PELLAGRINOUS PSYCHOSIS
A metabolic disorder produced by a severe deficiency of vitamin B (niacin, nicotinic acid). Deficiencies of thiamine, riboflavin, and ascorbic…
PEAK-CLIPPING
Increasing the intelligibility of transmitted speech by “clipping,” or eliminating, high intensity sounds and amplifying the low intensities.Peak-clipping is accomplished…
PATHOLOGICAL INTOXICATION
An acute psychotic episode occurring in (1) individuals whose tolerance for alcohol is low due to an unstable personality or…
PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE PERSONALITY
A personality trait disturbance characterized by immaturity and failure to develop an adequate balance between dependence and independence, and between…
PARKINSON’S DISEASE
A chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system, usually occurring between the ages of fifty and seventy. Atrophy takes…
PARATHYROID GLANDS
Two pairs of small endocrine glands adjacent to the thyroid gland in the neck, which regulate calcium metabolism and maintain…
PARANOID STATES
A psychotic disorder characterized by transient, poorly systematized delusions.Paranoid states appear to be intermediate between “true” paranoia and paranoid schizophrenia.…
PARANOID REACTION (GENERAL)
A psychotic reaction marked by more or less systematized delusions without personality disorganization or deterioration. The term was first applied…
PARAMNESIA
A falsification or distortion of memory; a confusion of fact with fantasy in recalling events.We have all experienced some of…
PARALOGICAL THINKING
False, illogical thinking found particularly in schizophrenic reactionsParalogical thinking may take many forms. A patient who is preoccupied with his…
PAIRED ASSOCIATES LEARNING
A technique for studying learning. Words, syllables, digits, or other items are learned in pairs, and the subject is later…
PAIN DRIVE
drive directed to the removal of noxious stimulation.This basic drive is activated by special sense organs in the form of…
OVERPROTECTION (“Momlsm”)
Every young child needs a great deal of care, attention, and “mothering,” and every older child needs help and guidance…
OSS ASSESSMENT TESTS
A series of personality tests, primarily of the situational type, devised for the selection of candidates for strategic missions during…
ORGONE THERAPY (Vegetother- apy)
The therapeutic approach of Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), based on the dissipation of sexual tensions through the attainment of full orgasm.Reich…
ORGAN NEUROSIS
The psychoanalytic term for a neurosis in which bodily disturbances are prominent symptoms.The term recognizes the fact that unconscious mental…
ORGANISMIC THEORY
A holistic theory of personality developed primarily by Kurt Goldstein (1879-1965).Organismic theory views the individual as a totality and emphasizes…
ORGANICISM (Organic Viewpoint)
The theory that all disorders, both physical and mental, have an organic basis.Those who adhere to this point of view…
ORGANIC SENSES
Sensitivity to changes occurring inside the body through receptors located in the internal organs.A great deal of activity is constantly…
ORAL CHARACTER
In psychoanalytic theory, a pattern of personal traits determined by drives originating in the oral stage of psychosexual development.The oral…