5.3-5.4 Vocab

A disturbance in people’s thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that causes distress or suffering and impairs their daily lives.

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

The concept that genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorder.

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

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

A group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized or unusual motor behavior, and negative symptoms (such as diminished emotional expression); includes schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder.

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

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

(Also called process schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten.

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