PURPOSELESS HYPERACTIVITY
A symptom of brain or mental disorder comprised of energetic and prolonged periods of activity with no discernable goal.
PYGMALIONISM
Falling in love with one's own creation. In Greek mythology, Pygmalion sculpted a statue of Aphrodite and promptly fell in…
PRESOLUTION VARIABILITY
Those multiple behaviors exhibited by a client or patient seen before the solution to their problems is found.
PREVENTIVE STRESS MANAGEMENT
Like preventive counseling, preventive stress management adds to the strategy by providing information on strategies for coping, stressor information and…
PRIMAL SCENE
In theory, the primal scene is the first time a child witnesses his or her parents having intercourse. The child…
PRIMARY CONSCIOUSNESS
American Biologist Gerald Edelman first used the phrase "primary consciousness". It describes the human skill to integrate observations with memories.…
PRIMARY HYPERSOMNIA
Primary Hypersomnia is a disorder with symptoms of excessive need for sleep. These are manifested as lengthy sleep sessions and/or…
PRIMARY PROCESS
Theoretically, free, uninhibited and unconscious flow of psychic energy from one thought to another. Dominated by the pleasure principle and…
PRIMARY THOUGHT DISORDER
Primary thought disorder refers to a disturbance in cognition, generally and most often seen in schizophrenia. It has symptoms of…
PRISONER'S DILEMMA
The term prisoner's dilemma comes from game theory and is basically the choice faced by each participant. Does one confess…
PROBLEM FINDING
Not to be confused with problem solving, problem finding locates problems worth solving.
PROCEPTIVITY
The more active period of the female during the mating season. Proceptivity is demonstrated when the female actively seeks the…
PRO-CHOICE
An adjective describing someone who supports a woman's right to choose and be afforded all legal options regarding her reproductive…
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Professional ethics are rules of conduct for a specific profession and are generally drawn up by members of the professional…
PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS
A judgment of program effectiveness comes from any conclusions drawn about the outcome of the program by testing an intervention…
PROGRESSIVE SUPRANUCLEAR PALSY
A neurological disorder characterized by oculomotor palsy particularly affecting downward gaze. The condition may or may not be accompanied by…
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE
Also known as the projective method, projective technique is any personality assessment process that uses a fixed series of random…