UNIT 5 AP PSYCH VOCAB

health psychology

a subfield of psychology that explores the impact of psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors on heal and wellness.

psychoneuroimmunology

the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect our immune system and resulting health.

stress

the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.

hypertension

high blood pressure

immune suppression

a decrease in the production of antibodies.

eustress

challenging/beneficial stress and energizes a person to achieve something.

distress

unpleasant/bad stress.

adverse childhood experiences (ACES)

stressful or traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, and a range of household dysfunction, such as witnessing domestic violence or growing up with substance abuse, mental disorders, parental discord, or crime in the home.

general adaption syndrome (GAS)

Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases - alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

alarm reaction

the initial phase to a stressor; activates protective processes within the body. Sympathetic nervous system is activated; heart rate zooms and blood is diverted to your skeletal muscles.

resistance

second phase of the GAS, during which the body adapts and maintains resources to cope with the stressor. If stressor continues to exist body continues to keep temperature, blood pressure, and respiration high, otherwise goes back to normal.

fight-flight-freeze response

an involuntary, physical response to a sudden and immediate threat (or stressor) in readiness for fight (confront), flight (escape) or freeze (avoid detection).

exhuastion

third phase of the GAS, during which the body's resources become depleted: become more vulnerable to illness or even collapse.

coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; a leading cause of death in many developed countries.

tend-and-befriend response

under stress, people (especially women) may nurture themselves and others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend).

catharsis

the idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.

problem-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly — by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

emotion-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction.

personal control

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless.

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation humans and other animals learn when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

external locus of control

the perception that outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate.

internal locus of control

the perception that we control our own fate.

self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards.

positive psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of promoting strengths and virtues that foster well-being, resilience, and positive emotions, and that help individuals and communities to thrive.

well-being

a state of happiness and contentment, with low levels of distress, overall good physical and mental health and outlook, or good quality of life.

resilience

the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity.

subjective well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life.

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

people’s tendency to be helpful when in a good mood.

adaption-level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

relative deprivation

the perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves.

gratitude

an appreciative emotion people often experience when they benefit from other’s actions or recognize their own good fortune.

signature strengths

positive traits that a person owns, celebrates, and frequently exercises.

virtues

firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith

character strengths

positive personality traits that reflect our basic identity and produce positive outcomes.

wisdom

the ability of an individual to make sound decisions.

courage

the ability to meet a difficult challenge despite the physical, psychological, or moral risks involved in doing so.

humanity

compassion in one’s personal relations with specific others, shown by kindness, nurturance, charity, and love.

justice

ability to live in harmony with others, guided by fairness and shared responsibility.

temperance

any form of auspicious self-restraint, manifested as self-regulation in monitoring and managing one’s emotions, motivation, and behavior and as self-control in the attainment of adaptive goals.

transcendence

strengths of transcendence allow people to rise above their troubles and find meaning in the larger universe. Strengths of transcendence are appreciation of beauty and excellence, purpose, gratitude, optimism, and humor.

broaden-and-build theory

proposes that positive emotions broaden our awareness, which over time helps us build novel and meaningful skills and resilience that improve well-being.

aerobic exercise

sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; also helps alleviate depression and anxiety.

mindfulness mediation

a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner.

psychological disorder

a disturbance in people’s thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that causes distress or suffering, and impairs their daily lives.

dysfunction

any impairment, disturbance, or deficiency in behavior or operation.

distress

extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain

stigma

the negative social attitude attached to a characteristic of an individual that may be regarded as a mental, physical, or social deficiency. A stigma implies social disapproval.

eclectic appraoch

a therapeutic framework that draws upon multiple theories, techniques, and practices in order to create a tailored treatment for individuals.

behavioral perspective

an approach to the study of psychology that focuses on the role of learning in explaining observable behavior.

maladaptive behaviors

ineffective behavior used to cope with stress, anxiety, or discomfort.

psychodynamic perspective

the approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control.

humanistic perspective

the psychological view that assumes the existence of the self and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the freedom to make choices.

cognitive perspective

a psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior.

maladaptive thoughts

negative or dysfunctional thinking patterns that hinder a person’s ability to adapt to new situations, manage emotions, or engage in healthy behaviors.

evolutionary perspective

perspective that focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share.

sociocultural perspective

perspective that focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture.

maladaptive relationships

avoiding certain friends or family member. Avoiding anxiety-provoking situations can prevent you from learning fundamental social skills needed to effectively communicate with other people.

biological perspective

the psychological perspective that emphasizes the influence of biology on behavior.

medical model

the concept that diseases — in this case, psychological disorders — have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.

biopsychosocial model

a model of health that integrates the effects of biological, behavioral, and social factors on health and illness.

diathesis-stress model

the concept that genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorder.

diathesis

any susceptibility to or predisposition for a disease or disorder.

epigenetics

“above” or “in addition to” (epi) genetics; the study of the molecular mechanism by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change).

neurodevelopmental disorders

central nervous system abnormalities (usually in the brain) that start in childhood and alter thinking and behavior (as in intellectual limitations or a psychological disorder).

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by limitations in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

a psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity.

schizophrenia spectrum disorders

a group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized or unusual motor behavior, and negative symptoms (such as diminished emotional expression); includes schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder.

psychotic disorders

a group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.

delusion

a false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

delusion of persecution

a false belief that one is being mistreated, abused, or harassed.

delusion of grandeur

an exaggerated belief about one's importance, wealth, power, or talents.

hallucinations

a false sensory perception that has a compelling sense of reality despite the absence of an external stimulus.

disorganized thinking or speech

is a symptom of schizophrenia characterized by fragmented, illogical, or incoherent thoughts and speech that impair effective communication.

word salad

incoherent mixture of words, phrases, and sentences.

disorganized motor behavior

unusual and atypical movements or actions exhibited by individuals, often seen in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

catatonia

a state of unresponsiveness to one's outside environment, usually including muscle rigidity, staring, and inability to communicate.

stupor

a state of lethargy and impaired consciousness, in which an individual is disoriented, unresponsive, and immobile.

catatonic stupor

a state of significantly decreased reactivity to environmental stimuli and events and reduced spontaneous movement: associated with schizophrenia.

negative symptoms

reduction or absence of normal behaviors and functions that are typically present in healthy individuals.

flat affect

a situation where an individual does not show any significant signs of emotional response at all, positive or negative.

positive symptoms

abnormal experiences or behaviors that are added to a person's normal repertoire of thoughts and actions.

schizophrenia

a psychotic disorder characterized by disturbances in thinking (cognition), emotional responsiveness, and behavior.

acute schizophrenia

(reactive schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event, and from which recovery is much more likely.

chronic schizophrenia

(process schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten.

dopamine hypothesis

the influential theory that schizophrenia is caused by an excess of dopamine in the brain, due either to an overproduction of dopamine or a deficiency of the enzyme needed to convert dopamine to norepinephrine (adrenaline).

depressive disorders

a group of disorders characterized by an enduring sad, empty, or irritable mood, along with physical and cognitive changes that affect a person’s ability to function.

major depressive disorder

a disorder in which a person experiences five or more symptoms lasting two or more weeks, in the absence of drug use or a medical condition, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed moor or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

persistent depressive disorder

a disorder in which people experience a depressed mood on more days than not for at least two years (formerly called dysthymia).

bipolar disorder

a group of disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder).

mania

a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgement is common.

depression

a prolonged feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, and sadness.

bipolar I disorder

the most severe form, in which people experience a euphoric, talkative, highly energetic, and overly ambitious state that lasts a week or longer.

bipolar II disorder

a less severe form of bipolar in which people move between depression and a milder hypomania.

anxiety disorder

a group of disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety and related maladaptive behaviors.

specific phobia

an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.

acrophobia

fear of heights

arachnophobia

fear of spiders

agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one may experience a loss of control and panic.

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack.