Chapter 14 Flashcards
health psychology
emphasizes psychology’s role in establishing and maintaining health and preventing and treating illness.
behavioral medicine
focuses on developing and integrating behavioral and biomedical knowledge to promote health and reduce illness; overlaps with and is sometimes indistinguishable from health psychology.
health behaviors
Practices that have an impact on physical well-being
the stages of change model
The theoretical model describes a five-step process by which individuals give up bad habits and adopt healthier lifestyles.
precontemplation
individuals are not yet thinking about change
contemplation
people acknowledge the problem but may not be ready to commit to change
preparation/determination
getting ready to take action
action/willpower
committing to making a real behavioral change and enact an effective plan
maintenance
avoiding temptation and consistently pursuing health behaviors
relapse
a return to former unhealthy patterns
General adaptation syndrome
Selye’s term for the common effects of stressful demands on the body, consisting of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis)
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.
Psychoneuroimmunology
A new field of scientific inquiry that explores connections among psychological factors, the nervous system, and the immune system.
Type A behavior pattern
A cluster of characteristics—including being excessively competitive, hard-driven, impatient, and hostile—that is related to a higher incidence of heart disease.
Type B behavior pattern
A cluster of characteristics—including being relaxed and easygoing—related to a lower incidence of heart disease.
Type D behavior pattern
A cluster of characteristics—including being generally distressed, having negative emotions, and being socially inhibited—that is related to adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
Stress and cancer
stress sets in motion biological changes involving the autonomic, biological, and immune systems.
Stress and prejudice
prejudice causes stress and poor social relationships
Health disparities
often preventable disabilities in physical functioning and psychological functioning that socially disadvantaged groups experience
Cognitive appraisal
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.
primary appraisal
individuals interpret whether an event involves harm or loss that has already occurred, a threat or challenge
secondary appraisal
evaluate their resources and determine how to cope effectively
coping
Managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve life’s problems, and seeking to master or reduce stress.
Problem-focused coping
The coping strategy of squarely facing one’s troubles and trying to solve them
Emotion-focused coping
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.
Positive reappraisal
Reinterpreting a potentially stressful experience as positive, valuable, or even beneficial
Optimism
looking on the bright side and having good expectations for the future
Hardiness
commitment rather than alienation and of control rather than powerlessness; a perception of problems as challenges rather than threats.
Stress management programs
A regimen that teaches individuals how to appraise stressful events, develop skills for coping with stress, and use these skills in everyday life.
