AP Psychology · Lesson 1

Stress, well-being and defining a disorder

Know Know it

Health psychology studies how thoughts, feelings and behavior affect physical health. A stressor is an event a person sees as threatening or challenging, and stress is the response. Appraisal matters: the same exam can feel like a challenge to one student and a threat to another. Stress that feels like a motivating challenge is called eustress; stress that wears a person down is distress.

Hans Selye described the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). In alarm, the sympathetic nervous system and stress hormones such as cortisol ready the body to act. In resistance, the body stays aroused to cope. If the stressor lasts, exhaustion follows: reserves run low and illness becomes more likely, since long-term stress can weaken the immune system. Researchers have also described a tend-and-befriend response, in which people under stress protect others and seek support.

Stressors range from catastrophes and major life changes to daily hassles, and small hassles that pile up can affect health too. Problem-focused coping acts on the stressor itself, such as making a study plan. Emotion-focused coping manages the feelings, such as talking with a friend or exercising. Neither is better in every case: problem-focused coping tends to help when the situation can be changed, and emotion-focused coping when it cannot.

Positive psychology studies what helps people thrive: subjective well-being (life satisfaction and frequent positive feelings), character strengths such as gratitude and kindness, and resilience, the ability to recover after hardship. Some people report posttraumatic growth, positive change such as closer relationships or new priorities after a struggle.

A psychological disorder is a lasting pattern of thoughts, feelings or behavior that is atypical for the person's culture and that causes significant distress or impairment in daily life. Being unusual alone is not enough. In the United States, clinicians diagnose with the DSM-5-TR, which lists the symptom criteria for each disorder; much of the world also uses the World Health Organization's ICD.

The biopsychosocial model explains a disorder as biological factors (genes, brain chemistry), psychological factors (thinking patterns, stress) and social-cultural factors (relationships, poverty, culture) working together. The diathesis-stress model says a vulnerability, the diathesis, can lead to a disorder when stress is high enough. Diagnostic labels help clinicians communicate and plan care, but they can also carry stigma, so careful writers use person-first wording, such as a person with schizophrenia.

The three stages of the general adaptation syndrome
StageWhat the body doesWhat you might notice
AlarmSympathetic arousal and stress hormones mobilize energyRacing heart, quick breathing, sharp focus
ResistanceThe body stays aroused to keep copingFeeling wired, tense or on edge for days or weeks
ExhaustionReserves run low after long stressFatigue and more frequent illness

Trap Unusual is not the same as a disorder

A rare talent or an odd hobby is atypical, but it is not a disorder unless the pattern causes real distress or gets in the way of daily life. Check for distress or impairment, not just rarity.

Worked example Easy

For two months, Dario has worked double night shifts to cover for a coworker. At first he felt sharp and energized. Now he has caught three colds in a row and struggles to get out of bed.

In the general adaptation syndrome, which stage do Dario's current symptoms fit?

  1. The alarm stage
  2. The resistance stage
  3. The exhaustion stageAnswer
  4. The recovery stage

How to solve it

  1. Notice the time: the stress has lasted two months.
  2. Notice the signs now: repeated illness and low energy.
  3. Long stress followed by worn-down health is the exhaustion stage.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. The alarm stage is the first burst of arousal, which matches how Dario felt at the start, not now.
  • B. Incorrect. The resistance stage is the body staying aroused to cope, before reserves run out and illness sets in.
  • C. Correct. After long stress, reserves run low and illness becomes more likely, which matches his repeated colds.
  • D. Incorrect. A recovery stage is not one of Selye's three stages, which are alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

Explain Explain it

Task verbs: identify, explain

To explain a health or disorder idea, name the concept, then point to the exact detail in the scenario that shows it. For coping, ask whether the person is acting on the stressor or on the feelings. For a disorder, ask what vulnerability is present and what stress set it off.

Worked example Medium

Fictional case: Leon and his identical twin brother both have a parent and an aunt with major depressive disorder. In one year, Leon moved to a new country, lost his job and went through a divorce, and he developed major depressive disorder. His brother's life stayed steady, and he did not.

Which model best explains why only Leon developed the disorder?

  1. The diathesis-stress modelAnswer
  2. A purely genetic model, since the twins share the same genes
  3. The general adaptation syndrome
  4. Positive psychology

How to solve it

  1. Find the vulnerability: a shared family history and shared genes.
  2. Find the difference: only Leon faced several major stressors.
  3. Vulnerability plus enough stress is the diathesis-stress model.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Correct. Both twins carry the same risk, and only the one who faced heavy life stress developed the disorder.
  • B. Incorrect. A purely genetic model predicts the same outcome for twins with the same genes, but only Leon developed it.
  • C. Incorrect. The general adaptation syndrome describes the body's stages under stress, not why one person develops a disorder.
  • D. Incorrect. Positive psychology studies thriving and strengths, and it does not explain why a disorder appears in one twin.

Explain Your turn

Two coworkers get the same notice that their jobs will end next month. Maya updates her resume and calls three employers that week. Ben goes on long runs and talks with his sister about his worries. Explain which kind of coping each person is using.

Write it, then compare. Nothing you type here is saved or graded.

Compare with a model answer

A full answer does this

  • Names Maya's coping as problem-focused and ties it to her steps toward a new job
  • Names Ben's coping as emotion-focused and ties it to his managing his feelings

Model answer

Maya is using problem-focused coping: by updating her resume and calling employers, she acts on the stressor itself, the coming loss of her job. Ben is using emotion-focused coping: his runs and his talks with his sister help him manage his worried feelings, but they do not change the job situation.

Apply Apply it

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