Chapter 15 - Stress, Coping, and Health Flashcards
what are the three ways that psychologists have viewed stress?
as a stimulus
as a response
as an organism-environment interaction
how can stress be viewed as a stimulus?
it can elicit stimuli, or be events that place strong demands on us
what is a stressor?
situations that place strong demands on organisms, taxing their resources
when looking at stressors, are you looking at it as a stimulus, response, or organism environment interaction?
stimulus
is this a stimulus, response, or organism environment interaction?
“there’s lots of stress in my life right now. i have three exams, lost my backpack, and my car just broke down!”
stimulus
how do we view stress as a response?
it has cognitive, physiological, and behavioural components
is this a stimulus, response, or organism environment interaction?
“i’m feeling all stressed out. i’m tensed up, i can’t concentrate because i’m really worried”
response
what is the organism environment way of viewing stress?
combines stimulus and response
stress is a your response to a perceived imbalance between situational demands and the resources needed to cope with it
what are characteristics of stressors
intensity duration predictability controllability chronicity
what stressor seems to take the greatest toll on well being?
events that occur suddenly and unpredictably, and affect the person for a long period of time
how do we measure stressful life events?
we can verify stuff like natural disaster and death of a loved one
we can use self reports
what is a microstressor?
daily hassles. like being stuck in traffic every morning while trying to get to work
what are life event scales?
it’s a method to measure the amount of life stress a person has experienced over a certain period of time
T/F early theorists defined a “stressor” as any negative life event that requires adaptation
False
even if the event was positive, they would consider it a stressor
T/F modern researchers define stress in terms of negative life changes only
True
what is the starting point for the stress response?
appraisal
what are the 4 important aspects/steps of appraisal?
primary appraisal
secondary appraisal
judgements of consequences
appraisal of personal meaning
what is primary appraisal?
appraising the demands of the situation. (whether it will be stressful or not, difficult or easy, etc.)
what is secondary appraisal?
appraising the resources you have to cope with the situation
what is judgement of consequences?
judging what the consequences of the situation could be if you fail, as well as how likely it is for you to fail
what is appraisal of personal meaning
appraising what the outcome might imply about us
(for example, if you base your self worth on your grades, you might see getting bad grades as evidence that you’re worthless)
T/F distortions and mistakes in the appraisal process can occur at the judgement and personal meaning stages, but not at the primary and secondary stages
False
it can occur at any of the four stages
T/F appraisals affect our physiological responses, but physiological responses don’t affect our appraisal
False
feedback from our physiological responses can affect our reappraisals of the situation
(for example: if you find yourself shaking as you’re about to enter the interview room, you could then appraise it to be more stressful than you originally thought, before you started shaking)
what is the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)?
don’t need to list the steps, just generally what is it?
a physiological response pattern to strong and prolonged stressors
what are the three phases of the GAS
alarm
resistance
exhaustion
in the GAS, what happens in the alarm stage?
sudden activation of sympathetic NS, release of stress hormones.
what effect does the activation of sympathetic NS have on the body
increased heart rate and breathing
pupils dilate
slows digestion
what effect does the release of stress hormones have on the body?
cortisol triggers increase in blood sugar
cortisol suppresses immune system
the flight or flight response falls into what stage of the GAS? (alarm, resistance, or exhaustion?)
alarm
what happens during the resistance stage of the GAS?
the body continues to use resources. heart rate, breathing rate, and blood sugar is still high, immune system is still being suppressed.
what factors affect how long the resistance phase of the GAS lasts?
severity of the stress, the individuals general health, available support
what is the exhaustion phase of the GAS
the body’s resources have become dangerously depleted. adrenal glands can’t function normally anymore
there is an increased vulnerability to disease
what is rape trauma syndrome?
for a long time after the rape, victims can still feel nervous and fear another attack by the rapist. can have decreased enjoyment of sexual activity
how does the amount of reported negative life events experienced relate to psychological well being?
the more negative life events reported, the more likely they are to also report symptoms of psychological distress
T/F we can conclude that stress causes distress
Falsethe data is correlational, not causal
what are the three causal relationships between stress and distress scores?
1) negative life events cause psychological distress2) distressed people are more likely to report negative life events3) a third variable causes both negative life events and psychological distress
what is neuroticism?
personality trait. high tendency to experience negative emotions and get themselves into stressful situations
what is PTSD (don’t need to list the symptoms)
Severe anxiety disorder caused by exposure to traumatic life events
what are the 4 major symptoms associated with PTSD
1) severe stress response and distress2) painfully reliving the events through flashbacks and nightmares 3) emotional numbing. avoiding stimuli associated with the trauma 4) survivors guilt
T/F individuals with PTSD can show self destructive or impulsive behaviour
true
T/F veterans who spent time in combat are more likely to develop PTSD than veterans who weren’t in combat
True
T/F soldiers are more likely to develop PTSD than civilian victims
Fcivilian victims are more likely
T/F natural disasters cause less PTSD than human perpetrated trauma
True
T/F men are more likely to develop PTSD than men
Falsewomen are more likely
T/F PTSD develops right after the trauma
Falsethough it usually develops within three months, it can be much longer ledford PTSD develops
T/F having PTSD lowers the risk of developing other disorders
False. it increases the risk
why is post trauma intervention important?
if post trauma intervention is available for the victims of rape or torture, they can be spared from PTSD
how does stress affect illness?
can increase mortality rate, increase risk of heart problems, cancer, etc.
T/F traumatic life events can’t worsen a preexisting medical condition
False
what are the ways in which stress can trigger illness
stress hormones affect arteries & heart activity stress weakens immune system stress increases risky behaviour
explain how stress hormones affecting arteries & heart activity can lead to illness
excessive secretion can damage artery lining can contribute to fatty artery blockage, causing heart attacks and strokes
explain how stress weakening the immune system increase risk of illness?
if your immune system is down, you can’t fight against the flu virus and other viruses
explain how stress increasing risky behaviour increases risk of illness
more likely to not control their dietmore likely to not exercisemay lead to smoking, drinking, drug usemore likely to be sleep deprived
T/F high levels of cortisol can lead to deterioration of amygdala and memory function
falsehippocampus and memory function
T/F experiencing mild stress early in life primes an individual to be more resistant to stress later in life
true
what happens to rat pups given additional stimulation?
faster stress recovery in adulthooddifferences in maternal behaviour, their pups become more stress resilient as well
what are the three broad classes of coping strategies?
problem focusedemotion focusedseeking social support
what is problem focused coping?
attempt to confront and deal directly with the demands of the situation, or to change the situation so that it is no longer stressful
what is emotion focused coping?
attempt to manage the emotional responses to stressful situations. maybe by ignoring the problem or by minimizing its emotional impact
what type of coping is this:you’re anxious for a test so you study
problem focused
what type of coping is this?you’re anxious for a test so you go out and party
emotion focused
what is seeking social support?
turning to others for assistance and emotional support in times of stress
which is more effective: problem focused or emotion focused coping?
if it is possible to change the situation, problem focusedif it’s not possible to change the situation, emotion focused
T/F self injury and self medication are effective coping strategies
false
T/F talking about stress and feeling lowers stress and depression scores
true
T/F men are more likely to favour emotion focused coping
false problem focused
T/F women are more likely than men to use emotion focused coping
true
T/F women are more likely to seek social support
true
T/F north americans and europeans were more likely to use problem focused than asians and hispanics
true
health psychology
studies psychological and behavioural factors in the prevention and treatment of illness and maintenance of health
what are examples of health enhancing behaviours?
exercisehealthy dietsafe sex practices regular medical checkupsbreast and testicular self examination
examples of health compromising behaviour
smoking fatty dietssedentary lifestyle unprotected sex
what is the trans theoretical model?
a model that identifies six major stages in the change process
what are the six stages of the transtheoretical model
precontemplationcontemplationpreparationactionmaintenance termination
precontemplation
they have no desire to change behaviour. often don’t realize there’s a problem.
contemplation
notices there’s a problem, or wants to change behaviour, but hasn’t decided to take action yet
preparation
decided they want to change their behaviour, haven’t taken full action yet. developing a plan to change.
action
actively modifying behaviour and environment
maintenance
they’ve managed to control target behaviour for six months without relapse.
termination
change in behaviour is so ingrained and under control that the original problem behaviour will never return
what are stage matched interventions
methods of pushing people from one stage of the transtheoretical model to the next
what do precontemplators need?
consciousness raising info that convinces them that there is a problem social support to change
what do contemplators need
a wake up experience that increases motivation to change
what do ppl in the preparation stage need
need to develop a plan and have the skills to carry it out
aerobic exercise
sustained activity that increases heart rate and respiration
T/F the more you exercise, the healthier you are
~ not quite. moderate exercise produces the best health effects.
what factors predict dropout from exercise programs?
-low self efficacy -type A personality -inflated estimates of current physical fitness -inactive leisure time pursuits
explain behavioural intervention for weight loss
period of self monitoring what they eattaught how to take control of factors that affect their eating stimulus control; eating only in one part of the house. slowing down. savouring food. chart amount of food eaten
T/F adding an exercise program to a behavioural control eating plan increases effectiveness
true
what is AIDS caused by?
the HIV virus
what does the HIV virus do?
cripples immune system, by killing cells that fight against viruses, bacteria, and tumours
what are the major modes of transmission for AIDS
semen, vaginal fluids, blood
why is AIDS more of a psychological problem, rather than a medical one?
there’s no vaccine, so the only way of controlling the AIDS virus is by changing the high risk behaviours that transmits it
what are the 4 features of most AIDS prevention projects?
1) educate ppl about risks of certain behaviour2) motivate ppl to change their behaviour. convince them they can do so 3) teach skills for change. provide guidelines for change 4) support and encourage them.
what is a mindset that can lead to individuals failing to follow safe sex procedures
a sense of invulnerability to infection
what is the goal of positive psychology
focus on improving well being by exploring things that make life worth living
T/F technically, positive psychology is folk psychology, not real science, like self help books
falsepositive psychology is a science
T/F positive psychology argues that we should ignore negative experiences and illness
false
what can help increase happiness?
1) spend time with others2) be helpful3) challenge yourself4) make goals. work on them5) take care of your body6) make time for leisure7) be open minded8) be optimistic and grateful
what is the most important cause of premature death in Canada
smoking
T/F cognitive behavioural approaches are less cost effective and less successful for reducing substance abuse than long term psychodynamic approaches
false
motivational interviewing
leads ppl to their own conclusions by asking questions about what they’re like now, and what they want to be like
multimodal treatments
substance abuse treatments that combine a number of treatments
what measures are included in multimodal treatments
biological measures aversion therapystress management trainingself monitoring coping and social skills training family counsellingpositive reinforcement
aversion therapy
undesired behaviour is associated with an aversive stimulus, creating a negative emotional response to the substance
relapse
a return to the undesirable behaviour
lapse
a one time slip back to the undesirable behaviour pattern
T/F relapses tend to occur after a lapse
true
abstinence violation effect
after a lapse, the person feels guilty and upset they couldn’t remain abstinent
T/F the abstinence violation effect increases risk of relapse
true
harm reduction approach
focused not on eliminating a behaviour, but on reducing the harmful effects of the behaviour when it occurs (ex: providing sterile needles to heroin addicts)
define vulnerability factors
factors that increase peoples susceptibility to stressful events
define protective factors
factors/resources that help people cope more effectively with stressful events
how is having social support a protective factor?
enhances immune system functioning greater sense of identity and meaning in life reduce exposure to risk factors like lonelinessfriends can apply social pressure against unhealthy coping (like taking drugs)
what is hardiness
a stress resistant personality pattern that involves commitment, control, and challenge.
explain the three C’s of hardiness
committed to their involvements. believe what they’re doing is importantview themselves as having control over outcomes see demanding situations as a challenge/opportunity, instead of a threat
what is resilience
unexpectedly good recovery or positive growth after stress
what are individual factors that increase resilience in children?
confidentsmartsociable talentedfaith
what are family factors that increase resilience in children
close relationship w parentauthoritative parenting socioeconomic advantage connection to extended family
what are extrafamilial context factors that increase resilience in children
bonds to adults outside familyconnections to organizations attending effective schools
authoritative parenting
warmth, structure, high expectations.
define coping self efficiacy
the belief that we can perform the behaviours needed to cope successfully
T/F self efficacy is situation specific
true
T/F previous success in a similar situation doesn’t increase efficacy
false
T/F watching others cope successfully can increase efficacy
true
T/F pessimists are at a greater risk for helplessness and depression
true
how does optimism affect health?
better health and longer life
T/F pessimists are less likely to engage in healthy behaviour like regular exercise and good diet
true
type A personality characteristics
demanding of self and othersimpatienthighly competitive highly ambitious aggressive when things get in their way
type B personality characteristics
more relaxedless sense or urgency
which personality type (A or B) is at greater health risk?
A
why does having type A personality increase health risk?
they’re more likely to encounter stress, such as time pressures, getting angry by barriers, they’re predisposed to negative emotions like suspiciousness, resentment, they’re more likely to alienate others and produce conflict, reducing social support
T/F religious belief can decrease stress
~it can either increase or decrease, it depends
how can religious belief increase stress
people who see god as punishing them are more stressed
how can religious belief reduce stress
can help you find meaning in traumatic events
