Introduction to Health Psychology and Psychological Disorders

Health psychology

A subfield of psychology that explores the impact of psychological, behavioral, & cultural factors on health & wellness.

Stress

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

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Hans 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 & others (tend) & bond with & seek support from others (befriend).

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 & 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 & passive resignation humans & 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.

Positive psychology

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

Subjective well-being

Self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life; used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical & economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.

Feel good, do good phenomenon

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

Adaptation-level phenomenon

Our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of incomes) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

Relative deprivation

The perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves.

Character strengths & virtues

A classification system to identify positive traits; organized into categories of wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, & transcendence.

Resilience

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

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 & impairs their daily lives (dysfunction or maladaptive).

Medical model

The concept that diseases - in this case, psychological disorders - have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, & in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.

Diathesis-stress model

The concept that genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorders (also called the vulnerability-stress model).

DSM-5-TR

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Test Revision; widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Anxiety disorders

A group of disorders characterized by excessive fear & anxiety & related maladaptive behaviors.

Social anxiety disorder

Intense fear & avoidance of social situations (often a symptom of agoraphobia).

Taijin kyofusho

Culture-bound anxiety disorder experienced mainly by Japanese people; generally associated with fear that others are judging their body as undesirable, offensive, or unpleasing.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

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

Panic Disorder

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

Ataque de nervios

Culture-bound anxiety disorder experienced mainly by people of Caribbean or Iberian descent; generally associated with stressful events involving family.

Agoraphobia

Fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one may experience a loss of control & panic.

Specific phobia

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

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions or behaviors (compulsions), or both; often, the compulsions serve to reduce the anxiety felt by the obsessions.

Hoarding disorder

A persistent difficulty parting possessions, regardless of their value (OCD-related disorder).

Trauma- and stressor-related disorders

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

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A disorder characterized by haunting memories, hypervigilance, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for 4 weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

Depressive Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by an enduring sad, empty, or irritable mood, along with physical & cognitive changes that affect a person's ability to function (includes major depressive disorder & persistent depressive disorder).

Bipolar disorders

A group of disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness & lethargy of depression & the overexcited states of mania (formerly called manic-depressive disorder).

Major depressive disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences 5 or more symptoms lasting 2 or more weeks, in the absence of drug use or a medical condition, at least one of which must be either (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 (formerly called dysthymia).

Bipolar I disorder

The most severe form, in which people experience a euphoric, talkative, highly energetic, & 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 & a milder hypomania.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorder

A group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized or unusual motor behavior, & negative symptoms (such as diminished emotional expression); includes schizophrenia & schizotypal personality disorder.

Delusion

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

Chronic schizophrenia

(Also called process schizophrenia) form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood; as people age, psychotic episodes last longer & recovery periods shorten.

Acute schizophrenia

(Also called reactive schizophrenia) form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event, & 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, & behavior.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct & alternating identities (formerly called multiple personality disorder).

Dissociative Amnesia

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

Personality Disorders

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

Cluster A Personality Disorders

People appear eccentric or odd; includes paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, & schizotypal personality disorder.

Cluster B Personality Disorders

People appear dramatic, emotional, or erratic; includes borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, & antisocial personality disorder.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

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

Cluster C Personality Disorders

People appear anxious or fearful; includes avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, & obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Feeding & Eating Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by altered consumption or absorption of food that impairs health & psychological functioning (feeding disorders typically occur in infants & young children, whereas eating disorders affect people who self-feed).

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight, & 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 & alter thinking & behavior (as in intellectual limitations or a psychological disorder).

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A disorder that appears in childhood & is marked by limitations in communication & social interaction, & by rigidly fixated interests & repetitive behaviors.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity & impulsivity.

Deinstitutionalization

The process, begun in the late 20th century, of moving people with psychological disorders out of institutional facilities.

Psychotherapy

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

Biomedical Therapy

Prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person's physiology.

Eclectic Approach

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

Psychodynamic Therapy

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

Free Association

In psychodynamic therapy, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes & says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

Dream Interpretation

In psychodynamic therapy, the analyst's noting of supposed hidden (latent) dream meanings.

Insight Therapies

Therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person's awareness of underlying motives & defenses (humanistic, psychoanalytic, & psychodynamic therapies).

Person-Centered Therapy

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 (also called client-centered therapy).

Active Listening

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, & seeks clarification; a feature of Rogers' person-centered therapy

Unconditional positive regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-awareness & self-acceptance (also called unconditional regard).

Behavior therapy

Therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors (also called applied behavior analysis).

Counterconditioning

Behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; includes exposure therapies & aversive conditioning.

Exposure therapies

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

Systematic desensitization

A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli; commonly used to treat 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 an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol).

Token economy

An operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token (reward) for exhibiting behavior & can later exchange tokens for privileges or treats.

Cognitive therapy

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

Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)

A confrontational cognitive therapy that vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes & assumptions.

Cognitive triad

Negative thoughts about oneself, the world, & the future; assumed by cognitive psychologists to be the underlying cause of depression.

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.

Meta-analysis

A statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion.

Evidence-based practice

Clinical decision making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise & client characteristics & preferences.

Therapeutic alliance

A bond of trust & mutual understanding between a therapist & client, who work together constructively to overcome the client's problem.

Psychopharmacology

The study of the effects of drugs on mind & behavior.

Antipsychotic drugs

Drugs used to treat schizophrenia & other forms of severe thought disorders.

Antianxiety drugs

Drugs used to control anxiety & agitation.

Antidepressant drugs

Drugs used to treat depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive & related disorders, & posttraumatic stress disorders (several widely used antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - SSRIs).

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

A biomedical therapy for severe depression in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized person.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

The application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity.

Psychosurgery

Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue to change behavior.

Hypnosis

A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur; in a therapeutic context, the hypnotist attempts to use suggestion to reduce unpleasant physical sensations & emotions.

Dissociation

A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts & behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

Posttraumatic growth

Positive psychological changes following a struggle with extremely challenging circumstances & life crises.