Psych 342: Chapter 5 Vocabulary

Autonomic nervous system

Portion of the nervous system that controls the functioning of many internal bodily processes, such as heart rate, digestive processes, and so on

Bereavement

A normal reaction of grief and sadness in response to the death of a loved one

Cognitive taste aversion

Aversion to a novel flavor, produced by pairing of that flavor with nausea or illness

Cognitive Restructuring

Therapeutic technique in which dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs are examined and challenged

Flooding

Therapeutic technique in which the person is made to confront the stimuli that arouse anxiety until the anxiety extinguishes

Diathesis-Stress Model

A model of mental disorders that proposes they develop when an individual with a predisposition (diathesis) experiences significant psychological stress

Generally Adaption Syndrome (GAS)

A generalized model of physical stress response that includes the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and (if stress continues) the exhaustion stage

Habituation

Lessening of a response as a function of repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus

Homeostasis

State of equilibrium or balance in a dynamic system

Parasympathetic nervous system

Division on the autonomic nervous system primarily involved in conservation of energy, such as increasing digestive processes

Progressive relaxation

The systematic tensing and relaxing of specific muscle groups

Psychoneuroimmunology

The study of the neural effects of psychological events on the immune system

Stress inoculation

The gradual introduction of a stressor in manageable doses to prepare for future encounters with that stressor

Stressor

A challenge or demand requiring adjustment by an organism

Stress response

The physical, behavioral, and/or psychological effects of a stressor

Sympathetic nervous system

Division of the autonomic nervous system primarily involved in stress or emergency reactions that, for example, produce an increase in heart rate and blood pressure

Trauma

Intense stressor involving threat of death, serious injury, or violence to self or others

Type A personality

A personal behavior pattern characterized by competitiveness, hostility, and time urgency

Type B personality

A personal behavior pattern that is more relaxed, less competitive, and less hurried