Ch 14; Health

Question 1

What do health psychologists study?

Answer 1

Study both the positive + negative effects that humans behaviour and decisions have on their health, survival, well being

Question 2

What does research tell us about the relationship between images of people smoking in movies and teenagers’ attitudes toward smoking?

Answer 2

The more exposure the adolescents had to movies that featured smoking, the more likely they were to have tried smoking.

Question 3

Body mass index meaning

Answer 3

statistic commonly used for estimating a healthy body weight given an individual’s height

Question 4

What is the set point theory of body weight?

Answer 4

a hypothesized mechanism that serves to maintain body weight around a physiologically programmed level.

Initial set point is controlled by genetic mechanism

the body is naturally set to maintain a particular weight by increasing or decreasing feeling of hunger and basal metabolic rate.

Question 5

Is TV watching related to obesity? Is this relationship causal, or is it a correlation?

Answer 5

As hours of television viewing increased, so did obesity rates
= correlation

Question 6

-What are two social factors that influence obesity?

Answer 6

Genetics, activity levels, what/ how much one eats

Question 7

List two health consequences of living in poverty.

Answer 7

Higher incidences of depression, anxiety and mental health problems

= stress, poor nutrition, unhealthy environment

Question 8

Social resilience

Answer 8

the ability to keep positive relationships and to endure and recover from social isolation and life stressors,

Question 9

Who gains more health benefits from (heterosexual) marriage: men or women?

Answer 9

Men
Unmarried women most likely to suffer from heart disease, cancer, liver probs but unmarried men is worse

Question 10

What is social contagion? Describe one example of social contagion as it pertains to health- related behaviors

Answer 10

the often subtle, unintentional spreading of a behaviour as a result of social interactions. (Influence)

Ex: eating and smoking

Question 11

What is stress

Answer 11

refers to the process of appraising and responding to events which we consider threatening or challenging.

Question 12

What is stress appraisal

Answer 12

the cognitive act of assessing and evaluating the potential threat and demands of an event.

1. Can be a threat (Physical) or studying for 2 exams on same day (pscyhosocial)

deciding whether to view something as a stressor.

Question 13

Appraisal meaning

Answer 13

Refers to deciding whether to view sumn as a stressor

Question 14

According to Yerkes and Dodson, how is emotional arousal related to the ability to perform a task well?

Answer 14

Individuals would be at their best when under a moderate amount of stress

= stressed-out person may find that they do not have the mental resources available to perform at the level they would be capable of if they were not experiencing stress.

Question 15

What is an individual zone of optimal functioning? Can you apply this concept to how (or when) you study for exams?

Answer 15

a range of emotional intensity in which he or she is most likely to perform at his or her best

Question 16

Fight or flight response meaning

Answer 16

set of physiological changes that occur in response to psychological or physical threats

= laid foundation for the the modern study of stress

Question 17

What is the general adaptation syndrome of stress? At which stage of this response are people most likely to become ill?

Answer 17

theory of stress responses involving stages of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

Become ill in alarm phase (bp, muscle tension, heart rate)

changes your body goes through as it responds to stress.
an alarm reaction (also called fight-or-flight),
a resistance phase (in which your body recovers),
and a period of exhaustion.

Question 18

How is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis related to stress responses?

Answer 18

A neural and endocrine circuit that provides communication b/w ns and endocrine system

= under stress; both system release cortisol = prep body to respond to stressful circumstances
= increase in energy

Question 19

Cortisol

Answer 19

Hormone that help regulate body response to stress

Question 20

Which hormone is most likely involved in the tend-and-befriend response to stress?

Answer 20

Oxytocin

= stress sensitive hormone associated with maternal bonding and social relationships

= contraction of the uterus when a woman is in labour, =romantic attachment
= social bonding
= women getting more hugs had higher oxytocin and low stress response

Question 21

Is the hormone vasopressin related to more positive or more negative social interactions between married couples?

Answer 21

= regulate blood pressure, blood osmolality, and blood volume

= related to positive responses

Question 22

The study of the relationship between the immune system and the nervous system is known as _____________

Answer 22

Psychoneuroimmunology

Question 23

How is coronary heart disease related to stress? What causes this relationship?

Answer 23

condition in which plaques form in the blood vessels that supply the heart with blood and oxygen, resulting in restricted blood flow

Stress causes an increased release of those molecules that cause the inflammation that leads to heart complications

Wbc travel to infected areas to repair damaged tissue
= these cells gather cholesterol + form plaques, which rupture or block blood flow

Question 24

Difference bw Type A & B personalities? Which characteristic of type A personality is more related to heart disease

Answer 24

Type A = impatient and worry about time, and are easily angered, competitive, and highly motivated.

Type B = relaxed, patient, easygoing

Heart attack

Question 25

Does stress cause ulcers

Answer 25

No, ulcers are caused by bacterium, Helicobacter pylori
= smoking, alcohol, poor diet can irritate digestive system and increase problems with ulcers

Question 26

Does stress lead to over eating

Answer 26

Food influence brains dopamine reward system
= eating fatty food provides body w extra calories in anticipation of person having to use xtra energy to deal with a stressor

Question 27

Does stress reduce bodys ability to respond to vaccinations

Answer 27

Yes

Question 28

Coping meaning

Answer 28

Refers to processes used to manage demands, stress and conflict

Question 29

Positive psychology meaning

Answer 29

uses scientific methods to study human strengths and potential

= they state that the most powerful tools for coping is to focus on positive emotions

Question 30

pessimism and optimism meaning

Answer 30

Optimism = expect positive outcomes
Pessimism = negative outcomes

Question 31

pessimistic explanatory style

Answer 31

explain negative events as internally based (than external situation) and as a constant, stable quality

Ex: laid-off employee struggles to find a job may think the problem is bc of his inability to network properly rather finding a job in this field is hard

Question 32

Negative affectivity meaning

Answer 32

the tendency to respond to problems with a pattern of anxiety, hostility, anger, guilt, or nervousness.

Question 33

Describe the Nun study

Answer 33

= shows how optimism and pessimism affect people while controlling diet, work demands and stress

= people who were more positive during their twenties lived longer than less positive people

Question 34

Resilience meaning

Answer 34

Ability to effectively recover from illness or adversity

Question 35

What is post traumatic growth

Answer 35

Capacity to grow and experience long term positive effects in response to negative events
= feels a greater sense of vulnerability
= greater attitude

Question 36

What is biofeedback? How can it be used to help with coping?

Answer 36

type of mind-body technique you use to control some of your body’s functions, such as your
= heart rate
= breathing patterns
= muscle responses.

Question 37

Focused attention & open monitoring meditation difference

Answer 37

Focused attention: the individual focuses his or her attention on a chosen object, such as a point on the wall or breathing

Open monitoring: paying attention to moment by moment sensations without focusing on object
= maintain presence of mind while allowing other stimuli to pass

Question 38

What is mindfulness-based stress reduction?

Answer 38

structured relaxation program based on elements of mindfulness meditation

= help ppl cope + relax by increasing link bw body + mind

Question 39

Can yoga have positive mental health effect

Answer 39

voluntary breathing can influence activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to a decrease in emotional arousal

Question 40

How are the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor related to exercise and stress?

Answer 40

protein in the nervous system that promotes survival, growth, and the formation of new synapses.

= increase cognitive processing speed
= proteins used in survival factors = sympathetic

Question 41

-What is learned helplessness? Describe the class study demonstrating this phenomenon.

Answer 41

Declining to help oneself after repeated attempts to do so have failed.

= build strengths and resilience

Study: dogs getting shock, some learned to jump over the divider to get away from shock

But the dogs that had experienced the uncontrollable shocks had difficulties learning to escape
= acquired failure to avoid/ escape were referred to as learned helplessness (they whined and lie down)

Question 42

When people feel like they have no control in a situation, are they more or less likely to develop superstitious behaviours?

Answer 42

More likely
= these can provide a sense of partial control over outcome

Question 43

Compensatory control

Answer 43

suggests that religious belief systems provide an external source of control that can substitute a perceived lack of personal control.

suggests, when personal control is threatened people try to reaffirm the more foundational belief in structure/predictability in the world, so that they then have a strong foundation to reestablish feelings of personal control and pursue their goals.