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cognitive walkthrough method

in ergonomics, a method of assessing the usability of a product or design in which several evaluators, representing the targeted user group, perform its various functions while discussing and identifying or anticipating problems arising from flawed design.

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Psychology term of the day

March 11th 2025

mood disorder

mood disorder

in DSM–IV–TR, a psychiatric condition in which the principal feature is a prolonged, pervasive emotional disturbance, such as a depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or substance-induced mood disorder. Also included are mood disorders due to a general medical condition, in which attendant physiological disruptions are believed to produce the emotional changes, and mood disorder not otherwise specified, which does not meet the diagnostic criteria for any of the specific mood disorders. The term chronic mood disorder is applied when symptoms rarely remit. In DSM–5, mood disorders are divided into two categories: bipolar and related disorders, which include bipolar disorder and its subtypes (e.g., bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymic disorder); and depressive disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder). Also called affective disorder.