AP PSYCH- MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

health psychology

a subfield that explores psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors on health and well being

psychoneuroimmunology

focuses on the mind-body connection; your thoughts and feelings influence your brain, which influences your endocrine system

eustress

pleasant desirable stress(good stress)

distress

unpleasant objectionable stress(bad stress)

stressors

events that trigger a stress reaction, physical or emotional; what causes the stress

stress

the result by which we relate to the event and how we appraise it; hinders the immune system as well

stress appraisal

our interpretation of stress

when something scares us, what happens…

we shut down

when something motivates us, what happens…

we get aroused

cataclysmic events

source of stress that occurs suddenly and effects many (eg. 9/11, hurricane); can also occur at a local level(eg. death in family)

chronic stress

source of stress that is long lasting and the body cannot reach homeostasis

cortisol

chemical released in the body caused by stress

life changes and strains

source of stress due to changes in an individual’s life

holmes and rache’s social readjustment rating scale (SRRS)

examines the relationship between stress and illness ad is measured with life changing units (LCU’s), not reliable due to scoring being subjective

daily hassels

source of stress that is an accumulation of small problems/minor stressors

occupational burnout

source of stress which is stress caused by your job and it makes you feel numb; really impactful in people industries(eg. teacher, social workers, doctors, etc.)

frustration

source of stress which is unpleasant tension and one’s goal is being blocked, the more motivated an individual is will experience more frustration

conflict

source of stress that forces us to choose between two or more incompatible goals or impulses

approach-approach conflict

choose between two choices, easiest to solve

avoidance-avoidance conflict

results in choosing the lesser of two evils

approach-avoidance conflict

one choice with pros and cons

multiple approach-avoidance conflicts

two choices with multiple pros and cons, most difficult to choose between

selye’s general adaption syndrome(GAS)

a three-stage model(alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion) explaining how the body responds to and adapts to long-term, chronic stress

alarm reaction stage of GAS

sympathetic nervous system is active the minute stress enters the body

resistance stage of GAS

body resists stressors on long-term basis and energy from the body is slowly drained

exhaustion stage of GAS

energy reserve in the body is used up and physical wear and tear appears, can lead to diseases of adaption(eg. heart disease, high blood pressure, etc.)

meyer friedman and ray rosenman

conducted longitudinal studies to show a link between personality types and prevalence of heart disease

type A personality

friedman and rosenman’s term for competitive, hard driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people

type B personality

friedman and rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people

coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

problem solving coping

method of coping which involves attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor, occurs when we believe stress if a problem that needs to be solved and we have a sense of efficacy over the situation

emotion-focused coping

method of coping which involves attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring the stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction, used when we believe we don’t have control over the situation and we reach out to others

personal control

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation humans and others animals learn when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

external locus of control

the perception that outside forces beyond our personal control determines our fate

internal locus of control

the perception that we control our own fate

self control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term goals; more decisions presented to us, the more we use self control and more energy is depleted from the body

pessimists

people who expect things to go badly and attribute their struggles to a lack of ability or uncontrollable situations

optimists

people who tend to believe things will work out and that they have some control over the outcomes

social support

support from people you have in your life; can be bad if you never are able to learn from what is stressing you out

positive psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of promoting strengths and virtues that foster well-being, resilience, and positive emotions, that help individuals thrive; higher levels of happiness cause better performances with goals and tasks

subject well-being

self perceived happiness or satisfaction with life; self efficacy

adaption-level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgements relative to a neutral levels defined by our prior experiences; surprised by the initial then when it keeps happening, you aren’t surprised anymore(happiness returns to its baseline)

relative deprivation

the perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves

broaden-and-build theory

proposes that positive emotions broaden our awareness, which over time helps us build novel and meaningful skills and resilience that improve well-being

resilience

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

mindfulness meditation

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

biofeedback

system of recording, amplifying and feeding back information about subtle physiological changes, can help people control those changes

gratitude

an appreciative emotion people often experience when they benefit from other’s actions or recognize their own good fortune

psychological disorder(psychopathology)

Disturbance in people’s thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that causes distress or suffering, and impairs their daily lives

content

understanding psychological disorders: look at the behavior being presented

context

understanding psychological disorders: where the behavior is happening

conseqences

understanding psychological disorders: how it is impacting the actor and the observer

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

diathesis-stress model

the concept of genetic predispositions(diathesis) combined with environmental stressors(stress) to influence psychological disorder

epigenetics

“above” or “in addition” to (epi) genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression(without a DNA change)

biopsychosocial model

reflects the complexity of causes, symptoms, and treatments; in order to diagnose, you need to take into account their biology, psychology, and social setting

DSM-5-TR

American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth edition, Text Revision; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders; bible of psychology

interradorreliablilty

multiple professionals come up with the same diagnosis

psychodynamic perspective of psychological disorder

caused b childhood trauma and unconscious thoughts

humanistic perspective of psychological disorder

cause by an individual not reaching their fullest potential/self-actualization

behavioral perspective of psychological disorder

caused by reinforcements, punishments, and response; it is learned

cognitive perspective of psychological disorder

caused by maladaptive thoughts, beliefs, emotions, or attitudes

biological perspective of psychological disorder

caused by genetic or psychological predispositions

evolutionary perspective of psychological disorder

maladaptive forms of behaviors that enable human survival

sociocultural perspective of psychological disorder

caused by problematic social and cultural context