male erectile disorder

in DSM–IV–TR, persistent or recurrent inability in a man to achieve or maintain an erection adequate to complete the sex act. It causes marked distress and impairment of interpersonal relations and is not due to the physiological effects of a physical disorder, medication, or a substance of abuse. The disorder may be lifelong or acquired and either situational (occurring only in certain situations or with certain partners) or generalized (occurring in all situations). It is called erectile disorder in DSM–5. See also erectile dysfunction; impotence.

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Psychology term of the day

November 21st 2024

self-evaluation maintenance model

a conceptual analysis, related to social comparison theory, in which an individual is assumed to maintain a positive self-evaluation by (a) associating with high-achieving individuals who excel in areas with low relevance to his or her sense of self-worth and (b) avoiding association with high-achieving individuals who excel in areas that are personally important to him or her. [developed by U.S. social psychologists Abraham Tesser (1941– ), Jennifer D. Campbell (1944– ), and their colleagues]