Unit 5 AP Psych

What is the biological theory of stress?

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system

What is the psychodynamic theory of stress?

turmoil in the unconscious that shows up as something else

Evolutionary theory of stress

result of having evolved from a different environment

sociocultural theory of stress

not matching soceity’s roles and expectations

humanistic theory of stress

arises when obstacles block us from growing and becoming

cognitive theory of stress

reaction to having disruptive and unpleasant thoughts

behavioral theory of stress

inability to obtain positive or negative reinforcement

hedonic adaptation

refers to the notion that after positive (or negative) events (i.e., something good or bad happening to someone), and a subsequent increase in positive (or negative) feelings, people return to a relatively stable, baseline level of affect

Eustress

-challenging but not unpleasant

-possibility of long-term benefit from Eustress

-Approach-avoidance conflict

-Optimum arousal

-Consent and choice

-internal locus of control

-trying something new, going to college, auditioning, interviewing

Distress

-unpleasant

-unhealthy

-avoidance-avoidance conflict

-learned helplessness

-lack of control

-external locus of control

-teacher who yells a lot, gives pop quizzes, shows favorites to other students

General Adaption system

Commonly abbreviated as GAS

Originated by Hans Selye

attempts to understand stress’s impact on health

What is the alarm stage of stress?

fight or flight-1st stage

What is the resistance stage of stress?

working despite stress and being tired -2nd stage

What is the exhaustion stage of stress?

the final phase of the body's response to prolonged stress, where the body's resources are completely depleted, leading to symptoms like fatigue, burnout, decreased stress tolerance, difficulty concentrating, and potential emotional distress, often occurring when stress is not effectively managed over a long period of time. example: when you get stressed and experience flu-like symptoms

What is the tend and befriend theory of stress?

a coping mechanism where individuals facing stress seek social support by nurturing others and forming close connections, essentially "tending" to their loved ones and "befriending" others to gain protection and comfort, often considered more prevalent in females compared to the typical "fight or flight" response. 

What is the Yerkes Dodson theory?

there is an optimal level of arousal for peak performance.

Authentic Happiness Inventory

a self-assessment tool designed to measure subjective well-being and happiness, focusing on the three elements of the "pleasant life," "good life," and "meaningful life

PERMA profiler

Martin Seligman presents the 'PERMA' model which steps through five elements essential to human wellbeing and flourishing: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievement. Leaders can use this model to encourage others to flourish, and also to understand how they can improve their own wellbeing.

Since happiness is hard to define how to psychologists define it?

they used operational definitions so they can measure happiness

What is positive psychology?

the scientific study of human strengthens and virtues focusing on human flourishing and optimal functioning

What are the 24 different traits categorized of virtues?

1)Wisdom

2)Courage

3)Humanity and love

4)Justice

5)Temperance

6)Transcendence

Positive subjective experiences people often experience after trauma

-personal strength

-close relationships

-greater appreciation for life

-new possibilities

-spirtual development

What are the 3 D’s used to diagnose mental health issues?

Deviance

Distressful

Dysfunctional

What is deviance?

not typical of one’s society’s normal behavior

What is distress?

something that’s worrisome and causes anxiety

What is something that’s dysfunctional?

impairment or disturbance in behaivor

What is the DSM-5-TR?

-Developed by the american psychiatric association to classify and describe disorders, although it doesn’t explain how those disorders emerge

what are some common DSM classifiers?

-neurodevelopmental disorders

-depressive disorders

-anxiety disorders

What is the eclectic theory of psychology?

Mix of psychological modes of thinking

What is the humanist view of psychology?

emphasizes the individual's inherent capacity for growth, self-actualization, and positive development, viewing people as inherently good and motivated to reach their full potential. 

behaivoral versus cognitive field of psychology?

Behavioral psychology focuses on observable behaviors and how they are shaped by environmental stimuli, while cognitive psychology investigates the mental processes (like thinking, memory, and perception) that underlie behavior. 

What are neurodevelopmental disorders indicated?

-focus on whether exhibited behaviors are appropriate for age or maturity levels

-may affect emotions, learning ability, self control, and memory

-occurs during the developmental period

-typically exist for life

How is ADHD diagnosed?

5/9 indicators must be present for at least 6 months for a diagnosis

Symptoms: overlooking detail, fidgeting, impatience,

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

symptoms: impaired social skills, repetitive behavior

Psychotic is the adjective form of the psychosis- what is psychosis?

a mental condition in which thoughts and emotions are so affected that contact is lost with reality

What are some symptoms of schizophrenia?

-delusions

-hallucinogens

-disorganized speeches

-disorganized or catatonic behavior

-negative symptoms

What are positive psychological symptoms?

Prescence of an inappropriate or atypical behavior Presence

examples: -delusions

-hallucinations

-disogranized speech and movement

What are negative psychological symptoms?

Absence of appropriate or typical expected behavior

examples: lack of movement

-Flat effect (low emotional response)

-reduction in speech

What is the criteria for a schizophrenia diagnosis?

-the presence of 2 of the 5 symptoms for more than a month

-at least one of the symptoms must be delusions, hallucinogens, or disorganized speech

-This is a disorder that exists on a spectrum

risk factors for schitophrenia

-prenatal virus exposure

-childhood stress and trauma

-social isolation

-family dysfunction

-excessive dopamine in the brain is associated with positive symptoms of schizophrenia

How are mood disorders now characterized?

now that mood disorders are now categorized as depressive disorders or bipolar and related disorders

• a mood disorder refers to a mental health condition that mainly impacts one’s emotional state

Major depressive disorder (MDD)

Prescence of symptoms every day for at least two weeks

Persistent developmental disorders

Prescence of disorders over two years, often milder, but more persistent that episodic

What is bipolar disorder?

characterized by cycling moods involving manic episodes

bipolar cycling: involves experiencing depression and mania in altering periods that can last a variable amount of time

Bipolar 1 requires the Prescence of a manic episode

Bipolar II the Prescence of a hypomanic (less severe) and a a depressive episode.

Symptoms of bipolar (Mania/Manic Episodes)

Bipolar 1: three or more symptoms present every day for most of the day at least in one week

Bipolar 2: The prescence of a depressive episode (as defined earlier) is required, but symptoms of mania may be less severe

Manic episode symptoms:

-inflated ego

-decreased need for sleep

-increased goal activity or restlessness

-reckless behaivor

-racing thoughts

-being more chatty

-easily distracted

How does depression show up from a biological perspective?

-linked to overreaction of hypothalamus (hypothalamus coordinates stress response)

-overaction of amygdala

-reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex

Trauma and stress related disorders

-prior to DSM-5 these were called anxiety disorders

-all require exposure to traumatic or stressful event for diagnosis

-PTSD requires exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence

Symptoms of PTSD

Intrusions, alterations of cognitive/mood, avoidance, alterations in arousal reactivity

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

-Prescence of two or more distinct personalities

-typically a reaction to trauma as a way to avoid bad memories or experiences

Dissociative Amnesia

-response to a traumatic event

-different from “organic” amnesia which is the result of physical trauma

-may be localized, selective, continous, systemized, generalized

-sometimes experiences “Fugue” (sudden, unexpected travel or relocation from home)

Depression versus anxiety

Depression:

-often a response to past or current loss

-reflectictive of experience for learning and moving forward

-symptoms slow us down to ponder

-normal unless it’s excessive

Anxiety:

-often a response to a threat of future loss

-Motiivating and preparing for future responsibilities

-symptoms reflect sympathetic nervous system arousal

-quite normal unless excessive or in response to imangined threats or unrealistic threats

Obsessions

intrusive thoughts

Compulsions

instrusive behaivors

Bulimia nervosa

-recurrent episodes of binge eating

-eating within a two hour period more than average

-feeling that someoen can’t stop how much their eating

-behaivors need to occur once a week for three months to count as a disorder

What are the characteristics of a personality disorder?

-deviance from one culture

-pervasive and inflexible

-begin in adolescence or early childhood

-stable over time

-lead to personal distress or impairment

What are the clusters for personality disorders?

Cluster A. Odd or Eccentric

Cluster B. Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic

Cluster C. Fearful or Anxious

Cluster A. Odd or Eccentric

paranoid: pattern of distrust and suspicion

schizoid: avoidance of social activity and interaction with others

schizoptypical: d ways of thinking perceiving, or communicating

Cluster B. Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic

antisocial, histrionic, narcasstici, borderline

Cluster C. Fearful or Anxious

need of assurance, being nervous

Therapeutic alliance

A relationship between a therapist and a client that includes

-active participation

-trust and confidence with each other

-genuine regard

-mindfullness of cross cultural issues

Evidence based practice

reviewing the findings within the literature and incorporating it into a treatment plan.

Meta analysis

a statistical analytical review of many studies

APA ethical principles in the treatment of psychological disorders

Non malfeasance

Fidelity

Integrity

Respect for rights and dignity

What are cognitive approaches to therapy?

They may employ Cognitive Restructuring or Fear Hierarchies to combat maladaptive thinking

Applied behavior theories

1) Exposure therapies-technique of behavioral therapy that safely exposes the client to the source of their anxiety. A fear hirerarchy is created in systematic desensitization.

2)Aversion thearpy- technique that conditions a negative or unwanted behaivor with an unpleasant stimulus until an aversion is created

3)Token econonmies- technique where a positive target behaivor is reinfroced with small tokens whenever this behaivor is done, and then the tokens can be exhcanged for a larger more desired award

4)Biofeedback-behaivor techniques that use visual and or auditory feedback clients to control their physical reaction to improve functioning

What is biofeedback?

Uses principles of conditioning to help clients regulate body systems that contribute to systems feelings of anxiety or depression.

Dialectical behavior theory (DBT)

identifies and changes negative thoughts to bring about positive change in behavior

Rational-Emotive Behaivor Therapy (REBT)

REBT challenges negative or irrational thought processes and their consequences

-invented by Albert Ellis

-The ABC’s of REBT

-adveristy

-behaivor

-consequences

Carl Rodgers

Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist who developed person-centered therapy, emphasizing empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness in therapy. He believed that a person’s self-concept—their perception of themselves—shapes their behavior and well-being. When there's a mismatch between self-concept and experiences (incongruence), it can lead to psychological distress. His approach focused on helping people achieve self-actualization by fostering a supportive environment where they could align their self-concept with their true feelings and experiences.

500 BCE how was mental illness treated?

Trephining was used to release demonic spirits

800 BCE how was mental illness treated?

Hippocrates thought mental illness (well all illness) was caused by imbalance of the four humors

Were bloodletting and lobotomies used as mental health treatments?

Yes

What is free association?

is a psychoanalytic technique developed by Freud, where a person says whatever comes to mind without filtering or censoring their thoughts. The idea is that unconscious thoughts and repressed memories will surface, revealing hidden conflicts or desires. It’s like a verbal Rorschach test—just let your mind wander, and sooner or later, your subconscious spills the tea.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

IPT (Interpersonal Therapy) is a short-term, evidence-based therapy that focuses on improving a person's relationships to help with mental health issues like depression. It’s built on the idea that our emotional well-being is deeply connected to our social interactions. IPT targets things like unresolved grief, role transitions (big life changes), interpersonal conflicts, and social isolation. Instead of digging deep into childhood like psychoanalysis, it’s more about “Okay, what’s going on in your relationships right now, and how can we fix it?”

4o

How is motivation defined in psychology?

It’s often defined operationally

Drive reduction theory

(Hull) says that biological needs (like hunger or thirst) create an internal drive (a state of tension) that motivates behavior to restore homeostasis (balance). Once the need is met, the drive is reduced. It explains primary drives (biological needs) but struggles with secondary drives (like money or curiosity).

Optimal Arousal Theory

says that people are motivated to reach their ideal level of arousal—not too bored, not too overwhelmed. It explains why we seek excitement when things are dull and why we avoid stress when things get too intense. The Yerkes-Dodson Law ties in, showing that performance is best at moderate arousal (too little = unmotivated, too much = overwhelmed). It helps explain behaviors like thrill-seeking and procrastination.

What are some differences between experimental and nonexperimental analysis?

Experimental: involves the use of indepdent variables and random assignment in groups. This is the only way to establish causation.

Nonexperimental: includes methods like case studies, correlation, meta-analysis, and observation. Causation can’t be established.

What is the premise of Gestalt psychology?

is all about how we perceive things as whole patterns rather than just a bunch of individual parts. The main idea is that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Our brains naturally group things using principles like proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and figure-ground to make sense of the world. It explains things like why we see a full shape even when parts are missing or why we recognize faces so easily.

Ghrelin

s a hormone that makes you feel hungry. It’s produced in your stomach and signals your brain when it’s time to eat. It’s often called the "hunger hormone."

Leptin

is a hormone that helps you feel full. It’s produced by fat cells and signals to your brain that you’ve had enough to eat, helping regulate energy balance. Think of it as the "satiety hormone."

Sterotypes

generalized belief about a group member of a group, or a social category. They are mental shortcuts (heuristics) in thinking that allieviate cognitive load. Many sterotypes develop into our schmeas or mental frameworks.

Prejudice

When a stereotype can lead to a negative attitude in advance of having an experience with a person or group.

Discrimination

When someone is hostile towards a rejected group.

Our group bias

When we tend to see members of other groups as having unfavorable attributes and characteristics

In group bias

is when we tend to view our own group as having favorable outcomes and likeability

Belief perseverance

tendency for us to mantain a belief, even when someone can refute or disprove the feelings with evidence or facts

Confirmation bias

is the tendency to seek out, interpret, or remember information in a way that supports your preexisting beliefs or opinions, while ignoring information that contradicts them. It can make you more confident in wrong ideas because you're only focusing on the evidence that backs them up.

Attribution theories

Tries to explain why behaivors happen

Explanatory style

Tries to describe why those behaviors happen

What are dispositional factors?

-Internal

-Relatively unchanging

what are situational factors?

-External

-Temporary

What is the fundamental attribution error?

The tendency to overestimate the influence of personal traits (dispositional factors) and underestimate the influence of external circumstances (situational factors) when explaining other people's behavior.
Example: If someone cuts you off in traffic, you might think they’re a rude person (dispositional) rather than considering they might be in a hurry (situational).

Optimistic explanatory style

-External causes

-Relatively important causes

-Specific causes

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

-Personal causes

-Permanent causes

-Preventable causes

Availability heuristic

is a mental shortcut where people make judgments about the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. If something is more memorable or recent, you’re more likely to think it’s common, even if it’s actually rare. For example, after hearing about airplane crashes in the news, you might overestimate how dangerous flying is.

Overconfidence bias

is when people are too confident in their abilities, knowledge, or judgments, often leading them to overestimate their accuracy or performance. It happens when you think you know more than you actually do, or you're more likely to succeed than the evidence suggests. This bias can lead to poor decision-making because you're not fully considering the risks or uncertainties.

representativeness heuristic

is a mental shortcut where people judge the likelihood of something based on how similar it is to a prototype or typical example they have in their mind. This can lead to errors, like assuming someone who is quiet and likes to read is more likely a librarian than a salesperson, even if there are many more salespeople than librarians.

mere exposure effect

is the psychological phenomenon where people tend to develop a preference for something simply because they are exposed to it repeatedly. The more you see or experience something, the more you tend to like it, even if you didn’t feel strongly about it at first. This effect explains why you might start liking a song after hearing it a few times or becoming more comfortable with someone the more you hang out with them.

4o mini