AP Psych Exam 7 Flashcards

Health psychology

A subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine and studies how psychological factors affect health.

Stress

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

Hypertension

Abnormally high blood pressure, which is often exacerbated by chronic stress.

Immune suppression

A reduction in the activation or efficacy of the immune system, frequently caused by prolonged stress.

Stressors

Events or situations that are perceived as threatening or challenging and trigger a stress response.

Eustress (motivating)

A positive form of stress that can motivate, focus energy, and improve performance.

Distress (debilitating)

A negative form of stress that causes anxiety, decreases performance, and can be physically and mentally debilitating.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

Potentially traumatic events occurring in childhood, which can have long-lasting effects on physical and mental well-being.

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Hans Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Alarm reaction phase

The first phase of GAS, where the sympathetic nervous system is suddenly activated, preparing the body for fight or flight.

Resistance phase

The second phase of GAS, where the body's resources are fully mobilized to fight the challenge or stressor.

Fight-flight-freeze response

An involuntary physiological reaction to a perceived threat that prepares the body to stay and fight, run away, or freeze.

Exhaustion phase

The third phase of GAS, where the body's reserves are depleted, leading to vulnerability to illness or even death.

Tend-and-befriend theory

The idea that under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend).

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 one's stress reaction.

Gratitude

An emotion expressing appreciation for what one has, which is consistently linked to better psychological well-being.

Positive psychology

The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.

Well-being

A broad state of feeling good about one's life, encompassing physical, mental, and social health.

Resilience

The personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma.

Positive emotions

Pleasant responses to events that promote flourishing, such as joy, love, and amusement.

Positive subjective experiences

Internal psychological states, such as a sense of well-being, hope, and optimism.

Subjective well-being

Self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life, used along with measures of objective well-being.

Signature strengths

Positive traits that a person owns, celebrates, and frequently exercises to achieve flourishing.

Virtues

Core characteristics valued by moral philosophers and religious thinkers across history.

Positive objective experiences

Observable positive life outcomes, such as academic success, financial stability, or physical health.

Happiness

An emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment.

Categories of virtues

The six core human virtues classified in positive psychology that are universal across cultures.

(wisdom)

A category of virtue involving the acquisition and use of knowledge.

(courage)

A category of virtue involving the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition.

(humanity)

A category of virtue involving interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending others.

(justice)

A category of virtue involving civic strengths that underlie healthy community life.

(temperance)

A category of virtue involving strengths that protect against excess and promote self-control.

(transcendence)

A category of virtue involving strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning.

Posttraumatic growth

Positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises.

Dysfunction

When a psychological or behavioral response significantly interferes with daily life or normal occupational functioning.

Distress

Intense negative psychological pain or suffering that an individual experiences due to their condition.

Deviation from norms

Behaviors or thoughts that significantly violate acceptable social or cultural standards.

Cultural/societal norms

The unwritten rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a given group or society.

Stigma

A mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person, often applied to mental health disorders.

Racism

Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.

Sexism

Prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.

Ageism

Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age.

Discrimination

The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The American Psychiatric Association's widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

The global standard for diagnostic health information created by the World Health Organization.

Eclectic approach

An approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy to fit the client's needs.

Behavioral perspective

The psychological approach focusing on observable behaviors and how they are learned through classical and operant conditioning.

Psychodynamic perspective

The approach focusing on unconscious drives, conflicts, and early childhood experiences as determinants of behavior.

Humanistic perspective

The psychological perspective emphasizing human growth potential, self-actualization, and free will.

Cognitive perspective

The psychological viewpoint focusing on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information and how thoughts influence emotions.

Evolutionary perspective

The approach focusing on the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

Sociocultural perspective

The approach that focuses on how social situations, environments, and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

Biological perspective

The psychological perspective focusing on links between biological factors (genes, brain chemistry) and psychological processes.

Biopsychosocial model

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

Diathesis-stress model

A model that suggests a person may be predisposed for a psychological disorder that remains unexpressed until triggered by stress.

Anxiety disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

Specific phobia

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

Acrophobia

An extreme or irrational fear of heights.

Arachnophobia

An extreme or irrational fear of spiders.

Agoraphobia

Fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide-open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic.

Panic disorder

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread known as panic attacks.

Panic attack

A sudden episode of intense fear or anxiety and physical symptoms, based on a perceived threat rather than imminent danger.

Ataque de nervious

A culture-bound syndrome characterized by intense emotional upset, trembling, and panic, prevalent in some Latin American cultures.

Social anxiety disorder

Intense fear and avoidance of social situations where one might be scrutinized or judged by others.

Taijin kyofusho

A Japanese cultural syndrome involving an intense fear that one's body, appearance, or odor will offend or embarrass others.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders

A group of overlapping disorders that generally involve intrusive, unpleasant thoughts and repetitive behaviors.

Obsessions

Unwanted, repetitive thoughts, urges, or images that cause significant anxiety or distress.

Compulsions

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession to reduce distress.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions).

Hoarding disorder

A disorder characterized by persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value.

PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder, characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia after a trauma.

Depressive disorders

A group of psychological disorders characterized by profound sadness, feelings of emptiness, and irritable moods that affect functioning.

Major Depressive Disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest.

Persistent Depressive Disorder

A mild but long-term, chronic form of depression (also called dysthymia).

Bipolar disorders

Disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.

Cycling

The shifting back and forth between phases of mania and depression in bipolar disorder.

Mania

A hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common.

Depression

A mood state characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, despair, and a loss of interest in once-enjoyed activities.

Bipolar I Disorder

A type of bipolar disorder marked by full manic episodes and major depressive episodes.

Bipolar II Disorder

A type of bipolar disorder marked by mildly manic (hypomanic) episodes and major depressive episodes.

Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders

A group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions.

Delusions

False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

Hallucinations

False sensory experiences, such as seeing or hearing something in the absence of an external stimulus.

Disorganized thinking

A core symptom of schizophrenia involving illogical thought patterns, fragmented ideas, and a breakdown in selective attention.

Disorganized speech

A severe disruption of verbal communication in which ideas shift rapidly and unpredictably.

Disorganized motor behavior

Highly abnormal behaviors or movements ranging from childlike silliness to unpredictable agitation.

Negative symptoms

Symptoms of schizophrenia that involve behavioral deficits, such as flattened emotions, social withdrawal, and apathy.

Positive symptoms

Schizophrenic symptoms that involve behavioral excesses or peculiarities, such as hallucinations and delusions.

Acute

Refers to a rapid onset or brief duration of a disorder, sometimes reactive to stress, generally carrying a better prognosis.

Chronic

Refers to a long-lasting, slow-developing form of a disorder with a lower likelihood of full recovery.

Delusions of persecution

False beliefs that one is being harassed, threatened, or targeted by others.

Delusions of grandeur

False beliefs that one possesses superior qualities such as genius, fame, omnipotence, or wealth.

Word salad

A confused or unintelligible mixture of seemingly random words, common in disorganized schizophrenia.

Catatonia

A behavioral syndrome characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, or unresponsiveness to the environment.

Flat affect

A severe reduction in emotional expressiveness, often seen as a negative symptom of schizophrenia.

Catatonic excitement

A state of hyperactive, purposeless, and abnormal motor activity in catatonia.

Catatonic stupor

An immobile, expressionless, coma-like state seen in individuals suffering from catatonia.

Dopamine hypothesis

The theory that schizophrenia is caused by an overactivity or excess of dopamine receptors in the brain.