Ch. 14 - Stress, Coping, and Health

Question 1

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)

Answer 1

A disorder in which the immune system is gradually weakened and eventually disabled by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Question 2

Acute stressors

Answer 2

Threatening events that have a relatively short duration and a clear endpoint.

Question 3

Aggression

Answer 3

Any behavior that is intended to hurt someone, either physically or verbally.

Question 4

Approach-approach conflict

Answer 4

A conflict situation in which a choice must be made between two attractive goals.

Question 5

Approach-avoidance conflict

Answer 5

A conflict situation in which a choice must be made about whether to pursue a single goal that has both attractive and unattractive aspects.

Question 6

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

Answer 6

A conflict situation in which a choice must be made between two unattractive goals.

Question 7

Biopsychosocial model

Answer 7

A model of illness that holds that physical illness is caused by a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Question 8

Burnout

Answer 8

Physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that is attributable to work-related stress.

Question 9

Catastrophic thinking

Answer 9

Unrealistically pessimistic appraisals of stress that exaggerate the magnitude of one’s problems.

Question 10

Catharsis

Answer 10

The release of emotional tension.

Question 11

Chronic stressors

Answer 11

Threatening events that have a relatively long duration and no readily apparent time limit.

Question 12

Conflict

Answer 12

A state that occurs when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression.

Question 13

Constructive coping

Answer 13

Relatively healthful efforts that people make to deal with stressful events.

Question 14

Coping

Answer 14

Active efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stress.

Question 15

Defense mechanisms

Answer 15

Largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety and guilt.

Question 16

Fight-or-flight response

Answer 16

A physiological reaction to threat in which the autonomic nervous system mobilizes the organism for attacking (fight) or fleeing (flight) an enemy.

Question 17

Frustration

Answer 17

The feeling that people experience in any situation in which their pursuit of some goal is thwarted.

Question 18

General adaptation syndrome

Answer 18

Selye’s model of the body’s stress response, consisting of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Question 19

Health psychology

Answer 19

The subfield of psychology concerned with how psychosocial factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of health and with the causation, prevention, and treatment of illness.

Question 20

Immune response

Answer 20

The body’s defensive reaction to invasion by bacteria, viral agents, or other foreign substances.

Question 21

Internet addiction

Answer 21

Spending an inordinate amount of time on the Internet and being unable to control online use.

Question 22

Learned helplessness

Answer 22

Passive behavior produced by exposure to unavoidable aversive events.

Question 23

Life changes

Answer 23

Any noticeable alterations in one’s living circumstances that require readjustment.

Question 24

Neurogenesis

Answer 24

The formation of new neurons in the brain.

Question 25

Optimism

Answer 25

A general tendency to expect good outcomes.

Question 26

Pressure

Answer 26

Expectations or demands that one behave in a certain way.

Question 27

Primary appraisal

Answer 27

An initial evaluation of whether an event is (1) irrelevant to you, (2) relevant but not threatening or (3) stressful.

Question 28

Psychosomatic diseases

Answer 28

Physical ailments with a genuine organic basis that are caused in part by psychological factors, especially emotional distress.

Question 29

Resilience

Answer 29

Successful adaptation to significant stress and trauma, as evidenced by a lack of serious negative outcomes.

Question 30

Secondary appraisal

Answer 30

An evaluation of your coping resources and options for dealing with the stress.

Question 31

Social support

Answer 31

Various types of aid and succor provided by members of one’s social networks.

Question 32

Stress

Answer 32

Any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and that thereby tax one’s coping abilities.

Question 33

Type A personality

Answer 33

Personality characterized by (1) a strong competitive orientation, (2) impatience and time urgency, and (3) anger and hostility.

Question 34

Type B personality

Answer 34

Personality characterized by relatively relaxed, patient, easygoing, amicable behavior.