Chapter 11 Flashcards
What is health
The subfield in psychology that identifies how psychological features affect the causes of physical illness and the maintenance of health
What is a stressor
Psychological or physical demands that induce a physiological adjustment in our body
What is stress
How the body physiologically demands to psychological or physical demands
What is a advantage of stress
It facilitates survival
What is a disadvantage of stress
Can cause disease
Does discrimination lead to stress
yes
What is perceived control
The degree to which an individual believes they are in control to the stressors in their life
What is learned helplessness
The belief that one can’t control the stressors in their life. This can lead to depression and illness
What is the fight or flight response
The activation of the sympathetic nervous system that also releases stress hormones
What makes up the HPA axis
The hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, the adrenal gland
What are the three stages of physiological response
1) Alarm
2) Resistance
3) Exhaustion
Psychosomatic
Physical symptoms that are causes by emotional factors
Atherosclerosis
When the arteries are narrowed due to the accumulation of cholesterol. Increases blood pressure and chances of heart disease
What are type A individuals
People preoccupied with controlling their environment,, resulting in repeated physiological arousal. Are impatient and more hostile as well as competitive
How does stress promote cancer
Can promote it indirectly through promoting smoking, more alcohol, and high fat foods. Stress can directly cause cancer by interfering with the immune system
Primary appraisal
Identifying whether a stimulus is stressfull
Secondary appraisal
Whether or not you can handle a stimulus
What is PTSD
Chronic physiological arousal of unwanted thoughts. Most people avoid actions that cause these thoughts
What could be a causal factor of PTSD
A smaller hippocampus
What is burnout
A state of physical exhaustion that results from long term involvement in a situation that is emotionally demanding. Leads to less motivation and performance
What are the causes of burnout
1) Defining yourself by your career
2) Defining self-worth by success at work
How should you combat burn out
Find your sense of meaning in life aside from your career
What is repressive coping
Maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint by avoiding situations or thoughts that remind them of the stressor
What does the discontinuity hypothesis state about repressors
Repressors typically experience higher levels of arousal when confronted by ambiguous situations.
Rational coping and its three steps
Facing a stressor and working towards overcoming it
1) Acceptance
2) Exposure
3) Understanding
What is reframing
Thinking bout stressors in a new way that reduces threat level
What is stress inoculation training
A type of therapy that helps people develop positive ways of thinking to deal with stressors
What is relaxations therapy
Consciously relaxing muscles to reduce tension
What is relaxation response
When there is a reduction in muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure
What is biofeedback
Gaining bodily information through a device
What is EEG biofeedback
Moderately successful way in dealing with disorders that involved brain wave abnormalities
What is aerobic exercise
Exercise that increases heart rate and oxygen levels temporarily and can have a positive effect on mood
Somatoform disorders
Psychological disorders where the individual shows physical symptoms but there is no medical condition that explains them
What is hypochondriasis
When a person believes minor symptoms are life threatening
What is somatization disorder
Combination of numerous physical complaints with no medical explanation
What is conversion disorder
A person seems to be debilitated by physical symptoms that are voluntary that they believe are involuntary
