29 Questions
What is the primary gain or reinforcing event that maintains conversion symptoms?
Relief from anxiety and unconscious conflicts
What is the essential feature of illness anxiety disorder?
Excessive concern with being sick rather than physical symptoms
What are dissociative experiences?
Normal alterations or detachments in consciousness or identity
What is the term used to describe physical symptoms without known organic cause?
Hysterical neurosis
What is the definition of somatic symptom disorders?
Excessive or maladaptive response to physical symptoms or health concerns
What is the primary gain or reinforcing event that maintains conversion symptoms?
Relief from anxiety and unconscious conflicts
What is the term for severe anxiety focused on the possibility of having a serious disease?
Somatic symptom disorder
What is the term used to describe physical malfunctioning without any physical or organic pathology?
Functional neurological symptom disorder
What is the term used to describe the sensation of a lump in the throat that makes it difficult to swallow or talk?
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures
What is the term used to describe the deliberate production of symptoms for attention or to assume the sick role?
Factitious disorder
What is the term used to describe the deliberate making of someone else sick?
Factitious disorder imposed on another
What is the term used to describe unconscious cognitive processes that play a role in psychopathology?
Unconscious mental processes
What is the term used to describe the therapeutic reexperiencing of emotionally traumatic events?
Catharsis
Which term refers to excessive or maladaptive response to physical symptoms or associated health concerns?
Somatic Symptom Disorders
What do mild dissociative experiences involve for most people?
Normal slight alterations in consciousness or identity
What does the term 'hysterical neurosis' suggest about the cause of somatic symptom and dissociative disorders?
The cause is primarily psychological in nature
What do somatic symptom disorders sometimes group under the shorthand label of 'medically unexplained physical symptoms' signify?
The physical symptoms have no known medical cause
What is the primary characteristic of dissociation or dissociative experiences?
Normal alterations in consciousness or identity
What do the problems preoccupying individuals with somatic symptom disorders initially seem to be?
Physical disorders
What term was used by Pierre Briquet to describe patients with seemingly endless lists of somatic complaints for which no medical basis could be found?
Briquet’s syndrome
Which disorder is characterized by anxiety or fear that one has a serious disease, with the individual preoccupied with bodily symptoms and misinterpreting them as indicative of illness or disease?
Illness Anxiety Disorder
What was the term formerly used to refer to Illness Anxiety Disorder, which is still widely used among the public?
Hypochondriasis
According to Sigmund Freud, Conversion Hysteria indicated the conversion of unconscious emotional conflicts into a more acceptable form in the presence of:
Unexplained physical symptoms
Which term, as defined in psychoanalytic theory, suggested a specific cause for certain disorders and was eliminated from the diagnostic system in 1980 for being too vague?
Neurosis
What did Pierre Briquet, a French physician, describe in 1859 as patients with seemingly endless lists of somatic complaints for which he could find no medical basis?
'Briquet’s syndrome'
Which disorder is characterized by severe anxiety focused on the possibility of having or developing a serious disease, and if physical symptoms are relatively severe and associated with anxiety, the diagnosis would be different?
'Illness Anxiety Disorder'
What was the term used to describe physical symptoms without known organic cause or dramatic behavior thought to be characteristic of women?
'Hysterical'
According to psychoanalytic theory, what was suggested as a specific cause for certain disorders and was eliminated from the diagnostic system in 1980 for being too vague?
'Neurosis'
'Illness Anxiety Disorder' is characterized by anxiety or fear that one has a serious disease, with the essential problem being:
'Severe anxiety'
Study Notes
Conversion Symptoms
- The primary gain or reinforcing event that maintains conversion symptoms is attention or avoidance of responsibility.
Illness Anxiety Disorder
- The essential feature of illness anxiety disorder is anxiety or fear that one has a serious disease.
- The essential problem is the preoccupation with bodily symptoms and misinterpreting them as indicative of illness or disease.
Dissociative Experiences
- Dissociative experiences involve a disconnection or separation from one's thoughts, feelings, or sense of self.
- Mild dissociative experiences involve a sense of detachment from one's body or surroundings and are common for most people.
Somatic Symptom Disorders
- Somatic symptom disorders are characterized by excessive or maladaptive response to physical symptoms or associated health concerns.
- They are sometimes referred to as 'medically unexplained physical symptoms'.
- The primary characteristic of dissociation or dissociative experiences is a disconnection or separation from one's thoughts, feelings, or sense of self.
Terminology
- The term 'hysterical neurosis' suggests that the cause of somatic symptom and dissociative disorders is related to the unconscious mind or emotional conflicts.
- 'Medically unexplained physical symptoms' signify that the physical symptoms cannot be explained by a medical condition.
- The term ' Briquet's syndrome' was used to describe patients with seemingly endless lists of somatic complaints for which no medical basis could be found.
- 'Hypochondriasis' was formerly used to refer to Illness Anxiety Disorder, which is still widely used among the public.
Theory
- According to psychoanalytic theory, Conversion Hysteria indicated the conversion of unconscious emotional conflicts into a more acceptable form in the presence of anxiety or other unbearable emotions.
- The term 'hysteria' was eliminated from the diagnostic system in 1980 for being too vague.
Other Terms
- 'Munchausen syndrome' is used to describe the deliberate production of symptoms for attention or to assume the sick role.
- 'Munchausen syndrome by proxy' is used to describe the deliberate making of someone else sick.
- 'Globus hystericus' is used to describe the sensation of a lump in the throat that makes it difficult to swallow or talk.
- 'Psychodynamic' is used to describe unconscious cognitive processes that play a role in psychopathology.
Test your knowledge of somatic symptom disorders and dissociative experiences with this quiz. Identify the correct definitions and characteristics of these psychological phenomena.
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