AP Psychology Unit 5

Health psychology

the subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health

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

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)

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

3 main types of stressors

catastrophes, significant life changes, daily hassles

Why are some of us more prone to coronary heart disease than others?

Stress raises blood pressure and inflammation, making arteries more vulnerable to damage, while excess cholesterol builds up in artery walls, forming plaques; together, they greatly increase the risk of coronary heart disease

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.

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

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

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 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

broaden-and-build theory

the proposition that positive emotions expand an individual's attention and mind-set

Character strengths and values

a classification system to identify positive traits; organized into categories of VIA

What predicts happiness?

genes, personal history, culture

What is the Values in Action (VIA) classification?

character strengths and virtues that foster well-being, resilience, & positive emotions

VIA's 6 virtue categories

wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, transcendence

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

a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation

Psychological disorders

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 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.

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.

Rosenhan's study

A study that highlighted the challenges and potential issues with diagnostic labels in psychology.

Risk factors for suicide

Factors that increase the risk of suicide, which include psychological disorders and other environmental influences.

Non-suicidal self-injury

Behaviors that cause harm to oneself without the intent to end one's life.

Generalized anxiety disorder

A psychological disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable worry about various aspects of life.

Panic disorder

A psychological disorder characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and fear of future attacks.

Specific phobias

Intense, irrational fears of specific objects or situations that lead to avoidance behavior.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

A psychological disorder characterized by persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A psychological disorder that can occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, characterized by flashbacks, avoidance, and heightened anxiety.

Anxiety disorders

Disorders characterized by excessive fear or anxiety, which can interfere with daily activities.

Cognition in anxiety disorders

The role of thought processes and beliefs in contributing to feelings of anxiety.

Biology in anxiety disorders

The influence of biological factors, such as genetics and brain chemistry, on the development of anxiety disorders.

Conditioning in anxiety disorders

The process through which anxiety responses can be learned through experiences and associations.

Influence of culture on disorders

How cultural factors can shape the expression and understanding of psychological disorders.

Rates of psychological disorders

Statistics that describe the prevalence of various psychological disorders in the population.

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

anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

Continual worry

jittery, agitated and sleep deprived

Free floating anxiety

anxiety that is not attached to any specific situation or object

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 spaces, where one has felt loss of control and panic

Specific Phobias

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

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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

Hoarding disorder

a persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

a 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

Trauma-and stressor-related disorders

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

The Learning Perspective

includes classical and operant conditioning, observational learning, and cognition

The Biological Perspective

includes natural selection, genes (influence serotonin & glutamate), and the brain (amygdala & anterior cingulate cortex)

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

Major depressive disorder

a disorder in which a person experiences five or more symptoms lasting 2 or more weeks, in the absence of drug use or 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 2 years

Bipolar disorders

a group of disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania (formerly called manic-depressive disorder)

Mania

hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgement is common (over talkative, overactive, elated, little need for sleep, etc.)

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

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)

Psychotic disorders

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

Delusions

false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders

Hallucinations

false sensory experience, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Chronic schizophrenia

(process) a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood

Acute schizophrenia

(reactive) a 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

Brain abnormalities in schizophrenia

Dopamine activity (increased), abnormal activity and anatomy (frontal lobe decrease, large fluid filled areas of the brain)

Maternal virus during pregnancy

influence of the flu during pregnancy on the risk of developing schizophrenia

Dissociative disorders

Controversial, rare group of disorders characterized by disruption of or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior.

Dissociative Identity disorder (DID)

Rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating identities (multiple personality disorder).

Dissociative amnesia

A disorder in which people with intact brains reportedly experience memory gaps.

Feeding and eating disorders

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

Anorexia nervosa

An 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).

Bulimia nervosa

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

Personality disorders

Disorders characterized by enduring inner experiences or behavior patterns that differ from someone's cultural norms and expectations, are pervasive and inflexible, beginning adolescence or early adulthood, are stable over time, and cause distress or impairment.

Cluster A

Odd or eccentric behavior, including Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal.

Cluster B

Dramatic, emotional or erratic behavior, including Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic.

Antisocial personality disorder

A 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/ruthless or a clever con artist).

Cluster C

Anxious or fearful behavior, including Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-compulsive.

Neurodevelopmental 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 (ASD)

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

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

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

Deinstitutionalization

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

Psychotherapy

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

Biomedical therapy

Prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the patient's physiology.