Chapter 14

Question 1

health psychology

Answer 1

emphasizes psychology’s role in establishing and maintaining health and preventing and treating illness.

Question 2

behavioral medicine

Answer 2

focuses on developing and integrating behavioral and biomedical knowledge to promote health and reduce illness; overlaps with and is sometimes indistinguishable from health psychology.

Question 3

health behaviors

Answer 3

Practices that have an impact on physical well-being

Question 4

the stages of change model

Answer 4

The theoretical model describes a five-step process by which individuals give up bad habits and adopt healthier lifestyles.

Question 5

precontemplation

Answer 5

individuals are not yet thinking about change

Question 6

contemplation

Answer 6

people acknowledge the problem but may not be ready to commit to change

Question 7

preparation/determination

Answer 7

getting ready to take action

Question 8

action/willpower

Answer 8

committing to making a real behavioral change and enact an effective plan

Question 9

maintenance

Answer 9

avoiding temptation and consistently pursuing health behaviors

Question 10

relapse

Answer 10

a return to former unhealthy patterns

Question 11

General adaptation syndrome

Answer 11

Selye’s term for the common effects of stressful demands on the body, consisting of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Question 12

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis)

Answer 12

The complex set of interactions among the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands that regulate various body processes and control reactions to stressful events.

Question 13

Psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 13

A new field of scientific inquiry that explores connections among psychological factors, the nervous system, and the immune system.

Question 14

Type A behavior pattern

Answer 14

A cluster of characteristics—including being excessively competitive, hard-driven, impatient, and hostile—that is related to a higher incidence of heart disease.

Question 15

Type B behavior pattern

Answer 15

A cluster of characteristics—including being relaxed and easygoing—related to a lower incidence of heart disease.

Question 16

Type D behavior pattern

Answer 16

A cluster of characteristics—including being generally distressed, having negative emotions, and being socially inhibited—that is related to adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

Question 17

Stress and cancer

Answer 17

stress sets in motion biological changes involving the autonomic, biological, and immune systems.

Question 18

Stress and prejudice

Answer 18

prejudice causes stress and poor social relationships

Question 19

Health disparities

Answer 19

often preventable disabilities in physical functioning and psychological functioning that socially disadvantaged groups experience

Question 20

Cognitive appraisal

Answer 20

Individuals interpret the events in their life as harmful, threatening, or challenging and determine whether they have the resources to cope effectively with the events.

Question 21

primary appraisal

Answer 21

individuals interpret whether an event involves harm or loss that has already occurred, a threat or challenge

Question 22

secondary appraisal

Answer 22

evaluate their resources and determine how to cope effectively

Question 23

coping

Answer 23

Managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve life’s problems, and seeking to master or reduce stress.

Question 24

Problem-focused coping

Answer 24

The coping strategy of squarely facing one’s troubles and trying to solve them

Question 25

Emotion-focused coping

Answer 25

The coping strategy that involves responding to the stress one is feeling—trying to manage one’s emotional reaction—rather than focusing on the root problem itself.

Question 26

Positive reappraisal

Answer 26

Reinterpreting a potentially stressful experience as positive, valuable, or even beneficial

Question 27

Optimism

Answer 27

looking on the bright side and having good expectations for the future

Question 28

Hardiness

Answer 28

commitment rather than alienation and of control rather than powerlessness; a perception of problems as challenges rather than threats.

Question 29

Stress management programs

Answer 29

A regimen that teaches individuals how to appraise stressful events, develop skills for coping with stress, and use these skills in everyday life.