ELITE COMPREHENSIVE
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) PSYCHOLOGY MENTAL
AND PHYSICAL HEALTH COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
GUIDE
STRESS • HEALTH • PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS •
THERAPY • WELLNESS
SPRING EXAMINATION MAY 2026
Health Psychology
• the subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors
influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance
of health
Stress
• the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called
stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
1|Page
,Stressors
• specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or
threaten the person's well-being
Eustress
• A positive stress that energizes a person and helps a person reach a goal
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
• Stressful or traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, and a range of
household dysfunction, such as witnessing domestic violence or growing up
with substance abuse, mental disorders, parental discord, or crime in the
home.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
• Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and
exhaustion
Alarm reaction phase
• the initial reaction to a stressor; activates protective processes within the
body
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, Resistance phase
• Second phase of the GAS, during which the body adapts to and maintains
resources to cope with the stressor.
Fight-flight-freeze response
• an involuntary, physical response to a sudden and immediate threat (or
stressor) in readiness for fight (confront), flight (escape) or freeze (avoid
detection)
Exhaustion phase
• third phase of the GAS, during which the body's resources become depleted
Tend-and-befriend theory
• theory that females are more likely than males to respond to stressors with
behaviors that:
• Quiet, nurture and care for offspring (tending)
• Establish and maintain social networks (befriending)
Problem-focused coping
• Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way
we interact with that stressor.
3|Page
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) PSYCHOLOGY MENTAL
AND PHYSICAL HEALTH COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
GUIDE
STRESS • HEALTH • PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS •
THERAPY • WELLNESS
SPRING EXAMINATION MAY 2026
Health Psychology
• the subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors
influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance
of health
Stress
• the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called
stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
1|Page
,Stressors
• specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or
threaten the person's well-being
Eustress
• A positive stress that energizes a person and helps a person reach a goal
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
• Stressful or traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, and a range of
household dysfunction, such as witnessing domestic violence or growing up
with substance abuse, mental disorders, parental discord, or crime in the
home.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
• Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and
exhaustion
Alarm reaction phase
• the initial reaction to a stressor; activates protective processes within the
body
2|Page
, Resistance phase
• Second phase of the GAS, during which the body adapts to and maintains
resources to cope with the stressor.
Fight-flight-freeze response
• an involuntary, physical response to a sudden and immediate threat (or
stressor) in readiness for fight (confront), flight (escape) or freeze (avoid
detection)
Exhaustion phase
• third phase of the GAS, during which the body's resources become depleted
Tend-and-befriend theory
• theory that females are more likely than males to respond to stressors with
behaviors that:
• Quiet, nurture and care for offspring (tending)
• Establish and maintain social networks (befriending)
Problem-focused coping
• Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way
we interact with that stressor.
3|Page
