Chapter 7: Psychological Factors Affecting Medical Conditions

Question 1

What is the dualistic view of mind and body?

Answer 1

• mind and body are separate entities governed by different laws
• not used nowadays, hence why psychophysiological has been replaced with psychosomatic

Question 2

What is behavioural medicine?

Answer 2

• application of methods of behaviour modification to the treatment or prevention of disease
• i.e. psychological techniques to reduce pain in patients undergoing medical procedures

Question 3

What is health psychology?

Answer 3

• any application of psychological methods and theories to understand the origins of disease, individual responses to disease, and the determinants of good health

Question 4

Compare illness and disease.

Answer 4

• illness marked by symptoms (subjective reports)
• disease marked by signs (objective indications)
  ○ lesions are disturbance of bodily tissue

Question 5

What is the “psychological factors affecting other medical conditions” category?

Answer 5

• people who suffer or experience medical conditions apart from mental disorders, but whose medical conditions are evidently affected in one of several ways by psychological factors

Question 6

What is the endocrine system?

Answer 6

• organs that manufacture biologically active substances called hormones and, when the occasion is right, secrete these substances in the bloodstream

Question 7

What is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis?

Answer 7

• hypothalamus is activated
• pituitary gland secretes substance called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the circulation
• ACTH targets adrenal cortex, located above kidneys, which secrete cortisol (stress hormone)
• cortisol elevates blood sugar and increases metabolism, allowing for sustained activity
• also suppresses inflammation, mobilizes glucose in liver, etc.
• DEFENCE MECHANISM

Question 8

What are the consequences of prolonged gluticocortoid response?

Answer 8

• suppress immune system function
• enhance development of atherosclerosis
• contribute to neuronal damage in the brain
• increased fat storage

Question 9

What is the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 9

• responsive to psychosocial influences
• operates out of conscious control
• includes sympathetic and parasympathetic branches

Question 10

What is the difference between the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system in their effects?

Answer 10

• endocrine effects rely on bloodstream to convey hormones to target organs
• ANS based on nervous conduction

Question 11

What is the sympathetic branch of the ANS?

Answer 11

• nerve fibres emanating from thoracic and lumbar regions of spinal cord
• when aroused tend to mobilize body for immediate action, e.g., increased blood pressure, heart rate, and perspiration and decreased digestive activity

Question 12

What is the parasympathetic branch of the ANS?

Answer 12

• nerve fibres emanating from cranial and sacral regions of spinal cord
• “braking” system, returns body to homeostasis

Question 13

What are the three general categories of immune responses?

Answer 13

• non-specific immune responses
• cellular immunity
• humoral immunity

Question 14

What is nonspecific immune response?

Answer 14

• circulating white cells (granulocytes and monocytes) indentify invading antigens and destroy them

Question 15

What is cellular immunity?

Answer 15

• based on action of blood cells (T-lymphocytes) produced in Thymus gland
• variety of cells that attack foreign or mutated cells directly (killer/K), inhibit actions of helper cells and natural killer cells (suppressor), and permanently alter structure and stored in case of another attack (memory
  ○ controlled by lymphokines

Question 16

What is humoral immunity?

Answer 16

• invading antigens are presented by macrophages to B-lymphocytes, causing them to reproduce
• either store cells for later use or secrete immunoglobins that neutralize antigens

Question 17

What is psychoneuroimmunology?

Answer 17

• study of mind-brain-immunesystem interactions
• research in field has found immune system can be affected by learning experiences, emotional states, and personal characteristics

Question 18

What are the three ways the term “stress” can be used?

Answer 18

• refer to a stimulus, or property of the external world
• refer to a response
• refer to a transaction that mediates stimulus and response

Question 19

What is the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)?

Answer 19

• proposed by Hans Selye
• first formal description of stress
• stereotyped pattern of bodily changes that occur in response to diverse challenges to the organism
• involve three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

Question 20

What did Selye define stress as?

Answer 20

• consequence of adaptation to demands placed on body

Question 21

What is the first phase of general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 21

• alarm

- body mobilizes defences

Question 22

What is the second phase of general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 22

• resistance
• body actively copes with challenge through immune and neuroendocrine changes which enhance body’s ability to ward off threats

Question 23

What is the third phase of general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 23

• exhaustion

- energy is depleted and resistance can no longer be maintained

Question 24

What is the transactional model of stress?

Answer 24

• proposed by Richard Lazarus
• conceives of stress as a property of neither stimulus nor response but rather as an ongoing series of transactions between an individual and their environment
• central idea, people constantly evaluate what is going on around them

Question 25

What are the two appraisals in the transactional model of stress?

Answer 25

PRIMARY APPRAISALS

• may occur unconsciously
• takes place when person faces an event that may have adaptational significance
• “Is this a threat?”
• sets stage for further events that may lead to stress

SECONDARY APPRAISALS

• occurs if individual concludes there is a threat
• assessment of resources
• “Is there anything I can do about this?”

Question 26

What are some psychosocial factors that influence disease?

Answer 26

• social status
• controllability (do they feel in control of their lives?)
• absence of social support

Question 27

What are risk factors for coronary heart disease?

Answer 27

• chronically stressful environments

- little control