chap 14: health psych Flashcards
biophysical model in health psych
influenced by bio, psych, social environ
covid 3rd leading cause of death
ACEs
adverse childhood experiences: survey abt phys, verbal, sexual abuse, phys and emotional neglect
- also family members: susb abuse, jail time, divorce, mental illness
if ACE score high, greater risk phys and psych disorders
- adopt risky behaviours, disease, disrupted neurodevelopment
acute vs chronic stressor
acute stressors: have definite endpoint i.e. exam
chronic stressors: LT, lacking endpoint i.e. poverty
our appraisal and perception of situations triggers emotional response
pressure
expectations to perform in certain way or conform
conflict
discomfort when 2+ goals are perceived as incompatible
types of conflict
approach-approach conflict: 2 equally desirable options
avoidance-avoidance: 2 equally bad options
approach-avoidance: choice has both good and bad qualities, i.e. go to movie, don’t study
feeling endangered
temp or LT stress, i.e. trapped in fire, car nearly crashes
change
some ppl more troubled y change than others, more change = more risk of illness
life changes: shifts that need adjustments, even positive ones i.e. marriage
traumatic events
unexpected events that cause extreme disruption
chronic -ve situations
i.e. living thru war, chronic illness
socio-cultural conditions
i.e. stress bcs of racism, misogyny
tend-and-befriend response
women have more social network, more likely to rely on social support to cope w stress than men
flight or fight response
physio response in sympathetic nervous system
pathway 1: SNS
- adrenal medulla activates, releasing norepinephrine and epinephrine
- cause inc hr, blood pressure, dec digestion
pathway 2: hypothalamic axis (HPA)
- stimulates pituitary gland, releases ACTH
- stims adrenal cortex to release cortisol
- inc blood sugar, metabolism
pathways occur simultaneously
prim vs secondary appraisal
primary appraisal: determine severity of stressor
secondary appraisal: appraise person’s resources and ability to cope
can result in threat or challenge appraisal
autonomic reactivity and stress
diffs in autonomic nervous system impacts rxns to stress
i.e. either high/low cardiovascular activity in response to stress
optimistic brand of pessimism
hope for best, prepare for worst
defensive pessimism
expect -ve outcome, prepare self to protect self
secretly want best, therefore some optimism
explanatory style
way of appraising/interpreting things, can be optimistic or pessimistic
hardy/stress resistant personality
welcome challenge, take control and view stressor as growth
type a
hostile, competitive, continuous stress
type b
relaxed, less hostile, dec stress
type c
don’t acknowledge -ve emotions, vulnerable to stress, internalize feelings
type d
-ve feelings like worry, gloominess, “distressed”
self-defense
avoidant, defensive behaviours to protect self i.e. pretending everyone else did as bad as uou
meditation
turn consciousness from outside to internal cues
self-indulgance
to cope, i.e. overeating or substances
lashing out
phys or psych, result of being overwhelmed and release frustration
constructive coping strategies
problem-focused: strats based on directly dealing w stressor, changing it in some way
emotion-focused: change feelings abt stressor i.e. cognitive reappraisal to make -ve into positive
psychosomatic/psychophysiological disease
caused by interaction of psych and bio factors
- stress inhibits digestion, growth, tissue repair, immunity
coronary heart disease
2nd leading cause of death after cancer, ppl 45+
inc risk in type a ppl, less in type b
emotional rxns can trigger cardiac symptoms in ppl w stable heart disease
myocardial infarction: heart attack
depressive disorders can inc disease, double chance
lymphocytes
white blood cells
stress lowers wbc activity, dec ability to fight illness
psychoneuroimmunology
studies link b/w stress, health, and immune system
cytokines
released when body makes contact w pathogen
immune system produces anitbodies for LT protection against certain disease
cortisol
inc cytokines for antibodies
if excess, leads to inflammation which can inc heart disease, stroke
judith herman
says we must differentiate simple (1 event) vs complex ptsd
complex ptsd: prolongued experience, i.e. abuse, residential schools
vulnerability to ptsd
can occur any age, influenced by ACEs
10% canadians, more likely in woemn
repeated trauma inc chances
more likely to get it from human actions than natural disaster
bio factors in ptsd
biocehm rxns beyond fight/flight
- inc cortisol and norepinephrine
- exaggerated SNS response
- smaller hippocampus or shrunk as result of biochem arousal
what decs ptsd
- if resilient, dec
- if have social support, recover faster
- cog processing therapy and prolongued exposure therapy for treatment
eustress
optimal stress lvl, promotes psych and phys growth
inoculation
dealing w small lvls of stress incs functioning in increasingly stressful situations
how does anxiety impact tests
- anxiety interferes w task performance, esp if mod-complex difficulty
- dunning-kruger effect, ppl are unaware of knowledge gaps and anxiety/stress disrupts actual knowledge
yerkes-dodson curve and tests
- mod diff tasks benefit from mod stress lvls
- complex tasks benefit from low stress
- stress can inc performance
how to address anxiety on tests
- inc knowledge of material so task is less complex, knowing more = less knowledge displaced
- dec anxiety via relaxation techniques
