Chapter 12 - Important concepts Flashcards
Groups that are at high risk for experience stressful events are what?
young and ummaried immigrants African Americans Aboriginals low SES
It is a myth that people from _____ areas experiencce less stress than ____-dwellers
rural
city
Most victims of child abuse turn out to be ________ adults.
healthy
Stressor that is so severe that it can produce long-term psychological or health consequences.
Traumatic event
What are different factors that contribute to people’s varying ability to grapple with stressful events.
Personal resources (Ex: support) Significance attached to stressful events (do I care) Inherent ability to grapple with stress (health)
Approach to stress that focuses on identifying different types of stressful events.
Stressors as stimuli
People’s varied reaction to the same event suggest that we can view stress as a _________ between people and their environments.
transaction
Researchers studying stress as a transaction focus on how people _______ and _____ with stressful events.
interpret & cope
When we encounter a potentially stressful event, we initiate _________ _________: the initial decision regarding whether an event is harmful.
primary appraisal
If we decide an event is stressful, we undergo ________ _________: the percetion regarding our ability to cope with an event that follows primary appraisal.
secondary appraisal
When we believe we cannot cope, we are more likey to experience a _____-blown _______ reaction than when we believe we can
full-blown stress reaction
When we are optimistic and think we can achieve our goals - we are especially likely to engage in _____-________ ________: a coping strategy in which we tackle life’s challenges head on
problem-focused coping
When situations arise that we have no control over, we are more likely to adopt _______-________ ________: a coping strategy that features a positive outlook on feelings or situations accompanied by behaviours that reduce painful emotions
emotion-focused coping
You did bad on a test but resolve to study harder next time. What coping strategy are you using?
Problem-focused coping
You get dumped, but realize that you were miserable anyway. What coping strategy are you using?
Emotion-focused coping
Which approach has pinpoited categories of events that most of us find dangerous and unpredictable?
Stressors as stimuli approach
Approach that assesses people’s psychological and physiological responses to stressors.
Stress as a response approach
This approach typically exposes subjects to stress-producing stimuli or, studies people hwo have recently undergone real-life stressors.
Stress as a response approach
This approach will measure corticosteroid levels after a stressful event.
Stress as a response approach
Why is measuring stress difficult?
What may be stressful for one person may be a minor annoyance for another
What are two scales that attempt to gauge the nature and impact of stressors?
SRRS - Social Readjustment Rating Scale
Hassles Scale
This scale is based on 43 life events ranked in terms of their stressfulness as rated by participants.
These are based on experiences in the previous year.
SRRS
Many items on the SRRS involve ____ _________.
life transitions
The number of stressful events people report over the previous year or so is associated with a variety of _______ _________.
physical disorders
The SRRS approach is flawed. How?
- Doesn’t measure people’s INTERPRETATION to different stressors
- coping behaviours
- support system
- Difficulty in accurate recall
- Doesn’t take into account chronic, ongoing stressors
- Certain items can be consequences, rather than causes of stress (ex: divorce)
This scale was developed to measure how stressful events, ranging from small annoyances to major daily pressures, affect our adjustment.
Hassles Scale
The frequency and perceive severity of _______ are actually better predictors of physical health, depresson and anxiety than are ______ ______ _______.
hassles
major life events
What are the two main ways to measure stress?
Interview-based methods
Questionnaires
Who developed the General Adaptation Syndrome?
Selye
According to Selyes GAS, all prolonged stressors take us through three stages of adaptation. These are?
Alarm, Resistance, Exhaustion
This reaction involves excitation of the nervous system, the discharge of the stress hormone adrenaline, and physical symptoms of anxiety.
Alarm reaction
The seat of anxiety is found within the ________ system. What parts of the brain are included here?
What is this system also called?
limbic - emotional brain
hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala
The hypothalamus and pituitary gland orchestrate the adrenal gland’s release of another stress hormone called _______ - which floods a person with energy
cortisol
Which brain structure can flood a person with vivid memories of scary, related situations, when stressed?
Hippocampus
During this stage of adaptation, we adapt to stressors and find ways to cope with them.
We use this brain structure to calm down.
Resistance
Cerebral cortex
This stage of adaptation occurs when a stressor is more prolonged and uncontrollable.
Results of our resistance breaking down include?
Exhaustion Results: - damage to an organ system - depression and anxiety - breakdown in the immune system
This stress response is more common among women than men.
Tend-and-befriend response
What is an explanation for why women engage in the tend in befriend response more often than men?
Women have more to lose and have higher levels of oxytocin (love and bonding hormone)
Who is at very high risk to develop PTSD?
military
What was the explanation for the poison-ivy experiment?
Nocebo effect
Stress can cause physical difficulties that disrupt our _____ and _____ functioning and can make us more vulnerable to __________.
sleep
sexual
infections
Foreign invaders are called _______; potentionally ilness-producing organisms are called _________.
antigens
pathogens
Our first shield against foreign invaders is the ______. These also contribute to non-specific immunity.
skin
saliva, urine, tears, perspiration, stomach acid
These two groups of specialized WBCs are manufactured in the marrow of bones.
lymphocytes and phagocytes
These cells are the first on the scene of infection.
Phagocytes
Diseases caused by a hyperactive immune system.
autoimmune diseases
People are more likely to get ______ when stressed out.
colds
______ can disrupt the immune function.
stress
What are peptic ulcers, majoritarilly, caused by?
H. pylori
More _____ than _____ die from CHD/
men than women
Narrowing and blocking of the coronary arteries.
Atherosclerosis
Deterioration and death of heart tissue.
Heart attack
What are some predictors of CHD?
smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, family history, diabetes, low levels of vitamin D, stress
How does stress play a role in CHD?
Stress promotes certain high risk lifestsyles (Smoking, drinking) and leads to disruptions in normal processes (enlargement of the heart)
Heart attack prone men have this type of personality.
Type A
A person who is _________ is at a very high risk of CHD..
hostile
Ability to step up and do something to reduce the impact of a stressful situation or prevent its recurrence.
Problem-focused coping
Avoiding action to solve our problems or giving up hope.
Avoidance-oriented coping
Between problem-focused and avoidance-oriented coping, which is more effective?
problem-focused
The ability to cognitively restructure or think differently abiout negative emotions that arise in response to stress-provoking events.
cognitive control
The evaluation of one’s social identity (______) - is tied to better health for those with _______ perceive control.
CSE (collective self-esteem)
little
Ability to choose among alternative courses of action.
Decisional control
Ability to acquire information about a stressful event.
Informational control
Just knowing how many questions will be on the final exam can reduce stress through what process?
informational control
Proactive coping is encompassed by what?
Informational control
Those who engage in ________ coping, view stressful situations as opportunities for growth.
proactive
