PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE PERSONALITY
A personality trait disturbance characterized by immaturity and failure to develop an adequate balance between dependence and independence, and between…
PATHOLOGICAL INTOXICATION
An acute psychotic episode occurring in (1) individuals whose tolerance for alcohol is low due to an unstable personality or…
PEAK-CLIPPING
Increasing the intelligibility of transmitted speech by “clipping,” or eliminating, high intensity sounds and amplifying the low intensities.Peak-clipping is accomplished…
PELLAGRINOUS PSYCHOSIS
A metabolic disorder produced by a severe deficiency of vitamin B (niacin, nicotinic acid). Deficiencies of thiamine, riboflavin, and ascorbic…
PEPTIC ULCER
A craterlike wound in the inner wall of the stomach or duodenum resulting from the corrosive effects of acid-containing digestive…
PERPLEXITY STATES
A form of mental confusion in which the patient is assailed with doubt and uncertainty about his own thoughts.Perplexity is…
PAIN DRIVE
drive directed to the removal of noxious stimulation.This basic drive is activated by special sense organs in the form of…
PAIRED ASSOCIATES LEARNING
A technique for studying learning. Words, syllables, digits, or other items are learned in pairs, and the subject is later…
PARALOGICAL THINKING
False, illogical thinking found particularly in schizophrenic reactionsParalogical thinking may take many forms. A patient who is preoccupied with his…
PARAMNESIA
A falsification or distortion of memory; a confusion of fact with fantasy in recalling events.We have all experienced some of…
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…