Chapter 13 Terms Flashcards
Stressors
Specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person’s well-being.
Stress
The physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors.
Health Psychology
The subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health.
Chronic Stressors
Sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly.
Fight-or-Flight
An emotional ad psychological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
A three-stage physiological response that appears, regardless of the stressor that is encountered.
Immune System
A complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances.
Type A Behavior Pattern
The tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings.
Burnout
A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation.
Repressive Coping
Avoiding feelings, thoughts, or situations that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint.
Rational Coping
Facing a stressor and working to overcome it.
Reframing
Finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat.
Meditation
The practice of intentional contemplation.
Relaxation Therapy
A technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body.
Relaxation Response
A condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure.
Biofeedback
The use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly gain control over the function.
Social Support
The aid gained through interacting with others.
Psychosomatic Illness
An interaction between mind and body that can produce illness.
Somatic Symptom Disorder
The set of psychological disorders in which a person with at least one bodily symptom displays significant health-related anxiety, expresses disproportionate concerns about his or her symptoms, and devotes excessive time and energy to the symptoms or health concerns.
Sick Role
A socially recognized set of rights and obligations linked with illness.
Self-Regulation
The exercise of voluntary control over the self to bring the self to bring the self into line with preferred standards.
