(2025) U5 AP Psychology Unit 5 Mental and Physical Health

Psychodynamic therapy

Type of therapy that focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in the client's present behavior.

Hypnosis

An altered state of consciousness, in which psychoanalysts believe people are less likely to repress troubling thoughts.

Free associate

Technique involving asking the patient to say whatever comes to mind without thinking.

Dream interpretation

Accessing and interpreting the subconscious through dreams, as it is theorized that the ego expresses itself in dreams.

Person-centered therapy

Therapeutic method involving providing the client with unconditional positive regard.

Unconditional positive regard

Blanket acceptance of someone, regardless of what they say or do.

Active listening

Involves encouraging talk about feelings and mirroring back those feelings to help clarify them.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA)

Systems of reinforcement in place to help teach clients to be successful in the world, usually for people with developmental disorders.

Counterconditioning

A method of classical conditioning where an unpleasant stimulus is replaced with a pleasant one.

Systematic desensitization

Therapeutic approach combining relaxation techniques with exposure to overcome a phobia or anxiety.

Anxiety or fear hierarchy

Ordered list of what a client fears, increasing in intensity.

Exposure therapies

A form of therapy involving some degree of contact with the feared stimuli, to realize the irrationality of the fear by facing it.

Aversive therapy

Pairing a habit a person wishes to break with an unpleasant stimulus.

Token economy

Desired behaviors are rewarded with tokens which can be exchanged for various things.

Cognitive restructuring

Goal of cognitive therapy involving challenging people’s way of thinking.

Maladaptive thinking

A way of thinking that is false and irrationally unsupported.

Cognitive triad

People’s beliefs about themselves, their world, and their futures.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

A type of psychotherapy in which negative thoughts and beliefs are changed, sometimes involves assigning behavioral homework.

Rational emotive behavior therapy

Type of therapy that looks to expose and challenge the dysfunctional or irrational fears of clients.

Psychoactive medications

Commonly prescribed to patients to treat a range of psychological problems.

Antipsychotic medications

Drugs administered to people with schizophrenia that block the receptors to dopamine neurotransmitters.

Tardive dyskinesia

Chronic muscle tremors that mimic Parkinson’s, a common side effect of antipsychotic medication.

Antidepressants

Medicine that increases the activity of neurotransmitters in the brain, often used to treat depression.

Lithium

A metal often used in treatment of the manic phase in bipolar disorder.

Antianxiety drugs

Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, making people feel more relaxed.

Biofeedback

A common therapy used in treating anxiety or depression, where the client is taught to recognize specific physiological responses.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Employing magnets to alter brain activity.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Administers an electric shock through the brain’s hemispheres and can alter the brain’s blood flow.

Psychosurgery

Performing surgery on parts of the brain in an attempt to alter behavior.

Prefrontal lobotomy

An outdated method of psychosurgery involving cutting out the frontal lobe of the brain to calm behavior by reducing level of functioning.

Fidelity

Faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.

Cultural humility

An ongoing process of self-exploration and self-critique combined with a willingness to learn from others.

Dysfunction

When a disorder disrupts a person’s ability to live their life properly.

Distress

When a disorder causes stressful emotions in your own and the lives of others.

Deviance

When a disorder causes behavior that is unusual or different from that of a population.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

Contains the symptoms of everything currently considered to be a psychological disorder.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

Potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (before the age of 18) and can have long-term effects on a person's health, well-being, and development.

Maladaptive learned associations

Refer to connections between stimuli, behaviors, or thoughts that are learned through experience but are dysfunctional or harmful in the long run.

Sociocultural perspective

Notion that social ills like racism, sexism, ageism, poverty and discrimination that results from these prejudices, lie at the heart of psychological disorders.

Racism

Discrimination against someone based on their skin color or ethnicity.

Sexism

Discrimination, prejudice or stereotyping against someone based on their sex.

Ageism

Discrimination, prejudice or stereotyping against someone based on their age.

Discrimination

The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of ethnicity, age, sex, or disability.

Biological perspective

Sees psychological disorders as caused by biological factors like neurotransmitter imbalances, differences in brain structure, and hormonal imbalances.

Biopsychosocial view

Problems likely result from the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors.

Diathesis-stress model

Environmental stressors can provide circumstances under which a biological predisposition for illness can express itself.

Eclectic

Accepting and using ideas from a number of different perspectives.

Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic perspective

Perspective that states the cause of the disorder is internal or caused by unconscious conflicts.

Humanistic perspective

Perspective that states the cause of the disorder to be failure to strive toward one’s potential or being out of touch with one’s feelings.

Behavioral perspective

Perspective that states the cause of the disorder to be reinforcement history or the environment.

Cognitive perspective

Perspective that states the cause of the disorder to be irrational, dysfunctional thoughts or ways of thinking.

Autism spectrum disorder

People seek out less social and emotional contact, are more sensitive to sensory information, and have interest in objects not typically viewed as interesting.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

People who tend to hyperfocus on things of interest to them, sometimes children may have difficulty sitting still or paying attention.

Anxiety disorders

Disorders that share a common symptom of anxiety.

Specific phobia

An intense unwarranted fear of a situation or an object.

Arachnophobia

The fear of spiders.

Agoraphobia

The fear of open, public spaces.

Social anxiety disorder

In which people are afraid of a certain situation wherein they could embarrass themselves in public.

Generalized anxiety disorder

Disorder involving a feeling of constant, low-level anxiety.

Panic disorder

Suffers from acute episodes of intense anxiety without any apparent provocation.

Panic attacks

Episodes of extreme panic, usually causing shortness of breath, increased heart rate, and dizziness.

Acrophobia

Fear of heights.

Dissociation

Involves a break or separation from memories, thoughts, or even a sense of who the person is.

Dissociative amnesia

When a person cannot remember things and there’s no physiological cause for it.

Dissociative identity disorder

When a person has several personalities rather than one integrated personality.

Major depressive disorder

Most common mood disorder, symptoms being loss of appetite, depressive episodes, etc.

Bipolar disorder

Disorder involving both depressed and manic episodes.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders

A debilitating psychological disorder involving disordered and distorted thinking, often through hallucinations.

Delusions

Beliefs that have no basis in reality.

Hallucinations

Perceptions made in the absence of any sensory stimulation.

Flat affect

Evidence of schizophrenia involving a lack or no emotional response at all in a situation.

Cluster A

Associated with suspicious or eccentric behaviors including paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders.

Borderline personality disorder

A disorder marked by fear of abandonment, unstable mood, and thought processes which can lead to unstable relationships.

Avoidant personality disorder

People are plagued with feelings of inadequacy, leading them to avoid social situations and be sensitive to feedback.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

When persistent unwanted thoughts result in compulsions to engage in a particular action.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Involves flashbacks or nightmares following involvement in a severely troubling/traumatic event.

Anorexia nervosa

An eating disorder in the form of self-starvation.

Substance-related and addictive disorders

Disorder diagnosed when behaviors like gambling or use of substances negatively affects a person’s life regularly.

Eustress

Stress that is positive and motivating.

Distress

Stress that is negative and debilitating.

Stressors

Refers to certain life events or how we react to changes in our environment.

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Describes the general response humans or other animals have to stressful events.

Alarm reaction

Stage where heart rate increases and blood is diverted to muscles; activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

Resistance

Stage where the body remains physiologically ready; hormones are released to maintain this state of readiness.

Exhaustion

Stage where the parasympathetic nervous system returns the physical state to normal; vulnerability to disease increases if resources were depleted during resistance.

Hypertension

A heart condition that involves having high blood pressure.

Immune suppression

Decreasing the body’s ability to produce white blood cells and fight infection.

Tend-and-befriend theory

Stress management through seeking social connection and tending to self-care needs.

Emotion-focused coping

Stress management through specific techniques such as mindfulness/meditation or combining them with prescribed medication.

Positive psychology

Investigates how humans can achieve happiness and maximize their potential while supporting its theories through empirical evidence.

Subjective well-being

Sense of how satisfied one is with their own life.

Virtues

Six core values that are notable across all major religions and cultures.

Wisdom

Associated with the ability to use information creatively, being open-minded, and retaining curiosity.

Courage

Includes persistence, integrity, and bravery.

Humanity

Described as kindness, interest, and appreciation towards others.

Justice

Striving to be a socially responsible citizen of the world and working to improve it.

Temperance

Means moderation and encourages self-control.

Transcendence

Involves seeing beyond oneself and valuing connection with the world.

Well-being

Overall perception of the quality of our lives and how effectively we function in various roles.

Gratitude

Process of expressing thankfulness toward others in writing or verbally.