History & Pioneers
Famous for his black-and-white diagnostic images, this Swiss psychiatrist was nicknamed "Kleck" (German for "inkblot") as a youth.
Who is Hermann Rorschach?
This classic anxiety disorder is formally defined as an irrational, intense fear of being in public places or open spaces from which escape might be difficult.
What is agoraphobia?
This physiologist accidentally discovered classical conditioning while studying the digestive salivation cycles of dogs.
Who is Ivan Pavlov?
This primary chemical messenger in the brain's reward pathway reinforces pleasurable behaviors and plays a central role in addiction.
What is dopamine?
Characterized by cycles of mania and depression, this condition was historically known to the medical community as "manic-depressive illness."
What is bipolar disorder?
This Austrian physician is universally recognized as the father of psychoanalysis and famous for his theories on the unconscious mind.
Who is Sigmund Freud?
Developed by Aaron Beck, this prominent form of psychotherapy focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviors.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
Conducted in 1961, this famous nursery school experiment demonstrated that children are able to learn aggressive behaviors by observing others.
What is the Bobo doll experiment (Albert Bandura)?
This term describes the phenomenon where a user requires larger doses of a substance to achieve the same initial psychological effect.
What is tolerance?
Hallucinations and delusions are classified as this type of symptom in schizophrenia, meaning they reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions.
What are positive symptoms?
This historic 19th-century activist revolutionized mental healthcare in the U.S. by aggressively lobbying Congress to create the first generation of American mental asylums.
Who is Dorothea Dix?
Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, this dissociative condition involves the presence of two or more distinct personality states.
What is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)?
Philip Zimbardo directed this 1971 simulation at Stanford University that had to be cut short after six days due to extreme emotional trauma.
What is the Stanford prison experiment?
Published in the DSM-5, this specific habit became the very first non-substance, behavioral addiction to be officially recognized as a diagnosable disorder.
What is gambling disorder?
This personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive pattern of instability in relationships, self-image, and emotions, often accompanied by intense fears of abandonment.
What is borderline personality disorder (BPD)?
This American psychologist is famous for creating the "hierarchy of needs," a pyramid stretching from basic physiological survival to self-actualization.
Who is Abraham Maslow?
This therapeutic approach uses techniques like mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation, and was explicitly designed by Marsha Linehan to treat Borderline Personality Disorder.
What is Dialectical Behavio Therapy (DBT)?
In his famously unethical 1920 experiment, John B. Watson classically conditioned a 9-month-old infant to fear a white rat and other furry objects. The child is known to history by this pseudonym.
Who is Little Albert?
This severe, potentially life-threatening alcohol withdrawal syndrome is characterized by sudden confusion, tremors, and vivid hallucinations.
What is delirium tremens (DTs)?
This almond-shaped cluster of nuclei deep within the temporal lobe is primary to processing emotions like fear and anger.
What is the amygdala?
This modern form of cognitive behavioral therapy encourages people to accept their thoughts and feelings rather than fight them, and was developed by psychologist Steven C. Hayes in 1982.
What is Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
Developed by Carl Rogers, this humanistic therapy style requires the therapist to show warmth, empathy, and "unconditional" acceptance toward the client.
What is client-centered (or person-centered) therapy?
In Walter Mischel's famous 1960s willpower experiment, children were left alone in a room and promised a second treat if they could resist eating this initial sugary treat for 15 minutes.
What is a marshmallow?
This medication blocks opioid receptors in the brain and is commonly used as a nasal spray to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.
What is Naloxone? (also accepted: Narcan)
Damage to this specific area of the left temporal lobe leaves patients able to speak fluently, but their words lack meaning, creating a "word salad."
What is Wernicke's area?