Chapter 11 Health Psychology: Stress, Coping, and Well-Being: Module 34

Question 1

Health psychology

Answer 1

The branch of psychology that investigates the psychological factors related to wellness and illness, including the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical problems.

Question 2

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

Answer 2

The study of the relationship among psychological factors, the immune system, and the brain.

Question 3

Stress

Answer 3

A person’s response to events that are threatening or challenging.

Question 4

Cataclysmic events

Answer 4

Strong stressors that occur suddenly and typically affect many people at once.

Question 5

Personal stressors

Answer 5

Major life events, such as the death of a family member, that have immediate negative consequences that generally fade with time.

Question 6

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Answer 6

A phenomenon in which victims of major catastrophes or strong personal stressors feel long-lasting effects that may include re-experiencing the event in vivid flashbacks or dreams.

Question 7

Background stressors (daily hassles)

Answer 7

Everyday annoyances, such as being stuck in traffic, that cause minor irritations and may have long-term ill effects if they continue or are compounded by other stressful events.

Question 8

Psychophysiological disorders

Answer 8

Medical problems influenced by an interaction of psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties.

Question 9

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Answer 9

A theory developed by Selye that suggests that a person’s response to a stressor consists of three stages: alarm and mobilization, resistance, and exhaustion.

Question 10

Alarm and mobilization

Answer 10

Occurs when people become aware of the presence of a stressor.

Question 11

Resistance

Answer 11

The body is actively fighting the stressor on a biological level.

Question 12

Exhaustion

Answer 12

A person’s ability to fight the stressor declines to the point where negative consequences of stress appear.

Question 13

Coping

Answer 13

The efforts to control, reduce, or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress.

Question 14

Emotion-focused coping

Answer 14

People try to manage their emotions in the face of stress by seeking to change the way they feel about or perceive a problem.

Question 15

Problem-focused coping

Answer 15

Attempts to modify the stressful problem or source of stress.

Question 16

Avoidant coping

Answer 16

A person may use wishful thinking to reduce stress or use more direct escape routes, such as drug use, alcohol use, and overeating.

Question 17

Emotional insulation

Answer 17

A person stops experiencing any emotions at all and thereby remains unaffected and unmoved by both positive and negative experiences.

Question 18

Learned helplessness

Answer 18

A state in which people conclude that unpleasant or aversive stimuli cannot be controlled-a view of the world that becomes so ingrained that they cease trying to remedy the aversive circumstances even if they actually can exert some influence on the situation.

Question 19

Hardiness

Answer 19

A personality characteristic that is associated with a lower rate of stress-related illness and consists of three components: commitment, challenge, and control.

Question 20

Commitment

Answer 20

A tendency to throw ourselves into whatever we are doing with a sense that our activities are important and meaningful.

Question 21

Challenge

Answer 21

Hardy people believe that change rather than stability is the standard condition of life. To them, the anticipation of change serves as an incentive rather than a threat to their security.

Question 22

Control

Answer 22

Hardiness is marked by a sense of control-the perception that people can influence the events in their lives.

Question 23

Social support

Answer 23

A mutual network of caring, interested others.

Question 24

Resillience

Answer 24

The ability to withstand, overcome, and actually thrive after profound adversity.