Chapter 14 Flashcards
Tobacco Use:
2021- 12.9% Canadian adults smoke
Down from 19.9% -2012
Associated With:
Lung, mouth, throat cancer
Heart disease
Pulmonary diseases (ex. emphysema)
Life expectancy 7-14 years shorter
Media Exposure
Association between smoking in movies and in adolescence (even with confounding variables)
Watching scenes with smoking increase likelihood of smoking after viewing scene
Increase in prevalence of smoking in movies from 1990-2007 associated with higher adolescent smoking rates
Opposite observed as well
-less smoking in movies ->lower adolescent smoking rate
Efforts to Prevent Smoking
Banning smoking in public places
-reduces second hand smoke exposure
Increase taxes on tobacco
-raises funds for healthcare and anti-smoking campaigns
Text/pictorial warnings on packaging
-Pictures more effective -> 40% of canadian smokers report graphic warnings motivated them to quit
Social Contagion
Spreading of behaviour as result of social interactions
-usually subtle and unintentional
-can apply to smoking, body weight other health related behaviour
Poverty
Positive correlation between health and wealth
Wealthy have more access to better health care, greater control over environment
Increased stress associated with poverty, discrimination, other social stressors
-higher rates of depression, anxiety, health problems like heart disease
Prejudice and Discrimination Associated With
Increased blood pressure, heart rate
Greater risk of unhealthy behaviours like smoking or substance abuse
Prolonged stress response, increased levels of stress hormones
Family and Social Environment
Long-term isolation as dangerous as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure
Social Resilience
Ability to keep positive relationships and to endure, recover from social isolation and life stressors
-helps protect from negative health consequences associated with loneliness and social isolation
Proven long-term health benefits of marriage
Greater longevity, better mental/physical health
Also result of social support and combined resources
Increased marital/relationship issues associated with higher rates of depression and physical illness
Stress
Psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when perceived demands exceed resources to meet those demands
Stressor
The event/stimulus
-Can be acute (one time) or chronic (consistent)
Stress Response
The experience in response to the event
Appraisal
Cognitive act of assessing and evaluating potential threat and demands of an event
Primary Appraisal
Perception of potential threat: Is this a threat?
No-No stress
Yes-Physiological stress and emotional reaction
Secondary Appraisal
How do I cope with this threat?
-Adequate coping : No more stress
-Inadequate coping: More stress
Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Stress
Primary Appraisal
Secondary Appraisal
Stress and Performance
Easy tasks-moderate/high arousal helps
Difficult task-low arousal helps
Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF)
-range of emotional intensity in which person is most likely to perform at their best
General Adaption Syndrome
Theory of stress involving alarm, resistance and exhaustion (see diagram)
Physiology of Stress
Stress can be related to variety of sources (biological, cognitive, social…), however, physical responses to stressors are generally similar
General reaction is fight or flight
Fight or Flight Response
Set of physiological changes that occur in response to psychological or physical threats
Stress Pathways in the Brain and Body
See diagram
Tend and Befriend vs Fight or Flight
Tend and Befriend-Seeking out stable friendship networks for support
-may be promoted by release of oxytocin (influences social bonding, among other behaviours)
Some evidences suggests sex differences in stress response type
-Men: Fight or Flight
-Women: Tend and Befriend
Stress During Potentially Stressful Marital Interaction Tasks
Higher oxytocin and vasopressin levels associated with positive interactions including acceptance, support, self-disclosure, faster healing of minor wound
Lower levels associated with hostility, withdrawal and distress slower healing of minor wound
Intranasal injection of oxytocin promoted more positive constructive behaviour during discussion about marital conflict
Oxytocin
Inhibits amygdala activity, release of cortisol
Vasopressin
Also controlled by hypothalamus and pituitary gland, influences levels of stress hormones released by adrenal gland
Immunity and Illness
Immune system interconnected with nervous system
-Stress and immune responses interact
>acute stressors activate immune system
>chronic stressors suppress immune system
Blood samples taken during medical school final exams (stressful period of time) show reduced immune response
Psychoneuroimmunology
Study of relationship between immune system and nervous system functioning
The Brain and Disease
Stress impairs body to respond to vaccines
-complicates long term treatments reliant on vaccines
Stress levels affect cancer progression
-norepinephrine supports cancer cell growth
-cortisol magnifies norepinephrine’s influence on cancer cell growth
Suggests that our mental reactions to stressors can influence body’s response to serious illness
Type ‘A’ Personality
Tend to be impatient, worry all the time, are easily angered, competitive, highly motivated
-more likely to experience heart attack
Type ‘B’ Personality
More laid back, patient, easygoing, relaxed
Coping
Process used to manage demands, stress and conflict
Problem-focused Coping
Define the problem
Work toward Solution
Emotion-focused coping
Finding ways to reduce negative effects of emotion
Positive Psychology
Uses scientific methods to study human strengths and potential (emphasis on positive emotion)
Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotion
(Fredrickson)
Positive emotions help people broaden thought processes and build new intellectual, social and physical resources
Positive Emotions: Expand attentional focus to encompass a broader part of the environment, increase creativity and flexible thinking
Negative Emotions: Narrow attentional focus
Positive emotions help us return to normal heart rate faster
Optimism
Tendency to have favourable constructive view on situation and expect positive outcomes
Correlated with better physical health, lower rates of coronary heart disease
Pessimism
Tendency to have negative perception of life and expect negative outcomes
Correlated with increased mortality rate (19%)
Pessimistic Explanatory Style: Tendency to interpret and explain negative events as internally based and as a constant, stable quality
Negative Affectivity: Tendency to respond to problems with a pattern of anxiety, hostility, anger, guilt or nervousness
Resilience
Ability to effectively recover from illness or adversity
Factors/circumstances that may contribute to resilience
Financial and social resources
Opportunities to rest and relax
Generally positive experiences, circumstances
Person’s personality and emotional characteristics (eg optimism) contribute to resilience
Post-Traumatic Growth
Capacity to grow and experience long term positive effects in response to negative events
Often associated with feelings of vulnerability, increased feelings of inner strength, appreciation, spirituality, and development of more meaningful and deep relationships
-Growth occurs during coping
Meditation
Any procedure involving a shift in consciousness to a state in which an individual is highly focused, aware, and in control of mental processes
Associated with reduced levels of anxiety, lowered blood pressure, healthy compassionate behaviour
Focused Attention (FA) Meditation
Focusing attention on a specific object, or a physical sensation (eg breathing)
Open Monitoring (OM) Meditation
Focusing attention on moment-by-moment sensations (without focusing on an object in particular)
Mediation: Farb et al.
When trained mediators focus on thoughts and bodily reactions to a word (experimental focus) in an fMRI: Increase in areas related to perception of bodily senses, and larger decrease in activity in medial prefrontal cortex (related to self-reference)
Suggests this activity helps ‘separate’ ourselves from self narratives
Learned Helplessness
Learned suppression of avoidance or escape behaviour in response to unpleasant, uncontrollable circumstances
Person/animal learns their actions cannot remove stress, and generalizes this feeling to other situations
Stressful Events Perception
Controllable: Brainstem produces stress response
Inhibited by frontal lobes
Not Controllable:
Frontal lobes do not inhibit response
Compensatory Control
Psychological strategies people use to preserve a sense of non-random order when personal control is compromised
