Unit 7 Test: Clinical Psychology

biopsychosocial model of mental illness

biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences impact our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings

diathesis-stress model

genetic predispositions combine with environmental stressors increase or decrease the likelihood of developing a psychological disorder

DSM-5

a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

What are the benefits of diagnostic labelling of behaviors as "disorders"?

provides relief, organization, and determination of treatment

What are the criticisms of diagnostic labelling of behaviors as "disorders"?

its reliability and subjectivity, stigma, "too wide a net" (overpathologizes)

health psychology

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

psychoneuroimmunology

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

stressors

specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person's well-being → catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles

stress response: immediate fight or flight response

the sympathetic nervous system is activated, releasing adrenal stress hormones, causes increased heart rate and respiration, dulled pain, release of stored fats and sugars

stress response: long-term stress response

the endocrine system secretes glucocorticoid stress hormones, causes disruption of almost all of the body's processes

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases — alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Type A Personality

Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people

Type B Personality

Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people

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

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

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

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

people's tendency to be helpful when in a good mood

adaptation-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