PSYC 4412 Exam 2 Review: Stress, Positive Psychology, and Social Influence

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering stress, coping, positive psychology, persuasion, conformity, and cult influence from the PSYC 4412 Exam 2 review sheet.

Sympathetic nervous system

Activates the body during stress by increasing heart rate and breathing and slowing digestion (memory cue: gas pedal).

Parasympathetic nervous system

Calms the body and supports digestion and recovery (memory cue: brake pedal).

Fight-or-flight response

Automatic physical preparation to confront or escape a perceived threat.

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

The body's response to prolonged stress through alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Alarm reaction

The initial response to stress where the body detects a threat and activates fight-or-flight.

Resistance (GAS)

The stage in which the body continues coping with the stressor while remaining activated.

Exhaustion (GAS)

The stage where prolonged stress wears down coping resources and can compromise physical health.

Stress

An unpleasant physical or psychological reaction to circumstances perceived as challenging.

Stressor

The event or situation causing stress, such as an upcoming exam.

Primary appraisal

Evaluating an event to determine: "Is this threatening or challenging?" ("Is this a threat?").

Secondary appraisal

Evaluating your coping resources to determine: "Can I handle this?" ("Can I cope?").

Positive reappraisal

Reinterpreting a stressful situation to recognize something constructive, such as an opportunity to learn.

Optimism

Generally expecting favorable outcomes and believing difficulties can improve.

Hardiness

A resilient outlook involving commitment, control, and challenge, where problems become challenges to address.

Problem-focused coping

Changing the stressor itself (e.g., making a study schedule); most effective when the situation is controllable.

Emotion-focused coping

Managing your emotional response (e.g., calming your breathing before an exam); especially useful when the situation is less controllable.

Disease model

An approach focused on identifying and treating psychological illness and reducing symptoms.

Disorders/dysfunctions

Patterns of thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that cause significant distress or interfere with functioning.

Humanism

An approach emphasizing personal choice, human potential, growth, and subjective experience; associated with Maslow and Rogers.

Self-actualization

Developing your abilities and becoming the fullest version of yourself; associated with Maslow.

Unconditional positive regard

Accepting and valuing a person without making their worth depend on meeting conditions; associated with Rogers.

Positive psychology

The scientific study of what helps people, groups, and institutions thrive and experience well-being.

Martin Seligman

A major founder of modern positive psychology who developed theories of happiness and well-being.

Authentic happiness theory

Seligman's original theory emphasizing positive emotion, engagement, and meaning.

Eudaimonic well-being

Well-being achieved through meaning, growth, effort, challenges, and living according to your values.

Hedonic well-being

Well-being achieved through pleasure, positive feelings, low negative affect, and life satisfaction.

PERMA

An acronym representing five core elements of well-being: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.

Gratitude

Recognizing and appreciating positive experiences and what others contribute to your life.

Creativity

Producing ideas or expressions that are original and useful or meaningful, supporting engagement and enjoyment.

Toxic positivity

Dismissing or invalidating difficult emotions by insisting on positivity.

Persuasion

A message that changes someone's beliefs, attitudes, or behavior.

Authority (persuasion principle)

A principle of persuasion stating that people defer to credible experts.

Liking (persuasion principle)

A principle of persuasion stating that people respond more favorably to people they like.

Social proof

A persuasion principle stating that people use others' behavior to decide what is appropriate.

Reciprocity

A persuasion principle stating that people feel obligated to return favors.

Consistency (persuasion principle)

A principle stating that people tend to follow through on previous commitments, especially public ones.

Scarcity

A persuasion principle stating that people value opportunities more when availability is limited.

Social conformity

Changing beliefs or behavior to match group norms because of real or imagined group pressure.

Confirmation bias

Favoring information that supports existing beliefs while overlooking contradictory evidence.

Acceptance

Publicly going along with the group and privately believing it.

Compliance

Publicly going along with a request while privately disagreeing.

Obedience

Following a direct order or command.

Sherif's conformity study

An experiment where participants estimated the movement of a stationary light in a dark room; their estimates converged into a group norm, demonstrating that people use others as information in ambiguous situations.

Asch's conformity study

An experiment where participants judged line lengths while others gave incorrect answers; demonstrated that group pressure can influence people even when the correct answer is clear.

Cults

In this course context, groups involving intense devotion and strong pressure to follow a leader or belief system.

Indoctrination

Teaching beliefs in ways that discourage questioning and independent evaluation.

Foot-in-the-door technique

Getting agreement to a small request first, then asking for something larger.

Love bombing

Overwhelming someone with attention, affection, and praise to quickly create attachment and obligation.

Divide and conquer (cult tactic)

Separating people from outside support or opposing viewpoints so the group becomes more influential.

Counterarguments

Reasons or evidence explaining why a persuasive message could be wrong.