Am-Ao

Amenorrhea: the absence or cessation of menstruation.
This condition is often associated with Anorexia and seems to be due to either a hormonal imbalance or the reduced intake of calories. It is normally considered necessary for a woman of reproductive age to have missed 3 consecutive periods to be in Amenhorrhea.

Amino Acid: one of a large group of organic compounds which are linked by peptide bonds to form proteins.
Over 20 amino acids are known to be necessary as sources of energy for proper metabolism and growth, and several either are precursors of neurotransmitters or function as transmitter substances themselves.

Amok: mental condition found in Southeast Asia where the individual behaves in a wild and aggressive manner for a short(-ish) period of time.

Amygdala: see limbic system.

Amygdalotomy: the form of psychosurgery in which strong electrical currents are used to destroy the amygdala.

Anaclitic Identification: the general tendency to identify with a parent who is supportive and nurturing.

In Psychodynamic Theory, it is seen more specifically as becoming what someone else wishes to be, to keep them ‘alive’ inside yourself.

According to Sigmund Freud, young girls identify with their mothers to ensure that she continues to love them.

Anal Retentive Personality: is one of the ‘psychosexual fixations’ identified in Psychoanalytic Theory - see Psychosexual Fixations & Personality. According to Sigmund Freud (1923),such a person is likely to be mean, stubborn, pedantic and obsessively tidy.

It may be that the BLUE vMEME locked into a Melancholic temperament would explain such characteristics. However, since Freud attributes the development of the anal retentive personality to the infant experiencing problems with toilet training - also a key developmental issue for Erik Erikson - then acceptance (or not) by the parents for success (or not) with toilet training would influence the health of the PURPLE vMEME. (The health of PURPLE laying the cognitive and emotional foundations for the entire Spiral.)

Analytical Marxism: a Marxist school of thought. Members of this school seek to apply the techniques of analytic philosophy, along with tools of modern social science such as Rational Choice Theory to the elucidation of the theories of Karl Marx and his successors.

Anchoring: the forming of social representations (about self and/or others) by relating new ideas closely to existing knowledge.
In NLP therapies the forming of such representations is often manipulated by using a specific stimulus - sight, sound, touch or word - to automatically recall a particular memory and/or state of mind and body. Effectively this is a form of  Classical Conditioning, although both stimulus and response can be internal - eg: a recalling something (stimulus) creates a certain emotion (response).

Anhedonia: a general lack of interest in living - a loss of the ability to enjoy things.
It is regarded as a defining feature of Clinical Depression.

Androcentric Theory: a theory based on male behaviour but applied to females also and therefore possibly skewed by gender bias. Eg: Lawrence Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development (1963) has been accused of gender bias as the original studies on which it was based only used boys.

Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome: the result of a genetic ‘male’ with XY chromosomes not being exposed to male sex hormones during development and thus developing female sex organs.

Androgenital Syndrome: the result of a genetic ’female’  with XX chromosomes being exposed to male sex hormones during development and thus developing male sex organs.

Androgens: male sex hormones responsible for the development of male sex characteristics.

Androgyny: a mix of masculine and feminine behaviours in the same individual.

Androgyny Theory: the argument put forward by Sandra Bem (1976) that being in a state of androgyny was more healthy psychologically than being restricted to rigid gender roles - eg: a man crying when emotionally upset (perceived typical female behaviour) would be better than keeping it 'bottled up' and unable to express himself emotionally.
There is some linkage here with the anima/animus concept of Carl Gustav Jung (1917).

Animism: the belief that natural phenomena are endowed with ‘life’ or ‘spirit’, or the tendency to attribute supernatural or spiritual characteristics to plants, geological features, climatic phenomena, etc.

Anisogamy: sexual reproduction in which the gametes of the participating sexes are dissimilar - eg: in humans and most animal species where the male makes microscopic sperm in millions while the female produces a limited number of larger eggs.
In Evolutionary Psychology anisogamy is considered to be the reason behind different attitudes towards sex (unconscious reproductive strategies for passing on their genes) between men (outrightly promiscuous to create as many offspring as possible) and women (needful of resources to nurture limited offspring but ready to cheat on the male provider to get better genes from another male).
From an Integrated SocioPsychology point of view, while this accurately describes BEIGE reproductive imperatives, it is effectively pre-cognitive and ignores the more complex ways of thinking and motivation which can dominate higher up the Spiral.

‘Anisogamy’ is also used in Sociology and Anthroplogy for asymmetric marriage alliances - eg: the marriage of persons from different social status.

Anima/Animus: respectively the female and male archetypes in the writings of Carl Gustav Jung (1917). He argued that everyone had both components in the psyche and thus was capable of thinking and behaving in a characteristically male or female way.
Popular sayings such as "You need to be more in touch with your feminine side" are derived from Jung's concepts.

Anomalous Monism: a theory of the relationship between mental and physical events and properties developed by Donald Davidson (1980). It holds that every causally interacting mental event is identical to some physical event — particular mental events (tokens) are the very same events as particular physical events (Token Identity, or Monism). But it also claims that there can be no strict laws on the basis of which any mental event-type can predict, explain, be predicted or explained – therefore, mental properties cannot be reduced to physical properties.

While neither of these components of the view, on its own, is novel, their relation is. According to Anomalous Monism, it is precisely because there can be no such strict laws that causally interacting mental events must be identical to some physical event.

Anomie: a term first used by Émile Durkheim (1893), this is a situation where an individual or group no longer supports or follows the norms of society: a condition of normlessness.

Anorexia Nervosa: an eating disorder in which the individual suffers from an intense fear of becoming fat in spite of being seriously underweight - usually taken as 85% or less than expected for size and height. This is due to gross undereating - though affected individuals usually see themselves as "normal".
Sufferers are usually young females (below 30 years of age) and the disorder has been largely localised to the Western world post-1950s; however, more recently it has spread into the Far East, including even China.
Sufferers, with low self-esteem in other areas of their lives, seem to be particularly vulnerable to memes about controlling diet to be attractive.

Since the emergence of Anorexia on a significant scale, there has been much debate as to just how clearly it can be differentiated from Bulimia. The term ‘Bulimarexia’ has been conceived to describe a continuum ranging from restrictive anorexics at one end to obese bulemics at the other.

Antagonist: a drug that neutralises the effects of a naturally-produced neurotransmitter.
Eg: Chlorpromazine blocks both dopamine and noradrenaline receptors. Lithium blocks noradrenaline receptors.

ANS: see autonomic nervous system.

Anterior Cingulate Cortex: includes both the ventral and dorsal areas of the cingulate cortex and appears to play a role in a wide variety of autonomic functions, such as regulating blood pressure and heart rate, as well as rational cognitive functions, such as reward anticipation, decision-making, empathy and emotion.

Anthromorphism: is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, natural and supernatural phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts.

Subjects for anthropomorphism commonly include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse, forces of nature such as winds or the sun, components in games, unseen or unknown sources of chance, etc.

Anthropology: the study of humanity, with emphasis on origins, institutions and beliefs. Cross-cultural studies and cultural relativism are key components in the structure of modern Anthropology.

Antibody: see immune system.

Antidepressant: a stimulant drug which has an agonist effect by increasing the production of serotonin and/or noradrenaline.

Anti-Műlerian Hormone: see Műllerian Inhibiting Substance.

Anti-Psychiatry: begun by Thomas Szasz (1960), the view that the medical model views of mental illness are mistaken and dangerous and that 'mental illness' is a myth. Szasz proposed that socially-expressed symptoms should be seen as problems in living and appropriate support provided.

Anti-Psychotic: a drug used to reduce psychotic symptoms.
Eg: Chlorpromazine for Schizophrenia; lithium for Manic-Depressive Psychosis.

Anti-Social Personality Disorder: a personality disorder (aka Psychopathic Personality or Sociopathic Personality) characterised by a history of irresponsible and anti-social behaviour, usually beginning in childhood as a conduct disorder.

Early manifestations include lying, stealing, fighting, vandalism, running away from home and cruelty. In adulthood this general pattern continues, along with (usually) significant unemployment, ignoring social norms, (usually) a disregard for financial obligations and an inability to maintain enduring relationships.

These behaviours are usually accompanied by a lack of guilt or remorse.

Anxiety Disorder: mental disorder characterised by levels of fear and apprehension out of all proportion to the threat posed.
Eg: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, phobias, etc.

Anxious-Resistant: see Attachment Type.