ap psych unit 5.1-5.4

Health Psychologists

promoting health and preventing disease

Psychological factors

can influence physical and mental factors

Wellness

physical + mental + social well-being

Stress

stressors (daily hassles, life events, traumatic, ACEs) and how we react to them (stress reactions). DON’T USE CAUSE! The environment + cognitive appraisal + the physical reaction

Eustress

positive and motivating stress

Distress

negative and debilitating (weakening) stress

Social readjustment rating scale (SRRS)

Can be operational defined based on life changing units (LCU)

Hedonic adaptation

adapting to a stable level of happiness

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Hans Selye, our response pattern to physical and emotional stressors are very consistent

Alarm reaction

(A nxiety, A mygdala, A drenaline)

Mobilize resources

HR increases, blood flow to muscles for reaction

Sympathetic nervous system

-> fight-or-flight response

Resistance

Physiologically ready (ex. high HR). Hormones released to stay ready. Cope! Too long = resource depletion

Exhaustion

Parasympathetic nervous system returns physiological state to normal

Vulnerable to disease

because resources depleted during resistance stage ex. Hypertension (high blood pressure) and immune suppression (reduce ability to make white blood cells)

Tend-and-befriend theory

some ppl successfully manage stress by tending to their self-care needs and attending to the needs of friends and family members. SOCIAL CONNECTION (seems to happen more in women) - OXYTOCIN

Emotion-focused coping

use specific stress management techniques (ex. meditation/mindfulness). Focus inwards. More short term solution.

Problem-focused coping

alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor (SOLVE THE PROBLEM). Focus outwards. More long term solution

Positive psychology

optimistic focus of humanistic psychology. Focus on HAPPINESS, utilize our virtues and strengths to reach full potential

Subjective well-being

sense of how satisfied one is with their overall life

Positive subjective experience

personal, internal feelings of happiness

Positive objective experience

externally, measurable life circumstances ex. money

Feel-good, do-good

positive mood makes us more likely to do prosocial things

6 core virtues

wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, transcendence

Wisdom

being able to use information creatively and curiously

Courage

persistence, integrity, and bravery

Humanity

appreciation and kindness towards others

Justice

striving to be a socially responsible citizen and improve world

Temperance

moderation and self-control

Transcendence

seeing beyond oneself and connecting with world

Gratitude

expressing thankfulness towards others verbally or in writing Increases our well-being!

Resilience

ability to adapt to effectively when faced with trauma and extreme stress

Post-traumatic growth

ability to construct a meaningful experience in response to trauma

Defining Psychology Disorders (3 Ds)

Deviance: thoughts or behaviors that are different from cultural context; Distress: subjective feeling that something is really wrong; Dysfunction: ability to work and live is measurably impaired (ex. depression affecting employment and social relationships)

Labeling Pros and Cons

David Rosenhan’s study showed Pros: Clarity and relief for patients, Pathway to treatment, Insurance coverage, Accommodations at school/work, Help predict future problems; Cons: Stigma, Learned helplessness, Self-limiting bias, Self-diagnosis, Racism, sexism, ageism, discrimination

ICD (International Classification of Mental Disorders)

WHO (World Health Organization) resource to determine whether one has a psychological disorder or not

DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

symptoms of each disorder. American Psychiatric Association

Psychodynamic perspective

Caused by unconscious conflicts, often Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Behavioral perspective

Problems from history of reinforcement -> Maladaptive learned associations. Ex. phobia of dogs after dog bite really hurt (classical conditioning)

Humanistic perspective

Blocked from self-actualization and reaching full potential (self-esteem and self-concept). Ex. no Unconditional Positive regard

Sociocultural perspective

social, environment, and cognitive factors including racism, sexism, ageism, and discrimination, having huge impact on disorders

Biological perspective

hormonal/neurotransmitter imbalance or by brain structures. Ties to genetic factors sometimes.

Evolutionary perspective

in the past was for survival advantage ex. scared of the dark = dangerous animals at night

Cognitive perspective

irrational thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, or fears

Eclectic Approach

combine many psychological perspectives to get the bigger picture.

Diathesis-Stress model

biological predisposition (diathesis) is activated by stressors, resulting in expression that could be in the form of disorder

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

disruptions in normal brain development

Autism Spectrum Disorder

spectrum due to it manifesting in many different ways, deficits in social and emotional contact with others, even parents, hypersensitive to sensory stimulation, intense interests in objects not viewed as interested by most and have simple, repetitive behaviors; Environmental and biological factors (70-90% heritability).

ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder)

difficulty paying attention or sitting still, hyperfocusing on things of interest to them, more common in boys, caused by environmental and biological factors

Neurocognitive Disorders

Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia, deterioration of cognitive abilities, especially memory

Anxiety disorders

common symptom of anxiety

Specific phobia

intense, unwarranted fear of a specific situation or object

Claustrophobia

fear of enclosed spaces

Arachnophobia

fear of spiders

Agoraphobia

fear of open, public spaces (escaping is hard, no help access)

Acrophobia

fear of heights

Social anxiety disorder

fear of a situation in which one could embarrass themselves in public

Taijin kyofusho

culture-bound anxiety disorder experienced mainly by Japanese people. Concern that one’s body is displeasing to others

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

constant, low-level anxiety

Panic disorder

acute episodes of intense anxiety (panic attack) without any reason

Ataque de nervios

Caribbean cultures, culture-bound anxiety disorder with sudden uncontrollable screaming, shouting or crying, feelings of impending loss of control, shortness of breath, chest tightness, palpitations, feelings of heat in the chest that rise to the head, shaking arms and legs, and physical and/or verbal aggression

Dissociative Disorders

break or separation from memories and thoughts or even a sense of who the person is (identity)

Dissociative Amnesia

person cannot remember things and there is no physiological problems with memory

Fugue

doesn’t know where one is

Dissociative Identity Disorder

multiple personalities disorder more than one personality. often from ACEs

Depressive Disorders

extreme or inappropriate emotions. sadness, empty, irritable

Major depressive disorder (unipolar depression)

“common cold”. symptoms daily for at least 2 weeks

Persistent depressive disorder

depression is long-lasting but less severe. 2+ yrs

SAD (Seasonal affective disorder)

depression when there is less sunlight (winter)

Learned helplessness and lack of serotonin

High neuroticism, ACEs, heritability at 40%, women higher risk at reproductive stages

Bipolar disorder

bipolar cycling between mania (high energy) and depression

Bipolar I disorder

presence of a manic episode (can just be manic

Bipolar II disorder

milder symptoms, presence of a hypomanic episode (less severe). more severe depressive episode than BP1

90% of variability is accounted for by genetic differences

High heritability!

Schizophrenia spectrum disorder

psychotic disorders, most severe and debilitating (NORMALLY LATE TEENS - 30)

Positive symptoms

excesses in behavior, thought, or mood

Delusions

beliefs that have no basis in reality

Persecution

people are out to get you

Grandeur

have power and influence (ex. president of the U.S.)

Hallucinations

sensory perceptions in the absence of input; Most common is auditory

Word salad

use of language is quite odd (neologisms -> made-up words)

Catatonia

disorganized movement

Negative symptoms

deficits in expected behaviors

Flat affect

essentially no emotional response at all

Mid Pregnancy viral infection of flu, greater paternal age, hypoxia

(genetic +environ.)

Dopamine hypothesis

biological hypothesis that high levels of dopamine is associated with schizophrenia

Use antagonist meds

ex. Clozapine

Personality Disorder

enduring patterns of internal experience and behaviors that is deviant from one’s culture stable, inflexible, and emerges in ADULTHOOD

Cluster A

suspicious or odd behaviors

Paranoid

pattern of distrust and suspicion

Schizoid

avoid social activity (NO DESIRE)

Schizotypal

odd thinking

Cluster B

impulsive or emotional, dramatic, and erratic tendencies

Antisocial

little regard for other people’s feelings. hostile world where people have to look out for themselves (criminals!)

Histrionic

overly dramatic behavior. attention seeking

Narcissistic

seeing oneself as the center of the universe (view others inferior

Borderline

unstable social relationships, fear abandonment and switch back and forth between how they feel about and act towards others

Cluster C

anxious or fearful

Avoidant

plagued of feelings of inadequacy (not good enough), WANT TO, but avoiding social situations and very sensitive to criticism

Dependent

rely too much on attention and help of others