Unit 3 Applied Psychology

1.biomedical

Ill health is determined by physical and biological factors - you are either ill or healthy...doctors prescribe drugs

2.biopsychosocial

Ill health is caused by biological, psychologica and social factors. Health is a continuum

3.continuum

There is a range of health from very healthy to very healthy...you are not just ill or healthy

4.Behavioural addiction

Addiction to a non-substance such as shopping

5.Physiological addiction

Addiction to a substance such as alcohol

6.tolerance

Need more of the substance to have the same effect

7.withdrawal

Have negative symptoms such as headaches when we stop the addicton

8.relapse

Go back to the addiction after a period abstinence

9.conflict

Addiction causes arguments between them and their close relationships

10.mood alteration

How mood is changed positively when engaging in the addiction

11.salience

When addiction becomes the most important thing in your life

12.stressor

Something that causes stress

13.perceived ability to cope

How well you believe you can handle stress

14.stress

Emotional response to a threat - perceived ability to cope is lower than the demands

15.genetic predisposition

More likely to get an addiction because your parents had it and they passed on the genes

16.neurotransmitter imbalances

Abnormal levels of chemicals in the brain

17.cues

Triggers/stimuli for particular responses

18.positive reinforcement

Reward for a behaviour

19.negative reinforcement

Avoidance of punishment

20.operant conditioning

Learning by consequences

21.Social learning approach

Learning through observing and imitating role models

22.behaviourism

Learning by operant and classical conditioning

23.role models

People that are looked up to and imitated(usually of higher status)

24.Cognitive approach

Focuses on thought processes

cognitive dissonance

Where a person holds two conflicting beliefs e.g. I like drinking alcohol/alcohol is unhealthy

27.health belief model

A theory of health that includes a number of components

28.perceived seriousness

A person's belief about how severely they may suffer/ how detrimental to their health their behaviour is

29.susceptibility

How likely a person thinks they are to prone to illness

cost-benefit analysis

Weighing up the costs/disadvantages and benefits/advantages of a behaviour....if the benefits outweigh the costs, they will continue with the behaviour

32.demographic variables

Variables such as age and gender that have an impact upon health

33.external/internal cues

External cues - reminders e.g. health warnings on packets of cigarettes/ internal cues - things inside a person e.g. difficulty breathing

34.locus of control

How much control a person feels they have over their health

35.internal locus of control

A person believes they have control over their health

36.external locus of control

A person believes their health is determined by things outside their control e.g. fate/friends

37.attributions

How we explain our behaviour e.g. do we attribute our health to internal/external factors

38.theory of planned behaviour

Focuses on our intentions - if we intend or plan to get healthier we will change our behaviour

39.personal attitude

Your opinion or beliefs about your behaviour - if attitude favourable will continue the addiction

40.subjective norms

Beliefs of other people close to use concerning the addiction

41.perceived behavioural control

How much control you believe you have over your behaviour

42.self-efficacy theory

Belief in your ability to stop an addiction and be successful

43.mastery experiences

Successful experiences of stopping an addiction

44.vicarious reinforcement

Observing others receiving a consequence and learning from that

45.social persuasion

Influence of other people that encourage you to give up the addiction e.g. positive comments - you can do this!

46.emotional state

General feels like stress - part of the self-efficacy theory

47.transtheoretical model

Explains stages that addicts go through to change their behaviour

48.precontemplation

Addict does not realise they have a problem(head in the sand)

49.contemplation

Start to think about changing your behaviour - know there is a problem

50.preparation

When you have a plan to stop an addiction - buy some nicotine patches

51.action

Starting to stop an addiction - e.g. wearing nicotine patches

52.maintenance

Maintaining the change in behaviour(stopping addiction) for over 6 months

53.life events

Infrequent, significant experiences that cause stress

54.daily hassles

Frequent, minor irritations that cause stress

55.role conflict

When two important roles collide e.g. work and parenting - causes stress

56.personality

Combinations of thoughts, characteristics, feelings that differ between people

57.general adaptation syndrome

Body's response to stress - alarm, resistance, exhaustion

58.sympathomedullary (SAM) system

Body's response to acute stress - adrenaline released - increased heart rate/blood pressure - fight or flight

59.hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA) system

Response to chronic stress - cortisol released - reduces functioning of immune system

60.Chronic stress

Long term stress

61.acute stress

Short - term stress

62.adrenaline

Hormone released during stress that increases heart-rate

63.'freeze' response

Thoughts just freeze - cognitive paralysis - when faced with a stressor

64.cognitions

Thought processes

65.initiation:

When an addiction starts

66.dopamine receptors

Stimulated by nicotine and release dopamine - makes you feel good

67.classical conditioning

Learning by association

68.conditioned cues,

Stimuli that trigger a relapse

69.self-medication model

Cognitive explanation of addiction that suggests addictive behaviour treats an underlying psychological problem like anxiety

70.counterproductive,

Occurs when a person thinks their addiction is helping them cope when it is doing the opposite

71.expectancy theory

Cognitive theory of gambling which suggests gamblers expect to win

72.irrational thoughts,

Beliefs that do not stand up to evidence

73.cognitive biases,

Error in thinking

74.illusions of control

Irrational belief that you can influence random events by for example, wearing lucky socks

75.recall bias

Occurs when gamblers remember the wins but forget the losses

76.variable reinforcement schedules,

Occurs when the intervals between wins varies randomly

77.cue reactivity

Occurs when a stimuli triggers a response

78.Hovland-Yale theory of persuasion:

Theory of persuasion which focuses on the messenger, message and recipients

79.communicator,

The person delivering the message- the need to be credible to be persuasive

80.communication

The message- needs to be two-sided for an intelligent audience

81.recipient

The person receiving the message - if they are less intelligent or have low self-esteem they are more likely to be persuaded

82.Fear arousal theory of persuasion

Suggests moderate levels of fear most persuasive

83.Elaboration-likelihood model of persuasion:

Focuses on whether the audience is interested in the message

84.Peripheral route

Audience not interested in the message so need a celebrity to get their attention

85.central route

Audience interested in message so message needs to be well-argued to be persuasive

86.mindfulness

Techniques that train the mind to focus on the present - e.g. mindful walking, eating, breathing

87.counselling,

Talking therapy that involves active listening(rephrasing), empathy(feeling what client is feeling)

88.guided self-help

Therapy where client works through a booklet to help them to develop skills to reduce their psychological problems (CBT on your own)

cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Talking therapy that aims to change thoughts from irrational to rational by setting homework(to test out /record irrational beliefs)

91.stress inoculation training

Cognitive therapy to reduce stress - involves cognitive preparation, skill acquisition, application and follow through

92.cognitive preparation,

Aims of SIT explained/ irrational beliefs identified

93.skill acquisition

New techniques for managing stress are taught e.g. positive thinking, time-management

94.application and follow-through)

Try out the new skills in the real world

95.social support

Close network of people who provide help

96.instrumental support (practical)

Practical help like driving someone to work

97.emotional support (comfort)

Encouraging a person to open-up and discuss their feelings - can involve hugs

98.esteem support (self-esteem)

Helping to create a positive sense of self with positive comments e.g. you can do this...

99.biofeedback

Measuring heart-rate - learning techniques to bring it down e.g. breathing/relaxation

100.relaxation training

Techniques that reduce the activity of the nervous system e.g. breathing

101.skills training

Any technique that involves learning new skills e.g. time-management, relaxation

102.physiological treatments

Treatments that work on the body

103.nicotine substitutes

e.g. patches that give the addict nicotine to reduce withdrawal symptoms preventing relapse