Chapter 12; Stress

Question 1

stress

Answer 1

a type of response, consists of tension, discomfort, or physical symptoms that arise when a stressor strains the ability to cope

Question 2

stressor

Answer 2

a stimulus in the environment

Question 3

trauma

Answer 3

a stressor so severe it can produce long term psychological or health consequences

Question 4

what are the 3 ways of approaching the study of stress

Answer 4

1. stressors as a stimuli
2. stress as an transaction
3. stress as a response

Question 5

stessors as a stimuli

Answer 5

the things/events that stress people out, doesn’t give us a definition of what stress is

Question 6

stress as a response

Answer 6

4 categories; thoughts, feelings, behaviours, physiological

Question 7

stress as a transaction

Answer 7

Lazarus; stimulus + appraisal = response, appraisal allows us to have variability in responses to the same stimuli
Stress = Demand > coping resources

Question 8

what do we engage in when we encounter a potential threat according to Lazarus?

Answer 8

primary appraisal: assessing if the situation is a threat
secondary appraisal: assessing how well you can cope with your given resources

Question 9

problem focused coping and what kind of control do we engage in?

Answer 9

a coping strategy where we tackle life’s problems head on, actively changing something about the situation that is causing stress (actively engaging in behavioural control)

Question 10

emotion focused coping and what does it overlap with?

Answer 10

changing your emotional reaction to a situation (overlaps with cognitive control)

Question 11

Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (3 stages of adaptation to prolonged stress)

Answer 11

1. Alarm: fight or flight, we’ve identified a stressor, activation of sympathetic nervous system (corticosteroid release)
2. resistance: increased resistance to stress; adapting to the initial surge of hormones and getting to a place where we can cope
3. exhaustion: if the stressor persists for a really long time our resistance breaks down

Question 12

Social readjustment rating scale (SRRS); who is created it, what does it measure, and what does it not take into account?

Answer 12

David Holmes; adopts the view of stressors as a stimuli; questionnaire based on 43 life events ranked in terms of their stressfullness, scored by adding the numbers over the preceding year
scale measures how we adapt to changing circumstances
number of stressors reported are associated with physical and psychological disorders
doesn’t take into account peoples interpretations of the events, coping resources, chronic ongoing stressors, and the fact that some stressful life events can be consequences rather than causes of psychological problems

Question 13

hassels

Answer 13

minor nuisances that strain our ability to cope

Question 14

Hassels scale

Answer 14

measures how small annoyances to major daily pressures affect our adjustment
frequency/perceived severity of hassles are better predictors of physical health, anxiety, and depression than major life events

Question 15

eustress

Answer 15

good stress

Question 16

tend and befriend

Answer 16

reaction to stress that mobilizes people to nurture or seek social support

Question 17

yerkes dodson law

Answer 17

there is an optimal level of stress/arousal (medium) for peak performance

Question 18

rumination

Answer 18

when negative thoughts spiral out of control

Question 19

critical incident stress debriefing/ crisis debriefing

Answer 19

talking about a trauma/ stressful event right after it occurs, increases risks of PTSD

Question 20

social support

Answer 20

interpersonal relationships with people, groups, and the larger community; 4 major ties: marriage, contact with friends, church membership, and formal/informal group association

Question 21

behavioural control

Answer 21

the ability to step up and do something to reduce the impact of a stressful situation/ prevent its reoccurance

Question 22

cognitive control

Answer 22

changing your thoughts about a stressor

Question 23

decisional control

Answer 23

ability to choose among alternative courses of action

Question 24

informational control

Answer 24

ability to acquire info about a stressful event, includes practive coping: when we anticipate stressful situations and take steps to prevent/minimize difficulties before they arise

Question 25

emotional control

Answer 25

ability to suppress and express emotions, ex. writing in a diary

Question 26

catharsis

Answer 26

expressing what we feel, disclosing painful feelings; not always beneficial if the situation can’t be changed

Question 27

hardiness

Answer 27

set of attitudes marked by a sense of control over commitment to life and work, courage and motivation to confront stressful circumstances; resilient people display hardiness

Question 28

what is optimism associated with?

Answer 28

lower mortality rates

Question 29

spirituality

Answer 29

the search for the scared

Question 30

psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 30

study of how the mind, the brain, and immune systems interact

Question 31

peptic ulcers

Answer 31

psychophysiological ilness, caused by a bacteria that we are more vulnerable to under stress

Question 32

coronary heart disease

Answer 32

atherosclerosis(plaque in the blood vessels) can cause angima(partial blockage of blood flow), and heart attacks

Question 33

direct effects of stress on conorany heart disease

Answer 33

stress causes release of adrenalin and cortisol which increase blood pressure which can enlarge heart and cause damage to blood vessels

Question 34

indirect effects of stress on coronary heart disease

Answer 34

stress leads to unhealthy behaviours that increase CHD, ex. not sleeping, eating unhealthy, drinking

Question 35

risk factors

Answer 35

becoming easily stressed and being exposed to extreme stress

Question 36

Type A personality

Answer 36

high-strung, highly ambitious, and highly reactive, associated with CHD, biggest predictor is hostility, reducing hostility reduces risk

Question 37

phagocytes/lymphocytes

Answer 37

specialized white blood cells manufactured in the bone marrow

Question 38

macrophages

Answer 38

scavengers, destroy remaining antigens/dead tissue

Question 39

2 types of lymphocytes

Answer 39

natural killer T cells, and B cells which produce antibodies

Question 40

cytokines

Answer 40

signal natural killer T cells

Question 41

biopsychosocial perspective

Answer 41

most medical conditions are neither all physical nor psychological