Category: A
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Abulia
Lack of will or motivation, often expressed as inability to make decisions or set goals. Lack of will or motivation, often expressed as inability to make decisions; Loss of will power. Impaired ability to make decisions, perform voluntary actions, react emotionally or verbally; commonly associated with bilateral frontal lobe disease. Absence or impairment of will…
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Abstract thinking
A thinking that is removed from the facts of the “here and now,” is characterized by the ability to use facts to develop generalizations. Often it is tested by asking patients to interpret proverbs. The ability to calculate, sort, categorize, conceptualize, draw conclusions, or interpret and condense complex ideas. In clinical medicine, abstract thinking is…
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Abstract attitude (categorical attitude)
A type of cognitive functioning that includes assuming a mental set voluntarily; shifting voluntarily from a specific aspect of a situation to the general; keeping in mind simultaneously various aspects of a situation; grasping the essentials of a whole, breaking it into its parts, and isolating them voluntarily; and/or thinking or performing symbolically. A characteristic…
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Abstinence
Forgoing some kind of gratification, such as not engaging in sex. In the area of alcohol or drug dependence, being without the substance on which the subject had been dependent. Voluntarily denying oneself some kind of gratification; in the area of alcohol or drug dependence, being without the substance on which the subject is dependent.…
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Absolutistic thinking
A belief in absolutes, a “black and white” way of thinking, with no middle ground or gray areas.
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Abreaction
Emotional release or discharge after recalling a painful experience that has been repressed because it was not consciously tolerable. A therapeutic effect sometimes occurs through partial or repeated discharge of the painful affect. A therapeutic effect sometimes occurs through partial discharge or desensitization of the painful emotions and increased insight. In psychoanalysis, the removal of…
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Abnormality
In psychological terms, any mental, emotional, or behavioral activity that deviates from culturally or scientifically accepted norms. In psychological terms, any mental, emotional, or behavioral activity that deviates from culturally or scientifically accepted norms. A form or condition which is not usual. A physical abnormality or distortion, a behavioral or mental disorder, or any deviation…
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Abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS)
A widely used assessment screening scale for tardive dyskinesia, a chronic, involuntary movement disorder that may develop in patients who have been treated for long periods with antipsychotics, especially conventional antipsychotic medications such as haloperidol (HALDOL).
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Abilify
Brand name for the Atypical Antipsychotic drug Aripiprazole.
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Aberrant behavior
A behavior that deviates from what is normal and expected. A behavior that deviates from what is normal and expected.