning

conclusions are drawn from observations

Inferiority complex

refers to a person’s feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to others or society’s standards

Informational social influence

conformity to a group norm prompted by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information

Informed consent

process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment, any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtaining the person’s consent to participate

In-group

The group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to

In-group bias

preference for our group over other groups

Insomnia

consistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep for at least three nights a week over a month

Instinct

The species-specific pattern of behaviour that is unlearned

Instinct

unlearned knowledge, involving complex patterns of behaviour; instincts are thought to be more prevalent in lower animals than in humans

Institution

Means the same as ‘organization’. That is, a group of people who work together in an organized way for a particular shared purpose. For example, a business, a government department, a school or a church.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals

Institutional review board (IRB)

committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving human participants

Institutional sexual abuse

Sexual abuse perpetrated by someone within a particular setting or service. For example, a teacher in a school or a priest within a church. See also: institution.

Instrumental aggression

aggression motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain

Intake

therapist’s first meeting with the client in which the therapist gathers specific information to address the client’s immediate needs

Intellectualization

Content is separated from repressed affect. A person may use intellectualization when speaking of his traumatic childhood. A victim of sexual assault may use intellectual by researching factual PTSD criteria instead of addressing her emotional pain in therapy.

Intelligence quotient

(also, IQ) score on a test designed to measure intelligence

Intergenerational transmission of abuse

The increased risk that abuse may be repeated across generations of the same family.

Internal factor

The internal attribute of a person, such as personality traits or temperament

Inter-rater reliability

The measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event

Intersex condition

A condition in which individuals have conflicting or ambiguous biological indicators of sex

Intimacy

Duration and depth of connection with others as well as desire and capacity for closeness and mutuality of regard reflected interpersonal behavior

Intra-familial sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse perpetrated by a family member or that takes place within a family context or environment, whether or not by a family member. These offences reflect modern family units and take account of situations where someone is living within the same household as a child and assuming a position of trust or authority over that child, as well as relationships defined by blood ties, adoption, fostering, marriage or living together as partners.

Intrinsic motivation

motivation based on internal feelings rather than external rewards

Introjection

Often leads to identification but refers specifically to the process of taking in or swallowing whole the characteristic or trait. Putting on her seat belt before driving away in a car. Internalization of outside events or characteristics of other people.

Involuntary treatment

therapy that is mandated by the courts or other systems

James-Lange theory of emotion

emotions arise from physiological arousal

Jargon aphasia

Jargon aphasia is characterized by incoherent, meaningless speech with neologisms (newly invented words). These are unconscious thoughts that find expression when one is off one’s guard and must be consciously repressed.

Jet lag

collection of symptoms brought on by travel from one-time zone to another that results from the mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and our environment

Job burnout

general sense of emotional exhaustion and cynicism about one’s job; consists of three dimensions: exhaustion, depersonalisation, and a sense of diminished personal accomplishment

Job strain

work situation involving the combination of excessive job demands and workload with little decision-making latitude or job control

Justification of effort

The theory that people value goals and achievements more when they have put more effort into them

Just-world hypothesis

ideology common in the United States that people get the outcomes they deserve

K-complex

very high amplitude pattern of brain activity associated with stage 2 sleep that may occur in response to environmental stimuli

Khyal cap

Translated as wind attacks. This syndrome is found among Cambodians in the United States and Cambodia. Common symptoms include those of panic attacks such as dizziness palpitations shortness of breath and cold extremities as well as other symptoms of anxiety and autonomic arousal. These attacks include catastrophic cognitions centered on the concern that wind like substance the rise in the body along with blood and cause a range of serious effects what does compressing the lungs to call shortness of breath and asphyxia or entering the cranium to cause tinnitus dizziness blurry vision and fatal syncope. The attacks may occur without warning but are frequently brought on by triggers such as worrisome thoughts standing up specific odors with negative associations and agoraphobic cues such as going into a crowded space or riding in a car. The attacks are usually meet panic attack and shape the experience of other anxiety and Trauma and stressor disorders.

Kleptomania

Impulse to steal objects, doing it for the act of stealing

Klüver–Bucy syndrome

In Klüver–Bucy syndrome, an individual will display placidity, hyperorality, hypersexuality, and hyperphagia. This condition results from bilateral destruction of the amygdaloid bodies of the limbic system.

Knight’s Move thinking

Knight’s move thinking is a complete loosening of associations where there is no logical link between one idea and the next. Imagine a knight on a chessboard where the movement can be any L shaped direction, making it difficult to track. Compare Derailment.

Koro

Koro is a culture-specific syndrome, generally seen only among Chinese people. It involves a panicked feeling that one’s genitals are retracting into the abdomen, and that this will result in death.

Kufungisisa

Meaning thinking too much in Shona this is an idiom of distress and cultural explanation among the Shona of Zimbabwe. As an explanation it is causative of anxiety depression and somatic problems. For example, one might say my heart is painful because I think too much. It is an idiom of Psychosocial distress it is indicative of interpersonal and social difficulties such as marital problems or having no money to take care of children. It involves ruminating on upsetting thoughts particularly worries.

Kuru

Kuru (also known as laughing sickness due to the outbursts of laughter that mark its second phase) was first noted in New Guinea in the early 1900s. Kuru is now known to be a prion disease, one of several known transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Labile affect

Abnormal variability in affect with repeated rapid and abrupt shifts in affective expression.

Language

A communication system that involves using words to transmit information from one individual to another

Latah

Latah is a culture-specific syndrome usually seen in Southeast Asia and involves startle-induced disorganization, hypersuggestibility, automatic obedience, and echopraxia (a tendency to mimic examiner’s or other person’s actions). It is usually associated with women. There is controversy over whether Latah is a real psychiatric condition, or merely a display of exhibitionism that would otherwise not be socially acceptable.

Latency period

psychosexual stage in which sexual feelings are dormant

Latent content

The hidden meaning of a dream, per Sigmund Freud’s view of the function of dreams

Latent learning

learning that occurs, but it may not be evident until there is a reason to demonstrate it

Law of effect

behaviour that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organism will be repeated, and behaviours that are followed by unpleasant consequences will be discouraged

Learning

change in behaviour or knowledge that is the result of experience

Learning disorder

Child is unable to learn in the typically manner.

Left–right disorientation

Left–right disorientation is one of the four cardinal signs of Gerstmann’s syndrome.

Leptin

satiety hormone

Lethargy

State of decreased mental activity characterized by sluggishness drowsiness and inactivity and reduced alertness

Levels of processing

information that is thought of more deeply becomes more meaningful and thus better committed to memory

Lexicon

the words of a given language

L’homme qui rit

In l’homme qui rit (from the French, meaning “The man who laughs”), an individual displays inappropriate laughter accompanied by release phenomena of the frontal subdominant lobe.

Lilliputian hallucinations

Lilliputian hallucinations are characterized by abnormal perception of objects as being shrunken in size but normal in detail. Usually seen in delirium tremens.

Living will

a written legal document that details specific interventions a person wants; may include health care proxy

Locus of control

beliefs about the power we have over our lives; an external locus of control is the idea that our outcomes are outside of our control; an internal locus of control is the belief that we control our outcomes

Logoclonia

In logoclonia, the individual often repeats the last syllable of a word. Compare Echolalia. Often a symptom of Alzheimers or Parkinson’s Disease.

Logorrhoea

Logorrhoea, also known as “volubility”, is characterized by fluent and rambling speech using numerous words. Compare Derailment.

Longitudinal research

studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or repeatedly measured over an extended period

Long-term memory (LTM)

continuous storage of information

Lost child

The 3rd member of the family who is quietly withdrawn from the family system.

Lucid dream

people become aware that they are dreaming and can control the dream’s content

Lymphocytes

white blood cells that circulate in the body’s fluids and are especially important in the body’s immune response

Macropsia

The visual perception that objects are larger than they are.

Magical thinking

An erroneous belief that one’s thoughts words or actions will cause or prevent a specific outcome in some way that defies commonly understood laws of cause and effect

Major affective disorder:

A serious mood disorder; includes unipolar depression and bipolar disorder.

Major depression

Symptoms must be present for at least 2 weeks. Depressed so much that day to day life is effective. Hopeless, withdrawal, change in appetite.

Malingering

Faking an illness to get an external gain. Example would be to fake being sick in order to get a disability.

Mania

It’s often mirrored as a minor image of depression. Mania is a state abnormally elevated arousal, affected, and energy level. As mania intensifies, irritability can be more pronounced and result in anxiety or violence. Mania symptoms are elevated mood, flights of ideas, pressure of speech, increased energy, decreased need, desire sleep, and hyperactivity.

Mania a potu

Mania a potu is an alcohol intoxication state with violent and markedly disinhibited behavior. This condition is different from violent behavior in otherwise normal individuals who are intoxicated.

Manifest content

The storyline of events that occur during a dream, per Sigmund Freud’s view of the function of dreams

Mascot

The youngest member of the family who plays the class clown to relieve family tension.

Meditation

clearing the mind to achieve a state of relaxed awareness and focus

Melatonin

A hormone secreted by the endocrine gland that serves as an essential regulator of the sleep-wake cycle

Memory

set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods

Memory-enhancing strategy

technique to help make sure information goes from short-term memory to long-term memory

Menarche

beginning of the menstrual period; around 12–13 years old

Mental set

continually using an old solution to a problem without results

Meta-analysis

A study that combines the results of several related studies

Metabolic rate

amount of energy that is expended in a given period

Methadone

A synthetic opioid that is less euphorigenic than heroin and similar drugs; used to manage withdrawal symptoms in opiate users.

Methadone clinic

uses methadone to treat withdrawal symptoms in opiate users

Methamphetamine

type of amphetamine that can be made from pseudoephedrine, an over-the-counter drug; widely manufactured and abused

Metonymy

Speech disturbance in which patients, commonly schizophrenia, use inappropriate words or expressions that are related to the proper ones. Examples include consume a menu, instead of a meal; lose the piece of string of the conversation, not the thread of the conversation. See also word approximation.

Micropsia

The visual perception that objects are smaller than they are

Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)

personality test composed of a series of actual/false questions to establish a clinical profile of an individual

Misattribution

memory error in which you confuse the source of your information

Misinformation effect paradigm

after exposure to additional and possibly inaccurate information, a person may misremember the original event

Mitgehen

Mitgehen is an extreme form of mitmachen in which very slight pressure leads to movement in any direction, also called the “anglepoise” effect or “anglepoise lamp sign”. This movement occurs despite instructions to resist the pressure, as individuals with this condition often experience even slight pressure as forcible grasping and pushing.

Mitmachen

In mitmachen, one’s body can be put into any posture, despite instructions given to resist. Compare Mitgehen.

Mitosis

process of cell division

Mnemonic device

memory aids that help organise information for encoding

Model

A person who performs a behaviour that serves as an example (in observational learning)

Mood congruent psychotic features

Delusions or hallucinations with content that is entirely consistent with the typical themes of a depressed or manic mood. If the mood is depressed the kind of delusions or hallucinations would involve themes of inadequacy disease death nihilism or deserved punishment. If the mood is manic the content of the delusions or hallucinations may involve themes of inflated worth power knowledge or identity or a special relationship to a deity or famous person.

Mood disorder with psychotic features.

Severely depressed where you might become psychotic. You become psychotic while your depressed.

Morbid obesity

adult with a BMI over 40

Moria

Moria is the condition characterized by euphoric behavior, such as frivolity and the inability to act seriously. In addition, there is a lack of foresight and a general indifference. It is found in frontal lobe lesions, often along with Witzelsucht, particularly when the orbital surface is damaged. Recent research has shown its presence in frontotemporal dementia.

Morpheme

The smallest unit of language that conveys some type of meaning

Motivation

wants or needs that direct behaviour toward some goal

Motor skills

ability to move our body and manipulate objects

Multiple intelligences theory

Gardner’s theory that each person possesses at least eight types of intelligence

Narcissistic personality

Since of entitlement, grandiosity, lack of empathy. Other a preparator of domestic violence.

Narcolepsy

sleep disorder in which the sufferer cannot resist falling to sleep at inopportune times

Natural concept

mental groupings that are created “naturally” through your experiences

Naturalistic observation

observation of behaviour in its natural setting

Nature

genes and biology

Negative affectivity

tendency to experience distressing emotional states involving anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness

Negative correlation

two variables change in different directions, with one becoming more extensive as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation

Negative punishment

taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behaviour

Negative reinforcement

taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase a behaviour

Negative reinforcement.

When a behavior or response is followed the removal or an aversive stimulus. For example, a wife nags her husband until he does something engaging stops.

Negativism

Opposition to suggestion or advice, resistance to attempts to move the subject, who then does the opposite of what is asked. Behavior opposite to that which is right to a specific situation or against the wishes of others including direct opposition to efforts to be moved. Negativism is usually a sign of catatonia and may progress to (catatonic) rigidity. It is slightly different from gegenhalten, in which the individual resists movement but does not perform the opposite movement. Also see: Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD).

Neologism

In a neurological or psychopathological context, neologisms are nonsensical words or phrases whose origins are unrecognizable (e.g., klipno for watch), and are associated with aphasia or schizophrenia. Incorrectly constructed words whose origins are understandable (e.g., headshoe for hat) may also be called neologisms, but are more properly referred as word approximations.

Nervios

The common idiom of distress among Latinos in the United States and Latin America. It refers to a general state of vulnerability to stressful life experiences and difficult life circumstances. It may include a wide range of symptoms of emotional distress somatic disturbance and inability to function. The most common symptoms attributed to that include headaches leg aches irritability stomach disturbance sleep difficulties nervousness easy tearfulness inability to concentrate trembling tingling Sensations and dizziness with occasional vertigo-like exacerbations. It spans the range of severity from cases with no mental disorder two presentations resembling adjustment disorders anxiety depression dissociative somatic symptoms or psychotic disorders.

Neurosis

tendency to experience negative emotions

Neutral stimulus (NS)

The stimulus that does not initially elicit a response

Newborn reflexes

inborn automatic response to a particular form of stimulation that all healthy babies are born with

Night eating syndrome

Frequent episodes of eating at night as manifested by eating after waking from sleep or excessive food consumption after the evening meal. There is no awareness and recall of eating. It is not better accounted for by external influences such as changing the person’s sleep-wake cycle or by local social norms

Night terror

sleep disorder in which the sleeper experiences a sense of panic and may scream or attempt to escape from the immediate environment

Nightmare disorder

Repeated occurrences of extended extremely dysphoric and well-remembered dreams that usually involve efforts to avoid a threat to survival security or physical integrity and that generally occur during the second half of a major sleep episode. On awakening from the dreams, the individual rapidly becomes oriented and alert. Repeated awakening of a detailed nightmare, being killed, chased. being able to remember the nightmare.

Nondirective therapy

therapeutic approach in which the therapist does not give advice or provide interpretations but helps the person identify conflicts and understand feelings

Non-REM (NREM)

period of sleep outside periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

Normative approach

study of development using norms, or average ages, when most children reach specific developmental milestones

Normative social influence

conformity to a group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group

Norming

In group how can we deal with conflict

Norming

administering a test to a large population so data can be collected to reference the average scores for people and their groups

Nurture

environment and culture

Obedience

change of behaviour to please an authority figure or to avoid aversive consequences

Obese

adult with a BMI of 30 or higher

Object permanence

The idea that even if something is out of sight, it still exists

Observational learning

type of learning that occurs by watching others

Observer bias

when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations

Obstructive sleep apnea

sleep disorder is defined by episodes when breathing stops during sleep as a result of blockage of the airway

Olfactory hallucinations

Hallucinations involving the perception of odors such as burning rubber or decaying fish

Omega sign

The omega sign is the occurrence of a fold (like the Greek letter omega, Ω) in the forehead, above the nose, produced by the excessive action of the corrugator muscle. It is sometimes seen in depression.

Oneiroid state

From Greek “oneiros” as meaning ‘dream’. In the Oneiroid state one feels and behaves as though in a dream. Also known as oneirophrenia as described by Ladislas J. Meduna.

Oneirophrenia

See Oneiroid state or article on Oneirophrenia.

Online sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse/exploitation facilitated by the online environment. For example, via social networks, online games or mobile phones.

Operant conditioning

form of learning in which the stimulus/experience happens after the behaviour is demonstrated

Operational definition

description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables

Opiate/opioid

one of a category of drugs that has strong analgesic properties; opiates are produced from the resin of the opium poppy; includes heroin, morphine, methadone, and codeine

Opinion

personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate

Opisthotonos posture

A posture in which the back is rigid, and arching and the head is bent backward

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD

Problems with authority figures, have a problem with authority. Negative defiant behaviors.

Optimism

The tendency toward a positive outlook and positive expectations

Oral stage

psychosexual stage in which an infant’s pleasure is focused on the mouth

Orgasm

peak phase of the sexual response cycle associated with rhythmic muscle contractions (and ejaculation)

Out-group

The group that we don’t belong to—one that we view as fundamentally different from us

Overgeneralization

extension of a rule that exists in a given language to an exception to the rule

Overvalued idea

Overvalued ideas are exaggerated beliefs that a person sustains beyond reasons but are not as unbelievable and are not as persistently held as delusions. Preoccupation with spouse’s possible infidelity can be an overvalued idea if no evidence exists to arouse suspicion. Body dysmorphic disorder’s obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one’s own appearance is severely flawed is another example of an overvalued idea.

Overweight

adult with a BMI between 25 and 29.9

Palilalia

Palilalia is characterized by the repetition of a word or phrase; i.e., the subject continues to repeat a word or phrase after once having said. It is a perseveratory phenomenon.

Palinacousis

Palinacousis refers to a phenomenon in which the subject continues to listen to a word, a syllable or any sound, even after the withdrawal of stimulus. It is a type of Perseveration.

Palinopsia

In palinopsia a visual image persists after the stimulus has gone (like an afterimage seen after looking into a bright light).

Paranoid

Rational suspicion and a mistrust in others. Always thinking that people are out to get them.

Paranoid ideation

Ideation of less than delusional proportions involving suspiciousness or the belief that one is being harassed persecuted or unfairly treated

Parapraxis

A Freudian slip, or parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory or physical action that is believed to be caused by the unconscious mind.

Paraprosopia

A delusion in which a person believes they have seen a face transform into a grotesque form – often described as a ‘monster’, ‘vampire’, ‘werewolf’ or similar. This is very rare and most likely to be described by people suffering from schizophrenia.

Paraschemazia

Paraschemazia is characterized by a distortion of body image. It can be caused by hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD and mescalin, epileptic auras, and sometimes migraines.

Parasomnia

one of a group of sleep disorders characterised by unwanted, disruptive motor activity and experiences during sleep

Parasomnias

Disorders of sleep involving abnormal behaviors or physiological events occurring during sleep or sleep-wake transitions

Pareidolia

In pareidolia a vague or random stimulus is mistakenly perceived as recognizable. A common example is perceiving the image of a face in clouds. Pareidolia is a type of illusion and hence called pareidolic illusion.

Partial reinforcement

rewarding behaviour only some of the time

Participants

subjects of psychological research

Peer-reviewed journal article

The article read by several other scientists (usually anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback regarding the quality of the manuscript before it is accepted for publication

Perceived control

peoples’ beliefs concerning their capacity to influence and shape outcomes in their lives

Peripheral route persuasion

one person persuades another person; an indirect route that relies on the association of peripheral cues (such as positive emotions and celebrity endorsement) to associate positivity with a message

Permissive parenting style

parents make few demands and rarely use punishment

Persecutory delusions

False beliefs where the central theme is that one is being attacked harassed cheated persecuted or conspired against. Beliefs may also center around someone to whom one is close.

Perseveration

This term refers to uncontrollable repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of the original stimulus. Persistence at tasks or in a way of doing things long after the behavior has ceased to be functional or effective. Continuation of the same behavior despite repeated failures or obvious reasons for stopping. Usually it is seen in organic disorders of brain, head injury, delirium, or dementia, however, can be seen in schizophrenia as well.

Persistence

failure of the memory system that involves the involuntary recall of unwanted memories, particularly unpleasant ones

Personality

Enduring patterns of perceiving relating to and thinking about the environment and oneself.

Personality

long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways

Personality functioning

Cognitive models of self and others that shape patterns of emotional and affiliative engagement

Persuasion

process of changing our attitude toward something based on some form of communication

Pfropfschizophrenie

This refers to schizophrenia in people with mild learning disability.

Phallic stage

psychosexual stage in which the focus is on the genitals

Phoneme

basic sound unit of a given language

Phonological disorder

Having a tough time articulating speech. They have words, but it is difficult to understand.

Physical dependence

changes in normal bodily functions that cause a drug user to experience withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of use

Physical development

The domain of lifespan development that examines growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness

Piblokto

Piblokto, Pibloktoq, or Arctic hysteria is a condition exclusively appearing in Inuit societies living within the Arctic Circle. Appearing most prevalently in winter, it is considered to be a form of a culture-specific disorder. Symptoms can include intense “hysteria” (including screaming and uncontrolled wild behavior), depression, coprophagia, and insensitivity to extreme cold. This condition is most often seen in Inuit women.

Pineal gland

endocrine structure located inside the brain that releases melatonin

Placebo effect

people’s expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation

Placenta

structure connected to the uterus that provides nourishment and oxygen to the developing baby

Plateau

The phase of the sexual response cycle that falls between excitement and orgasm

Play therapy

therapeutic process often used with children that employ toys to help them resolve psychological problems

Polygraph

lie detector test that measures physiological arousal of individuals as they answer a series of questions

Polysomnography

Asleep study. It is a multi-parametric test used in the study of sleep in as a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine it monitors many body functions including brain functions through electroencephalography eye movements through electrooculography skeletal muscle activation through electromyography in heart Rhythm through electrocardiography

Polyvictimisation

Exposure to multiple forms of violence, crime and abuse rather than a single form of abuse. For example, experiencing physical abuse as well as sexual abuse. See also: child physical abuse; child maltreatment.

Population

The overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in

Positive affect

state or a trait that involves pleasurable engagement with the environment, the dimensions of which include happiness, joy, enthusiasm, alertness, and excitement

Positive correlation

two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller

Positive psychology

scientific area of study seeking to identify and promote those qualities that lead to happy, fulfilled, and contented lives

Positive punishment

Occurs when a behavior response is followed by a stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise. Example is spanking or doing something negative to stop the child from doing the behavior.

Positive punishment

adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behaviour

Positive reinforcement

adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behaviour

Positive reinforcement.

Occurs when a behavior response is followed by a stimulus that is rewarding. For example, giving a reward for good behavior.

Posturing

Spontaneous and active maintenance of a posture Against Gravity.

Poverty of ideas

Often associated with schizophrenia, dementia, and severe depression poverty of ideas is a thought disturbance in which thought spontaneity and productivity are reduced, and are seen in speech that is vague, has many simple or meaningless repetitions, or full of stereotyped phrases.

Practical intelligence

aka “street smarts.”

Prejudice

negative attitudes and feelings toward individuals based solely on their membership in a particular group

Prenatal care

medical care during pregnancy that monitors the health of both the mother and the fetus

Preoperational stage

2-7 years allows the child to learn using mental images, language and other symbols that are objects that aren’t present.

Preoperational stage

The second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from ages 2 to 7, children learn to use symbols and language but do not understand mental operations and often think illogically.

Pressured speech

Speech that is increased in amount accelerated & difficult or impossible to interpret. Usually it is loud and emphatic. We believe a person talks about any social stimulation and may continue to talk even though no one is listening

Primary appraisal

judgment about the degree of potential harm or threat to well-being that a stressor might entail

Primary insomnia

Difficulty maintaining sleep or getting sleep for at least a month.

Primary reinforcer

has innate reinforcing qualities (e.g., food, water, shelter, sex)

Primary sexual characteristics

organs specifically needed for reproduction

Proactive interference

old information hinders the recall of newly learned information

Problem-solving strategy

method for solving problems

Procedural memory

type of long-term memory for making skilled actions, such as how to brush your teeth, how to drive a car, and how to swim

Prodrome

In early or premonitory sign or symptom of a disorder

Projection

Complains that no one likes him but, he does not like himself or others. Places unacceptable feelings from the person feeling them onto, another person.

Projection

ego defence mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety disguises their unacceptable urges or behaviours by attributing them to other people

Projective test

personality assessment in which a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden feelings, impulses, and desires

Prosocial behaviour

voluntary behaviour with the intent to help other people

Prototype

The best representation of a concept

Pseudocyesis

A false belief of being pregnant that is associated with objective signs reported symptoms of pregnancy

Pseudologia fantastica

Pseudologia fantastica is a condition in which a person grossly exaggerates their symptoms or even tells a lie about their symptoms in order to get medical attention. Seen in malingering and Munchausen syndrome.

Psychoanalysis

therapeutic orientation developed by Sigmund Freud that employs free association, dream analysis, and transference to uncover repressed feelings

Psychological dependence

emotional, rather than a physical, need for a drug that may be used to relieve psychological distress

Psychological pillow

Where the individual holds their head a few centimeters above the bed. No explanation is offered for this. It is a symptom of catatonia and can last for many hours.

Psychoneuroimmunology

The field that studies how psychological factors (such as stress) influence the immune system and immune functioning

Psychopathology

Psychopathology is a term which refers to either the study of mental illness or mental distress or to the manifestation of behaviours and experiences which may be indicative of mental illness or psychological impairment.

Psychophysiological disorders

physical disorders or diseases in which symptoms are brought about or worsened by stress and emotional factors

Psychosexual development

The process proposed by Freud in which pleasure-seeking urges focus on different erogenous zones of the body as humans move through five stages of life

Psychosexual stages of development

stages of child development in which a child’s pleasure-seeking urges are focused on specific areas of the body called erogenous zones

Psychosocial development

The domain of lifespan development that examines emotions, personality, and social relationships

Psychosocial development

The process proposed by Erikson in which social tasks are mastered as humans move through eight stages of life from infancy to adulthood

Psychotherapy

(also, psychodynamic psychotherapy) psychological treatment that employs various methods to help someone overcome personal problems or to attain the personal growth

Punishment

implementation of a consequence to decrease a behaviour

Putative

Assumed. Supposed. Presumed. Generally considered or reputed to be.

Rabbit syndrome

This syndrome is characterized by rapid rhythmic movements of lips so that it resembles a rabbit chewing. It is a type of dystonic reaction.

Racism

prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their race

Radical behaviourism

staunch form of behaviourism developed by B. F. Skinner that suggested that even complex higher mental functions like human language are nothing more than stimulus-outcome associations

Random assignment

method of experimental group assignment in which all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group

Random sample

A subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

Range of reaction

each person’s response to the environment is unique based on their genetic make-up

Rapid Cycling bipolar

A condition characterized by the presence of at least 4 more episodes and the previous 12 months that meet the criteria for a manic hypomanic or major depressive episode. The episodes are demarcated either by partial or full remission have at least 2 months 4X switch to an episode of the opposite polarity

Rapid eye movement

A behavioral sign of the phase of sleep during which the sleeper is likely to be experiencing a dream-like mental activity

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

period of sleep characterised by brain waves very similar to those during wakefulness and by darting movements of the eyes under closed eyelids

Rational emotive therapy (RET)

form of cognitive-behavioural therapy

Rationalization

Plausible reasons justify an action or opinion. Helps the person cope with disappointments by blaming external circumstances. E.g. Hitting the children as punishment after being hit by her spouse.

Rationalization

ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety makes excuses to justify behaviour

Reaction formation

Helps reduce anxiety and guilt associated with the true impulse. Unacceptable impulses are expressed as their opposites. A gay man uses reaction formation when he openly dates women and criticizes gay men. An angry supervise uses relation formation when being overly nice to his supervisor.

Reaction formation

ego defence mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety swaps unacceptable urges or behaviours for their opposites

Reactive attachment disorder

Child does not interact in social situations, typically do to neglect I. Homes.

Real self

A person who we actually are

Recall

accessing information without cues

Reciprocal determinism

The belief is that one’s environment can determine behaviour, but at the same time, people can influence the environment with both their thoughts and behaviours.

Reciprocity

give and take in relationships

Recognition

identifying previously learned information after re-encountering it, usually in response to a cue

Reconstruction

process of bringing up old memories that might be distorted by new information

Reduplicative hallucination

In reduplicative hallucinations there is the perception of seeing a double. Kinds of reduplicative hallucination include autoscopy, heautoscopy and out-of-body experiences.

Reduplicative paramnesia

Reduplicative paramnesia is a delusional misidentification syndrome in which one’s surroundings are believed to exist in more than one physical location.

Reflex

unlearned, the automatic response by an organism to a stimulus in the environment

Reflex hallucination

Reflex hallucinations occur when true sensory input in one sense leads to production of a hallucination in another sense, e.g. seeing a doctor writing (visual) and then feeling him writing across one’s stomach (tactile).

Refractory period

The time immediately following an orgasm during which an individual is incapable of experiencing another orgasm.

Regression

ego defence mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety returns to a more immature behavioural state

Rehearsal

repetition of information to be remembered

Reinforcement

implementation of a consequence to increase a behaviour

Relapse

repeated drug use and alcohol use after a period of improvement from substance abuse

Relaxation response technique

stress reduction technique combining elements of relaxation and meditation

Relearning

learning information that was previously learned

Reliability

consistency and reproducibility of a given result

REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD)

sleep disorder in which the muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase does not occur; sleepers have high levels of physical activity during REM sleep, especially during disturbing dreams

Replicate

repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research’s reliability

Representative bias

faulty heuristic in which you stereotype someone or something without a valid basis for your judgment

Representative sample

A subset of the population that accurately represents the general population

Repression

Refusing to let into awareness unacceptable impulses but still is unconsciously operative in behavior. Having a phobia of dogs but cannot remember the first time he was afraid of them.

Repression

ego defence mechanism in which anxiety-related thoughts and memories are kept in the unconscious

Residual phase

The period after an episode of schizophrenia that has partially or completely remitted but in which some symptoms May remain and symptoms such as listlessness problems concentrating and withdrawal from social activities may be predominant

Resistant attachment

characterised by the child’s tendency to show clingy behaviour and rejection of the parent when she attempts to interact with the child

Resolution

The phase of the sexual response cycle following orgasm during which the body returns to its unaroused state

Restless leg syndrome

sleep disorder in which the sufferer has uncomfortable sensations in the legs when trying to fall asleep that are relieved by moving the legs

Restlessness

Restlessness has two components: akathisia (subjective “inner” restlessness) and psychomotor agitation (an excess of motor activity).

Restricted affectivity

Mild reduction in range and intensity of emotional expression. Little reaction to emotionally arousing situation constricted emotional experience and expression indifference and aloofness in normally engaging situations. It is a facet of the broad personality trait domain detachment.

Retardation

Mental retardation is a term used when a person has certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as communicating, taking care of him or herself, and social skills. In Children: These limitations will cause a child to learn and develop more slowly than a typical child. Children with mental retardation may take longer to learn to speak, walk, and take care of their personal needs such as dressing or eating. They are likely to have trouble learning in school. They will learn, but it will take them longer. There may be some things they cannot learn.

Reticent

Disposed to be silent or not speak freely. Reserved reluctant or restrained.

Retrieval

act of getting information out of long-term memory storage and back into conscious awareness

Retroactive interference

information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information

Retrograde amnesia

loss of memory for events that occurred before brain trauma

Reversibility

principle that objects can be changed but then returned to their original form or condition

Rigid perfectionism

The excessive constraint of impulses risk avoidance hyper responsibility hyper perfectionism and rigid rule-governed behavior

Rogerian (client-centred therapy)

non-directive form of humanistic psychotherapy developed by Carl Rogers that emphasises unconditional positive regard and self-acceptance

Role schema

set of expectations that define the behaviours of a person occupying a particular role

Romantic love

type of love consisting of intimacy and passion, but no commitment

Rorschach inkblot test

projective test that employs a series of symmetrical inkblot cards that are presented to a client by a psychologist to reveal the person’s unconscious desires, fears, and struggles

Rotating shift work

work schedule that changes from early to late on a daily or weekly basis

Rotter incomplete sentence blank (ribs)

projective test that is similar to a word association test in which a person completes sentences to reveal their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles

Rumination disorder

Repeated regurgitation of food over at least one month. Regurgitating food may be rechewed swallowed or spit out but there is no evidence of an associated gastrointestinal or other medical condition that is sufficient to account for it

Sample

A subset of individuals selected from the larger population

Satiation

fullness; satisfaction

Scanning speech

Scanning speech is an ataxic dysarthria in which syllable durations are equalized. It is characteristic of the dysarthria of multiple sclerosis. Together with nystagmus and intention tremor it forms Charcot’s triad 1.

Scapegoat

Often the 2nd child who ejects the family.

Scapegoating

act of blaming an out-group when the frustration of the in-group experience or is blocked from obtaining a goal

Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion

emotions consist of two factors: physiological and cognitive

Schema

(plural = schemata) concept (mental model) that is used to help us categorise and interpret information

Schema

(plural = schemata) mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts

Schizoaffective

Psychotic disorder and a mood disorder that comes in and out.

Schizoaffective with psychotic features

The predominate is psychotic features. Moods come in and out.

Schizoid personality disorder

Loners lack an interest I. Social relationship. Very withing, with on interest in connecting with others.

Schizophasia

Schizophasia, commonly referred to as word salad, is confused, and often repetitious, language that is symptomatic of various mental illnesses.

Schizophreniform

Psychotic symptoms for up to 1 to 6 months

Schizotypal

Believe in aliens, watch the news, and think it directed to them, magical thinking, very old thinking or behaviors.

Schnauzkrampf

A schnauzkrampf is a grimace resembling pouting sometimes observed in catatonic individuals.

Script

person’s knowledge about the sequence of events in a specific setting

Seasonality effect

The increased incidence of schizophrenia in people born during late winter and early spring.

Secondary appraisal

judgment of options available to cope with a stressor and their potential effectiveness

Secondary reinforcer

has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with something else (e.g., money, gold stars, poker chips)

Secondary sexual characteristics

physical signs of sexual maturation that do not directly involve sex organs

Secure attachment

characterised by the child using the parent as a secure base from which to explore

Secure base

A parental presence that gives the infant/toddler a sense of safety as he explores his surroundings

Selective migration

The concept that people choose to move to places that are compatible with their personalities and needs

Self-concept

our thoughts and feelings about ourselves

Self-disclosure

sharing personal information in relationships

Self-efficacy

someone’s level of confidence in their abilities

Self-efficacy

individual’s belief in his capabilities or capacities to complete a task

Self-fulfilling prophecy

treating stereotyped group members according to our biased expectations only to have this treatment influence the individual to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs

Self-reference effect

The tendency for an individual to have better memory for information that relates to oneself in comparison to material that has less personal relevance

Self-serving bias

The tendency for individuals to take credit by making dispositional or internal attributions for positive outcomes and situational or external attributions for adverse outcomes

Semantic encoding

The input of words and their meaning

Semantic memory

type of declarative memory about words, concepts, and language-based knowledge and facts

Semantics

The process by which we derive meaning from morphemes and words

Sensitiver beziehungswahn

Sensitiver beziehungswahn, is an alternate term for ideas of reference. In this the person thinks as people are talking about him or observing him or a talk is going on about him on television or radio. Seen in social phobia, depression, delusional disorder and in schizophrenia where they are often present up to a delusional extent.

Sensorimotor stage

The first stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from birth through age 2, a child learns about the world through senses and motor behaviour.

Sensory memory

storage of brief sensory events, such as sights, sounds, and tastes

Setpoint theory

The assertion that each individual has an ideal body weight or setpoint that is resistant to change

Severity of child sexual abuse

A subjective term defined differently across research, but used for describing child sexual abuse involving, for example, multiple incidents, force/penetration, higher frequency, multiple perpetrators, and/or co-occurrence with other forms of maltreatment.

Sexism

prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based on their sex

Sexting

Someone creating or sharing sexually explicit digital images or videos of themselves or of other people or sending sexually explicit messages. Sexting is typically via mobile phones, tablets or laptops.

Sexual aversion disorder

Lack in desire or discuss of consensual sexual relationships.

Sexual orientation

emotional and erotic attraction to same-sexed individuals, opposite-sexed individuals, or both

Sexual response cycle

divided into 4 phases, including excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

Shaping

rewarding successive approximations toward a target behaviour

Shenjing shuairuo

Mandarin for the weakness of the nervous system. It is a cultural syndrome that integrates conceptual categories of traditional Chinese medicine with the Western diagnosis of neurasthenia. It is defined as a syndrome composed of three out of five non-hierarchical symptom clusters. These are weak emotions excitement nervous pain and sleep.

Short-term memory (STM)

holds about seven bits of information before it is forgotten or stored, as well as information that has been retrieved and is being used

Single subject design

Everyone gets the treatment and you do ABA testing, intervention, assessment of the final design.

Single-blind study

An experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group

Situationism

describes a perspective that the immediate environment and surroundings determine behaviour and actions; a view promoted by social psychologists

Sleep

The state is marked by relatively low physical activity levels and reduced sensory awareness that is distinct from periods of rest that occur during wakefulness.

Sleep apnea

sleep disorder defined by episodes during which breathing stops during sleep

Sleep debt

result of insufficient sleep on a chronic basis

Sleep onset REM

The occurrence of rapid eye movement phase asleep within minutes of falling asleep

Sleep rebound

sleep-deprived individuals will experience shorter sleep latencies during subsequent opportunities for sleep

Sleep regulation

brain’s control of switching between sleep and wakefulness as well as coordinating this cycle with the outside world

Sleep spindle

A rapid burst of high-frequency brain waves during stage 2 sleep may be necessary for learning and memory.

Sleep terror

Where the person had recurring awaiting from sleep, sweating, no remembrance of the dream.

Sleep terrors

Recurrent episodes of abrupt Terror arousal from sleep usually occurring during the first third of a major sleep episode and beginning with a panicky scream. There are intense fear and signs of autonomic arousal such as mydriasis tachycardia rapid breathing and sweating during each episode

Sleepwalking

(also, somnambulism) sleep disorder in which the sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviours

Social exchange theory

humans act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship to maximise benefits and minimise costs

Social loafing

exertion of less effort by a person working in a group because individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group, thus causing performance decline on easy tasks

Social norm

group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for the thoughts and behaviour of its members

Social psychology

field of psychology that examines how people impact or affect each other, with a particular focus on the power of the situation

Social readjustment rating scale (cars)

popular scale designed to measure stress; consists of 43 potentially stressful events, each of which has a numerical value quantifying how much readjustment is associated with the event

Social role

socially defined pattern of behaviour that is expected of a person in a given setting or group

Social support

soothing and often beneficial support of others; can take different forms, such as advice, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, emotional comfort, and tangible assistance

Social-cognitive theory

Bandura’s personality theory emphasises cognition and learning as sources of individual personality differences.

Socioemotional selectivity theory

social support/friendships dwindle in number but remain as close, if not more close, than in earlier years

Somatic delusions

False belief in which the main content pertains to the appearance or function of one’s body

Somatic hallucinations

Hallucinations involving the perception of physical experience localized within the body such as feelings of electricity.

Somatization disorder

When a person has a history of multiple complaints, cross the board issues like different pain in their body, GI symptoms, etc.

Somnolence

Drowsiness A state of near-sleep a powerful desire for sleep or sleeping for unusually long periods. It has two distinct meanings referring to both the usual state preceding falling asleep and the chronic condition that involves being in that state independent of a circadian rhythm

Spermarche

first male ejaculation

Spontaneous recovery

return of a previously extinguished conditioned response

Stage 1 sleep

The first stage of sleep; is a transitional phase that occurs between wakefulness and sleep, during which a person drifts off to sleep.

Stage 2 sleep

In the second stage of sleep, the body goes into deep relaxation, characterised by the appearance of sleep spindles.

Stage 3 sleep

The third stage of sleep; deep sleep characterised by low frequency, high amplitude delta waves

Stage 4 sleep

The fourth stage of sleep; deep sleep characterised by low frequency, high amplitude delta waves

Stage of exhaustion

In the third stage of the general adaptation syndrome, the body’s ability to resist stress becomes depleted; illness, disease, and even death may occur.

Stage of moral reasoning

The process proposed by Kohlberg; humans move through three stages of moral development

Stage of resistance

In the second stage of the general adaptation syndrome, the body adapts to a stressor for some time.

Stages of domestic violence

Tension building, explosive incident, honeymoon

Stages of grief

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance (DABDA)

Standard deviation

The measure of variability thacribesapy the difference between a set of scores and their mean.

Standardization

method of testing in which administration, scoring, and interpretation of results are consistent

Stanford prison experiment

Stanford University experimented in a mock prison that demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts.

Statistical analysis

determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance

Stereotype

specific beliefs or assumptions about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their characteristics

Stimulant

A drug that tends to increase overall levels of neural activity; includes caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine.

Stimulus discrimination

ability to respond differently to similar stimuli

Stimulus generalisation

demonstrating the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus

Stockholm syndrome

The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in a hostage, in which the hostage exhibits loyalty to the hostage-taker, despite the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as battered person syndrome, child abuse cases, and bride kidnapping.

Storage

creation of a permanent record of information

Storming

People in group start to act more real. Typically see conflicts with members of group

Strategic family therapy

The therapist guides the therapy sessions and develops treatment plans for each family member for specific problems that can be addressed quickly.

Stress

process whereby an individual perceives and responds to events that one appraises as overwhelming or threatening to one’s well-being

Stressors

environmental events that may be judged as threatening or demanding; stimuli that initiate the stress process

Structural family therapy

The therapist examines and discusses with the family the boundaries and structure of the family: who makes the rules, who sleeps in the bed with whom, how decisions are made, and the limitations within the family.

Stupor

Lack of psychomotor activity which may range from not actively relating to the environment to complete immobility

Sublimation

A person with major depression may use professional dance to help with suicidal thoughts

Sublimation

ego defence mechanism in which unacceptable urges are channelled into more appropriate activities

Substance induced mood

Person reports feeling depressed or anxious and there using a substance.

Subsyndromal

Below a specified level or threshold required to qualify for a condition

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

infant (one-year-old or younger) with no apparent medical condition suddenly dies during sleep

Suggestibility

effects of misinformation from external sources that lead to the creation of false memories

Superego

The aspect of the personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

area of the hypothalamus in which the body’s biological clock is located

Survey

list of questions to be answered by research participants—given as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically or conducted verbally—allowing researchers to collect data from a large number of people

Sustained full remission

Have yes used alcohol for more 12 months

Susto

A cultural explanation for distress and misfortune prevalent among some Latinos in the United States among people in Mexico Central America and South America. It is not recognized as an illness category among Latinos in the Caribbean. It’s an illness attributed to different events that cause a soul to leave the body and results in unhappiness and sickness as well as difficulties function and key social roles. Symptoms may appear at any time from days to years after the frightening experience. In extreme cases it may result in death. There are no specific about his symptoms however symptoms that are often reported include appetite disturbances inadequate excessive sleep troubled sleep or dreams feelings of sadness low self-worth interpersonal sensitivity and lack of motivation to do anything. Somatic symptoms accompanied it may include muscle aches and pains cold in the extremity’s headache stomachache and diarrhea. Precipitating events are diverse include natural phenomena animals’ interpersonal situations is Supernatural agents among others

Synesthesia

is a neurological phenomenon in which two or more bodily senses are coupled, stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway For instance, a person may hear colors.

Syntax

How words are organised into sentences

Systematic desensitisation

form of exposure therapy used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders by exposing a person to the feared object or situation through a stimulus hierarchy

Tactile hallucinations

Hallucinations involving the perception of being touched or having something under one’s skin. The most common ones are the sensation of electric shocks and formication

Taijin kyofusho

Japanese for the interpersonal fear disorder. It is a cultural syndrome characterized by anxiety about avoidance of interpersonal situations do the thought, feeling, or conviction that one’s appearance and actions and social interactions are inadequate or offensive to others.

Telegrammatic or telegraphic speech

In telegraphic speech conjunctions and articles are missed out; meaning is retained, and few words are used.

Temas multicultural thematic apperception test

A projective test designed to be culturally relevant to minority groups, especially Hispanic youths, using images and storytelling that relate to minority culture

Temper outburst

An emotional Outburst usually associated with children or those in emotional distress and characterized by stubbornness crying screaming Defiance angry ranting a resistance to tries to pacification and in some cases hitting. Physical control may be lost the person may be unable to remain still and even if the goal of the person is met, he or she may not be calmed

Temperament

how a person reacts to the world, including their activity level, starting when they are very young

Temperament

innate traits that influence how one thinks behaves, and reacts with the environment

Teratogen

A biological, chemical, or physical environmental agent that causes damage to the developing embryo or fetus

Thematic apperception test (tat)

projective test in which people are presented with ambiguous images, and they then make up stories to go with the photos to uncover their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles

Theory

A well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena

Theta wave

type of brain wave characteristic of the end of stage 1 NREM sleep, which has a moderately low amplitude and a frequency of 4–7 Hz

Thought blocking

Thought blocking, also referred to as thought withdrawal, refers to an abrupt stop in the middle of a train of thought; the individual might or might not be unable to continue the idea. This is type of formal thought disorder that can be seen in schizophrenia.

Thought insertion

A false belief that certain of one’s thoughts are not one’s own but rather inserted into one’s mind

Thought sonorization

A combined term for Gedankenlautwerden and Écho de la pensée (“thought echo”)

Thought-action Fusion

The tendency to treat thoughts and actions as equivalent

Token economy

In the controlled setting, individuals are reinforced for desirable behaviours with tokens (e.g., poker chips) exchanged for items or privileges.

Tolerance

state of requiring increasing quantities of the drug to gain the desired effect

Torpor

Torpor in psychopathology is usually taken to mean profound inactivity not caused by reduction in consciousness.

Tourette disorder

Symptoms need to occur for at least a year. Multiple motor tics and at least one motor tic.

Tourette Syndrome

Tourette syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette’s) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements. These are typically preceded by an unwanted urge or sensation in the affected muscles, can sometimes be suppressed temporarily, and characteristically change in location, strength, and frequency. Tourette’s is at the more severe end of a spectrum of tic disorders. The tics often go unnoticed by casual observers.

Traits

characteristic ways of behaving

Transference

process in psychoanalysis in which the patient transfers all of the positive or negative emotions associated with the patient’s other relationships to the psychoanalyst

Transgender hormone therapy

use of hormones to make one’s body look more like the opposite-sex

Transience

memory error in which unused memories fade with time

Trauma-bond

A strong emotional attachment between an abused person and his or her abuser.

Traumatic bonding

Traumatic bonding occurs as the result of ongoing cycles of abuse in which the intermittent reinforcement of reward and punishment creates powerful emotional bonds that are resistant to change.

Trial and error

problem-solving strategy in which multiple solutions are attempted until the correct one is found

Triangular theory of love

model of love based on three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment; several types of love exist, depending on the presence or absence of each of these components

Triarchic theory of intelligence

Sternberg’s theory of intelligence; three facets of intelligence: practical, creative, and analytical

Trichotillomania

Also known as hair pulling disorder, Trichotillomania (TTM) is an impulse control disorder characterized by a long-term urge that results in the pulling out of one’s hair. This occurs to such a degree that hair loss can be seen. Efforts to stop pulling hair typically fail. Hair removal may occur anywhere; however, the head and around the eyes are most common. The hair pulling is to such a degree that it results in distress.

Type A

psychological and behaviour patterns exhibited by individuals who tend to be highly competitive, impatient, rushed, and hostile toward others

Type B

psychological and behaviour pattern exhibited by a person who is relaxed and laid back

Unconditional positive regard

fundamental acceptance of a person regardless of what they say or do; term associated with humanistic psychology

Unconditioned response (UCR)

natural (unlearned) behaviour to a given stimulus

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

stimulus that elicits a reflexive response

Unconscious

The mental activity of which we are unaware and unable to access

Undoing

A person is overly nice to a person she had just insulted in her mind. A spouse unconsciously undoes his many adulterous acts by buying his partner lavish gifts. A process by which we avoid being punished for under desirable thoughts or actions.

Uninvolved parenting style

parents are indifferent, uninvolved, and sometimes referred to as neglectful; they don’t respond to the child’s needs and make relatively few demands

Unipolar depression

A serious mood disorder that consists of unremitting depression or periods of depression that do not alternate with periods of mania.

Vaginismus

Is the spasm on the outer vagina during sexual intercourse.

Validity

accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure

Variable interval reinforcement schedule

behaviour is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time have passed

Variable ratio reinforcement schedule

number of responses differ before a behaviour is rewarded

Verbigeration

Verbigeration is a verbal stereotypy in which usually one or several sentences or strings of fragmented words are repeated continuously. Sometimes individuals will produce incomprehensible jargon in which stereotypies are embedded. The tone of voice is usually monotonous. This can be produced spontaneously or precipitated by questioning. The term verbigeration was first used in psychiatry by Karl Kahlbaum in 1874, and it referred to a manner of talking which was very fast and incomprehensible. At the time verbigeration was seen as a ‘disorder of language’ and stood for a central feature of catatonia. The word is derived from the Latin word ‘verbum’ (also the source of ‘verbiage’), plus the verb ‘gerĕre’, to carry on or conduct, from which the Latin verb ‘verbigerāre’, to talk or chat, is derived. However, clinically the term verbigeration never achieved popularity and as such has virtually disappeared from psychiatric terminology. Compare Echolalia.

Verstimmung

It refers to an ill-humored mood state often accompanied by low mood and depressive symptoms. The people surrounding the indiviadual often feel upset by this condition.

Vicarious punishment

A process where the observer sees the model punished, making the observer less likely to imitate the model’s behaviour

Vicarious reinforcement

A process where the observer sees the model rewarded, making the observer more likely to imitate the model’s behaviour.

Victims and survivor

Defined in this report as individuals who have been sexually abused as children.

Virtual reality exposure therapy

uses a simulation rather than the actual feared object or situation to help people conquer their fears

Visual encoding

input of images

Voluntary treatment

therapy that a person chooses to attend to obtain relief from her symptoms

Vorbeigehen; Vorbeireden

In vorbeigehen or vorbeireden, an individual will answer a question in such a way that it is clear the question was understood, though the answer itself is very obviously wrong. For example: “How many legs does a dog have?” – “Six”. This condition occurs in Ganser syndrome and has been seen in prisoners awaiting trial. Vorbeigehen (giving approximate answers) was the original term used by Ganser but Vorbeireden (talking past the point) is the term in use (Goldin 1955). This behavior is also seen in people trying to feign psychiatric disorders (hence its association with prisoners).

Wahneinfall

Wahneinfall is alternate term for autochthonous delusions or delusional intuition. This is one of the types of primary delusions in which a firm belief comes into the individual’s mind ‘out of the blue’ or as an intuition, hence called delusional intuition. Other types of primary delusions include delusional mood (or atmosphere), delusional (apophanous) perception and delusional memories. Care must be taken not to impugn an otherwise rational individual’s instinctive aversion or inexpressible sense of or belief about a thing by dismissing it as Wahneinfall.

Wakefulness

characterised by high levels of sensory awareness, thought, and behaviour

Waxy flexibility

Slight even resistance to positioning by the examiner. Waxy flexibility, also known as Cerea flexibilitas, meaning is characterized by an individual’s movements having the feeling of a plastic resistance, as if the person were made of wax. This occurs in catatonic schizophrenia, and a person suffering from this condition can have their limbs placed in fixed positions as if the person were in fact made from wax.

Waxy rigidity

Compare Mitmachen and Waxy flexibility.

Windigo Psychosis

Windigo (also Wendigo, Windago, Windiga, Witiko, and numerous other variants) psychosis is a culture-bound disorder which involves an intense craving for human flesh and the fear that one will turn into a cannibal. This was alleged to have occurred among Algonquian Indian cultures.

Withdrawal

Not using drugs for a while your body may go through

Withdrawal

variety of negative symptoms experienced when drug use is discontinued

Witzelsucht

Witzelsucht is a tendency to tell inappropriate jokes and creating excessive facetiousness and inappropriate or pointless humor. It is seen in Frontal lobe disorders usually along with moria. Recent research has shown that it may also be seen in frontotemporal dementia.

Word approximation

Usage of words in an unconventional or inappropriate way (as in metonymy), or usage of new but understandable words that are conventionally constructed (e.g., handshoes for gloves, time measure for clock, and easify for simplify), contrasting with neologisms which are new words whose origins cannot be understood.

Word-salad

Word Salad (derived from the German Wortsalat) is characterized by confused, and often repetitious, language with no apparent meaning or relationship attached to them. It is often symptomatic of various mental illnesses, such as psychoses, including schizophrenia. Compare Derailment.

Working backwards

heuristic in which you begin to solve a problem by focusing on the result

Würgstimme

Würgstimme refers to speaking in an odd muffled or strangled voice. It is mainly seen in schizophrenia.

Yerkes-Dodson law

simple tasks are performed best when arousal levels are relatively high, while complex tasks are best served when arousal is lower

Zygote

The structure created when a sperm and egg merge at conception; begins as a single cell and rapidly divides to form the embryo and placenta.

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