Psychology Final Flashcards

Psychoanalysis

A psychological theory and therapy developed by Sigmund Freud that focuses on the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious psychological strategies used by the ego to protect itself from anxiety by distorting reality.

Repression

An unconscious defense mechanism that involves keeping distressing thoughts, feelings, or impulses out

Freud’s Id

Freud's id is the primitive, instinctual part of the personality present from birth, operating entirely unconsciously and driven by the pleasure principle, demanding immediate satisfaction for basic needs, desires, and urges

Freud’s Ego

Freud’s Superego

Central nervous system

Peripheral nervous system

Nature vs. Nurture

Testosterone

Hindbrain

Forebrain

Lobes of the brain

Heredity

Pituitary gland

Sleep apnea

Night Terrors

Narcolepsy

Insomnia

Circadian Rhythm

REM sleep

Dream analysis

Hypnosis

Biofeedback

Mediation

Posthypnotic suggestion

Hallucinations

opiates

Alcohol

Lobotomy

Absolute threshold

Sensation

Sensory Adaptation

Olfactory nerve

optic nerve

auditory nerve

subliminal

Binocular fusion

Extrasensory Perception

Regression

Denial

projection

displacement

Behaviorism

Eustress

moderate or normal psychological stress, interpreted as being beneficial

Stress reaction

prepare for perceived threats, causing symptoms like increased heart rate, tense muscles, anxiety, and irritability

Stressor

something that causes a state of strain or tension.

Distress

an unpleasant emotional, mental, or physical state of suffering, discomfort, or strain caused by feeling overwhelmed by life demands, losses, or threats, manifesting as sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, and impacting daily functioning

Fight-or-Flight response

your body's automatic, instinctive reaction to perceived danger or stress

Anxiety

a normal feeling of unease, worry, or fear, often a reaction to stress

Phobia

an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.

Post-Traumatic stress disorder

a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others and to the outside world.

Panic disorder

an anxiety disorder marked by unexpected, recurring panic attacks

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

a mental condition in which a person experiences persistent, intrusive thoughts that cause distress and performs repetitive physical or mental acts in order to prevent or counteract the thoughts and relieve the distress.

Somatoform disorder

describes a mental health condition where a person experiences significant distress and functional problems due to real physical symptoms (like pain, fatigue, digestive issues) that are either unexplained medically or disproportionate to any underlying condition, leading to excessive worry, thoughts, and behaviors about their health that disrupt daily life

Conversion disorder

a condition where psychological stress or trauma manifests as real neurological symptoms (like paralysis, weakness, tremors, blindness, or seizures) with no underlying physical cause, disrupting brain-body communication, though the symptoms are not intentionally produced and cause significant distress

Dissociative disorder

mental health conditions marked by disruptions in memory, consciousness, identity, or perception, often as a response to severe trauma, causing a disconnect from one's thoughts, feelings, or reality

Dissociative fugue

a rare mental state where a person suddenly and unexpectedly travels or wanders away from home, experiencing a loss of personal identity and memory, sometimes even creating a new one, often triggered by severe stress or trauma

Dissociative identity disorder

a complex mental health condition where a person has two or more distinct personality states (alters) that recurrently take control, often stemming from severe childhood trauma as a coping mechanism, leading to memory gaps (amnesia), a fragmented sense of self, and significant distress

Schizophrenia

a serious, chronic brain disorder that disrupts how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, causing them to lose touch with reality through symptoms like hallucinations (hearing voices) and delusions (false beliefs)

Bipolar disorder

a serious mental illness causing extreme shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels, characterized by periods of intense highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression) that significantly impact daily functioning, work, and relationships

tolerance

The capacity to withstand uncomfortable or challenging internal states (like stress, anger, boredom, or pain) without giving up or lashing out. 

hormones

chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream to coordinate bodily functions, acting as signals to control growth, metabolism, mood, reproduction, and more, by telling cells and organs what to do and when

endocrine system

a network of glands and organs that produce and release hormones, the body's chemical messengers, directly into the bloodstream to regulate vital functions like metabolism, growth, mood, and reproduction

difference threshold

is the smallest detectable change between two stimuli that a person can perceive at least 50% of the time

Hallucinogens

a drug that causes hallucinations, such as LSD