Chapter 7

Question 1

behavioral medicine

Answer 1

Interdisciplinary approach applying behavioral science to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical problems. Also known as psychosomatic medicine.

Question 2

health psychology

Answer 2

Subfield of behavioral medicine that studies psychological factors important in health promotion and maintenance.

Question 3

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Answer 3

Sequence of reactions to sustained stress described by Hans Selye. These stages are alarm, resistance, and exhaustion, which may lead to death.

Question 4

self-efficacy

Answer 4

Perception of having the ability to cope with stress or challenges.

Question 5

immune system

Answer 5

Body’s means of identifying and eliminating any foreign materials (for example, bacteria, parasites, and even transplanted organs) that enter.

Question 6

antigens

Answer 6

Foreign material that enters the body, including bacteria and parasites.

Question 7

rheumatoid arthritis

Answer 7

Painful, degenerative disease in which the immune system essentially attacks itself, resulting in stiffness, swelling, and even destruction of the joints. Cognitive–behavioral treatments can help relieve pain and stiffness.

Question 8

psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

Answer 8

Study of psychological influences on the neurological responding involved in the body’s immune response.

Question 9

AIDS-related complex (ARC)

Answer 9

Group of minor health problems such as weight loss, fever, and night sweats that appears after HIV infection but before development of full-blown AIDS.

Question 10

cancer

Answer 10

Category of often-fatal medical conditions involving abnormal cell growth and malignancy.

Question 11

psychoncology

Answer 11

Study of psychological factors involved in the course and treatment of cancer.

Question 12

cardiovascular disease

Answer 12

Afflictions in the mechanisms, including the heart, blood vessels, and their controllers, responsible for transporting blood to the body’s tissues and organs. Psychological factors may play important roles in such diseases and their treatments.

Question 13

stroke/cerebral vascular accident (CVA)

Answer 13

Temporary blockage of blood vessels supplying the brain, or a rupture of vessels in the brain, resulting in temporary or permanent loss of brain functioning.

Question 14

hypertension

Answer 14

Major risk factor for stroke and heart and kidney disease that is intimately related to psychological factors. Also known as high blood pressure.

Question 15

essential hypertension

Answer 15

High blood pressure with no verifiable physical cause, which makes up the overwhelming majority of high blood pressure cases.

Question 16

coronary heart disease (CHD)

Answer 16

Blockage of the arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle; a major cause of death in Western culture, with social and psychological factors involved.

Question 17

type A behavior pattern

Answer 17

Cluster of behaviors including excessive competitiveness, time-pressured impatience, accelerated speech, and anger, originally thought to promote high risk for heart disease.

Question 18

type B behavior pattern

Answer 18

Cluster of behaviors including a relaxed attitude, indifference to time pressure, and less forceful ambition; originally thought to promote low risk for heart disease.

Question 19

acute pain

Answer 19

Pain that typically follows an injury and disappears once the injury heals or is effectively treated.

Question 20

chronic pain

Answer 20

Enduring pain that does not decrease over time; may occur in muscles, joints, and the lower back; and may be caused by enlarged blood vessels or degenerating or cancerous tissue. Other significant factors are social and psychological.

Question 21

endogenous (natural) opioids

Answer 21

Substance occurring naturally throughout the body that functions like a neurotransmitter to shut down pain sensation even in the presence of marked tissue damage. These opioids may contribute to psychological problems such as eating disorders. Also known as an endorphin or enkephalin.

Question 22

chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)

Answer 22

Incapacitating exhaustion following only minimal exertion, accompanied by fever, headaches, muscle and joint pain, depression, and anxiety.

Question 23

biofeedback

Answer 23

Use of physiological monitoring equipment to make individuals aware of their own bodily functions, such as blood pressure or brain waves, that they cannot normally access, with the purpose of controlling these functions.

Question 24

relaxation response

Answer 24

Active components of meditation methods, including repetitive thoughts of a sound to reduce distracting thoughts and closing the mind to other intruding thoughts, that decrease the flow of stress hormones and neurotransmitters and cause a feeling of calm.