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…
PARANOID REACTION (GENERAL)
A psychotic reaction marked by more or less systematized delusions without personality disorganization or deterioration. The term was first applied…
PARANOID STATES
A psychotic disorder characterized by transient, poorly systematized delusions.Paranoid states appear to be intermediate between “true” paranoia and paranoid schizophrenia.…
PARATHYROID GLANDS
Two pairs of small endocrine glands adjacent to the thyroid gland in the neck, which regulate calcium metabolism and maintain…
PARKINSON’S DISEASE
A chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system, usually occurring between the ages of fifty and seventy. Atrophy takes…
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…
PRESENILE DEMENTIA OF THE ALZHEIMER'S TYPE (PDAT)
An outdated label for Alzheimer's type dementia before the patient's 65th birthday.
PRESSURE SPOT
Particularly sensitive points or locales on the body that respond to pressure stimuli.
PRETEST-POSTTEST DESIGN
The determination of who should be given treatment or control conditions and how those treatments or control situations affected the…
PRIMARY ATTENTION
Requiring no conscious effort on an individual's part, primary attention is the attention one shows to a powerful stimulus. i.e.…
PRIMARY EMOTION
Universally accepted and recognized emotions. These include love, hate, joy and surprise.
PRIMARY MICROCEPHALY
A birth disorder primarily evidenced only by microcephaly. The face, while normal-sized, is accompanied by a small cranial cavity with…
PRIMARY SKIN SENSES
Like primary colors, primary skin senses are the basic senses felt by the skin. They are: heat, cold, pressure and…
PRINCIPLED NEGOTIATION
Principled negotiations have as their goal an honest and fair resolution of an issue regardless of interpersonal relations between the…