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SIGNIFICANCE: Psychopathy is associated with increased risk for crime and recidivism.

The concept of hysteria has a rich history that dates back to early civilizations. Ancient Egyptian papyri provide the first medical records of hysteria. Egyptian physicians believed that the somatic and emotional problems of certain unstable women were caused by a migratory uterus. They prescribed the topical use of sweet- or foul-smelling herbs to entice or repel the uterus back to its original position. This theme of sexual etiology has pervaded theories of hysteria throughout the centuries.

Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is a variant of a general condition of impoverished psychosocial and physical development found in infants and children deprived of appropriate caretaking. The symptoms of RAD are believed to remit in an improved environment with a responsive caregiver.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision, DSM-5-TR (2022) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), schizotypal personality disorder (STPD) is characterized by interpersonal deficits, such as suspiciousness and difficulty establishing and maintaining close relationships; cognitive or perceptual distortions; and eccentric behavior, all of which are pervasive throughout much of an individual’s lifetime. Individuals with STPD are not psychotic (out of touch with reality), although others typically perceive them as odd or strange. They often harbor strange ideas, such as magical thinking, which is the belief that merely thinking about an event (such as that their mother will die) can trigger that event. STPD typically begins in early adulthood and is present in about 3 to 5 percent of the general population.

DEFINITION: Discussion of key warning signs of pseudoscience in CAM

DEFINITION: Use in forensic settings of disciplines that possess the superficial appearance of science but lack its substance.

DEFINITION: interrogation technique that measures physiological responses to detect deception.

Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a pattern of behaviors and thinking that demonstrates callous disregard for the welfare of others, conventional systems of rules, and authority figures. Although extensively researched, it is a controversial diagnostic category because it takes into account criminal behavior. Crime is socially defined, not always prosecuted in a culture-fair manner, and not always a component of antisocial personality disorder.

Panic disorders such as agoraphobia are characterized by severe anxiety attacks coupled with avoidance of a wide range of situations. Considerable progress has been made toward understanding their causes and treatment.

In the late 1960s, the fields of psychology and psychiatry developed a particular interest in how cultural factors shape the manifestation of mental disorders. Before that time, some believed that mental disorders were largely universal in their underlying causes and expression. Several decades of cross-cultural research highlighted the limitations of this view by uncovering potentially important differences in the prevalence and expression of certain psychological conditions across the world.

Sociopathy is a condition that describes a constellation of interpersonal, emotional, and behavioral functioning that is marked by deceit, lack of guilt and empathy, and callous disregard for the welfare of others. Contrary to popular conception, sociopaths are not necessarily violent, nor is there good evidence that they are untreatable.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a popular but controversial treatment for a variety of psychological conditions, especially post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Its most distinctive feature is the induction of clients’ lateral eye movements in response to the therapist’s finger movements. Psychotherapy scholars disagree about whether this technique is a novel contribution to the treatment of anxiety disorders or merely a variant of established treatments.

Histrionic personality disorder is characterized by excessive emotionality and attention seeking. Although researchers have found that it overlaps extensively with many other disorders, its causes and treatment remain controversial.