AP MEYERS PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 5 KEY TERMS

health psychology

sub-field of psychology that explores the impact psychological, behavioral, and social factors have on well-being.

psychological disorder

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

psychoneuroimmunology

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

medical model

the 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.

stress

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

diathesis-stress model

a diagnostic model that proposes that a disorder may develop when an underlying genetic vulnerability is coupled with a precipitating event

approach and avoidance motives

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

epigenetics

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

Kurt Lewin

1890-1947- social psychology, German refugee who escaped Nazis, proved the democratic style of leadership is the most productive, studied effects of 3 leadership styles on children completing activities

DSM-5-TR

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- used to diagnose mental disorders

Hans Selye

(1907-1982) researched a recurring response to stress that he called the general adaptation syndrome

anxiety disorders

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

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

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

social anxiety disorder

intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance

tend-and-befriend response

under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)

generalized anxiety disorder

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

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.

coronary heart disease

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

agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic

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

specific phobia

a disorder that involves an irrational fear of a particular object or situation that markedly interferes with an individual's ability to function

catharsis

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

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

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

coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

hoarding disorder

Persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value

problem-focused coping

Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

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

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

trauma- and stressor-related disorders

a group of mental disorders distinguished by their origin in stressful events

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.

depressive disorders

general category of mood disorders in which people show extreme and persistent sadness, despair, and loss of interest in life's usual activities.

internal locus of control

the perception that one controls one's own fate

bipolar disorders

mood disorders in which a person experiences both manic and depressive episodes

self-control

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

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.

Martin Seligman

Conducted experiments with dogs that led to the concept of "learned helplessness"

persistent depressive disorder

depressed mood on more days than not for at least two years.

positive psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

bipolar I disorder

the most severe form of Bipolar Disorder, in which people experience a euphoric, talkative, highly energetic, and overly ambitious state that lasts a week or longer

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.

mania

a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

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

bipolar II disorder

a type of bipolar disorder marked by milder manic (hypomanic) episodes and major depressive episodes

rumination

compulsive fretting; overthinking about our problems and their causes

adaptation-level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Characterized by disorganized thinking; emotions and behaviors that are often incongruent with their situations; and disturbed perceptions, including delusions and hallucinations

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

psychotic disorders

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

broaden-and-build theory

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

delusion

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

character strengths and virtues

wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, transcendence

chronic schizophrenia

(also called process schizophrenia) a 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.

resilience

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

acute schizophrenia

(also called reactive schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to an emotionally traumatic event, and from which recovery is more likely.

aerobic exercise

sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; alleviates depression and anxiety

dissociative disorders

controversial, rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings

mindfulness meditation

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

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Formerly called multiple personality disorder.

gratitude

appreciation, thankfulness

dissociative amnesia

people with intact brains experience memory gaps about an event, people, or personal identity.

personality disorders

inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning

antisocial personality disorder

A personality disorder in which the 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.

feeding and eating disorders

Characterized by persistent disturbance of eating behavior, leading to altered consumption or absorption of food that significantly impairs physical health and/or psychosocial functioning

anorexia nervosa

maintaining a starvation diet despite being underweight, inaccurate self perception

bulimia nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

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

Dorothea Dix

A reformer and pioneer in the movement to treat the insane as mentally ill, beginning in the 1820's, she was responsible for improving conditions in jails, poorhouses and insane asylums throughout the U.S. and Canada. She succeeded in persuading many states to assume responsibility for the care of the mentally ill. She served as the Superintendant of Nurses for the Union Army during the Civil War.

deinstitutionalization

1960s and 1970s governmental policy that focused on releasing hospitalized psychiatric patients into the community and closing mental hospitals

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 procedures that act directly on the person's physiology

eclectic approach

an approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy

Sigmund Freud

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis. bring repressed feelings into conscious awareness.

psychoanalysis

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

resistance

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

interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight

transference

in psychoanalysis, the process where clients project feelings about important people in their lives onto the therapist.

psychodynamic therapy

therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight

insight therapies

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

person-centered therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to promote clients' growth. (Also called client-centered therapy.)

Carl Rogers

Developed "client-centered" therapy

active listening

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy.

unconditional positive regard

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

behavior therapy

therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors

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

Mary Cover Jones

"mother of behavior therapy"; used classical conditioning to help "Peter" overcome fear of rabbits. Counter-conditioning

Joseph Wolpe

Used classical conditioning theory in psychotherapy and introduced Systematic Desensitatization and concepts of reciprocal inhibition which he applied to reduce anxiety. In treatment he paired relaxation with an anxiety -provoking stimulus until the stimulus no longer produced anxiety.

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

a counterconditioning technique that treats anxiety by creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face 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)

B. F. Skinner

behaviorism; pioneer in operant conditioning; behavior is based on an organism's reinforcement history; worked with pigeons

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 therapy

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

Albert Ellis

pioneer in Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), focuses on altering client's patterns of irrational thinking to reduce maladaptive behavior and emotions

rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)

a confrontational cognitive therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, that vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions