Chapter 10: Stress And Health

Question 1

Health psychology

Answer 1

An interdisciplinary field that investigates the links among behaviour, cognition, and physical health

Question 2

Biopsychosocial model

Answer 2

A way of understanding what makes people healthy by recognizing that biology, psychology, and social context all combine to shape health outcomes

Question 3

Stress

Answer 3

A physiological response to an environmental event that is perceived as taxing or even exceeding one’s ability to adapt

Question 4

Primary appraisal

Answer 4

A person’s perception of the demands or challenges of a given situation

Question 5

Secondary appraisal

Answer 5

A person’s perception of his or her ability to deal with the demands of a given situation

Question 6

General adaptation syndrome

Answer 6

A broad-based physiological response to a physical threat that unfolds in three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

Question 7

Sympathetic-adreno-medullary (SAM) axis

Answer 7

A physiological system that governs the body’s immediate response to a stressful event, enabling the ability to flight or flee.

Question 8

Hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

Answer 8

A physiological system that governs the body’s prolonged response to a stressful event, enabling the conservation of energy

Question 9

Challenge reactivity

Answer 9

A cardiovascular pattern of responding to a situation whereby the heart pumps out more blood and the vasculature dilates, allowing efficient circulation through the body

Question 10

Threat reactivity

Answer 10

A cardiovascular pattern of responding to a situation whereby the heart pumps out more blood but the vascular constricts, preventing efficient circulation through the body

Question 11

Cortisol

Answer 11

A hormone produced by the adrenal cortex that is often elevated in response to stressful events

Question 12

Allostatic load

Answer 12

The sustained activation of many physiological systems in response to frequent or chronic stressors

Question 13

Cytokines

Answer 13

Molecules, released as part of the body’s natural immune response, that respond to injury or infection by causing fever and inflammation

Question 14

Alcohol myopia

Answer 14

A phenomenon whereby alcohol intoxication leads to a narrowing of attention and impairment of the ability to exert top-down control over impulses

Question 15

Type A personality

Answer 15

A label used to describe a collection of traits that include being highly competitive and driven, hot-tempered and hostile, and urgently focused on time and time management

Question 16

Type B personality

Answer 16

A label used to describe a collection of traits that include being reflective, creative, and less competitive

Question 17

Resilience

Answer 17

One’s ability to effectively cope with stressful events and return to baseline levels quickly

Question 18

Gene x environment interactions

Answer 18

The interaction between environmental factors and a person’s genetic predispositions that determine the unique phenotypes expressed in personality

Question 19

Diathesis-stress model

Answer 19

A conception of psychopathology that distinguishes the factors that create a risk of illness (the diathesis) from the factors that turn the risk into a problem (the stress)

Question 20

Differential sensitivities hypothesis

Answer 20

The idea that some people have a genetic predisposition to be more strongly affected by variation in their environment, especially during early childhood

Question 21

Epigenetics

Answer 21

The study of how life events can change how genes are expressed

Question 22

Broaden-and-build function

Answer 22

The idea that positive emotions evolved as a signal of safety, allowing for exploration and creativity

Question 23

Social support

Answer 23

The degree to which people believe they can turn to other people for information, help, advice, or comfort

Question 24

Flow

Answer 24

A subjective experience of having one’s attention so focused on an activity or task that any sense of self-awareness disappears

Question 25

Implementation intentions

Answer 25

Specific “if-then” thoughts that cognitively connect a desired action to some triggering event or stimulus.

Question 26

Sleep hygiene

Answer 26

A regimented routine at bedtime that allows one’s body to learn cues for sleep