Chapter 5 - Psychology and Physical Health

Question 1

What is health psychology concerned with?

Answer 1

How psychosocial factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of health and with the causation, prevention, and treatment of illness

Question 2

What does the biopsychosocial model hold?

Answer 2

That physical illness is caused by a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

Question 3

What does coronary heart disease result from?

Answer 3

A reduction in blood flow through the coronary arteries, which supply the heart with blood

Question 4

What is atherosclerosis?

Answer 4

The principal cause of coronary disease, the gradual narrowing of the coronary arteries usually caused by a buildup of fatty deposits and other debris on the inner walls

Question 5

What situation can narrowed coronary arteries eventually lead to?

Answer 5

The heart temporarily deprived of adequate blood low

Question 6

What condition does the temporary deprivation of adequate blood flow to the heart cause?

Answer 6

Myocardial ischemia

Question 7

What can myocardial ischemia be accompanied by?

Answer 7

Brief chest pain called angina, and a shortness of breath

Question 8

What condition is caused when a coronary artery is completely blocked?

Answer 8

Myocardial infarction (heart attack) due to abrupt interruption of blood flow

Question 9

What is CRP and what do its levels in the blood indicate?

Answer 9

C-reactive protein in blood can help estimate individuals coronary risk as well as the development of hypertension

Question 10

What is Type A personality?

Answer 10

Involves self-imposed stress and intense reactions to stress

Question 11

What can Type A personality correlate to?

Answer 11

Coronary risk

Question 12

What does this correlation mean in terms of unexplained health problems?

Answer 12

People who are not at high risk for developing coronary disease from usual factors still have the potential to develop the disease because of this personality type

Question 13

What three elements does the Type A personality include?

Answer 13

1. A strong competitive orientation
2. Impatience and time urgency
3. Anger and hostility

Question 14

What is Type B personality marked by?

Answer 14

A relatively relaxed, patient, easy going, amicable behaviour

Question 15

What specific aspect of Type A personality is strongly correlated to increased coronary risk?

Answer 15

Anger and hostility

Question 16

What does hostility refer to?

Answer 16

A persistent negative attitude marked by cynical, mistrusting thoughts, feelings of anger, and overtly aggressive actions

Question 17

Rather than hostility, what is a stronger predictor of heart disease in women than men?

Answer 17

Anxiety, or a person’s predisposition to worry

Question 18

What is a distinction between anger and hostility?

Answer 18

Anger is an unpleasant emotion that is accompanied by physiological arousal, whereas hostility involves a social component - negative attitude and often reaction toward others

Question 19

Why is anger less of a risk factor in comparison to hostility in the development of heart disease?

Answer 19

Because in life it is unavoidable

Question 20

What four explanations link anger and hostility (1)?

Answer 20

Anger prone individuals appear to exhibit greater physiological reactivity than those lower in hostility

Question 21

(2)

Answer 21

Hostile people probably create additional stress for themselves

Question 22

(3)

Answer 22

Thanks to their antagonistic ways of relating to others, hostile individuals tend to have less social support than others

Question 23

(4)

Answer 23

Perhaps because of their cynicism, people high in anger and hostility seem to exhibit a higher prevalence of poor health habits that may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease

Question 24

Does hostility always lead to the development of cardiovascular problems?

Answer 24

No! May be a decided risk factor for some people but not others, just as it may exert its influence on promoting heart disease through some other pathway

Question 25

How are emotional reactions considered risk factors for heart disease?

Answer 25

Brief periods of mental stress can the resulting emotions can tax the heart

Question 26

Is it good to express emotions despite this fact?

Answer 26

Keeping negative emotions to oneself is potentially harmful

Question 27

What is rumination?

Answer 27

Engaging in repetitive and negative thinking about some event (negative coping strategy that increases people’s risk for cardiac problems)

Question 28

Is depression a major risk factor for heart disease?

Answer 28

Yes! The emotional dysfunction of depression may cause heart disease

Question 29

What direction is the relationship between depression and heart disease?

Answer 29

Bi-directional - heart disease can also increase the vulnerability for depression

Question 30

What does cancer refer to?

Answer 30

Malignant cell growth, which may occur in many organ systems in the body

Question 31

What is the overall conclusion about the relation of stress to cancer?

Answer 31

Stress is related to but not necessarily causally linked to cancer

Question 32

Despite the fact that there are weak findings linking psychological factors to the onset of cancer, how is stress and personality related to the course of the disease?

Answer 32

There is convincing evidence for this

Question 33

Why is stress and personality related to the course of cancer?

Answer 33

Patients are subject to aversive treatments, side effects, career disruptions, etc. and these stressors can contribute to the progress of the disease

Question 34

How does stress relate to other illnesses?

Answer 34

People with higher stress levels are more likely to become ill and can experience headaches and the development of the common cold

Question 35

How is stress linked to prevalence of illness?

Answer 35

Stress can undermine the body’s immune functioning

Question 36

What is the immune response?

Answer 36

The body’s defensive reaction to invasion by bacteria, viral agents, or other foreign substances

Question 37

What two types of immune responses can chronic stress reduce?

Answer 37

Cellular immune responses and humoral immune responses

Question 38

What does the cellular immune response attack?

Answer 38

Intracellular pathogens, such as viruses

Question 39

What does the humoral immune response attack?

Answer 39

Extracellular pathogens, such as bacteria

Question 40

What, specifically about a stressful event is a key factor in determining the impact of stress on immune function?

Answer 40

The duration of a stressful event

Question 41

How can chronic stress affect immune system cells specifically?

Answer 41

Causes premature aging of immune system cells

Question 42

What is the conclusion discovered about stress and it’s effect on immune function?

Answer 42

Stress can temporarily suppress human immune functioning, which can make people more vulnerable to infectious disease agents

Question 43

Despite the promising research results about stress influencing physical health, why can’t we demonstrate conclusively that stress causes illness?

Answer 43

Because the research results are from correlational studies

Question 44

What third variable can create the association between stress and illness?

Answer 44

Personality or some type of physiological predisposition makes people overly prone to interpret events as stressful and overtly prone to interpret physical sensations as symptoms of illness