Chapter 5 - Stress, Psychological Factors, and Health

Question 1

health psychologist

Answer 1

A psychologist who studies the interrelationships between psychological factors and physical health.

Question 2

stress

Answer 2

A demand made on an organism to adapt or adjust.

Question 3

stressor

Answer 3

A source of stress.

Question 4

adjustment disorder

Answer 4

A maladaptive reaction to an identified stressor, characterized by impaired functioning or emotional distress that exceeeds what would normally be expected.

Question 5

Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood

Answer 5

Chief features include: Sadness, crying, and feelings of hopelessness.

Question 6

Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety

Answer 6

Chief features include: Worrying nervousness, and jitters (or in childredn, fear of separation from primary attachment figures).

Question 7

Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood

Answer 7

Chief features include: A combination of depression and anxiety.

Question 8

Adjustment Disorder with Disturbance of Conduct

Answer 8

Chief features include: Violation of the rights of others or violation of social norms appropriate for one’s age. Sample behaviours include vandalism, truancy, fighting, reckless driving, and defaulting on legal obligations (e.g., stopping alimony payments).

Question 9

Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Disturbance

Answer 9

Chief features include: Both emotional disturbance suchc as depression or anxiety, and conduct disturbance.

Question 10

Adjustment Disorder Unspecified

Answer 10

A residual category that applies to cases not classifiable in one of the other subtypes.

Question 11

endocrine system

Answer 11

The system of ductless glands that regulate body functions and promote growth and development.

Question 12

hormones

Answer 12

Substances secreted by endocrine glands that regulate body functions and promote growth and development.

Question 13

immune system

Answer 13

The body’s system of defense against disease.

Question 14

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Answer 14

The body’s three-stage response to states of prolonged or intense stress.

Stage 1: the alarm reaction

Stage 2: the resistance stage

Stage 3: the exhaustion stage

Question 15

fight-or-flight reaction

Answer 15

The inborn tendency to respond to a threat by either fighting or fleeing.

Question 16

alarm reaction

Answer 16

The first stage of GAS, characterized by heightened sympathetic nervous system activity.

Question 17

Stress-Related Changes in the Body Associated with the Alarm Reaction

Answer 17

• Corticosteroids are released.
• Epinephrine and norepinephrine are released.
• Heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure increase.
• Muscles tense.
• Blood shifts from the internal organs to the skeletal muscles.
• Digestion is inhibited.
• Sugar is released by the liver.
• Blood-clotting ability is increased.

Question 18

resistance stage

Answer 18

The second stage of the GAS, involving the body’s attempt to withstand prolonged stress and preserve resources.

Question 19

exhaustion stage

Answer 19

The third stage of the GAS, characterized by lowered resistance, increased parasympathetic nervous system activity, and eventual physical deterioration.

Question 20

acculturative stress

Answer 20

Pressure to adjust to a host or mainstream culture.

Question 21

emotion-focused coping

Answer 21

A coping style that involves reducing the impact of a stressor by ignoring it or escaping it rather than dealing with it directly.

Question 22

problem-focused coping

Answer 22

A coping style that involves confronting a stressor directly.

(In problem-focused coping, people examine the stressors they face and do what they can to change them or modify their own reactions to render stressors less harmful.)

Question 23

self-efficacy expectancies

Answer 23

Beliefs in one’s ability to cope with challenges and to accomplish particular tasks.

(Self-efficacy expectancies refer to our expecations regarding our abilities to cope with the challenges we face, to perform certain behaviours skillfully, and to produce positive changes in our lives.)

Question 24

psychological hardiness

Answer 24

A cluster of stress-buffering traits caharacterized by commitment, challenge, and control.

1. Commitment: Rather than feeling alienated from their tasks and situations, hardy individuals involve themselves fully. They believe in what they are doing.
2. Challenge: Hardy individuals believe that change is the normal state of things, not sterile sameness or stability for the sake of stability.
3. Control over their lives: Hardy individuals believe and act as though they were effectual rather than powerless in controllign the rewards and punishments of life.

Question 25

positive psychology

Answer 25

A growing contemporary movement within psychology that focuses on the positive attributes of human behaviour.

Question 26

psychosomatic

Answer 26

Pertaining to a physical disorder in which psychological factors play a causal or contributing role.

Question 27

biofeedback training (BFT)

Answer 27

A method of giving an individual information (feedback) abuot bodily functions so that the person can gain some degree of control over them.

Question 28

cardiovascular disease

Answer 28

A disease or disorder of the cardiovascular system, such as coronary heart disease or hypertension.

Question 29

Type A behaviour pattern (TABP)

Answer 29

A behaviour pattern characterized by a sense of time urgency, competitiveness, and hostility.

Question 30

True or False:

Surprisingly, stress makes you more resistant to the common cold.

Answer 30

FALSE: Stress increases the risk of developing a cold.

Question 31

True or False:

Writing about traumatic experiences may be good for your physical and emotional health.

Answer 31

TRUE: talking or writing about your feelingsg can help enhance both psychological and physical well-being.

Question 32

True or False:

Immigrant groups show better psycholgical djustment when the forake their cultural heritage and adopt the values of the host culture.

Answer 32

FALSE: Retention of cultural traditions may have a protective or “buffer” effect against the stresses associated with adjusting to a new culture.

Question 33

True or False:

Long-term practitioners of meditaion show less activity in parts of the brain inolved in regulating attention and decision making.

Answer 33

FALSE: Just the opposite is the case. Intriguing research findings point to the possibility that regular practice of meditation may actually help train the brain to increase attention span.

Question 34

True or False:

People can relieve the pain of migraine headaches by raising the temperature in a finger.

Answer 34

TRUE: Some people have relieved migraine headaches by raising the temperature in a finger. This biofeedback technique modifies patterns of bloodflow in the body.

Question 35

True or False:

Compelling evidence now exists that psychotherapy can increase survival rates in cancer patients.

Answer 35

FALSE: Evidence has not demonstrated—at least not yet—that psychological treatments increase survival rates of cancer patients. However, evidence does show that psychological treatment in the form of group therapy improves the emotional well-being of cancer patients.

Question 36

What are adjustment disorders?

Answer 36

Adjustment disorders are maladaptive reactions to identified stressors.

Question 37

What are the main features of an adjustment disorder?

Answer 37

Adjustment disorders are characterized by emotional reactions that are greater than normally expected given the circumstances or by evidence of significant impairment of functioning. Impairment usually takes the form of problems at work or school or in social relationships or activities.

Question 38

How is stress linked to physical illness?

Answer 38

Evidence links exposure to stress to weakened immune system functioning, which in turn can increase bulnerability to physical illness. However, because this evidence is correlational, questions of cause and efffect remain.

Question 39

What is the general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 39

This is the name given by Hans Selye to describe the body’s generalized pattern of response to persistent or enduring stress, as characterized by three stages: the alarm reaction, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion stage.

Question 40

How are life hcangess related to physical health problems?

Answer 40

Again, links are correlational, but evidence shows that people who experience more life stress in teh form of life changes and daily hassles are at an increased risk for developing physical health problems.

Question 41

What roles do psychological factors play in headaches and their treatment?

Answer 41

The most common headache is the tension headache, which is often stress-related. Behavioural methods of relaxation training and biofeedback help in treating various types of headaches.

Question 42

What behavioural or lifestyle factors increase the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)?

Answer 42

Psychological factors that increase the risk of coronary heart disease include unhealthy patterns of consumption, leading a sedentary lifestyle, and persistent negative emotions.

Question 43

What role do psychological factors play in asthma?

Answer 43

Psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression may trigger asthma attacks in susceptible individuals.