Unit 5 Test

Health Psychology

subfield of psychology that explores the impact of psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors on health and wellness

• Attempt to help people make healthier choices

Psychoneuroimmunology

study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect our immune system and resulting health

• Stressors life significant life change, getting worked up abt daily hassles, catastrophe, etc. can suppress immune system

Stress

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

• Different from person to person

• Elevates disease rate

  • diverts energy from the immune system, inhibiting the activities of its B and T lymphocytes, macrophages, and NK cells.

• Fight, flight or freeze and secretion of glucocorticoid steroids in response

Eustress

• “Good stress”

• Lead to growth, motivation, well being

• Challenged, but capable → perform at best

• Ex. Feel moderate stress abt sports game

Distress

• “Bad stress”

• Lead to anxiety, depression, health problems

• Overwhelmed, threatened, unable to cope

• Ex. Feel overwhelmed abt mideterms

Approach and avoidance motives

drive to move toward (approach) or away from (avoid) a stimulus

• Kurt Lewin

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

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

1. Alarm reaction (fight, flight or freeze)

2. Resistance (using resources to cope w/ stressors)

3. Exhaustion when use resoruces for too long (Don’t have enough energy to deal w/ stressors and immune system doesn’t have enough resources to fight off “invaders”)

Tend and befriend response

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

• Reach out to connect w/ or even take care of others during resistance/ to cope

Coronary heart disease

clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle

• a leading cause of death in many developed countries

• Relate to stress

  • Blood diverted from liver to prepare for fight, flight or freeze response → cholestrol builds up b/c lover cleans out cholesterol → arteries clog

Type A

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

• More likely to get worked up abt daily hassles → hypertension and cardiovascular events

Type B

Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people

Catharsis

idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges

• Expressing anger can indeed be temporarily calming if it does not leave us feeling guilty or anxious

Coping

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

• Direct attack to stressor itself

• Ex. Stressed abt friendship → Reach out to see what’s wrong

• Most likely to use if think have strong internal locus of control

Emotion-focused coping

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

• Focus on stress reaction

• Ex. Stressed abt friendship → watch movie that makes you happy

Personal control

sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

Learned helplessness

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

External locus of control

perception that outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

Internal locus of control

perception that we control our own fate

Self-control

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

Positive psychology

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 (not just survive)/ build life of meaning or purpose

• Include daily pratices, etc. that help build better life

• Identify elements of good life (ex. Does $ buy happiness?), improving life satisfaction and well being

• Deep satisfaction > fleeting happiness

Subjective well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life; self-reported personal evaluation of one’s life

• Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life

• Encompasses cognitive life satisfaction and emotional experiences

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 income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

• Adjust neutral levels based on experience

Relative deprivation

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

Character strengths and virtues

classification system to identify positive traits; organized into categories of wisdom (creativity, curiosity, judgement/ thinking things through, love of learning, perspective), courage (bravery, perseverance, honesty, zest), humanity (love, kindness, social intelligence), justice (teamwork, fairness, leadership), temperance (forgiveness, humility, prudence, self regulation), and transcendence (appreciation of beauty/ excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality)

• People have different levels of each

• Build life using strengths more → find more meaning/ improve well being

Resilience

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

Post traumatic growth

Finding deeper meaning after traumatic event

• Contrasts PTSD

Aerobic exercise

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

• boosts mood by promoting muscle relaxation and sounder sleep, triggering the production of neurotransmitters, fostering neurogenesis, and enhancing self-image

Mindfulness meitation

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

Gratitude

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

• Increase happiness and subjective well being

Psychological disorder

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

• 3D definition

  • Deviant (from avg. behavior)

  • Distressful for person or society

  • Dysfunctional (impairs normal functioning)

Biopsychosocial model

Assumes psych problems potentially involve combo of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors

• Ex. Of interaction model (no single factor causes disorder, instead various elements contribute)

Medical model

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

concept that genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorder

• Type of interaction model

• Ex. Identical twins w/ only the one w/ more stressors developing schizophrenia

• Ex. Only 1 person developing disease despite someone else having same experiences

Epigenetics

“above” or “in addition to” (epi) genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change)

• Supports diathesis stress model

DSM-5-TR

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

• “Psychiatric Bible”

• Contains every psych diagnosis one can receive

• Description, not explanation of why

  • Aims for reliability (diagnosis made in consistent way no matter where made)

  • Objective and observable

• Used in US

• ICD 10 (International Classification of Diseases) which includes mental and psych disorders can also be used to determine disorder

Anxiety disorders

group of disorders characterized by excessive,persistent fear and anxiety and related maladaptive (coping unhealthily) behaviors to reduce anxiety

• Related to sympathetic NS

• Includes GAD, panic disorder, phobias, etc.

Social anxiety disorder

intense fear and avoidance of social situations (where one may be judged/watched by others)

• Type of phobia

• May include agorophobia

Generalized anxiety disorder

anxiety disorder in which a person is continually, unexplainably (no noticeable trigger) tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

• Symptoms

  • Heart palpitations

  • Sweaty palms

  • Ringing in ears

  • Shaking

  • Edginess (always waiting for shoe to drop)

  • Sleep deprivation (cycle b/c make harder to sleep and no sleep increases)

Panic disorder

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

• Common to develop agoraphobia b/c scared to have attack in public

• Can manifest as culture bound anxiety disorder like ataque de nervios

Agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one may experience a loss of control and panic; Intense fear of being in open places or situation where it may be hard to escape

• Can lead to people staying in homes for years

• Includes open spaces, public transport, enclosed spaces like shops or theathers, standing in line, being outside of home

Specific phobia

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

• Ex. Of heights, animals, flying, etc.

Obsessive-complusive disorder (OCD)

disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both.

• Common obsessions

  • Germs/ toxins/ dirt

  • Something terrible happening

  • Symmetry, order, exactness

• Common compulsions

  • Excessive personal care (like hand washing)

  • Repeating rituals

  • Checking behaviors

• Feel like being forced to do behavior, almost like itching

Hoarding disorder

persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

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 4 weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

• Repetitive trauma = more likely to develop

Trauma and stressor related disorders

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

Depressive disorders

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

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

• Alternating b/w slow motion (depression) and fast forward (mania)

  • Spend time at baseline as well

  • Depressive episodes 2+ weeks

Major depressive disorder

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 be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure

• Other symptoms:

  • Feelings of worthlessness

  • Low energy

  • Appetite issues (over or under eating)

  • Sleep issues

  • Problems w/ thinking, concentrating, etc.

• “Sluggishness of jet lag combined w/ anguish of grief”

• Leading cause of disability worldwide

Persistent depressive disorder

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

• Longer lasting, but milder than major depressive disorder

  • 2+ yrs of 2+ of same symptoms as major

Bipolar I disorder

most severe form, in which people experience a euphoric, talkative, highly energetic, and overly ambitious state that lasts a week or longer (Week + of mania)

Mania

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

Bipolar II disorder

less severe form of bipolar in which people move between depression and a milder hypomania (4+ days of mania w/ less severe symptoms)

Rumination

compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes

• Related to socio-cognitive view on depression

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders

group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech (word salad (stringing words in nonsensical way), disorganized or unusual motor behavior (excitement (+) or stupor (-)), and negative symptoms (such as flat affect)

• includes schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder

• Split from reality

• Causes:

  • Dopamine hypothesis: Dopamine overactivity (excess dopamine receptors)

    • Explain + symotoms

  • Maternal flu during pregnancy correlates w/ schizophrenia in baby when grow up

  • Genetics

    • 1/100 odds of anyone developing, but 1/10 if sibling or parent has it and ½ if identical twin has it even if reared apart

    • Elevated risk if bio parents have, not adopted parents

  • Brain

    • abnormal activity in frontal lobes, thalamus, and amygdala

    • loss of neural connections across the brain network.

    • Enlarged, fluid-filled areas and corresponding shrinkage and thinning of cerebral tissue.

    • Smaller-than-normal areas may include the cortex, the hippocampus, the corpus callosum, and the thalamus

Psychotic disorders

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

Delusion

false belief, often of persecution (paranoia) or grandeur (like thinking you’re superhero), that may accompany psychotic disorders

Hallucinations

Sensory experiences w/out sensory stimulation

• Most often auditory (hearing voices)

Catatonia

Disordered movement

• Excitement (+): Move more than normal

  • Ex. Rocking, tapping, etc.

• Stupor (-): Absence of almost all movement

Chronic schizophrenia

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

• AKA process schizophrenia

• Symptoms persist for extended period

• Gradual onset

• Mostly negative symptoms

• Less likely to respond to tretament

Acute schizophrenia

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; Sudden appearance of obvious schizophrenic symptoms

• AKA reactive schizophrenia

• Stress reaction

• More + symptoms

Dissociative disorders

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; Conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts and feelings

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

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

• Only 1 personality at a time and can vary widely (different genders, accents, etc.)

• May know of other “person” but not their experiences

• Associated w/ severe physical and sexual abuse in childhood (unconscious defense mechanism)

• Very rare and controversial

  • Mainly in US/ 1st world countries after 1980s

Dissociative amnesia

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

• May revolve around trauma/ stress

• May include dissociative fugue state

Dissociative fugue state

Sudden, unexpected travel away from one’s usual surroundings, accompanied by inability to recall one’s past and sometimes the assumption of a new identity

• Lose all memories of past

Personality disorders

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

• Cluster A: odd/eccentric (paranoid, schizoid, schizotypical), Cluster B: dramatic/ emotional/ erratic (antisocial, histrionic, narcissistic, borderline), Cluster C: anxious/ fearful (avoidant, dependent and obsessive- compulsive)

Paranoid Personality Disorder

• Distrust of others/ Paranoia

• Hypersensitivity (like being easily offended)

• Restricted affectivity/ emotional coldness

Schizoid personality disorder

• Emotional coldness

• Absence of tender feelings toward others

• Lack of desire for close relationships

• Indifference to praise, criticism or others feelings

Schizotypical personality disorder

• Oddities of thought, perception, speech and behavior not severe enough to warrant schizophrenia diagnosis

  • Ex. Perceptual distortions, magical thinking, social isolation, vague speech w/out incoherence, inadequate rapport w/ others due to lack of feeling/ aloofness

Antisocial personality disorder

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

• Disregard and violate others rights

• Ex. Violating law, exploitation of others, deceitfulness, impulsivity, agressiveness, reckless disregard for safety of self and others and irresponsibility, accompanied w/ lack of guilt and empathy

• Smaller amygdala, less active frontal lobes

Histrionic Personality Disorder

• Self-dramatization

  • Draw attention to selves

  • Crave activity and excitement

  • Overreact to minor events

  • Angry outbursts

  • Prone to manipulative suicide threats/ gestures

• Appear shallow, egocentric, inconsiderate, vain, demanding, dependent and helpless

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• Grandiose self-importance

• Exaggerated sense of achievements/ talent

• Fantasies of unlimited sex, power, brilliance or beauty

• Exhibitionistic need for attention and admiration

• Cool indifference OR feelings of rage, humiliation or emptiness as response to criticism, indifference or defeat

• Interpersonal disturbances like entitlement, taking advantage of others, inability to empathize w/ others

Borderline Personality Disorder

Instability in mood, interpersonal relationships and slef image causing distress or interfering w/ function

• Self damaging behavior (like substance use, overeating, gambling, etc.)

• Intense, unstable relationships

• Uncontrollable temper outbursts

• Uncertainty abt self image, gender, goals and loyalties

• Shifting moods

• Self defeating behavior (like suicidal ideation)

• Chronic feelings of emptiness/ boredom

Avoidant Personality Disorder

• hypersensitivity to rejection/ criticism

• Desire for uncritical acceptance

• Social withdrawal in spite of desire for acceptance/ affection

• Low self esteem

• Causes objective distress and impairs ability to work/ maintain relationships

Dependent Personality Disorder

• Passively allowing others to take responsibility for major areas of life

  • Subordinating personal needs to needs of others, due to lack of self-confidence/ self-dependence

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

• Excessive perfectionism/ orderliness

• Mental and interpersonal control

• Inability to compromise

• Exaggerated sense of moral responsibility

Feeding and eating disorders

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

• Feeding disorders typically occur in infants and young children; eating disorders affect people who self-feed

Anorexia nervosa

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

• Most common cause of eating disorder-related deaths

• Possible amenorrhea (stopping of menstration for 3+ months)

• Persistent refusal of food and excessive fear of weight gain

Bulimia nervosa

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

Neruodevelopmental 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

• Symptoms focus on whether person exhibiting behaviors appropriate for age/ maturity range

• Includes autism spectrum disorders and ADHD

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

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

• Ex. Trouble making eye contact or following social scripts, hyper focus on interests like dinosaurs

Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

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

• Persistent of 6+ symotoms

• Inattention: Trouble concentrating, loosing objects easily, etc.

• Hyperactivity: Blurting out answers, fidgeting, difficulty organizing, etc.

What do different psychological perspectives focus on to explain the cause of mental disorders?

• Behavioral: Maladaptive learned associations b/w or among responses to stimuli

• Psychodynamic: Unconscious thoughts/ experiences, often in childhood

• Humanistic: Lack of social support and inability to fulfill own potential

• Cognitive: Maladaptive thoughts, beliefs, attitudes or emotions

• Evolutionary: Behaviors and mental processes that reduce likelihood of survival

• Sociocultural: Maladaptive social and cultural relationships and dynamics

• Biological: Physiology and genetics

Deinstitutionalization

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

• Psychotropic drugs and community based treatment emptied hospitals

• Today treat mental illness in decentralized way w/ combo of meds and therapy in outpatient of inpatient community based facilities

  • 1/5 Americans get outpatient care

Psychotherapy

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

• Multiple forms related to different perspectives

• May explore early relationships, encourage adopting new ways of thinking or coach replacing old behaviors w/ new ones

Biomedical therapy

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

• Ex. Antidepressants, shock therapy, deep brain stimulation, etc.

Eclectic approach

approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy

• Formed to best help individual client based on their problems

Psychoanalysis

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

• 1st psychotherapy

• Release energy related to id-ego-superego conflict

• Bring repressed feelings to conciousness → give insight into disorder origin → reduce growth impeding conflict

• Free association: Relax and say whatever comes to mind when therapist says something

Resistance

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

• Pause before embarrassing thought, unable to remember important detail, change subject, etc. during free association

Interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst’s noting of supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in an effort 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

Views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and seeks to enhance self-insight

• Help understand symptoms based on relationships, events and therapist-client relationships/ pattern of relationships

• Includes dream analysis, free association and projective tests

Insight therapies

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

• Include psychodynamic and humanistic 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.

• AKA client-centered therapy

• Non directive/ Guide, not tell

  • Validate and help reflect → deeper understanding and acceptance

Active listening

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

• Feature of person-centered therapy

• Shows hear person, not just words → more open

• Psychological mirror (but impossible to be totally non directive

Unconditional positive regard

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

• AKA unconditional regard

• Help clients accept even their worse traits and feel valued and whole

  • Awareness and acceptance

Behavior therapy

therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors

Counterconditioning

behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors

• include exposure therapies and aversive conditioning