chapter 16 Flashcards
what is stress
a term that refers to the external stimuli (threat or challenge) that links to internal emotional experiences and physical responses
what is good stress
can motivate us to do work and enhance functioning
what is bad stress
can reduce motivation and impair functioning
what is eustress
reaction to good stress
what is distress
reaction to bad stress
what is the yerkes dodson law
a proposed inverted u-shaped curve for the realtionship b/w stress and performance which says that too much or too little stress impairs functioning
what is maximal adaptibility
idea that humans and other organisms are highly adapted to stressors and can maintain high levels of performance when experiencing underload or overload in terms of the environmental demands
what is the stress and coping theory
theory of stress that emphasizes the importance of appraisals of both the demands of a stressor and the resources available to deal with the stressor
what is a stress response
an internal psychological and biological response to stressors to maintain a balanced state of mind
what are acute stressors
short term
what are chronic stressors
long term
what are traumatic strssors
threat to your own or another’s life or physical integrity
how does the amygdala respond to stress
it quickly responds to stress before we even realize it
- this is why you jump when someone scares you, even if it is your own friend
how does the hippocampus contribute to stress
it allows us to filter current experiences with past experiences which allows us to imagine things that have not happened yet
- it also can promote activity in the ANS where the symp ns is the activator and the parasymp is the regulator
what does the prefrontal cortex do for stress
basically looks at what the amygdala is doing to respond to the stressors and decides to either increase or decrease the activity in the amygdala depending on whether the stressor is a threat or not
how does the autonomic system respond to stress
regulates epinephrine and norepinephrine’s responses to stressors and releases cortisol
how does the HPA axis respond to stress
it regulates cortisol responses to stressors
how do the sympathetic and parasympathetic system work to respond to stress
they work together to thru reciprocal inhibition (where the actions of one system can suppress the other)
what is meta-analysis
allows for the statistics from multiple studies to be combined in order to come up with a summary conclusion about a particular research question
how does cortisol move throughout the day
increases rapidly after waking up and declines throughout the day
what is a freeze response
freezing movement in the presence of stressors
what are feedback loops
system in which output from one system influences the output of another system by either increases (positive feedback) or inhibiting (negative feedback) the second system
what is an inflammatory response
immune system response to injury, infection and psychological stressors that allows for killing of any foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria as well as healing bodily tissues
what are primary appraisals
evaluates the demands of the stressor
what is secondary appraisal
evaluate your resources available to deal with the stressor
how is a challenge different from a threat
challenges: situations where you have enough or more than enough resources to deal with the situation (resources exceed demands)
threat: when you don’t have enough resources to deal with the situation (demands exceed resources)
what was the trier social stress test
a lab acute stressor task that typically involves delivering a speech and performing difficult mental arithmic in front of an audience
what is the perceived stress scale
questionnaire which uses perceived stress that measures the extent to which people perceive their lives as unpreditable, uncontrollable, and overloading
what does reliable mean
refers to the extent that a test gives consistent results overtime for one individual and b/w different individuals
what does prevalent means
the extent ow hich a specific factor or disease is found in a specific population in a specific period of time
what is the diathesis-stress model
theory that mental and physical disorders devo from a genetic or bio predisposition for that illness combines with stressful condition play a percipitating or facilitating role
what is the plasticity factor
the extent to which people are sensitive to their environment and are likely to benefit form a + environment and suffer in a negative environment
what is the vulnerability factor
the extent to which people are likely to suffer negative consequences if they are exposed to a negative environment
what is an absolute risk
the probability or chance of experiencing a specific outcome
what is social rejection
circumstances that involve exclusion from a relationship or interaction with other people
what are the 4 different types of stressors
- loss event: loosing people
- humiliation events: stressors involving devaluation of self respect with others opinions usualy around rejection or failure
- entrapment sits: markedly difficult circumstances of at least 6 months duration that persist or worsen
- danger events: potential future loss
what are stressors that most strongly inc risk for psychiatric disorders
family violence, abuse, and neglect as well as substance usem illness and criminality
what is an episodic course
kind of disorder that involves periods of sickness followed by periods of wellness
what is a latent virus
virus that stays dormant in bodily cells and reactivates at intervals like high stress
- ex: hiv
what is chronic inflammation
inc levels of inflammatory proteins in the body which are present even at rest and over long periods of time
independently associated
when the relationship b/w the two variables is present even when other variables are adjusted in a stat model
what is the social brain hypothesis
theory that humans other primates evolved relatively lar and metabolically expensive brains in order to function in complex social networks in which we operate in
what are the different types of support
- emotional support: expressions of love n shi
- instrumental support: tangible offering like taking notes for someone
- informational support: advice and info that can be given
- appraisal support: help evaluating the demands of a situation and the resources to deal with it
what is the mindfulness-based stress reduction
one specific program involving the mediation practice of mindfulness
