Exam 3 Review: Stress, Psychological Disorders, and Treatment

Chapter 11: Stress and Health

Stress

Stress is a psychological and physiological response to events that are perceived as challenging or threatening. It can affect both mental and physical health.

• Stressor: Any event or situation that causes stress.

• Pressure: The psychological experience produced by urgent demands or expectations for a person's behavior.

• Frustration: The emotional state that arises when a person is prevented from reaching a goal.

Conflict

• Types of Conflict:

  • Approach-Approach: Choosing between two desirable outcomes.

  • Avoidance-Avoidance: Choosing between two undesirable outcomes.

  • Approach-Avoidance: One choice has both positive and negative aspects.

  • Double Approach-Avoidance: Choosing between two options, each with positive and negative aspects.

Responses to Stress

• Self-Imposed Stress: Stress that arises from one's own thoughts or expectations.

• Optimism vs. Pessimism: Optimists expect positive outcomes; pessimists expect negative outcomes.

• Internal Locus of Control: Belief that one controls their own fate.

• External Locus of Control: Belief that outside forces determine one's fate.

Managing Stress

• Hardiness: A personality trait characterized by resilience and the ability to cope with stress.

• Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from stress or adversity.

• Direct Coping: Taking action to change a stressful situation.

• Confrontation: Facing a stressor directly to resolve it.

• Compromise: Finding a middle ground to resolve a conflict.

• Withdrawal: Avoiding or removing oneself from a stressful situation.

Defense Mechanisms

• Unconscious psychological strategies used to cope with reality and maintain self-image. (Ignore all for this review.)

Individual Differences in Stress

• Gender Differences: Males and females may experience and respond to stress differently.

• Fight or Flight Response: The body's automatic response to perceived danger, preparing for action.

• Health Psychology: The study of psychological influences on health, illness, and how people respond to illness.

• Psychoneuroimmunology: The study of the interaction between psychological processes, the nervous system, and the immune system.

Personality and Stress

• Type A Personality: Competitive, impatient, and more prone to stress-related illnesses.

• Type B Personality: Relaxed, less competitive, and less prone to stress-related illnesses.

• Characteristics of a Well-Adjusted Person: Adaptability, resilience, and effective coping strategies.

Chapter 12: Psychological Disorders

Models of Abnormality

• Biological Model: Views psychological disorders as resulting from biological factors such as genetics, brain chemistry, and structure.

• Psychoanalytic Model: Attributes disorders to unconscious conflicts and childhood experiences.

• Cognitive-Behavioral Model: Focuses on maladaptive thought patterns and learned behaviors.

• Diathesis-Stress Model: Suggests that psychological disorders result from a combination of genetic vulnerability and environmental stressors.

• Systems Theory Model: Considers the complex interactions between biological, psychological, and social factors.

Classification of Disorders

• DSM-5: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, used for diagnosing psychological disorders.

• ICD-10: International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, used globally for diagnosis.

Major Categories of Disorders

• Mood Disorders: Disorders characterized by disturbances in mood, such as depression and bipolar disorder.

• Anxiety Disorders: Disorders involving excessive fear or anxiety, such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias.

• Somatic Disorders: Disorders characterized by physical symptoms without a medical cause.

• Dissociative Disorders: Disorders involving disruptions in consciousness, memory, or identity.

• Personality Disorders: Enduring patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience that deviate from cultural expectations.

• Schizophrenia: A severe disorder characterized by disturbances in thought, perception, and behavior.

Symptoms of Schizophrenia

• Hallucinations: False sensory perceptions, such as hearing voices.

• Delusions: Strongly held false beliefs.

Other Disorders

• Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Disorders that begin in childhood, such as autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

Additional info: Bipolar disorder is classified under mood disorders.

Chapter 13: Treatment of Psychological Disorders

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy refers to a variety of treatment techniques that aim to help individuals identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

• Insight Therapies: Therapies that aim to increase the client's awareness of underlying motives and defenses.

• Psychodynamic Therapy: Focuses on unconscious processes and past experiences.

• Client-Centered Therapy: Developed by Carl Rogers, emphasizes unconditional positive regard and empathy.

Behavioral Therapies

• Systematic Desensitization: Gradual exposure to feared stimuli paired with relaxation techniques.

• Flooding: Immediate and intense exposure to feared stimuli.

• Extinction: The reduction of a learned response.

• Token Economy: A system of behavior modification based on the systematic reinforcement of target behavior.

Cognitive and Group Therapies

• Cognitive Therapy: Focuses on changing maladaptive thought patterns.

• Group Therapy: Therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals; can include family, couples, or self-help groups.

Other Therapies and Treatments

• Drug Therapy: The use of medications to treat psychological disorders.

• Tardive Dyskinesia: A side effect of long-term use of antipsychotic drugs, involving involuntary movements.

• Lithium: A mood stabilizer commonly used to treat bipolar disorder.

• Antidepressants: Medications used to treat depressive disorders.

• ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy): A biomedical treatment for severe depression involving electrically induced seizures.