Chapter 5: Coping with Stress Flashcards
coping
the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional ways in which we manage stressful situations
problem focused coping
a coping strategy for dealing directly with a stressor, in which we either reduce the stressor’s demands or increase our resources for meeting its demands
emotion focused coping
a coping strategy in which we try to control our emotional response to a stressor
rumination
repetitive focusing on the causes, meanings, and consequences of stressful experiences
emotional cascade
you’re so focused on an upsetting event that you work yourself up into an intense, painful state of negative emotion
emotional approach coping
the process of working through, clarifying, and understanding the emotions triggered by a stressor
psychological control
the perception that one can determine one’s own behavior and influence the environment to bring about desired outcomes
microaggressions
insults, indignities, and marginalizing messages sent by well-intentioned people who seem unaware of the hidden messages they are sending
minority stress theory
the concept that proposes that health disparities among minority individuals are due to chronically high levels of stress experienced by members of stigmatized groups
resilience
the quality that allows some people to bounce back from difficult events that might otherwise disrupt their well being
where does resilience come from?
three places. individual traits, and positive life experiences and social support.
what factors affect the ability to cope?
resilience, explanatory style, pessimism, optimism.
explanatory style
our general propensity to attribute outcomes always to positive causes or always to negative causes, such as personality, luck, or another person’s actions. people who look on the bright side of life tend to cope well with stress
pessimism
those with higher pessimism have significantly higher mortality rates than those who are optimistic
optimistic bias
the belief that other people are more likely than oneself to develop a disease, be injured, or experience other negative events
personal control
the belief that we make our own decisions and determine what we do and what others do to us. people with a strong sense of personal control tend to engage in adaptive, problem focused coping, such as exercising direct control over health-related behaviors
regulatory control
the various ways in which we modulate our thinking, emotions, and behavior over time and across changing circumstances
cardiovascular reactivity
changes in cardiovascular activity that are related to psychological stress
reactivity hypothesis
the hypothesis that individuals who show large changes in blood pressure and vascular resistance to stress have increased risk of developing heart disease
choice culture and control
situations in which there is no choice or in which choice has been removed have been linked to detrimental effects on motivation, performance, and health (too much choice can be bad for motivation and well being as well)
repressive coping
an emotion focused coping style in which we attempt to inhibit our emotional responses, especially in social situations, so we can view ourselves as imperturbable
negative affectivity (neuroticism)
a coping style or personality dimension consisting of chronic negative emotions and distress; also known as neuroticism
social support
companionship from others that conveys emotional concern, material assistance, or honest feedback about a situation
buffering hypothesis
a theory that social support produces its stress-busting effects indirectly by helping the individual cope more effectively
direct affect hypothesis
a theory that social support produced its beneficial effects during both stressful and nonstressful times by enhancing the body’s physical responses to challenging situations
who receives social support?
those with better social skills (hostile people receive less support)
how social support makes a difference
according to the buffering hypothesis, social support mitigates stress indirectly by helping us cope more effectively. according to the direct affect hypothesis, social support enhances the body’s physical responses to challenging situations. remarkably, even the subliminal priming of thoughts about social relationships can have an effect
when social support is not helpful
a person may not perceive it as beneficial to receive social support, the type of support offered may not be what i needed at the moment, and too much social support may increase a person’s stress
stress management
the various psychological methods designed to reduce the impact of potentially stressful experiences
progressive muscle relaxation
a form of relaxation training that reduces muscle tension through a series of tensing and relaxing exercises involving the body’s major muscle groups
relaxation response
a meditative state of relaxation in which metabolism slows and blood pressure lowers
deep breathing and visualization
can help induce relaxation
mindfulness based stress reduction
a form of therapy that focuses on using structured meditation to promote mindfulness, a moment-to-moment, nonjudgemental awareness. this is generally used to improve people’s ability to self-regulate negative reactions to stress
cognitive behavioral therapy
based on the view that our way of thinking about the environment, rather than the environment itself, determines our stress level. the use of principles from learning theory to change unhealthy patterns o thinking and behavior
cognitive behavioral stress management (multimodal)
combines relaxation training, visualization, cognitive restructuring, reinforcement, and other techniques into a multimodal intervention that has helped people cope with a range of stressors
stress inoculation training
a cognitive behavioral treatment in which people identify stressors in their lives and learn skills for coping with them so that when those stressors occur, they are able to put those skills into effect
what are the three stages of stress inoculation training?
reconceptualization, skills acquisition, and follow through
emotional disclosure
a therapeutic activity in which people express their strong, often related emotions by writing or talking about the events that triggered them
