Chapter 10 part 2 Flashcards
psychological and cognitive reactions to stress
when we are stressed, what brain do we use?
our emotional brain
what are the responses to stress?
physical problems, emotional problems, cognitive problems
general adaptation system
Hans Selye’s description of what happens when you make strong demands on the body
what are the three stages of general adaptation system?
1) alarm
2) resistance
3) exhaustion
who goes through the three stages of general adaptation system?
everyone when under stress
what does the alarm stage do?
activates the sympathetic nervous system and spends a lot of energy getting ready to fight or flee
when is the resistance stage activated?
when stress acts on someone for a long period of time
what does the resistance stage do?
tries to maintain fight or flight by shutting down other systems in the body (digestion, ovulation, immune system)
what are you more likely to do when you are in the resistance stage?
get sick from things the body should be able to fight off because your immune system is shutting down
what happens when we reach the exhaustion stage?
we can’t keep going because our energy is being used to keep fight or flight activated
what animal makes a good model for studying stress?
baboons because they naturally torture each other and stress each other out, much like western culture
what predicts poor health outcomes in these animals?
rank in their society (lower rank = higher stress)
what physical problems develop in the baboons?
increased heart rate, high blood pressure, weakened immune system
what other problems develop in rhesus monkeys that are under stress?
they develop heart disease and gain weight (mostly around midsection)
do these same effects occur in people?
yes, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease
how do we know that it is stress causing these effects and note lack of health insurance, poor diet, etc.?
the white hall study
what characteristics are associated with type A personalities?
workaholics, very ambitious, competitive, easily annoyed, likes things done a particular way, inflexible
is type A more or less likely to have a high level of stress?
more likely
what characteristics are associated with type B personalities?
easygoing, slow to anger, sloppy, disorganized
is type B more or less likely to have a high level of stress
less likely (they most likely have low levels)
what are type A personalities much more likely to have than type B?
coronary diseases (high blood pressure, heart attack)
what characteristics are associated with type C personalities
internalize feelings, want everyone to get along, avoid conflict
what disease is type C strongly associated with?
cancer
what happens when a type C experiences conflict?
they become highly stressed
why may type C be strongly associated with cancer?
because their immune system is suppressed from internalizing their feelings
what are the characteristics of hardy personalities?
tend to thrive on stress, have a deep sense of commitment to goals, feel in control of their lives, see things as challenges
what is different in hardy personalities compared to the other three?
things aren’t overwhelming or stressful for them, and they don’t feel stress and anxiety negatively like the other three do
what is cognitive appraisal?
an individual’s interpretation of an event as either harmful, threatening or challenging, and the person’s evaluation of whether he/she has the resources to deal with the event
how do psychologists use cognitive appraisal?
they want to change people’s way of thinking about the event as being stressful to it being a challenge
what is the cognitive appraisal model?
primary appraisal, secondary appraisal
what is the primary appraisal?
estimating the severity of the stressor and classifying it as a threat, a challenge, or a loss
what is the secondary appraisal?
what are my resources
what does the secondary appraisal consist of?
coping mechanisms
what do people who are anxious overestimate?
the stressor in the primary appraisal (make mountains out of mole hills)
what is coping?
a kind of problem-solving that involves managing stressful circumstances, expending effort to solve life’s difficulties, and seeking to reduce stress
what are the types of coping strategies?
problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping
what is problem-focused coping?
cognitive strategy of squarely facing one’s troubles and trying to solve them
what is another way to remember problem-focused coping?
looking outward at the problem and looking to solve it because afterward you will be less stressed
what is emotion-focused coping?
trying to manage one’s emotional reaction to a stressor; rather than focusing on the root problem
what is another way to remember emotion-focused coping?
looking inward and trying to manage stress by escaping to lower stress, in turn doing nothing to solve to problem
what is the best coping strategy to lower stress you are having because of an upcoming test?
problem-focused coping, because you will focus on studying for the test, solving the problem of you being stressed about the test
what is the best coping strategy for dealing with the loss of a loved one?
emotion-focused coping, because you cannot solve the problem of them being gone, you can only try to make yourself feel better about it in the moment
