Myers Chapter 12: Abnormal Psychology

deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.

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

the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, updated as a 2000 “text revision”, a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

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

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

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations.

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

an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions).

an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crisis.

psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a bodily form without the apparent physical cause.

a rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no psychological basis can be found.

a somatoform disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease.

disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts and feelings.

a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personality. Formerly called multiple personality disorder.

psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.

a mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities.

a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state.

a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.

a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.

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

psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

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