AP Psychology Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health

health psych

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 the 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 (approach) or away from (avoid) a stimulus

general adaptation syndrome

Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion

tend-and-befriend response

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

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

the idea that "releasing" aggressive energy relieves aggressive urges

coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

problem-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction

emotional focused coping

attempting to reduce 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 an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

external locus of control

the perception that chance or 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 strengths 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 already in a good mood

adaptation-level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) 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

broaden-and-build theory

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

resilience

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

aerobic exercise

sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and 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 diseases, 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 (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorder.

epigenetics

the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change)

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 experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations.

agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic

specific phobia

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

obsessive-compulsive disorder

a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

hoarding disorder

a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value

posttraumatic stress disorder

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, 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 drugs or another 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 two 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 judgement is common

bipolar II disorder

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

rumination

compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes

schizophrenia spectrum disorders

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

psychotic disorders

a group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a 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. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten

acute schizophrenia

a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to an emotionally traumatic event, and has extended recovery periods

dissocative 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

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Also 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 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 the 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 disorder

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

anorexia nervosa

an eating 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 characterized by a person's binge eating followed by inappropriate weight-loss-promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

neurodevelopment disorders

central nervous system abnormalities (usually in the brain) that start in childhood and alter thinking and behavior (as in intellectual limitations or a psychological disorder)

autism spectrum disorder

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

attentive-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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

eclectic approach

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

psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's therapeutic technique. Freud believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences - and the therapist's interpretations of them - released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.

resistance

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

interpretation

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

transference

in psychoanalysis, the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships (such as love or hatred for a parent)

psychodynamic therapy

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. (Also called client-centered therapy.)

active listening

empathetic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy

unconditional positive regard

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

behavior therapy

therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors.

counterconditioning

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

exposure therapies

behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actuality) to the things they fear and avoid

systematic sampling

a type of exposure therapy that associative a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli.

virtual reality exposure therapy

a counter conditioning technique that treats anxiety by creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face their greatest fears, such as airplane 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 of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats

cognitive therapy

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

rational-emotive behavior therapy

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

cognitive-behavioral therapy

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 in 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 an overall conclusion

evidence-based practice

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 problem

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 disorder

antianxiety drugs

drugs used to control anxiety and agitation

antidepressant drugs

drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD

electroconvulsive therapy

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient

transcranial magnetic stimulation

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 in an effort to change behavior