psych exam #4 vocab

Allostatic Load

Cumulative wear and tear on biological systems after repeated or chronic stressful events

Anticipatory Coping

Coping before onset of future stressor

B-Cells

Produces antibodies that attach themselves to foreign agents and mark them for destruction

Biopsychosocial Model

Influences on human mental life and behavior are biological, psychological, and social-contextual

Buffering Hypothesis

Other people can provide direct emotional support in helping individuals cope with stress

Chronic Stress

Ongoing challenges

Coping Response

Any attempt made to avoid or minimize a stressor

Creation of Positive Events

Giving positive meaning to normal events

Daily Hassles

Small, daily issues

Discrimination-Related Stress

Stress experienced by marginalized groups

Distress

Caused by negative events

Downward Comparison

Comparing to those worse off

Emotion-Focused Coping

Type of coping where people try to prevent an emotional response to stress

Eustress

Caused by positive events

Fight-Or-Flight Response

Psychological preparedness to deal with danger by fighting or fleeing

General Adaptation Syndrome

A consistent pattern of responses to stress that consists of the alarm, resistance, and exhaustion stage

Health Behaviors

Actions people can take that promote well-being and healthiness

Health Disparities

Differences in health outcomes between groups of people

Health Psychology

Application of psychology to promote health and well-being

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

Slow body system involved in stress response

Immigrant Paradox

First generation immigrant in the US have better health than their future generations

Immune System

Body’s mechanism for dealing with invasion

Lymphocytes

Specialized white blood cells that make up the immune system

Major Life Stressors

Changes that strain central areas of lives

Metabolic Syndrome

High block sugar, insulin resistance, and heart disease

Natural Killer Cells

Kill viruses and attack tumors

Primary Appraisals

Part of coping that involves making decisions about whether a stimulus is stressful, benign, or irrelevant

Problem-Focused Coping

Type of coping where people take direct steps to solve a stressor

Rational Coping

Face stressor and work to overcome

Reframing

Finding new way to think about stressor to reduce threat

Repressive Coping

Avoid/ignore thoughts of stressor

Secondary Appraisals

Part of coping involved in evaluating options and choosing coping behaviors

Socioeconomic Status

Relative standing in society as a function of resources

Stress

Type of response that involves an imbalance and an unpleasant state

Stressor

Something perceived as a threat producing stress

T-Cells

Assist in attacking intruders and increase immune strength

Tend-And-Befriend Response

Tendency to protect and care for offspring and form social alliances rather than fight or flee

Type A Behavior Pattern

Pattern of behavior characterized by hostility, competitiveness, etc.

Well-Being

Positive state involving striving for optimal life health and satisfaction

Actor/Observer Discrepancy

Tendency to focus on situations to explain own behavior but dispositions to explain others behavior

Aggression

Any behavior that involves the intention to harm

Altruism

Providing help when needed without an apparent reward

Attitudes

People’s evaluations of other things

Attributions

Explanations for why things occur

Bystander Intervention Effect

Failure to offer help to someone in need when others are present

Companionate Love

Strong commitment based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy

Compliance

Tendency to agree to things requested by others

Conformity

Altering one’s behaviors to match others or their expectations

Deindividuation

State of reduced individuality and self-awareness when in a group

Discrimination

Differential treatment of people due to prejudice

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Persuasive messages lead to attitude changes through the central route or the peripheral route

Explicit Attitudes

Attitudes that a person is aware they have

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational factors when describing others behavior

Group Polarization

Initial attitudes of groups become extreme over time

Groupthink

Tendency of a group to make a bad decision under pressure to preserve the group

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes that unconsciously influence a person

Inclusive Fitness

Explanation for altruism that focuses on benefit of transmitting genes over own survival

Informational Influence

Tendency to conform when they assume others are responding correctly

Ingroup Favoritism

Tendency to evaluate ingroup members better than others

Mere Exposure Effect

Greater exposure to a stimulus leads to greater liking for it

Modern Racism

Subtle prejudice that coexists with rejection of racism

Nonverbal Behavior

Facial expressions and movements of communication

Normative Influence

Tendency to conform to fit in

Obedience

Following orders of an authority figure

Outgroup Homogeneity Effect

Tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members

Passionate Love

State of intense longing and desire

Personal Attributions

Explanations of people’s behavior that refer to personal characteristics

Persuasion

Conscious effort to change an attitude through a message

Prejudice

Negative feelings and opinions associated with a stereotype

Prosocial Behaviors

Actions that benefit others

Situational Attributions

Explanations of people’s behavior that refer to external events

Social Facilitation

Idea that presence of others generally enhances performance

Social Identity Theory

Ingroups consist of individuals who perceive themselves to be members of the same social category and have pride in that

Social Loafing

People work less hard in a group

Social Norms

Expected standards of behavior

Stereotype Threat

Fear of confirming negative stereotypes about own group

Ingroups

Where people belong

Outgroups

Where people don’t belong

Reciprocity

Treating others as others treat them

Transitivity

People share friends opinions of others

Reciprocal Helping

Helping someone who may return the favor in the future

Diffusion of Responsibility

People expect other bystanders to help

Central Route

Motivated to process information

Peripheral Route

Information is minimally processed

Foot in the Door

If you agree to a small request, you are more likely to comply to a larger one

Door in the Face

If you refuse a large request, you are more likely to comply to a smaller one

Low-Balling

When you agree to buy a product to a certain price, you are likely to comply with a request to pay more

Addiction

Use of substance continues despite negatives and desire to quit

Agoraphobia

Anxiety disorder marked by fear of being in an inescapable situation

Anorexia Nervosa

Eating disorder marked by excessive fear of becoming fat and extreme intake limiting

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Personality disorder marked by socially undesirable behavior and lack of empathy

Anxiety Disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by excessive fear in absence of danger

Assessment

Examination of a person’s functioning to diagnose possible disorders

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Disorder characterized by restlessness, inattentiveness, and impulsivity

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Developmental disorder characterized by impaired communication, restricted interests, and impaired social interaction

Binge-Eating Disorder

Eating disorder characterized by extreme eating that causes distress

Bipolar I Disorder

Disorder characterized by extremely elevated moods during manic episodes and frequent depressive episodes

Bipolar II Disorder

Disorder characterized by alternation depression and elevated mood

Borderline Personality Disorder

Personality disorder characterized by disturbance in identity, affect, and impulse control

Bulimia Nervosa

Eating disorder characterized by alternating between dieting, binging, and purging