AP Psychology Unit 5 Review: Mental and Physical Health Flashcards

Practice flashcards covering vocabulary from AP Psychology Unit 5, including health psychology, stress, psychological disorders, and treatment methods.

Health Psychology

A field that looks at how biological, psychological, and social factors affect health and well-being, specifically studying how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors impact physical health.

Stress

The body's response to any demand or challenge.

Eustress

Positive stress, such as the excitement felt before a big game or the pressure that motivates studying.

Distress

The negative kind of stress, such as feeling overwhelmed before a test or realizing one has procrastinated for too long.

Traumatic Stress

Stress caused by major life events such as natural disasters, abuse, or serious accidents, which can have lasting effects on health.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Stressful or traumatic events that happen in childhood and can impact health and behavior well into adulthood.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Hans Selye's model explaining how the body responds to stress in three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Alarm Reaction

The first stage of GAS where the sympathetic nervous system kicks into gear, triggering the fight-or-flight response with increased heart rate and adrenaline.

Resistance

The second stage of GAS where the body tries to keep up with the stress and the brain goes into overdrive to manage the situation.

Exhaustion

The third stage of GAS where the body's resources are depleted, leading to mental and physical drain and an increased risk for stress-related illnesses.

Tend and Befriend Response

A theory developed by Shelley Taylor suggesting that in times of stress, some people (especially women) seek social support and care for others.

Oxytocin

A hormone linked to bonding, trust, and social connections that also has stress-reducing effects, often rising during the tend-and-befriend response.

Coping

The strategies used to manage stress, whether by tackling the problem directly or handling the associated emotions.

Problem Focused Coping

Dealing with stress by directly addressing the issue causing it through practical, action-based solutions.

Emotion Focused Coping

Managing the feelings that come with stress instead of fixing the problem itself, often used when a situation is unavoidable.

Positive Psychology

The study of human strengths, well-being, and happiness, focusing on what makes life worth living rather than just diagnosing problems.

Subjective Well-being

A person's self-perceived happiness and life satisfaction, derived from internal thoughts and emotions.

Objective Well-being

Well-being influenced by external, measurable life conditions like relationships, achievements, or genetics.

Post-traumatic Growth

The idea that people can come out of difficult life events stronger, with a deeper sense of meaning and resilience.

Psychological Disorder

A condition causing significant disturbances in a person's thoughts, emotions, or behaviors, identified by dysfunction, distress, and deviation from social norms.

DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

Published by the American Psychiatric Association, it provides symptoms, criteria, and classifications for psychological disorders in the US.

ICD (International Classification of Diseases)

Published by the World Health Organization, it is used internationally for the classification of mental health disorders and other diseases.

Eclectic Approach

A treatment method where psychologists combine ideas from multiple perspectives to get a complete understanding of behavior.

Biopsychosocial Model

An approach explaining psychological disorders through the interaction of biological, psychological, and environmental factors.

Diathesis-stress Model

A model suggesting that disorders develop from a combination of a predisposition (diathesis) and external pressure or life events (stress).

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder affecting communication, socialization, and the processing of sensory information.

Schizophrenia

A severe disorder affecting thinking, emotions, and behavior, often involving a disconnect from reality through delusions and hallucinations.

Positive Symptoms (Schizophrenia)

Symptoms that represent an addition to normal experience, such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech.

Negative Symptoms (Schizophrenia)

Symptoms that represent the absence of normal behaviors, such as flat affect or catatonic stupor.

Dopamine Hypothesis

The theory that schizophrenia is linked to excess dopamine activity in the brain.

Major Depressive Disorder

A condition characterized by intense sadness and loss of interest in activities lasting for at least two weeks.

Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD)

A chronic, lower-level depression that lasts for at least two years.

Cognitive Triad

Aaron Beck's model of depression involving negative views of oneself, the world, and the future.

Bipolar Disorder

A mood disorder involving dramatic shifts between manic episodes (highs) and depressive episodes (lows).

Bipolar I Disorder

A type of Bipolar disorder involving full manic episodes that last at least a week or require hospitalization.

Bipolar II Disorder

A type of Bipolar disorder involving hypomanic episodes that are less extreme than full mania, alongside severe depressive episodes.

Specific Phobia

An intense or irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity, such as arachnophobia (spiders) or acrophobia (heights).

Agoraphobia

The fear of situations where escape might be difficult, leading to the avoidance of crowded or open spaces.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Marked by excessive, uncontrollable worry about everyday things, often resulting in restlessness and fatigue.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A disorder characterized by persistent, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive actions (compulsions) designed to ease anxiety.

Hoarding Disorder

A disorder where individuals struggle to part with possessions regardless of value, leading to clutter and distress.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

A fragmentation of identity where a person experiences two or more distinct identity states, often as a coping mechanism for extreme trauma.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A disorder developing after a traumatic event, characterized by hypervigilance, flashbacks, and emotional detachment.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder involving an intense fear of gaining weight, distorted body image, and extreme food restriction.

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder involving cycles of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors like vomiting or excessive exercise.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

A Cluster B disorder marked by a disregard for the rights of others, manipulation, and a lack of empathy or guilt.

Borderline Personality Disorder

A Cluster B disorder involving intense mood swings, unstable relationships, and a deep fear of abandonment.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

A Cluster C disorder characterized by a preoccupation with order, perfectionism, and control, distinct from OCD.

Psychotherapy

A treatment approach focusing on changing thoughts, emotions, and behaviors through structured talk therapy.

Free Association

A psychodynamic technique where a person says whatever comes to mind to reveal hidden emotions and unconscious conflicts.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A widely used therapy that combines changing negative thoughts (cognitive) with changing unhelpful behaviors (behavioral).

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

A form of CBT originally for borderline personality disorder that helps regulate emotions and includes mindfulness techniques.

Client-centered Therapy

Carl Rogers' humanistic approach emphasizing a supportive, non-judgmental space using active listening and unconditional positive regard.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

Antidepressant medications that help regulate serotonin levels to improve mood.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A biological treatment using small electrical currents to cause a mild seizure in the brain to treat severe depression.