BCS Written Post-Related Psychology cheat sheet

Definition: psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes; 'science' requires observable, testable, replicable evidence rather than intuition alone.

Goals in order: description, explanation, prediction, and control/change of behaviour.

Structuralism (Wundt, Titchener): introspection to break experience into elements; Functionalism (James): purpose and adaptive value of mental processes.

Psychoanalysis (Freud): unconscious conflict and early experience; Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner): observable behaviour and environmental contingencies.

Gestalt (Wertheimer, Köhler): wholes precede parts; perception is organised, not additive. Humanistic (Maslow, Rogers): self-actualisation and subjective experience.

Cognitive revolution (1950s-60s): mental processes modelled as information processing; replaced strict behaviourism as dominant approach.

Methods: experiment (causal, manipulated IV, random assignment), quasi-experiment (no random assignment), correlational (prediction only), case study, survey, naturalistic observation.

Correlation coefficient r ranges -1 to +1; r near 0 means no linear relation; correlation does not establish causation (third-variable problem).

Sampling and control: random sampling aids generalisability; random assignment aids internal validity; double-blind design controls experimenter and demand effects.

Neuron parts: dendrites receive, soma integrates, axon conducts, myelin sheaths speed conduction, axon terminals release neurotransmitter into the synapse.

Resting potential about -70 mV; depolarisation past threshold triggers an action potential that obeys the all-or-none law; refractory period limits firing rate.

Key neurotransmitters: acetylcholine (muscle, memory), dopamine (reward, movement), serotonin (mood, sleep), norepinephrine (arousal), GABA (main inhibitory), glutamate (main excitatory).

Divisions: CNS (brain, spinal cord) and PNS; PNS splits into somatic (voluntary) and autonomic; autonomic splits into sympathetic (aroused, fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest, restore).

Hindbrain: medulla (vital reflexes), pons (sleep, relay), cerebellum (balance, motor coordination). Midbrain: reticular formation (arousal), substantia nigra (movement).

Forebrain: thalamus (sensory relay), hypothalamus (homeostasis, hunger, temperature), limbic system - amygdala (emotion, fear), hippocampus (memory consolidation).

Cerebral cortex lobes: frontal (motor, planning, speech production/Broca), parietal (somatosensory), temporal (auditory, Wernicke's language comprehension), occipital (vision).

Split-brain and lateralisation: left hemisphere typically language and analytic processing, right hemisphere spatial and holistic processing.

Endocrine glands secrete hormones into the bloodstream: pituitary (master gland), thyroid (metabolism), adrenal (cortisol, adrenaline), pancreas (insulin), gonads (sex hormones).

Sensation is detection by receptor cells; perception is the organisation and interpretation of that sensory input.

Psychophysics: absolute threshold = weakest detectable stimulus 50% of the time; difference threshold (JND) = smallest detectable change; Weber's law: JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus.

Signal detection theory separates sensitivity (d-prime) from response bias (criterion); bias shifts with motivation and payoff.

Gestalt grouping laws: proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, common fate; figure-ground organisation underlies object perception.

Depth cues: binocular - retinal disparity and convergence; monocular - linear perspective, relative size, interposition, texture gradient, motion parallax.

Perceptual constancies (size, shape, colour, brightness) keep perception stable despite changing retinal images; illusions (Müller-Lyer, Ponzo) reveal the inference process.

Attention: selective (filtering, cocktail-party effect), divided (limited capacity), sustained (vigilance declines over time); Stroop effect shows automatic processing interference.

Consciousness states: sleep stages N1-N3 and REM; REM shows EEG resembling wakefulness with muscle atonia and vivid dreaming; circadian rhythm is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus and melatonin.

Altered states: hypnosis (suggestibility, divided consciousness), meditation, and psychoactive drugs classed as depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens, with tolerance and withdrawal.

Classical conditioning (Pavlov): neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus eliciting conditioned response.

Acquisition, extinction (CS alone), spontaneous recovery, generalisation and discrimination are the core classical-conditioning phenomena.

Higher-order conditioning: a well-established CS can serve as the US to condition a new CS.

Operant conditioning (Skinner): behaviour changes according to its consequences; the law of effect (Thorndike) states rewarded responses strengthen.

Reinforcement increases behaviour; punishment decreases it. Positive = add a stimulus; negative = remove a stimulus. Negative reinforcement is not punishment.

Schedules: fixed-ratio (high steady rate, pause after reward), variable-ratio (highest, most resistant to extinction), fixed-interval (scalloped), variable-interval (slow steady).

Shaping reinforces successive approximations; chaining links responses in sequence; extinction involves removing the reinforcer, producing an extinction burst.

Observational learning (Bandura): attention, retention, reproduction, motivation; the Bobo doll study showed aggression can be learned vicariously without direct reinforcement.

Cognitive learning: latent learning (Tolman's maze - learning without performance), insight learning (Köhler), and learned helplessness (Seligman) as an uncontrollable-aversive-event effect.

Atkinson-Shiffrin model: sensory memory (iconic ~0.3 s, echoic ~2-4 s) → short-term memory (~7±2 items, ~20-30 s) → long-term memory (unlimited, relatively permanent).

Working memory (Baddeley): central executive plus phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer.

Long-term memory types: explicit/declarative (episodic, semantic) versus implicit/procedural; encoding, storage and retrieval are distinct stages.

Encoding depth: maintenance rehearsal is shallow; elaborative rehearsal and self-reference produce better recall; encoding specificity means retrieval cues must match encoding context.

Forgetting: decay, interference (proactive = old disrupts new; retroactive = new disrupts old), retrieval failure, motivated forgetting; Ebbinghaus's curve shows rapid early forgetting.

Serial position effect: primacy (LTM) and recency (STM) portions recalled better than the middle.

Problem solving: algorithms guarantee a solution; heuristics are fast but error-prone. Means-ends analysis, working backward, and analogy are common strategies.

Biases: confirmation bias, availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, anchoring, functional fixedness and mental set block solutions.

Language: phonemes → morphemes → syntax → semantics → pragmatics; Chomsky's nativist LAD versus Skinner's learning account; linguistic relativity (Whorf) links language and thought.

Motivation theories: drive-reduction (homeostasis, Hull), arousal (Yerkes-Dodson inverted-U; optimum rises with task simplicity), incentive, and Maslow's hierarchy (physiological → safety → belonging → esteem → self-actualisation).

Intrinsic motivation arises from interest; extrinsic from external reward; overjustification effect: rewarding an already-enjoyed activity can reduce intrinsic interest.

Hunger is regulated by hypothalamic nuclei (lateral = feeding, ventromedial = satiety), glucose, ghrelin and leptin; set-point theory versus settling-point theory.

Emotion components: physiological arousal, expressive behaviour, subjective experience, cognitive appraisal.

Theories: James-Lange (body first), Cannon-Bard (simultaneous), Schachter-Singer two-factor (arousal + cognitive label), Lazarus (appraisal precedes emotion), facial-feedback hypothesis.

Stress is the response to demands appraised as exceeding resources; Selye's general adaptation syndrome = alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

Stress pathways: sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (fast, adrenaline) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (slower, cortisol).

Coping: problem-focused versus emotion-focused; social support and perceived control buffer stress; Type A behaviour and hostility are linked to coronary risk.

Spearman: g (general factor) plus s (specific); Thurstone: primary mental abilities; Cattell-Horn: fluid (Gf, declines with age) versus crystallised (Gc, grows with experience).

Gardner's multiple intelligences (eight domains) and Sternberg's triarchic theory (analytical, creative, practical) are influential but psychometrically contested.

IQ: ratio IQ = (mental age ÷ chronological age) × 100; deviation IQ is standardised with mean 100 and SD 15.

Reliability = consistency (test-retest, split-half, inter-rater); validity = accuracy of measurement (content, criterion, construct); reliability limits validity.

Normal curve: about 68% within ±1 SD, 95% within ±2 SD, 99.7% within ±3 SD; standardisation requires a representative norm group.

Heritability is the proportion of variance in a population attributable to genetic differences; it is not a fixed property of an individual.

Freud's structure: id (pleasure principle), ego (reality principle), superego (morality); psychosexual stages oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital; defence mechanisms (repression, projection, displacement, rationalisation).

Trait theories: Allport (cardinal, central, secondary), Eysenck (extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism), Big Five (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism).

Other perspectives: Bandura's reciprocal determinism and self-efficacy, Rotter's locus of control, Rogers's self-concept and unconditional positive regard, and projective (Rorschach, TAT) versus objective (MMPI) assessment.

Prenatal stages: germinal (first ~2 weeks), embryonic (~2-8 weeks, major organ formation), fetal (~9 weeks to birth); teratogens cause greatest harm in the embryonic period.

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0-2, object permanence), preoperational (2-7, egocentrism, conservation failure), concrete operational (7-11, conservation, classification), formal operational (11+, abstract reasoning).

Vygotsky: social interaction drives development; zone of proximal development and scaffolding; language as a tool of thought.

Attachment: Bowlby's ethological theory; Ainsworth's Strange Situation classifies secure, avoidant, ambivalent/resistant and disorganised types; critical/sensitive period debate.

Erikson's psychosocial stages include trust vs mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs shame (1-3), initiative vs guilt (3-6), industry vs inferiority (6-12), identity vs role confusion (adolescence), intimacy vs isolation (young adulthood), generativity vs stagnation (middle age), integrity vs despair (old age).

Kohlberg's moral stages: preconventional (punishment, exchange), conventional (approval, law and order), postconventional (social contract, universal principles); Gilligan's ethics-of-care critique.

Language development: cooing, babbling, one-word holophrases (~1 year), telegraphic speech (~2 years), then grammar; overgeneralisation errors show rule learning.

Ageing: fluid abilities decline earlier than crystallised; cognitive changes are heterogeneous, and cohort, not just age, explains much variation.

Attitude components: affective, behavioural, cognitive; attitudes predict behaviour best when specific, strong and accessible.

Cognitive dissonance (Festinger): inconsistency between attitudes and behaviour motivates change; insufficient justification and effort justification increase dissonance.

Persuasion: source credibility and attractiveness, message framing, two-sided arguments, and audience involvement; elaboration-likelihood model distinguishes central and peripheral routes.

Conformity (Asch): line-judgement task; conformity rises with group size up to about 3-4 and with unanimity; normative versus informational influence.

Obedience (Milgram): proximity, legitimacy of authority and group support modify obedience; Zimbardo's prison study illustrates role and situational power.

Group processes: social facilitation (simple tasks improve, complex tasks worsen), social loafing, deindividuation, groupthink (Janis), group polarisation, and risky shift.

Attribution: fundamental attribution error (over-weighting disposition for others), actor-observer bias, self-serving bias; Kelley's covariation model uses consensus, distinctiveness, consistency.

Prejudice and discrimination: in-group/out-group bias (Tajfel's minimal group paradigm), stereotype threat, scapegoat theory, contact hypothesis (Allport) as a prejudice-reduction strategy.

Prosocial behaviour: bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility (Darley and Latané); helping rises with clear need, similarity and mood; aggression is linked to frustration, modelling and media effects.

Defining abnormality: statistical deviation, violation of norms, personal distress, dysfunction and danger; no single criterion is sufficient.

DSM and ICD classify disorders descriptively; key changes in DSM-5 include removal of the multiaxial system and merging of substance abuse/dependence.

Anxiety disorders: generalised anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety, OCD and PTSD (the last two grouped separately in DSM-5); prevalence, duration and impairment criteria apply.

Mood disorders: major depressive disorder (≥2 weeks of depressed mood/anhedonia plus ≥5 symptoms) and bipolar I/II (mania or hypomania); suicide risk assessment is essential.

Schizophrenia: positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations), negative symptoms (flat affect, avolition), disorganised speech; dopamine hypothesis and neurodevelopmental models.

Personality disorders grouped in clusters A (odd/eccentric), B (dramatic/emotional) and C (anxious/fearful); diagnosis requires enduring, inflexible patterns causing impairment.

Assessment methods: clinical interview, mental status examination, psychometric tests, behavioural observation, and neuropsychological assessment; validity and cultural sensitivity matter.

Biomedical treatments: antidepressants (SSRIs), antipsychotics (dopamine antagonists), mood stabilisers (lithium), anxiolytics; monitor side-effects and adherence.

Psychological therapies: psychoanalytic, behavioural (systematic desensitisation, exposure), cognitive and CBT (Beck), humanistic/client-centred (Rogers), and family/systemic therapy; evidence-based practice matches treatment to disorder.

Definition: psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes; 'science' requires observable, testable, replicable evidence rather than intuition alone.

Goals in order: description, explanation, prediction, and control/change of behaviour.

Structuralism (Wundt, Titchener): introspection to break experience into elements; Functionalism (James): purpose and adaptive value of mental processes.

Psychoanalysis (Freud): unconscious conflict and early experience; Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner): observable behaviour and environmental contingencies.

Gestalt (Wertheimer, Köhler): wholes precede parts; perception is organised, not additive. Humanistic (Maslow, Rogers): self-actualisation and subjective experience.

Cognitive revolution (1950s-60s): mental processes modelled as information processing; replaced strict behaviourism as dominant approach.

Methods: experiment (causal, manipulated IV, random assignment), quasi-experiment (no random assignment), correlational (prediction only), case study, survey, naturalistic observation.

Correlation coefficient r ranges -1 to +1; r near 0 means no linear relation; correlation does not establish causation (third-variable problem).

Sampling and control: random sampling aids generalisability; random assignment aids internal validity; double-blind design controls experimenter and demand effects.

Neuron parts: dendrites receive, soma integrates, axon conducts, myelin sheaths speed conduction, axon terminals release neurotransmitter into the synapse.

Resting potential about -70 mV; depolarisation past threshold triggers an action potential that obeys the all-or-none law; refractory period limits firing rate.

Key neurotransmitters: acetylcholine (muscle, memory), dopamine (reward, movement), serotonin (mood, sleep), norepinephrine (arousal), GABA (main inhibitory), glutamate (main excitatory).

Divisions: CNS (brain, spinal cord) and PNS; PNS splits into somatic (voluntary) and autonomic; autonomic splits into sympathetic (aroused, fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest, restore).

Hindbrain: medulla (vital reflexes), pons (sleep, relay), cerebellum (balance, motor coordination). Midbrain: reticular formation (arousal), substantia nigra (movement).

Forebrain: thalamus (sensory relay), hypothalamus (homeostasis, hunger, temperature), limbic system - amygdala (emotion, fear), hippocampus (memory consolidation).

Cerebral cortex lobes: frontal (motor, planning, speech production/Broca), parietal (somatosensory), temporal (auditory, Wernicke's language comprehension), occipital (vision).

Split-brain and lateralisation: left hemisphere typically language and analytic processing, right hemisphere spatial and holistic processing.

Endocrine glands secrete hormones into the bloodstream: pituitary (master gland), thyroid (metabolism), adrenal (cortisol, adrenaline), pancreas (insulin), gonads (sex hormones).

Sensation is detection by receptor cells; perception is the organisation and interpretation of that sensory input.

Psychophysics: absolute threshold = weakest detectable stimulus 50% of the time; difference threshold (JND) = smallest detectable change; Weber's law: JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus.

Signal detection theory separates sensitivity (d-prime) from response bias (criterion); bias shifts with motivation and payoff.

Gestalt grouping laws: proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, common fate; figure-ground organisation underlies object perception.

Depth cues: binocular - retinal disparity and convergence; monocular - linear perspective, relative size, interposition, texture gradient, motion parallax.

Perceptual constancies (size, shape, colour, brightness) keep perception stable despite changing retinal images; illusions (Müller-Lyer, Ponzo) reveal the inference process.

Attention: selective (filtering, cocktail-party effect), divided (limited capacity), sustained (vigilance declines over time); Stroop effect shows automatic processing interference.

Consciousness states: sleep stages N1-N3 and REM; REM shows EEG resembling wakefulness with muscle atonia and vivid dreaming; circadian rhythm is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus and melatonin.

Altered states: hypnosis (suggestibility, divided consciousness), meditation, and psychoactive drugs classed as depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens, with tolerance and withdrawal.

Classical conditioning (Pavlov): neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus eliciting conditioned response.

Acquisition, extinction (CS alone), spontaneous recovery, generalisation and discrimination are the core classical-conditioning phenomena.

Higher-order conditioning: a well-established CS can serve as the US to condition a new CS.

Operant conditioning (Skinner): behaviour changes according to its consequences; the law of effect (Thorndike) states rewarded responses strengthen.

Reinforcement increases behaviour; punishment decreases it. Positive = add a stimulus; negative = remove a stimulus. Negative reinforcement is not punishment.

Schedules: fixed-ratio (high steady rate, pause after reward), variable-ratio (highest, most resistant to extinction), fixed-interval (scalloped), variable-interval (slow steady).

Shaping reinforces successive approximations; chaining links responses in sequence; extinction involves removing the reinforcer, producing an extinction burst.

Observational learning (Bandura): attention, retention, reproduction, motivation; the Bobo doll study showed aggression can be learned vicariously without direct reinforcement.

Cognitive learning: latent learning (Tolman's maze - learning without performance), insight learning (Köhler), and learned helplessness (Seligman) as an uncontrollable-aversive-event effect.

Atkinson-Shiffrin model: sensory memory (iconic ~0.3 s, echoic ~2-4 s) → short-term memory (~7±2 items, ~20-30 s) → long-term memory (unlimited, relatively permanent).

Working memory (Baddeley): central executive plus phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer.

Long-term memory types: explicit/declarative (episodic, semantic) versus implicit/procedural; encoding, storage and retrieval are distinct stages.

Encoding depth: maintenance rehearsal is shallow; elaborative rehearsal and self-reference produce better recall; encoding specificity means retrieval cues must match encoding context.

Forgetting: decay, interference (proactive = old disrupts new; retroactive = new disrupts old), retrieval failure, motivated forgetting; Ebbinghaus's curve shows rapid early forgetting.

Serial position effect: primacy (LTM) and recency (STM) portions recalled better than the middle.

Problem solving: algorithms guarantee a solution; heuristics are fast but error-prone. Means-ends analysis, working backward, and analogy are common strategies.

Biases: confirmation bias, availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, anchoring, functional fixedness and mental set block solutions.

Language: phonemes → morphemes → syntax → semantics → pragmatics; Chomsky's nativist LAD versus Skinner's learning account; linguistic relativity (Whorf) links language and thought.

Motivation theories: drive-reduction (homeostasis, Hull), arousal (Yerkes-Dodson inverted-U; optimum rises with task simplicity), incentive, and Maslow's hierarchy (physiological → safety → belonging → esteem → self-actualisation).

Intrinsic motivation arises from interest; extrinsic from external reward; overjustification effect: rewarding an already-enjoyed activity can reduce intrinsic interest.

Hunger is regulated by hypothalamic nuclei (lateral = feeding, ventromedial = satiety), glucose, ghrelin and leptin; set-point theory versus settling-point theory.

Emotion components: physiological arousal, expressive behaviour, subjective experience, cognitive appraisal.

Theories: James-Lange (body first), Cannon-Bard (simultaneous), Schachter-Singer two-factor (arousal + cognitive label), Lazarus (appraisal precedes emotion), facial-feedback hypothesis.

Stress is the response to demands appraised as exceeding resources; Selye's general adaptation syndrome = alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

Stress pathways: sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (fast, adrenaline) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (slower, cortisol).

Coping: problem-focused versus emotion-focused; social support and perceived control buffer stress; Type A behaviour and hostility are linked to coronary risk.

Spearman: g (general factor) plus s (specific); Thurstone: primary mental abilities; Cattell-Horn: fluid (Gf, declines with age) versus crystallised (Gc, grows with experience).

Gardner's multiple intelligences (eight domains) and Sternberg's triarchic theory (analytical, creative, practical) are influential but psychometrically contested.

IQ: ratio IQ = (mental age ÷ chronological age) × 100; deviation IQ is standardised with mean 100 and SD 15.

Reliability = consistency (test-retest, split-half, inter-rater); validity = accuracy of measurement (content, criterion, construct); reliability limits validity.

Normal curve: about 68% within ±1 SD, 95% within ±2 SD, 99.7% within ±3 SD; standardisation requires a representative norm group.

Heritability is the proportion of variance in a population attributable to genetic differences; it is not a fixed property of an individual.

Freud's structure: id (pleasure principle), ego (reality principle), superego (morality); psychosexual stages oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital; defence mechanisms (repression, projection, displacement, rationalisation).

Trait theories: Allport (cardinal, central, secondary), Eysenck (extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism), Big Five (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism).

Other perspectives: Bandura's reciprocal determinism and self-efficacy, Rotter's locus of control, Rogers's self-concept and unconditional positive regard, and projective (Rorschach, TAT) versus objective (MMPI) assessment.

Prenatal stages: germinal (first ~2 weeks), embryonic (~2-8 weeks, major organ formation), fetal (~9 weeks to birth); teratogens cause greatest harm in the embryonic period.

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0-2, object permanence), preoperational (2-7, egocentrism, conservation failure), concrete operational (7-11, conservation, classification), formal operational (11+, abstract reasoning).

Vygotsky: social interaction drives development; zone of proximal development and scaffolding; language as a tool of thought.

Attachment: Bowlby's ethological theory; Ainsworth's Strange Situation classifies secure, avoidant, ambivalent/resistant and disorganised types; critical/sensitive period debate.

Erikson's psychosocial stages include trust vs mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs shame (1-3), initiative vs guilt (3-6), industry vs inferiority (6-12), identity vs role confusion (adolescence), intimacy vs isolation (young adulthood), generativity vs stagnation (middle age), integrity vs despair (old age).

Kohlberg's moral stages: preconventional (punishment, exchange), conventional (approval, law and order), postconventional (social contract, universal principles); Gilligan's ethics-of-care critique.

Language development: cooing, babbling, one-word holophrases (~1 year), telegraphic speech (~2 years), then grammar; overgeneralisation errors show rule learning.

Ageing: fluid abilities decline earlier than crystallised; cognitive changes are heterogeneous, and cohort, not just age, explains much variation.

Attitude components: affective, behavioural, cognitive; attitudes predict behaviour best when specific, strong and accessible.

Cognitive dissonance (Festinger): inconsistency between attitudes and behaviour motivates change; insufficient justification and effort justification increase dissonance.

Persuasion: source credibility and attractiveness, message framing, two-sided arguments, and audience involvement; elaboration-likelihood model distinguishes central and peripheral routes.

Conformity (Asch): line-judgement task; conformity rises with group size up to about 3-4 and with unanimity; normative versus informational influence.

Obedience (Milgram): proximity, legitimacy of authority and group support modify obedience; Zimbardo's prison study illustrates role and situational power.

Group processes: social facilitation (simple tasks improve, complex tasks worsen), social loafing, deindividuation, groupthink (Janis), group polarisation, and risky shift.

Attribution: fundamental attribution error (over-weighting disposition for others), actor-observer bias, self-serving bias; Kelley's covariation model uses consensus, distinctiveness, consistency.

Prejudice and discrimination: in-group/out-group bias (Tajfel's minimal group paradigm), stereotype threat, scapegoat theory, contact hypothesis (Allport) as a prejudice-reduction strategy.

Prosocial behaviour: bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility (Darley and Latané); helping rises with clear need, similarity and mood; aggression is linked to frustration, modelling and media effects.

Defining abnormality: statistical deviation, violation of norms, personal distress, dysfunction and danger; no single criterion is sufficient.

DSM and ICD classify disorders descriptively; key changes in DSM-5 include removal of the multiaxial system and merging of substance abuse/dependence.

Anxiety disorders: generalised anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety, OCD and PTSD (the last two grouped separately in DSM-5); prevalence, duration and impairment criteria apply.

Mood disorders: major depressive disorder (≥2 weeks of depressed mood/anhedonia plus ≥5 symptoms) and bipolar I/II (mania or hypomania); suicide risk assessment is essential.

Schizophrenia: positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations), negative symptoms (flat affect, avolition), disorganised speech; dopamine hypothesis and neurodevelopmental models.

Personality disorders grouped in clusters A (odd/eccentric), B (dramatic/emotional) and C (anxious/fearful); diagnosis requires enduring, inflexible patterns causing impairment.

Assessment methods: clinical interview, mental status examination, psychometric tests, behavioural observation, and neuropsychological assessment; validity and cultural sensitivity matter.

Biomedical treatments: antidepressants (SSRIs), antipsychotics (dopamine antagonists), mood stabilisers (lithium), anxiolytics; monitor side-effects and adherence.

Psychological therapies: psychoanalytic, behavioural (systematic desensitisation, exposure), cognitive and CBT (Beck), humanistic/client-centred (Rogers), and family/systemic therapy; evidence-based practice matches treatment to disorder.