AP Psych-Mental and Physical Health

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

Stress

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

Approach and Avoidance Motives

the drive to move toward or away from a stimulus

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

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

Tend-and-Befriend Response

under stress, people (especially women) may nurture themselves and others and bond with and seek support from others

Coronary Heart Disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries

Type A

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

Type B

Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people

Catharsis

in psychology, the idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges

Cope

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

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

Personal Control

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

Learned Helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation humans and other animals learn when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

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

Self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards

Positive Psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of promoting strength and virtues that foster well-being, resilience, and positive emotions, and that help individuals and communities to thrive

Subjective Well-Being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life

Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon

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

Adaption-Level Phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of light, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

Relative Deprivation

the perception that we are worse off relative to those whom we compare ourselves

Broaden-and-Build Theory

proposed that positive emotions broaden our awareness, which over time helps us build novel and meaningful skills and resilience that improve well-being

Character Strength and Virtues

a classification system to identify positive traits; organized into categories of wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence

Resilience

the personal strength that helps people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma

Aerobic Exercise

sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; also helps alleviate anxiety

Mindfulness Meditation

a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner

Gratitude

an appreciative emotion people often experience when they benefit from other’s actions or recognize their own good fortune

Psychological Disorder

a disturbance in people’s thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that causes distress or suffering and impairs their daily lives

Medical Model

the concept that disease, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital

Diathesis-Stress Model

the concept that genetic predispositions combine with environmental stressors to influence psychological disorder

Epigenetics

the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression

DSM-5-TR

the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

Anxiety Disorders

a group of disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety and related maladaptive behaviors

Social Anxiety Disorder

intense fear and avoidance of social situations

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

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

Panic Disorder

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack

Agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one may experience a loss of control and panic

Specific Phobias

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

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thought, actions, or both

Hoarding Disorder

a persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

Trauma-and Stressor-Related Disorders

a group of disorders in which exposure to a traumatic or stressful event is followed by psychological distress

Depressive Disorders

a group of disorders characterized by an enduring sad, empty, or irritable mood, along with physical and cognitive changes that affect a person’s ability to function

Bipolar Disorders

a group of disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania

Major Depressive Disorder

a disorder in which a person experiences five or more symptoms lasting two or more weeks, in the absence of drug use or a medical condition, at least one of which must either be (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure

Persistent Depressive Disorder

a disorder in which people experience a depressed mood on more days than not for at least 2 years

Bipolar I Disorder

the most severe form, in which people experience a euphoric, talkative, highly energetic, and overly ambitious state that lasts a week or longer

Mania

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

Bipolar II Disorder

a less severe form of bipolar in which people move between depression and a milder form of hypomania

Rumination

compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

a group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucination, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized or unusual motor behavior, and negative symptoms

Psychotic Disorder

a group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and loss of contact with reality

Delusion

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

Chronic Schizophrenia

a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood

Acute Schizophrenia

a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age; frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event, and from which recovery is much more likely

Dissociative Disorders

a controversial, rare group of disorders characterized by a disruption of or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities

Dissociative Amnesia

a disorder in which people with intact brains reportedly experience memory gaps; may report not remembering trauma-related specific events, people, places, or aspects of their identity and life history

Personality Disorders

a group of disorders characterized by enduring inner experiences or behavior patterns that differ from someone’s cultural norms and expectations, are pervasive and inflexible, begin in adolescence or early adulthood, are stable over time, and cause distress or impairment

Antisocial Personality Disorder

a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist

Feeding and Eating Disorders

a group of disorders characterized by altered consumption or absorption of food that impairs health or psychological functioning

Anorexia Nervosa

an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight, and has an inaccurate self-perception; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise

Bulimia Nervosa

an eating disorder in which a person’s binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) is followed by inappropriate weight-loss-promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

central nervous system abnormalities ( usually in the brain) that start in childhood and alter thinking and behaviors

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by limitations in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

a psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity

Deinstitutionalization

the process, begun in late twentieth century, of moving people with psychological disorders out of institutional facilities

Psychotherapy

treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth

Biomedical Therapy

prescribed medication or procedures that act directly on the person’s physiology

Eclectic

an approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy

Resistance

in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material

Interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst’s noting of supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight

Transferring

in psychoanalysis, the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships

Psychodynamic Therapists

therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition; views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and seeks to enhance self-insight

Insight Therapies

therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person’s awareness of underlying motives and defenses

Person-centered Therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within an accepting, genuine, empathic environment to facilitate clients’ growth

Active Listening

empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and seeks clarification

Unconditional Positive Regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Behavior Therapists

therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors

Counterconditioning

behavior therapy that uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; include exposure therapies and aversive conditioning

Exposure Therapies

Behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization and virtual reality exposure therapy, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imaginary or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid

Systematic Desensitization

a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat specific phobias

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

a counterconditioning technique that treats anxiety through creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face specific fears, such as flying, spiders, or public speaking

Aversive Conditioning

associates and unpleasant sate (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)

Token Economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token for exhibiting a desired behavior and later exchange token for privileges or treats

Cognitive Therapies

therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

a confrontational cognitive therapy, developed, by Albert Ellis , that vigorously challenges people’s illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

Group Therapy

therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, providing benefits from group interaction

Family Therapy

therapy that treats people int the context of their family system, Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members

Confirmation Bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Meta-Analysis

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach and overall conclusion

Evidence-Based Practices

clinical decision making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics and preferences

Therapeutic Alliance

a bond of trust and mutual understanding between a therapist and client, who work together constructively to overcome the client’s problems

Psychopharmacology

the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior

Antipsychotic Drugs

drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorders

Antianxiety Drugs

drugs used to control anxiety and agitation

Antidepressant Drugs

drugs used to treat depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder