Chapter 4 - Coping Processes Flashcards
What is coping?
The efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stress
What is a most adaptive strategy in terms of coping?
Using a variety of coping mechanisms
What is the ability to use multiple coping strategies called?
Coping flexibility
How do coping strategies vary?
In their adaptive value. They can range from helpful to counterproductive, and this depends on the exact nature of the situation
What are the four important groupings of coping mechanisms (1)?
Problem focused vs. emotion focused coping
(2)
Engagement vs. disengagement coping
(3)
Meaning focused coping
(4)
Proactive coping
What are five common coping patterns that are of limited value?
Giving up, aggression, self-indulgence, self blame and defence mechanisms
What is learned helplessness?
A passive behaviour produced by exposure to unavoidable aversive events
What is a potential danger of the tendency to give up?
This can be transferred to situations that the person is not really helpless
What does Seligman’s model propose about learned helplessness?
People’s cognitive interpretation of aversive events determines whether they develop learned helplessness (it seems to occur when they believe events are beyond their control)
What is the giving up coping strategy referred to as?
Behavioural disengagement
When is giving up considered adaptive?
When faced with unattainable goals
What is aggression?
Any behaviour intended to hurt someone, either physically or verbally
What type of emotion frequently elicits aggression?
Frustration
What is displaced aggression?
When you don’t release frustration in the moment, but release it later on some annoyance in an unrelated situation
How can behaving aggressively be adaptive according to Freud?
It could get pent-up emotion out of one’s system
What does the term catharsis refer to?
The release of emotional tension
What has research proposed about the adaptive nature of aggression?
Behaving in an aggressive manner tends to fuel more anger and aggression
What is the problem with viewing violent media?
Exposure desensitizes people to violent acts and encourages aggressive self-views and automatic aggressive responses an increases feelings of hostility
What can self indulgence in response to stress also be considered?
Developing alternative rewards as a common response to stress
What is internet addiction?
Consists of spending an inordinate amount of time on the Internet and an inability to control online use
How can self-indulgence be characterizes as either maladaptive or adaptive a s coping mechanism for stress?
It has marginal value, but poses risks if used too frequently
What do people tend to do when confronted with stress (especially frustration and pressure)?
They become highly self-critical, and demonstrate a typical response of unrealistically negative self evaluation
What three things do people do when practicing negative self talk (1)?
Unreasonably attribute their failures to personal shortcomings
(2)
Focus on negative feedback from others while ignoring favourable feedback
(3)
Make unduly pessimistic projections about the future
How productive is self blame as a coping strategy?
Extremely counterproductive
What are defence mechanisms?
Largely unconscious reaction that protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety and guilt
What do defence mechanisms defend against?
Shield the individual from the emotional discomfort elicited by stress, especially anxiety
How do defence mechanisms work?
Through self deception, they accomplish their goals by distorting reality so it does not appear so threatening
Are defence mechanisms conscious or unconscious?
They operate at varying levels of awareness and can be conscious or unconscious
Are defence mechanisms normal?
Yes! Most people use defines mechanisms on a fairly regular basis
In what three ways are defence mechanisms poor ways of coping (1)?
Defensive coping is an avoidance strategy, and avoidance rarely provides a genuine solution to problems
(2)
Defences such as denial, fantasy, and projection represent “wishful thinking”, which is likely to accomplish little
(3)
Defensive coping style has been related to poor health, in part because it often leads people to delay facing up to their problems
What is the overall conclusion about defence mechanisms and defensive “illusions”?
Extreme self-deceptions are maladaptive, but small illusions may often be beneficial
What is constructive coping?
The efforts to deal with stressful events that are judged to be relatively healthful
What five themes are involved in constructive coping (1)?
Constructive coping involves confronting problems directly
(2)
Constructive coping takes effort
(3)
Constructive coping is based on reasonably realistic appraisals of your stress and coping resources
(4)
Constructive coping involves learning to recognize and manage potentially disruptive emotional reactions to stress
(5)
Constructive coping involves learning to exert some control over potentially harmful or destructive habitual behaviours
What three broad categories can constructive coping be divided into?
Appraisal focused coping, problem focused coping, emotion focused coping
What is appraisal focused coping aimed at?
Changing one’s interpretation of stressful events
What is problem focused coping aimed at?
Altering the stressful situation itself
What is emotion focused coping aimed at?
Managing potential emotional distress
Are the three categories mutually exclusive?
Many strategies may fall under more than one category
What is rational-emotive behaviour therapy?
An approach to therapy that focuses on altering client’s patterns of irrational thinking to reduce maladaptive emotions and behaviour
What is catastrophic thinking?
Unrealistic appraisals of stress that exaggerate the magnitude of one’s problems
What three components of Ellis’ ABC sequence explain effects of appraisal?
Activating event, Belief System, and Consequence
What is the activating event?
The event that produces the stress
What is the belief system?
Your belief about the event, which represents your appraisal of the stress
What is the consequence?
The consequence of your negative thinking
What stage of the sequence do most people not understand the importance of?
Phase B - they believe that A causes the consequent emotional turmoil C
What does Ellis argue instead in terms of cause in this sequence?
B causes C - emotional distress is caused by one’s catastrophic thinking in appraising stressful events
In terms of the roots of catastrophic thinking, what are unrealistic appraisals of stress derived from?
The irrational assumptions people hold
What are four common irrational assumptions (1)?
I must have love and affection from certain people
(2)
I must perform well in all endeavours
(3)
Other people should always behave competently and be considerate of me
(4)
Events should always go the way I like
What two ways does Ellis assert you can reduce your unrealistic appraisals of stress?
(1) You must learn how to detect catastrophic thinking
(2) You must learn how to dispute the irrational assumptions that cause it
Is humour as a stress reducer beneficial?
Yes! It can also reduce workplace stress
Are all types of humour equally effective?
No, some types of humour are more effective than others in reducing stress
How aspect of stressful events does humour affect?
The appraisals of the stressful events
What is positive reinterpretation?
A strategy of making positive comparison with others
What is a benefit of positive reinterpretation?
It can facilitate calming reappraisals of stress without the necessity of distorting reality
In addition to comparing yourself to other’s situations, how else can you use positive reinterpretation?
To search for something good in a bad experience
What is the first step in systematic problem solving?
Clarifying the nature of the problem
What two common tendencies hinder people’s efforts to get a clear picture of their problems?
People often describe their problems in vague generalities, and they tend to focus too much on negative feelings, thereby confusing the consequences of problems with the problems themselves
What is the second step in systematic problem solving?
To generate alternative courses of action
What is brainstorming?
Generating as many ideas as possible while withholding criticism and evaluation
What do you do after generating as many alternatives as you can?
Start evaluating the possibilities
What three general issues should you address before judging the values of your alternatives (1)?
Ask yourself whether each alternative is realistic
(2)
Consider an costs or risks associated with each alternative
(3)
Compare the desirability of the probable outcomes of each alternative
What is important to do while following through and implementing your plan?
Maintaining flexibility, and look for improvement of any kind rather than following a success/failure dichotomy
What are three types of problem focused constructive coping?
Using systematic problem solving, seeking help, and improving time management
What are certain differences in the intent to seek social help across cultures?
Despite the fact that there are broad similarities across cultures about how individuals react to stress, there are differences in actively seeking help
Which culture, out of Asians and Asian Americans of Europeans are less likely to seek social support?
Asians and Asian Americans - due to cultural norms (collectivism will not seek out)
Is social support always constructive?
No, it can sometimes increase evaluation apprehension
What do many stressors of modern life result from?
A lack of time
What is emotional intelligence?
Consists of the ability to perceive and express emotion, use emotions to facilitate thought, understand and reason with emotion, and regulate emotion
What four essential components are included in emotional intelligence (1)?
People need to be able to accurately perceive emotions in themselves and in others and to have the ability to express their own emotions effectively
(2)
People need to be aware of how their emotions shape their thinking, decision making, and doing with stress
(3)
People need to be able to understand and analyze their emotions, which may often be complex and contradictory
(4)
People need to be able to regulate their emotions so that they can damped negative emotions and make effective uses of positive ones
What is the test that has the strongest empirical foundation to measure the concept of emotional intelligence?
The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test
What has this test been found to reliably predict?
The quality of individuals social interactions, leadership effectiveness, and mental and physical health
Can emotional intelligence be linked to better coping?
Heck yes!
What types of emotion focused coping are there?
Enhancing emotional intelligence, expressing emotions, managing hostility and forgiving others, exercising, using meditation and relaxation, and spirituality
How is expressing emotions related to emotion focused coping of stress?
Expressing emotions both verbally and in writing can be beneficial
What is the goal of hostility management?
To reduce the frequency and intensity of one’s hostile feelings
What is forgiveness?
Involves counteracting the natural tendencies to seek vengeance or avoid the offender, thereby releasing this person from further liability for his or her transgressions
Is forgiving an effective emotion focused coping strategy?
Yes. I can be healthy for people to learn to forgive others more readily
How can exercise be an example of emotion focused coping?
It is a healthy way to deal with overwhelming emotions related to stress, it provides multiple coping related benefits
What coping related benefits does exercise provide?
An outlet for frustration, a distraction from the stressor, and benefits to physical and psychological health
What three rules must you consider to get maximal benefits from physical exercise?
- You should want to exercise
- You should engage in aerobic exercise because most of the positive effects come from this type of exercise
- You should exercise on a regular basis
What is meditation?
A family of mental exercises in which a conscious attempt is made to coffees attention in a non analytical way
