psychology
Terms
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- electroconvulsive therapy
- use of an electric current to induce a controlled brain seizure in people with certain psychological disorders such as psychotic depression or those for whom medication has not been effective or recommended
- posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- an anxiety disorder experienced by some people after a traumatic event and whose symptoms include persistent re-experiencing of the trauma, avoidance of anything associated with the trauma, and heightened arousal
- cognitive reconstructing
- the process of helping clients shift their thinking away from focus on automatic, dysfunctional thoughts to more realistic ones
- incongruence
- according to client-centered therapy, a mismatch between a person's real self and his or her ideal self
- phobia
- a fear and avoidance of an object or situation extreme enough to interfere with everyday life
- resistance phase
- the second phase of the GAS, in which the body mobilizes its resources to achieve equilibrium, despite the continued presence of the stressor; also called the adaption phase
- substance abuse
- drug or alcohol use that causes distress or trouble with functioning in major areas of life, occurs in dangerous situations, or leads to legal difficulties
- cognitive distortions
- traditional thoughts that arise from a systematic bias in the way a person thinks about reality
- reaction formation
- unconsciously changing an unacceptable feeling into its opposite
- Superego
- a personality structure, proposed by Freud, that is formed during early childhood and houses the sense of right and wrong, based on the internationalization
- Id
- a personality structure, proposed by Freud, that exists at birth and houses sexual and aggressive drives, physical needs, and simple psychological needs
- sublimation
- threatening impulses are directed into more socially acceptable activities
- acute stressor
- a stressor of short term duration
- exhaustion phase
- the final stage of the GAS, in which the continued stress response itself becomes damaging to the body
- avoidance-avoidance conflict
- the internal conflict that occurs when competing alternatives are equally unpleasant
- substance dependance
- chronic substance abuse that is characterized by seven symptoms, the two most important being tolerance and withdrawal
- dream analysis
- a technique used in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy in which the therapist examines the content of dreams to gain access to the unconscious
- defense mechanisms
- an unconscious psychological means by which a person tries to prevent unacceptable thoughts or urges from reaching conscious awareness
- psychodynamic therapy
- a less intensive form of psychoanalysis
- big five
- the five superfactors of personality- extraversion, nueroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness-determined by factor analysis
- obsessive compulsive disorder
- an anxiety disorder marked by the presence of obsessions, and sometimes compulsions
- intellectualization
- threatening thoughts or emotions are kept at arm's length by thinking about them rationally and logically
- approach-approach conflict
- the internal conflict that occurs when competing alternatives are equally unpleasant
- delusions
- entrenched false beliefs that are often bizarre
- client-centered therapy
- a type of insight-oriented therapy that focuses on people's potential for growth and the importance of empathetic therapist
- free association
- a technique used in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy in which the patient says whatever comes to mind and the train of thought reveals the patient's issues and ways of dealing with them
- group therapy
- a therapy modality in which a number of clients with compatible needs meet together with one or two therapists
- obsessions
- a recurrent and persistent thought, impulse, or image that feels intrusive and inappropriate and is difficult to supress or ignore
- personality
- a set of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive tendancies that display over time and across situations and distinguish individuals from eachother
- self-actualization
- an innate motivation to attain the highest possible emotional and intellectual potential
- problem-focused coping
- coping focused on changing the environment itself or the way the person interacts with the environment
- hostility
- the personality trait associated with heart disease and characterized by mistrust, an expectation of harm and provocation by others, and a cynical attitude
- projection
- threatening thoughts ate projected onto others
- Ego
- a personality structure, proposed by Freud, that develops in childhood and tries to balance the competing demands of the id, super ego and reality
- generalized anxiety disorder
- an anxiety disorder whose hallmark is excessive anxiety and worry that is not consistently related to a specific object or situation
- manic episode
- a period of at least 1 week during which an abnormally elevated, expensive, or irritable mood persists
- stressor
- a stimulus that throws the body's equilibrium out of balance
- cognitive therapy
- a type of therapy that focuses on the client's thoughts rather than his or her feelings or behaviors
- stimulus control
- a behavior therapy technique that involves controlling the exposure to a stimulus that elicits a conditioned response, so as to decrease or increase the frequency of the response
- chronic stressor
- a stressor of long term duration
- anxiety disorder
- a category of disorders whose hallmark is intense or pervasive anxiety or fear, or extreme attempts to avoid these feelings
- behavior therapy
- a type of therapy, based on well-researched learning principles, that focuses on changing observable, measurable behaviors
- behavior modification
- a category of therapeutic techniques for changing behavior based on operant conditioning principles
- thought suppression
- the coping strategy that involves purposefully trying not to think about something emotionally arousing or distressing
- compulsions
- a repetitive behavior or mental act that an individual feels compelled to perform in response to an obsession
- psychopharmacology
- the use of medication to treat psychological disorder and problems
- hallucinations
- sensory images so vivid that they seem real
- personality disorder
- a category of disorders in which relatively stable personality traits are inflexible and maladaptive, causing distress or difficulty with daily functioning
- psychoanalysis
- an intensive form of therapy, originally developed by freud, based on the idea that people's psychological difficulties are caused by conflicts among the id, the ego, and the superego
- bipolar disorder
- a mood disorder marked by one or more episodes of either mania or hypomania, often alternating with periods of depression
- mood disorders
- a category of disorders marked by persistent or episodic disturbances in emotion that interfere with normal functioning in at least one realm of life
- individual therapy
- a therapy modality in which an individual client is treated by a single therapist
- psychosexual stages
- Freud's developmental stages based on erogenous zones; the specific needs of each stage must be met for its successful resolution
- exposure
- a therapeutic technique based on classical conditioning that rests on the principle of habituation
- stress
- the general term describing the psychological and physical response to a stimulus that alters the body's state of equilibrium
- agoraphobia
- a condition in which people fear or avoid places that might be difficult to leave should panic symptoms occur
- panic disorder
- an anxiety disorder whose hallmark is panic attacks or fear and avoidance of such attacks
- panic attack
- an episode of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by physical and psychological symptoms such as palpitations, breathing difficulties, chest pain, fear of impending doom or of doing something uncontrollable, and a sense of reality
- denial
- threatening thoughts are outright denied
- family therapy
- a therapy modality in which a family (or certain members of a family) is treated
- systematic desensitization
- a behavior therapy technique that teaches people to be relaxed in the presence of a feared object or situation
- emotion-focused coping
- coping focused on changing the person's emotional response to the stressor
- diathesis-stress model
- a way of understanding the development of a psychological disorder, in which a predisposition to a given disorder (diathesis) and specific factors (stress) combine to trigger the onset of the disorder
- alarm phase
- the first phase of the GAS, in which a stressor is perceived and the fight-or-flight response is activated
- unconditional positive regard
- acceptance without any conditions
- approach-avoidance conflict
- the internal conflict that occurs when a course of action has both positive and negative aspects
- undoing
- your actions try to "undo" a threatening wish or thought
- stress response
- the bodily changes that occur to help a person cope with a stressor; also called the fight or flight response
- personality trait
- a relatively consistent characteristic exhibited in different situations
- anorexia nervosa
- an eating disorder characterized by the refusal to maintain even a low normal weight, and an intense fear of gaining weight
- schizophrenia
- a psychotic disorder in which the patient's affect, behavior, and thoughts are profoundly altered
- bulimia nervosa
- an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, followed by some attempt to prevent weight gain
- major depressive disorder
- a mood disorder characterized by at least 2 weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest in nearly all activities, along with sleep or eating disturbances, loss of energy, and feelings of hopelessness
- repression
- anxiety-provoking thoughts, impulses, and memories are prevented from entering unconscousness
- general adaption syndrome
- the overall stress response that has three phases; alarm, resistance and exhaustion
- social support
- the help and support gained through interacting with others
- rationalization
- creating explanations to justify threatening thoughts or actions
- psychological disorder
- the presence of constellation of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms that create significant distress; impair work, school, family, relationships, or daily living; or lead to significant risk of harm
- progressive muscle relaxation
- a relaxation technique whereby the person relaxes muscles sequentially from one end of the body to the other