Ch 12 Stress and Health – Flashcards

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stress
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the term used to describe the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging
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stressors
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events that cause a stress reaction that can come from within a person or from an external source ranging from mild to severe
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distress
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the effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressors (ex: natural disasters, delays, rude people, or losing car keys)
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eustress
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the effect of positive events or the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well being (this includes having a person adapt or change such as marriage, job promotion, or a baby)
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catastrophe
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an unpredictable, large scale event that creates a tremendous need to adapt and adjust as well as overwhelming feelings of threat (ex: wars, 9-11, or hurricane)
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Social readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
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assessment created by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe that measures the amount of stress in a established adult's life over a 1 year period resulting from major life events. It lists 43 events with 100 being the most extreme change to 0 being no change. Scores are added, Under 150 = no significant problems, 150-199 = mid-life crisis, 200-299 = moderate life crisis, 300+ = major life crisis; chance of becoming very ill
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College Undergraduate stress Scale (CUSS)
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assessment created by Renner and Mackin that measures the amount of stress in a college student's life over a 1-year period resulting from major life events; same scale as the SRRS
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hassles
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daily annoyances of everyday life which can effect immediate health and well-being
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hassles scale
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created by Lazarus and Folkman with 0 = no hassle and 3 = extremely severe hassle
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pressure
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the psychological experience produced by urgent demands or expectations for a person' behavior that come from an outside source; people feed that they must work harder, faster, or do more
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Teresa Amabile
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gathered research finding that pressure decreases the levels of creativity dramatically
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Rodin and Langer
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found that nursing home residents who were given more control over their lives were more vigorous, active and sociable than those whose lives were controlled. the more unpredictable a situation is, the more stressful it is; therefore, there is less stress when a person is in control
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frustration
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the psychological experience produced by the blocking of a desired goal or fulfillment of a perceived need
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external frustration
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losses, rejections, failures and delays (ex: car breaks down, desired job offer doesn't come through, theft of one's belongings)
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internal frustration
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also known as personal frustrations occur when a goal or need cannot be attained because of internal or personal characteristics (ex: cannot be a astronaut because of extreme motion sickness, cannot be basketball player because of height, cannot be engineer without math skills)
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persistence
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continuation of efforts to get around whatever is causing the frustration (first response to frustration)
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aggression
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actions meant to harm or destroy
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frustration-aggression hypothesis
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reformulated by Berkowitz who stated that frustration creates n internal "readiness to aggress" but that aggression will not follow unless certain external cues are also present
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displaced aggression
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taking out one's frustration one something less threatening or more available target (ex: gets frustrated with boss at work and later on yells at another person, family member, spouse)
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scapegoats
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targets of displaced aggression (ex: pets, children, spouses, and even minority groups)
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escape/withdrawal
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leaving the presence of a stressor, either literally or by a psychological withdrawal into fantasy, drug abuse, or apathy (ex: dropping out of school, quitting a job, ending a relationship, or suicide)
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approach-approach conflict
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conflict occurring when a person must choose between two desirable goals (also known as win-win situation; ex: choosing between cake or pie for dessert)
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avoidance-avoidance conflict
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conflict occurring when a person must choose between two undesirable goals usually entails people delaying the decision (ex: risk of surgery or living with pain)
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approach-avoidance conflict
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conflict occurring when a person must choose or not choose a goal that has both positive and negative aspects; involves only one event (ex: marriage)
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double approach-avoidance conflict
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conflict in which the person must decide between two goals and with each goal possessing both positive and negative aspects (ex: buying a house in the county or city)
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multiple approach-avoidance conflict
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conflict in which the person must decide between more than two goals with each goal possessing both positive and negative aspects (ex: deciding on a specific school or career major)
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parasympathetic division of the ANS
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returns the body to normal, day-to-day function after the stress is ended. may shut down the body if the stress is great and long-lasting: "nervous exhaustion"
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sympathetic division of the ANS
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heart rate increases, digestion slows or shuts down, and energy is sent to the muscles to help deal with whatever action the situation requires
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Hans Selye
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founder of the filed of research concerning stress and its affects on the human body; created the general adaption syndrome
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general adaption syndrome (GAS)
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consists of three stages: -alarm: activation of the sympathetic nervous system when the body first reacts to a stressor. adrenal glands release hormones that increase heart rate, blood pressure, and the supply of blood sugar -resistance: continued release of hormones that help fight off or resist the stressor (highest level of stress during this stage) - exhaustion: when body's resources are gone, the parasympathetic division activates and the body attempts to replenish its sources when the stressor ends (prolonged secretion of stress hormones can lead to the harmful effects such as heart disease)
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diseases of adaptation
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termed by Selye, serious effects of stress (ex: ulcers and high blood pressure); the more stress individuals are exposed to in their environment, the more likely they are to exhibit risk factors such as obesity high blood sugar, high triglycerides, and low levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL)
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immune system
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the system of cells, organs, and chemicals of the body that responds to attacks from diseases, infections and injuries
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psychoneuroimmunology
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the study of the effects of psychological factors such as stress, emotions, thinking, learning, and behavior on the immune system
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dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
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hormone that provides anti-stress benefits in animals and aids humans in stress toleration by regulating the effects of stress on the hippocampus
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Type 2 diabetes
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disease involving failure of the pancreas to secret enough insulin necessitating medication, usually diagnosed before the age of 20; associated with excessive weight gain that resulted from a stressor
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cancer
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by releasing hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, stress can depress the release of natural killer cells which are responsible for suppressing viruses and destroying tumor cells making it more difficult for the body's system to fight cancerous growths
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health psychology
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focuses on how physical activities, psychological traits, and social relationships affect overall health a rate of illnesses
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cognitive-mediational theory
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a two-step process in assessing the degree of threat or harm of a stressor and how one should react to that stressor (Primary and Secondary appraisal)
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coping
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the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional abilities used to effectively manage something that is perceived as difficult or challenging
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primary appraisal
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involves estimating the severity of the stressor and classifying it as either a threat or challenge
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secondary appraisal
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involves estimating the resources that they have available for coping with the stressor (ex: social support, money, time, energy, ability, etc.)
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Lehr and Thomae
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created longitudinal study in which they found that personality factors in stress; relaxed people lived longer while stressed people had an average life expectancy
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Meyer Freidman and Ray Rosenman
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published a book titled Type A Behavior and Your Heart; resulted in studies spanning 3 decades of research into the influence of certain personality characteristics and coronary heart disease
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type A personality
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person who Is ambitious, time conscious, extremely hardworking, and tends to have high levels of hostility and anger as well as being easily annoyed
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type B Personality
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person who is relaxed and laid back, less driven and competitive than Type A, and slow to anger
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type C Personality
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pleasant but repressed lonely person who tends to internalize his or her anger and anxiety and who finds expressing emotions difficult; related to cancer
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Western Collaborative Group Study
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done by Rosenman in 1961 which assessed 3,500 men and followed them for 8 years
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Framingham Heart Study
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Eaker and Castelli found that there is a 4x risk of coronary heart disease for Type A women who work than type B
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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
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personality test that looks for certain characteristics that include the levels of hostility; 424 patients who have undergone exploratory surgery for coronary heart disease were examined: resulted in a relation of Type A personality with hostility; both factors in the hardening of the arteries to the heart, high blood pressure, premature cardiovascular disease, and obesity
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neuroticism
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tendency to worry, be moody, and emotionally intense which fits the Type A personality
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hardy personality
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coined by Suzanne Kobasa; a person who seems to thrive on stress but lacks the anger and hostility of the Type A personality; have a sense of commitment, control, and challenge (3 c's)
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optimists
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people who tend to look for positive outcomes
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pessimists
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people who expect the worst to happen
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Martin Seligman
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optimism may affect how long a person lives: optimists are less likely to develop learned helplessness, more likely to take care of their health by preventative measures, less likely to become depressed, and have more effectively function immune systems
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Susan Vaughan
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advice for positive outlook: alternative thinking- come up with alternative explanations for why the bad thing happened downward social comparison- compare oneself of people who are less competent relaxation- a way to improve mood
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social factors in stress
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poverty- results in lack of basic life necessities job stress- related to workload, lack of control or job security, work schedule, and low job satisfaction
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burnout
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negative changes in though, emotions, and behavior as a result of prolonged stress or frustration; symptoms: extreme dissatisfaction, pessimism, lowered job satisfaction, and a desire to wuit
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aculturation
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process of adapting to new or different culture
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accultrative stress
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stress resulting from the need to change and adaptive person's ways to the majority culture
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social support system
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the network of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and others who can offer support, comfort, or aid to a person in need; can make a stressor less threatening
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integration
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original identity maintained but forms positive relationships with members of dominant culture (lowest stress)
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assimilation
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individuals gives up old culture and completely adopts ways of majority(moderate stress)
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separation
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majority culture is rejected and original cultural identity is maintained (high stress)
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marginalization
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does not maintain contact with original culture or join majority culture (greatest stress)
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coping strategies
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actions that people can take to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize the effects of stressors
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problem-focused coping
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coping strategies that try to eliminate the source of a stress or reduce its impact through direct (ex: getting a tutor, asking professor questions, or forming a study group to understand a course better)
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emotion-focused coping
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coping strategies that change the impact of a stressor by changing the emotional reaction tot he stressor (ex: share concerns with a friend about a problem)
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meditation
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mental series of exercises mean to refocus attention and achieve a trancelike state of consciousness, produce a state or relaxation
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concentrative meditation
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form of meditation in which a person focuses the mind on some repetitive or unchanging stimulus so that the mind can be learned of disturbing thoughts and the body can experience
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Herbert Benson
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found that meditation produces a state of relaxation in which blood pressure is lowered, alpha waves are increased, and the amounts of melatonin secreted at night are increased
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receptive meditation
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form of meditation in which a person attempts to become aware of everything in immediate conscious experience or an expansion of consciousness; focusing outward (ex: taking a walk in woods and listening to sounds of birds and animals that surround you)
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effects of meditation
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lower blood pressure, calm anxiety, help people go to sleep, and help people deal with stress
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psychological benefits of exercise
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raises "good" cholesterol, lowers "bad" cholesterol, strengthens bones, improves sleep quality reduces tiredness, increases natural killer cell activity to help ward off viruses and cancer, and great way to reduce stress
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biofeedback
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a technique that involves providing visual or auditory information about biological processes, allowing a person to control physiological responses (for example: heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, tense shoulder muscles).
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