11 - Health and Well-Being Flashcards
well-being
- a positive state that includes striving for optimal health and life satisfaction
- happy w/both physical and mental health
Health Psychology
using what we know about psych to promote health and well-being
Biopsychosocial model
- how the 3 things work with or against each other (ex. how social conditions could lead to depression which could lead to behavioural changes which could worsen the social situation…etc.)
Health disparities
differences in health outcomes, such as illness or death rates, between groups of people (ex. race, sex, gender, class, etc.)
Immigrant paradox
- pattern where foreign-born immigrants to the US have better health than the children of those immigrants who are born in the US
Socioeconomic Status Health Gradient
Socioeconomic Status
- lower socioeconomic status ( therefore less resources) have worse health outcomes
- socioeconomic status is determined by income, wealth, and education
Stress
a type of response that typically involves an unpleasant state, such as anxiety or tension
Stressor
Something in the external situation that is perceived as threatening or demanding and therefore produces stress
coping resonse
any attempt made to avoid, escape from, or minimize a stressor
- elicited by stress
- attempt to return to our baseline
Eustress
stress of positive events (ex. getting accepted into AFP at StFX)
Distress
stress of negative events (ex. being stuck in traffic)
3 categories of stressors
Major life stressors
- changes or disruptions that strain central areas of peoples’ lives
3 categories of stressors
Chronic stress
- set of ongoing challenges (ex. long-term illness, poverty, caregiving)
3 categories of stressors
Daily hassles
- small irritations and annoyances
fight-or-flight response
the physiological preparation of animals to deal with an attack
immune system
the body’s mechanism for dealing with invading microorganisms such as allergens, bacteria, and viruses
- stress alters the immune system
Cortisol
- stress hormone
- released by adrenal glands
- increases the amount of glucose in the bloodstream
- mobilize fast energy sources and prepare the body for injury
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA)
stressful event sets of a chain of reactions
What brain areas does cortisol circulate through? (3)
hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala
How does HPA work? What are the steps?
1) hypothalamus sends a message to pituitary gland
2) pituitary gland sends a hormone to adrenal glands
3) adrenal glands secrete cortisol
Hans Selye
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
a consistent pattern of responses to stress that consists of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
GAS
alarm response
- fight-or-flight
- physiological responses (release of cortisol and epinephrine)
GAS
resistance response
- body prepares for longer, sustained defense from a stressor
- body maximizes it’s defenses
- increase in immune system function
GAS
exhaustion response
- various physiological and immune systems fail
Bruce McEwen
Allostatic Load
- how the “wear and tear” on the bodily systems (stress, digestive, immune, cardiovascular, hormonal) can add up over time
- how they change as a result
- ## our bodily systems may become less responsive if they keep “crying wolf”
Taylor et al
tend-and-befriend response
- most research has been done using males
- females tend to respond to stress by protecting and caring for offspring and forming social alliances instead of fight or flight
- not necessarily gendered
Q: which hormone is released by the adrenal gland during activation of the HPA axis in response to stress?
cortisol
What does short-term stress do to the immune system? Chronic stress?
short-term boosts, chronic weakens
Lymphocytes
- immune system is made up of 3 types of white blood cells (B cells, T cells, natural killer cells)
- each have a specialized role
lymphocytes
B cells
What are antibodies?
produce antibodies
- protein molecules that attach themselves to foreign agents and mark them for destruction
Lymphocytes
T cells
- assist B cells in attacking intruders directly
- increases strength of immune response
Lymphocytes
Natural killer cells
- especially good at killing viruses
- attack tumours
Q: How does stress affect the lymphocytes?
- temporarily diminish their effectiveness
- decrease in production
- therefore, body heals slower when stressed
Type A behaviour pattern
set of personality traits that predict heart disease
- competitive
- achievement oriented
- aggressive
- hostile
- impatient
- unable to relax
Cognitive appraisal (coping mechanism)
primary appraisal
- decide whether stimuli are stressful, benign, or irrelevant
Cognitive appraisal (coping mechanism)
secondary appraisal
- if a stimuli is determined as being stressful, secondary appraisals evaluate ways to respond and choose coping methods
anticipatory coping
- coping that occurs before a stressor happens (ex. thinking of all possible outcomes)
Emotion-focused coping
what are the pro’s and con’s?
- people try to prevent having an emotional response to a stressor
- distraction, distancing
- can be functional sometimes but usually only short-term
Problem-focused coping
what are the pro’s and con’s?
- people take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor
- likley when they see a stressor as being controllable (and it’s bad if they aren’t - becomes frustrated or upset)
What are 3 strategies for using positive thoughts to deal with stress?
1) positive reappraisal
- look for the positives
- think of stress as being adaptive
2) downward comparison
- comparing yourself to someone who is doing worse
3) creation of positive events
- giving positive meaning to ordinary events
broaden-and-build theory
- positive emotions cause people to expand their view of what is possible and develop (build) new ideas
- most often seen in resilient individuals
What do psychologists from the humanist school of thought focus on?
what is positive in the human experience
- what makes people authentically happy
- what makes people thrive
What are the 3 components of happiness according to positive psychologists? +2
1) positive emotion and pleasure
2) engagement in life
3) a meaningful life
4) good relationships
5) history of accomplishment
Q: What is the current scientific consensus on the relationship between happiness and health?
positive emotions and good health are related but directionality and causation have not been fully determined
buffering hypothesis
the idea that other people can provide direct emotional support which helps individuals cope with stress
(ex. expression of care and willingness to listen)
what are some reasons as to why religious people report greater feelings of well-being?
- strong sense of community (shared beliefs)
- better at coping (beliefs as a buffer)
- many religions support healthy behaviours
- sense of meaning and purpose
How does behaviour cause death?
- people are most likley to die from something that was a result of their behaviours
- aged 1-24 - 50% are caused by accidents or suicide
what are some healthy behaviours that can extend life expectancy?
(5)
- low risk lifestyle
- maintaining moderate weight
- exercise
- abstaining from alcohol
- eating healthy
how can poverty and discrimination impact health?
- higher rates of depression, anxiety, addiction, stress, poor diet, cardiovascular disease
- higher rates of chronic stress
Why do we get hungry?
Glucostatic theory
- hunger determined by monitoring glucose in the blood
glucostats and insulin
specialized receptors
too low -> signals hypothalamus -> becomes hungry
insulin helps store glucose
why/how we eat
unit bias
- we assume a unit of sale is a portion
why/how we eat
social facilitation
the presence of others makes you do more or less of something
why/how we eat
impression management
the behaviour you do to make others see you in a certain way
why/how we eat
impact of variety/choice
- so many options in a grocery store or restaurant
- we want to try everything
why doesn’t restrictive dieting work?
- our body constantly thinks we are starving
- turns every little thing into fat
- maintains setpoint to avoid starving
- increased efficiency
peer pressure
false consensus
thinking something like smoking will make you a cool kid
coping
Appraisal
assessing and evaluating potential threat and demands of an event
coping
positive reappraisal
- focus on the positives
- think of changes you can make to do better next time
coping
Downward comparison
- comparing yourself to someone who is worse off
coping
creation of positive events
- give positive meaning to ordinary things
hardiness
- the ability to be stress resistant
- grit
- sees threat as challenge
- perception of control
Resilience
- ability to recover from stress
- focus on positive outcomes
Rita Joe
Post-traumatic growth
- takes a negative situation and turns it into growth
coping strategies
Positive Psychology
- study of positive human functioning and flourishing
- focus on positive emotions
coping strategies
how does laughter help us?
- releases good neurotransmitters
- decreases stress response
- strengthens immune system
how is optimism beneficial
lower rates of heart disease
how is pessimism harmful
increased risk of mortality
helping
altruism
- providing help w/o apparent reward
helping
prosocial behaviour
- benefits others
Realistic Optimism
- hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Unrealistic Optimism
- ignores potential threats
- overly optimistic - blind to reality
