Emotions, Stress, and Health Flashcards
aerobic exercise
sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety.
subjective well-being
self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life.
psychoneuroimmunology
the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health.
adaptation-level phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.
facial feedback effect
the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.
problem-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress directly- by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.
psychophysiological illness
literally, “mind-body” illness; any stressrelated physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches.
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
as yet unproven health care treatments intended to supplement (complement) or serve as alternatives to conventional medicine, and which typically are not widely taught in medical schools, used in hospitals, or reimbursed by insurance companies. When research shows a therapy to be safe and effective, it usually then becomes part of accepted medical practice.
stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.
catharsis
emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman’s term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.
polygraph
a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes) accompanying emotion.
general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases-alarm, resistance, exhaustion.
two-factor theory
the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.
health psychology
a subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine.
feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.
coping
alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.
coronary heart disease
the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries.
lymphocytes
the two types of white blood cells that are part of the body’s immune system: B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections; T lymphocytes form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.
James-Lange theory
the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.
emotion-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one’s stress reaction.
emotion
a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience. emotion-focused coping
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people.
tend and befriend
under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend).
Cannon-Bard theory
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion.
relative deprivation
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.
