Chapter 16: Stress and Health

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers
question
Stressors
answer
Specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person's well-being
question
Stress
answer
The physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors
question
Health Psychology
answer
The subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health
question
Chronic Stressor
answer
A source of stress that occurs continuously or repeatedly
question
Fight-or-flight response
answer
An emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action
question
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
answer
A three-stage physiological response that appears regardless of the stressor that is encountered
question
Immune System
answer
A complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances
question
Lymphocytes
answer
White blood cells that produce antibodies that fight infection
question
Type A behavior pattern
answer
The tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings
question
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
answer
A disorder characterized by chronic physiological arousal, recurrent unwanted thoughts or images of the trauma, and avoidance of things that call the traumatic event to mind
question
Burnout
answer
a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation
question
Repressive Coping
answer
Avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint
question
Rational Coping
answer
Facing a stressor and working to overcome it
question
Reframing
answer
Finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat
question
Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)
answer
A therapy that helps people to cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation
question
Relaxation Therapy
answer
A technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body
question
Relaxation Response
answer
A condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure
question
Biofeedback
answer
The use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly gain control over that function
question
Social Support
answer
The aid gained through interacting with others
question
Psychosomatic Illness
answer
An interaction between mind and body that can produce illness
question
Somatoform Disorders
answer
The set of psychological disorders in which the person displays physical symptoms not fully explained by a general medical condition
question
Hydrochondriasis
answer
A psychological disorder in which a person is preoccupied with minor symptoms and develops an exaggerated belief that the symptoms signify a life-threatening illness
question
Somatization Disorder
answer
A psychological disorder involving combinations of multiple physical complaints with no medical explanation
question
Conversion Disorder
answer
A disorder characterized by apparently debilitating physical symptoms that appear to be voluntary-but that the person experience as involuntary
question
Sick Role
answer
A socially recognized set of rights and obligations linked with illness
question
Self-regulation
answer
The exercise of voluntary control over the self to bring the self into line with preferred standards
question
If you live in a dense urban area in which there are considerable traffic, noise, and pollution, to what kinds of stressors are you likely exposed?
answer
Chronic stressors
question
In an experiment, two groups are subject to distractions while attempting to complete a task. Group A is told they can quiet the distraction by pushing a button. This information is withheld from
answer
Group A has perceived control over a source of performance-impeding stress
question
The brain activation that occurs in response to a threat begins in the
answer
Hypothalamus
question
According to the general adaptation syndrome, during the _____ phase, the body adapts to its high state of arousal as it tries to cope with a stressor
answer
Resistance
question
Engaging in aerobic exercise is a way of managing stress by managing the
answer
Body
question
Finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat is called
answer
Reframing
question
Which somatoform disorder is characterized by apparently debilitating physical symptoms that appear to be voluntary?
answer
Conversion disorder
question
Faking an illness is a violation of
answer
The sick role
question
What describes a successful healthcare provider?
answer
Empathy, attentive to both the physical and psychological state of the patient, uses psychology to promote patient compliance
question
What are traits associated with hardiness?
answer
A sense of commitment, a belief in control, a willingness to accept challenge
question
Stress _______ the self-regulation of behaviors such as eating and smoking.
answer
Disrupts
question
_______ are specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten a person's well-being.
answer
Stressors
question
According to a 1980 study of airport noise, children attending schools under a flight path:
answer
Had higher blood pressure than did children in schools in other areas
question
Where are the adrenal glands located?
answer
On the kidneys
question
Who described the general adaptation syndrome and coined the term stress?
answer
Hans Selye
question
What is caused by atherosclerosis?
answer
Coronary Heart Disease, a gradual narrowing of the arteries, a buildup of plaque int he cardiovascular system
question
The interpretation of a stimulus as stressful or not is called _______; determining whether the stressor can or cannot be handled is called ______.
answer
Primary appraisal; secondary appraisal
question
_______ is the use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly enable control over the function
answer
Biofeedback
question
Shelly Taylor suggests that the female response to stress is to ______, whereas the male response to stress is ______.
answer
Tend-and-befriend; fight-or-flight
question
What are three somatoform disorders?
answer
Hypochondriasis, Somatization Disorder, Conversion Disorder
question
_______ psychology is concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health
answer
Health
question
Several studies have shown that _______ in a stressful situation can shield us from the negative effects of the stressor
answer
Perceived control
question
_______, released from the pituitary, activates the adrenal glands to energize the fight-or-flight response
answer
Adrenocorticotropic hormone
question
______ are cells that produce antibodies that fight infection
answer
Lymphocytes
question
A final exam that you studied for could be interpreted as a ______; a final exam that you didn't study for could be interpreted as a _______.
answer
Challenge; threat
question
According to the text, aerobic exercise can reduce:
answer
Depression, anger, and cynical distrust
question
What areas of the brain are active in processing pain?
answer
Cingulated cortex, somatosensory cortex, prefrontal cortex
question
What 3 conditions decrease compliance in treatment?
answer
The number of treatments increases, the treatment is inconvenient, the treatment is frequent
question
What is the highest stress rating on the College Undergraduate Stress Scale?
answer
Taking finals
question
What group of biochemicals is increased in response to the activation of emotional systems?
answer
Catecholamines
question
What is the order of phases in the general adaptation syndrome?
answer
Alarm, resistance, exhaustion
question
Which two components of the Type A behavior pattern have been found to contribute to heart disease?
answer
Hostility and anger
question
Cohen found that long-tailed macaques were more stressed when they were in a(n) ______ group of monkeys, and the monkeys who showed the most stress were those that showed little _____ behavior.
answer
Unstable; affiliative
question
The _____ effect, in which a therapeutically inert substance or procedure evokes a clinically significant psychological or physiological response, relies on the _____ that the treatment is real.
answer
Placebo; belief
question
A person who got married, had a baby, and started a new job all within a year may have a _________ score on a stress scale than someone whose mother had a serious illness in the last year.
answer
Higher
question
Which of the following mental health professionals would be most interested in how noise pollution affects the stress levels of children in elementary school?
answer
An environmental psychologist
question
Brain activation in response to threats occurs in the:
answer
Hypothalamus
question
What are the three parts of the HPA axis?
answer
Hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal gland
question
In what phase of the general adaptation syndrome reaction to stress does the body adapt to its high state of arousal in an attempt to cope with the stressor?
answer
Resistance
question
Type A personalities are at:
answer
Increased risk of heart disease because they react to stress and adversity with anger and hostility.
question
You sit down in history class and the teacher comes out with a pop quiz. You are stressed and likely consider the quiz a _________ since you have not yet read the chapter you are being quizzed on.
answer
Threat
question
Burnout refers to
answer
Physical, mental and emotional decline associated with a long-term demanding activity.
question
Rima always hated giving class presentations because she felt like the students in class were judging her. For her next presentation she decided to focus on her ability to teach the class something and she ended up enjoying her assignment. This example best illustrates what type of stress management?
answer
Reframing
question
A specific trait related to hardiness involves all of the following except
answer
Conscientiousness
question
Which of the following groups relies to the greatest degree on social support as a way of reducing stress?
answer
Women
question
What is a beneficial stress management technique for trying to eat wisely?
answer
Focusing on increasing activity
question
What is true about the placebo effect?
answer
Somewhat dependent upon the conscious expectation that the placebo will work, deactivate brain regions associated with pain sensation, decrease pain, in part, by triggering the release of endorphins
question
What is an example of a chronic stressor?
answer
Financial difficulties
question
It is probably easier to deal with the stress you experience when you get a bad grade on a paper than to deal with the stress you experience from getting a bad haircut because:
answer
You have some control over your grades by putting more or less effort into your work
question
During a fight-or-flight response, the __________ release(s) __________
answer
Adrenal glands; ACTH
question
Women who are involved in intense physical training such as long-distance running sometimes stop menstruating and their bodies shut down other processes not necessary for immediate survival. What phase of the general adaptation syndrome does this best describe?
answer
Resistence
question
Chronic stress __________ the chances of contracting an infection and _________the risk of suffering a heart attack
answer
Increases; increases
question
You try and determine if a stressor is a threat or a challenge during:
answer
Secondary Appraisal
question
After experiencing a traumatic event such as living or working in a war zone or being physically attacked, it is not uncommon to develop:
answer
PTSD
question
One technique for coping with stress, known as _________, is to avoid thinking about or experiencing the situation that makes you stressed and convince yourself to think positive thoughts instead.
answer
Repressive coping
question
Studies have indicated that aerobic exercise _________ psychological well-being
answer
Promotes
question
What is probably the most effective way to deal with stress across your life span?
answer
Having social support through family or friends
question
Somatoform disorders, such as conversion disorder, demonstrate that:
answer
The mind can produce physical illness without any physiological cause
question
The idea of a \"sick-role\" states that
answer
There are social norms associated with being sick and regulating the behaviors of a sick person
question
In one study, business executives who scored very high on the index of stressful life events seemed impervious to the physical effects of stress in that they had few illnesses. However, they all shared the personality characteristic of
answer
Hardiness
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New