UC Scout AP Psychology Semester 2 Final - Key Terms

stress

physiological and psychological reaction to the challenges, conflicts, and demands faced in life; can be major life changes or when bad things happen

• external sources

• internal sources

• real source

• imagined source

microstressors

small stressors, can have a severe effect if it piles up

stress

physiological and psychological reaction to the challenges, conflicts, and demands faced in life; can be major life changes or when bad things happen

• external sources

• internal sources

• real source

• imagined source

microstressors

small stressors, can have a severe effect if it piles up

eustress

stress from positive sources

approach-approach

two possible options to choose from, both are equally desireable

avoidance-avoidance

two possible options and both are undesireable

approach-avoidance

only one option and it has both desirable and undesirable qualities

• ambivalence: hardly a choice, only one option

double approach-avoidance

more than one possible option but it has desirable and undesirable qualities

• vacillation: bouncing back and forth between options

general adaptation syndrome (Hans Selye)

what the body goes through when confronting a stressor

• alarm phase

• resistance

• exhaustion

alarm phase

when the individual encounters the stressor

• sympathetic nervous system response: fight-or-flight

  • heart rate and breathing inc, digestion slows, pupils dilate

resistance

body functions in the state of sympathetic energy, ready to continue the response

• remaining too long in this stage = body’s resources depleted

exhaustion

body returns to the parasympathetic state if stressor is resolved or if the body’s resources are depleted

• more susceptible to get sick from a cold/fl

• mental and physical fatigue

• greater chance of illness if in alarm or resistance for too long

psychoneuroimmunology

relationship between stress, immune system function, endocrine system function, mental well-being

Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale

measures stress in life through “Life Change Units”

• events that happened in the last year that are either positive sources (eustress) or negative sources (distress)

lifestyle related diseases

• heart disease

• high blood pressure

• lack of exercise

• overabundance of stress

• issues due to unhealthy habits in life

positive psychology

happiness, character strengths, gratitude, mindfulness, grit and resilience

happiness

experiencing positive emotions and satisfactions with one’s life - where the individual deems the quality of their life as favorable

• eudaimonic happiness: meaning and purpose

• hedonic happiness: pleasure and enjoyment

• flourish: accomplishing meaning/worthwhile tasks, connecting with others

• well-being: state of happiness and contentment, good quality of life

character strengths

positive attributes in each person’s personalities

• wisdom

• courage

• humanity and love

• justice

• temperance

• transcendence

gratitude

appreciation for what an individual receives, tangible or intangible

• feeling good: improves health, positive affect, increases social and emotional well-being

• doing good: improves social belonging and prosocial behavior

mindfulness

relaxation and purposeful attention to your body’s senses and experiences in the present moment

• benefits: decreases anxiety and depression, improve sleep and immune system, brain is more active and connected, better personal relationships

grit and resilience (growth mindset)

grit: tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals

resilience: process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress

growth mindset: belief that abilities can be developed through “hard work, good strategies, instruction from other”

psychopathology

study of psychological disorders, describes disorders as a whole

psychological disorder

clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior

subjective discomfort

they feel something is not right

statistically abnormal

behavior exceeds what is typical

social nonconformity

abnormal as it relates to the culture of society the person lives in

loss of control

person cannot curb/change the thoughts or behaviors on their own, maladaptive to their lives

• maladaptive: schoolwork, job, relationships are all more challenging due to the thoughts and behaviors

diagnosing

clinicians examine symptoms and take into account levels of subjective discomfort, statistical abnormality, social nonconformity, aspects of control, if the experience is maladaptive for the individual

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)

lists symptoms, prevalence, common occurrences

• does NOT include specific causes

atheoretical

people have their own theory about potential cause and the best course for treatment

psychoanalytic perspective: Freudian view

psychological disorders are due to the balance between the id, ego, and superego

humanist perspective

caused due to issues with how the person views themselves, their self-esteem, or their over-sensitivity to the judgement of others

cognitivists

caused due to irrational thoughts that become automatic in the person’s mind

• distorted thoughts manifest in the symptoms

behaviorists

source due to conditioning gone awry

• may be classically conditioned to be anxious, or operantly conditioned to be depressed

biological perspective

Medical Model - brain-based or neurotransmitter-based disease

eclectic

belief in a variety of perspectives

biopsychosocial approach

• biological influences: genes, brain chemistry, hormones

• psychological influences: thoughts, learned behaviors, emotions

• sociocultural influences: family traditions, culutre

• disorders are a combination of causes due to genes or neurotransmitters, stress and trauma, social expectations

personality disorders

set of inflexible, stable, behavior patterns that impair a person’s ability to function normally with others

• Cluster A: odd or eccentric behaviors

  • paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal

• Cluster B: dramatic or emotional behaviors

  • antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic

• Cluster C: anxious or fearful behaviors

  • avoidant, dependent, obsessive compulsive

paranoid personality disorder

excessive distrust in others, avoidance or close relationships, tendency to read into what people are saying to look for hidden meanings, shift blame

schizoid personality disorder

tend to avoid relationships, require little social contact/interaction

schizotypal personality disorder

bizarre and eccentric patterns of thought, speech, mannerisms

• belief of extrasensory abilities

antisocial personality disorder*

criminal prone behavior, lack of conscience, aggressive interaction or behaviors, impulsivity

borderline personality disorder*

mood instability, impulsivity, suicidal thoughts, self-mutilating behaviors

histrionic personality disorder

attention seekers, desire to be center of focus, will engage in behaviors to shift focus on them

narcissistic personality disorder*

exaggerated self-esteem and self-love, more self-centered

avoidant personality disorder*

extreme social anxiety, fear of being in social situations or being rejected

dependent personality disorder*

excessive neediness and clinging to other people, oversensitive to what people say, pervasive feeling of helplessness

obsessive compulsive personality disorder (NOT OCD)

excessive focus on orderliness and perfection, interferes with task completion and avoidance of working with other people

anxiety disorders

excessive feelings of anxiety or uneasiness that is maladaptive and out of proportion for the given situation

generalized anxiety disorder

excessive, unrealistic anxiety, free floating, restlessness, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbances, trouble concentrating

panic disorder

brief periods of intense and uncontrollable anxiety, heart palpitations, sweating, dizziness, confusion, chest pain, difficulty breathing

phobias

intense and irrational fears of specific objects or situations

agoraphobia

fear of being in open spaces or public and crowded spaces

obsessive-compulsive related disordes

unwanted anxiety, thoughts, behaviors

obsessive-compulsive disorder

pattern of obsessions and compulsion, cycle is self-reinforcing

• obsessions: repeated and unwanted thoughts

• compulsions: unwanted behaviors

post-traumatic stress idsorder

avoidance of the event details or location, persistent intrusive thoughts, memories, dreams of the events, distorted cognitions and/or moods, arousal symptoms

major depressive disorder

continuous depressed mood, diminished interest in activities, fatigue, feeling worthless/guilty, significant weight loss/gain, oversleeping or insomnia, difficulty thinking/concentration, thoughts of death

persistent depressive disorder

depression symptoms for more than two years

bipolar disorders*

periods of depression and mania or hypomania

bipolar 1

manic episodes, preceded or followed by hypomania or a depressive episode

bipolar 2

depression with hypomanic episodes

manic episodes*

unrestrained euphoria, decreased need for sleep, disconnected ideas, reckless behavior or hyper-focused behavior, pressure to talk/maintain conversations

genetics / biology and disorders

• link to genetics and bipolar disorder

• link with biology and depressive or bipolar disorders

schizophrenia

• delusions - distorted thoughts

• hallucinations - distorted/imagined perceptions

• disorganized speech - gibberish

• disorganized or catatonic behaviors - odd or eccentric behavior

• negative symptoms - deficits of speech, motivation, or emotions

positive symptoms (schizo)

present in someone with schizophrenia, not in a healthy individual

negative symptoms (schizo)

absent in those diagnosed with schizophrenia, present in others

biological causes of schizophrenia

• genetic link

• hyper-responsive dopamine receptors in the brain

• triggered by disruption in the psyche or a traumatic stress situation

• enlarged ventricles

dissociative disorders

splitting of the normal consciousness and identity

• DID: split of the identity and formation of 2+ distinct personalities

• amnesia: period of memory loss of autobiographical memories

• fugue: sudden desire to flee or travel away from home

somatic disorders

physical complaints that cause significant distress in the person’s life

• somatic symptom disorder: unexplained physical complaints that cause significant disruption, not intentionally faked and cannot be medically explained

• conversion disorder: loss of a physical function, no apparent physiological cause

• illness anxiety disorder: people hyper-focus on developing an illness or a disease, causes anxiety and worry about their health

anorexia nervosa

psychological disorders that involves excessive food restriction to the point of starving

bulimia nervosa

cycles of bingeing and purging food

binge-eating disorder

binge cycles are not followed by the purge

neurodevelopmental disorders

brain-based disorders that present during childhood

autism spectrum disorders

cluster of symptoms that typically appear during the first 3 years of life

• deficits in social communication and interaction

• symptoms of restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity

tic disorders

sudden, rapid, recurrent motor movements or vocalizations

tourette’s disorder

multiple motor and 1+ vocal tics, occuring for more than a year

pyschotherapy

psychological techniques used to facilitate positive change in a person

early psychotherapy

emphasis on the treatment of demonic forces or evil spirits that they believed caused the syptoms

• trepanning: boring a hole into the skull for the spirits to leave

• exorcisms: ritual to rid the body of demonic spirits

St. Mary’s of Bethlehm in London

one of the earliest asylums

• focus on containment, NOT the treatment of patients

Philipe Pinel

pushed for the removal of shackles and chains from the patients in the ward, a more humane treatment

Dorothea Dix

pushed for a more humane treatment in US hospitals and asylums

Jean-Martin Charcot

one of the first to use hypnosis to treat the symptoms of hysteria

Josef Breuer

used hypnosis on his patients, talking cure

insight therapies

understanding the source of the symptoms allows better management of them

psychoanalysis

focus on the underlying unconscious conflict that caused the symptoms

• free association

• dream analysis

• resistances

• transference

free association

patient encouraged to talk about whatever comes to mine, in any order, prompted to continue speaking or delve into any subject

• back and forth between psychoanalyst and patient

dream analysis

analyzes account of manifest content (storyline) and latent content (symbols that point to unconscious motives or conflicts)

resistances

attempts by the patient to block the progression of therapy

transference

where a patient projects their feelings to the psychoanalyst

humanist therapies

rely on insight in a more conscious way, the facilitator helps the client reach their full potential

client-centered therapy

non-directed form of therapy where the client guides the discussion

atmosphere of growth

leads patients to conscious realization/self-imposed limits

• unconditional positive regard

• empathy

• authenticity

• active listening

unconditional positive regard

no matter what the client talks about, facilitator shows total support

empathy

understand/share their clients emotions and feelings

authenticity

facilitator must be honest and genuine in their empathy and unconditional positive regard

active listening

should help rephrase and clarify their clients thoughts, instead of interpret or make suggestions

cognitive therapies

irrational thought and faulty logic as the source of psychological disorders

Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Therapy

psychological distress is linked to people reciting maladaptive, harmful thoughts to themselves

• Activating experience: affects a person’s mental thoughts

• false Beliefs: individual will recite in their head

• emotional Consequence: depression or anxiety

Aaron Beck

cognitive therapy built in changing maladaptive thoughts

• selective perception

• overgenralization

• all-or-nothing thinking

selective perception

focusing on negative aspects of their world instead of seeing positives