Unit 5 Vocab

Active Listening

Therapist fully attends, reflects, and clarifies client's feelings without judgment.

Acute Schizophrenia

Sudden onset of schizophrenia with better recovery prospects than chronic schizophrenia.

Adaptation-Level Phenomenon

Tendency to judge stimuli relative to our prior experience.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)

Traumatic events occurring before age 18 that can lead to lifelong health issues.

Aerobic Exercise

Sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness.

Agoraphobia

Fear of situations where escape might be difficult, like crowds or open spaces.

Alarm

First phase of GAS, involving the fight-flight-freeze response.

American Psychiatric Association

The professional organization of psychiatrists in the United States.

Anorexia Nervosa

Restriction of food intake, fear of weight gain, and distorted body image.

Antianxiety

Medication to reduce anxiety by enhancing GABA activity.

Antidepressant

Medication to treat depression by increasing serotonin/norepinephrine.

Antipsychotic

Medication to treat schizophrenia by blocking dopamine.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Disregard for others' rights, deceitfulness, impulsivity, and lack of remorse.

Anxiety Disorder

Excessive fear, worry, and related behavioral disturbances causing significant impairment.

Applied Behavior Analysis

Using operant conditioning to improve socially significant behaviors.

Arachnophobia

Intense, irrational fear of spiders.

Ataque de Nervios

A culture-bound anxiety disorder characterized by panic-like symptoms.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication.

Aversive Conditioning

Pairing unwanted behavior with an unpleasant stimulus.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation.

Behavior Modification

Using reinforcement and punishment to change specific behaviors.

Behavioral Perspective

Emphasizes the role of learning and environmental factors in shaping behavior.

Biofeedback

Monitoring physiological processes to gain voluntary control.

Biological Perspective

Emphasizes the role of genetics, brain structure, and neurochemistry in explaining behavior.

Biopsychosocial Model

Understanding disorders requires examining biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors.

Bipolar Disorder

Mood disorder with alternating periods of mania and depression.

Bipolar I Disorder

Severe mania with possible depression; full manic episodes lasting at least one week.

Bipolar II Disorder

Hypomania with major depression; less severe manic episodes.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Unstable relationships, self-image, and emotions; impulsivity and fear of abandonment.

Broaden-and-Build Theory

Positive emotions broaden thought and action, building resources.

Bulimia Nervosa

Recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors (e.g., purging).

Catatonia

A state of immobility and unresponsiveness, or wild agitation, associated with schizophrenia.

Catatonic Stupor

Decreased motor activity, appearing frozen or unresponsive.

Catharsis

Emotional release, often achieved through expressing feelings.

Character Strengths

Positive traits reflected in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Chronic Schizophrenia

Gradual development of schizophrenia with continuous symptoms and poorer outcomes.

Cluster A

Personality disorders characterized by odd or eccentric behavior.

Cluster B

Personality disorders characterized by dramatic, emotional, or erratic behavior.

Cluster C

Personality disorders characterized by anxious or fearful behavior.

Cognitive Perspective

Emphasizes the role of thoughts and beliefs in shaping behavior and emotions.

Cognitive Restructuring

Identifying and changing maladaptive thought patterns.

Cognitive Triad

Negative views about self, world, and future in depression.

Compulsion

Repetitive behavior performed to reduce anxiety caused by obsessions.

Coping

Efforts to manage or reduce the effects of stress.

Coronary Heart Disease

The clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle.

Counterconditioning

Replacing unwanted responses with new responses through classical conditioning.

Courage

The ability to do something that frightens one.

Deinstitutionalization

Shift from long-term hospitalization to community-based treatment.

Delusion

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

Dependent Personality Disorder

Excessive need to be taken care of, submissive, and fear of separation.

Depression

A mood disorder causing persistent sadness, loss of interest, and fatigue.

Depressive Disorder

Characterized by persistent sadness, loss of interest, and other symptoms.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The primary manual used to diagnose and classify psychological disorders.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

CBT approach focusing on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Diathesis

A predisposition or vulnerability to a disorder.

Diathesis-Stress Model

Disorders develop when a predisposition is triggered by environmental stress.

Disorganized Motor Behavior

Unusual or bizarre physical actions and movements.

Disorganized Thinking

Disrupted thought processes, often manifested in speech.

Dissociation

Disruption in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception.

Dissociative Amnesia

Inability to recall important personal information, usually after trauma.

Dissociative Disorder

Disorder involving disruption in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Presence of two or more distinct personality states that control behavior.

Distress

Negative stress that causes anxiety or health problems.

Dopamine Hypothesis

Excess dopamine activity in certain brain areas contributes to positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Dream Interpretation

Analyzing dreams to uncover unconscious wishes and conflicts.

Dysfunction

Behavior interferes with daily functioning and pursuing important goals.

Eclectic Approach

An approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Brief electrical current through the brain to treat severe depression.

Emotion-Focused Coping

Managing stress by avoiding the stressor and attending to emotional needs.

Epigenetics

Environmental factors can influence gene expression without changing DNA.

Eustress

Positive stress that motivates and enhances performance.

Evidence-Based Practice

Using interventions that have been proven effective through research.

Evolutionary Perspective

Explains behavior in terms of natural selection.

Exhaustion

Third phase of GAS, where the body's resources are depleted.

Exposure Therapy

Repeatedly exposing clients to feared stimuli in a safe environment.

External Locus of Control

Belief that chance or outside forces determine fate.

Feeding and Eating Disorder

Persistent disturbance in eating behavior that impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning.

Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon

People's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.

Fidelity

Ethical principle of maintaining trust in therapy.

Fight-Flight-Freeze Response

Automatic survival mechanism where the brain triggers reactions to confront, escape, or become immobilized.

Flashback

Vivid reliving of a traumatic experience.

Flat Affect

Reduced emotional expression and responsiveness.

Free Association

Client says whatever comes to mind to reveal unconscious thoughts and feelings.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

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

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Persistent, excessive worry about various concerns.

Gratitude

The quality of being thankful.

Hallucination

A false sensory experience, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

Health Psychology

Subfield of psychology that studies how mental, behavioral, and social factors affect health.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Excessive emotionality and attention-seeking; dramatic behavior.

Humanistic Perspective

Emphasizes the importance of self-esteem, free will, and conscious awareness in human experience.

Humanity

Compassion and empathy for others.

Hypertension

Abnormally high blood pressure.

Hypervigilance

Heightened state of alert and watchfulness.

Hypomania

A less severe form of mania.

Immune Suppression

The reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system.

Integrity

Ethical principle of honesty in therapy.

Internal Locus of Control

Belief that you control your own destiny.

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

A global diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes.

Justice

Fairness and equity.