Beh Sci 110 GR #3

Stress

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

primary appraisal

initial decision regarding whether an event is harmful

secondary appraisal

an evaluation of your coping resources and options for dealing with the stress

3 types of stressors

catastrophes, significant life changes, daily hassles

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

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) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)

health psychology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine

Psychneuroimmunology

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

coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries

Catharsis

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

psychological disorder

a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior

medical model

view of mental illness as due to a physical disorder requiring medical treatment

Epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change

DSM5

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

anxiety disorders

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

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

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

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

somatic symptom disorder

psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause

illness anxiety disorder

a disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease

major depressive disorder

A mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities.

bipolar disorder

A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.

Psychotherapy

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

ecletic

approach to psycho therapy that results from combining elements of several different approaches or techniques

biomedical therapy

prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the patient's nervous system

behavior therapies

action therapies based on the principles of classical and operant conditioning and aimed at changing disordered behavior without concern for the original causes of such behavior

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 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

an anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to simulations of their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking

aversive conditioning

a type of counterconditioning that 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 therapies

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

cognitive behavioral therapy

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

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; also increasingly prescribed for anxiety. Different types work by altering the availability of various neurotransmitters

cope

to manage problems or difficulties successfully

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 and attending to emotional needs related to one's 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 your personal control determine your fate.

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

self-control

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

mindfulness meditation

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

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

subjective well-being

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

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 one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself