Health Terms

Question 1

Affect

Answer 1

A psychological term for an observable expression of emotion. A person’s affect is the expression of emotion or feelings displayed to others through facial expressions, hand gestures, voice tone, and other emotional signs such as laughter or tears.

Question 2

Aggression

Answer 2

any act that is intended to cause pain, suffering, or damage to another person.

Question 3

Alienation

Answer 3

The state of being emotionally separated from others and from one’s own feelings.

Question 4

Antidepressants

Answer 4

Medications used to treat depression

Question 5

Antisocial behavior

Answer 5

A pattern of behavior that is verbally or physically harmful to other people, animals, or property, including behavior that severely violates social expectations for a particular environment.

Question 6

Antisocial personality disorder

Answer 6

A behavior disorder developed by a small percentage of children with conduct disorder whose behavior does not improve as they mature. Also known as sociopathic or psychopathy.

Question 7

Anxiety/ anxiety disorders

Answer 7

An unpleasant emotion triggered by anticipation of future events, memories of past events, or ruminations about the self.

Question 8

Apathy

Answer 8

can be defined as an absence or suppression of emotion, feeling, concern or passion, and it is an indifference to things generally found to be exciting or moving.

Question 9

Applied psychology

Answer 9

The area of psychology in which basic theory and research are applied to the actual problems faced by individuals on a daily basis.

Question 10

Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder

Answer 10

Disorder characterized by attentional deficit and/or hyperactivity—impulsivity more severe than expected for a developmental age.

Question 11

Autism

Answer 11

A severe psychological disorder that first appears in early childhood and is characterized by impaired social interaction and language development, and other behavioral problems.

Question 12

Autonomic nervous system

Answer 12

The nervous system responsible for regulating automatic bodily processes, such as breathing and heart rate. The autonomic system also involves the processes of metabolism, or the storage and expenditure of energy.

Question 13

Avoidance learning

Answer 13

An individual’s response to avoid an unpleasant or stressful situation; also known as escape learning.

Question 14

Behavior Therapy

Answer 14

A goal-oriented, therapeutic approach that treats emotional and behavioral disorders as maladaptive learned responses that can be replaced by healthier ones with appropriate training.

Question 15

Biofeedback

Answer 15

A technique that allows individuals to monitor their own physiological processes so they can learn to control them.

Question 16

Bipolar disorder

Answer 16

A condition (traditionally called manic depression) in which a person alternates between the two emotional extremes of depression and mania (an elated, euphoric mood).

Question 17

Body image

Answer 17

The subjective conception of one’s own body, based largely on evaluative judgments about how one is perceived by others.

Question 18

Central Nervous System

Answer 18

In humans, that portion of the nervous system that lies within the brain and spinal cord; it receives impulses from nerve cells throughout the body, regulates bodily functions, and directs behavior

Question 19

Classical Conditioning

Answer 19

The process of closely associating a neutral stimulus with one that evokes a reflexive response so that eventually the neutral stimulus alone will evoke the same response.

Question 20

Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Answer 20

A therapeutic approach based on the principle that maladaptive moods and behavior can be changed by replacing distorted or inappropriate ways of thinking with thought patterns that are healthier and more realistic.

Question 21

Defense Mechanisms

Answer 21

Unconscious strategies for avoiding or reducing threatening feelings, such as fear and anxiety.

Question 22

Delay of Gratification

Answer 22

The ability to forgo an immediate pleasure or reward in order to gain a more substantial one later.

Question 23

Delusion/Delusional Disorders

Answer 23

Beliefs that are in stark contrast to reality, often having to do with persecution or an exaggerated sense of importance or glory.

Question 24

Depression

Answer 24

An emotional state or mood characterized by one or more of these symptoms: sad mood, low energy, poor concentration, sleep or appetite changes, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, and thoughts of suicide.

Question 25

Desensitization

Answer 25

A behavior modification technique used to combat phobias and other irrational fears.

Question 26

Drug Therapy

Answer 26

Medications administered to help people suffering from psychological illnesses.

Question 27

Ego

Answer 27

is that portion of the personality that imposes realistic limitations on the id.

Question 28

Emotional Development

Answer 28

The process by which infants and children begin developing the capacity to experience, express, and interpret emotions.

Question 29

Emotional Intelligence

Answer 29

The ability to perceive and constructively act on both one’s own emotions and the feelings of others.

Question 30

Empathy

Answer 30

The capacity to vicariously experience and understand the thoughts and feelings of another person by putting oneself in that person’s place.

Question 31

Extroversion

Answer 31

A term used to characterize people who are typically outgoing, friendly, and open toward others.

Question 32

Forgetting Curve

Answer 32

The general, predictable pattern of the process of forgetting learned information.

Question 33

Identity/ Identity Formation

Answer 33

A person’s mental representation of who he or she is.

Question 34

Id

Answer 34

In psychoanalytic theory, the most primitive, unconscious element of human personality. The id is the part of the personality that includes such basic biological impulses or drives as eating, drinking, eliminating wastes, avoiding pain, attaining sexual pleasure, and aggression.

Question 35

Impulse Control Disorders

Answer 35

A psychological disorder characterized by the repeated inability to refrain from performing a particular action that is harmful either to oneself or others.

Question 36

Inferiority Complex

Answer 36

A psychological condition that exists when a person’s feelings of inadequacy are so intense that daily living is impaired.

Question 37

Introversion

Answer 37

A commonly used term for people who are quiet, reserved, thoughtful, and self-reliant and who tend to prefer solitary work and leisure activities.

Question 38

Mania

Answer 38

A description of the condition opposite depression in manic-depressive psychosis, or bipolar disorder. It is characterized by a mood of elation without apparent reason.

Question 39

Mental Imagery

Answer 39

pictures created by the imagination with no visual stimulus required.

Question 40

Narcissism

Answer 40

Excessive preoccupation with self and lack of empathy for others.

Question 41

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Answer 41

Mental illness characterized by the recurrence of intrusive, anxiety-producing thoughts (obsessions) accompanied by repeated attempts to suppress these thoughts through the performance of certain irrational, often ritualistic, behaviors (compulsions).

Question 42

Operant Conditioning

Answer 42

Approach to human learning based on the premise that human intelligence and will operate on the environment rather than merely respond to the environment’s stimuli.

Question 43

Panic/Panic Disorders

Answer 43

An acute feeling of intense fear, accentuated by increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, and mild convulsions.

Question 44

Passive Aggressive Personality

Answer 44

Its main distinguishing feature is indirect resistance to the demands or expectations of others through stubbornness, forgetfulness, inefficiency, procrastination, and other covert
means. Rather than refusing outright to perform a task, the passive-aggressive person will do it badly or procrastinate until the deadline for its completion has passed.

Question 45

Placebo Effect

Answer 45

In research, a scientifically significant response that cannot be explained by physiological variables and is assumed to be psychological in origin. Placebos are substances with no known pharmacological value that are given to members of a control group in an experiment.

Question 46

Psychoanalysis

Answer 46

A method of treatment for mental, emotional, and behavioral dysfunctions as developed by Sigmund Freud.

Question 47

Psychosis

Answer 47

A symptom of mental illness characterized by a radical change in personality and a distorted or diminished sense of objective reality.

Question 48

Rapid Eye Movement

Answer 48

the stage of sleep most closely associated with dreaming.

Question 49

Self-Actualization

Answer 49

A prominent term in humanistic psychology that refers to the basic human need for self-fulfillment.

Question 50

Self-Esteem

Answer 50

A prominent term in humanistic psychology that refers to the basic human need for self-fulfillment. Psychologists who write about self-esteem generally discuss it in terms of two key components: the feeling of being loved and accepted by others and a sense of competence and mastery in performing tasks and solving problems independently.

Question 51

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 51

An initial expectation that is confirmed by the behavior it elicits.

Question 52

Superego

Answer 52

In psychoanalytic theory, the part of the human personality that represents a person’s inner values and morals; also known as conscience.