Exam 4 Flashcards
Pittsburgh Common Cold Project
Ppl who have more positive emotional style less likely to show symptoms of cold- something immunological happening to prevent infection or reduce symptoms
nasal cytokines
locally produced, cause the symptoms experience when sick w upper respiratory infection
how can we use pos psych to limit the production of nasal cytokines following infection of the common cold?
regulating our emotions; cognitive reappraisal (changing the meaning/appraisal of a stimulus to alter the emotional impact)
Physiological evidence of impact of pos psych interventions on body
Strong, large effect size evidence from the nun study
Nun study
Danner et al; examined autobios sisters asked to write in 1920s, analyzed for how many emotional words they used and predicted life length; longevity predicted by emotional content in journal entries; coded for strength of emotional wrods, density, grammatical complexity; predictive power even when controlling for other factors; no info on race but can assume white; “praise” themselves for homogeneity of the sample- not very generalizable, but does help control some factors, not great external validity but v good internal
how can explain effects of nun study?
optimism one of mechanisms thought possibly at work; also thought temperament and personality factors important
biology of social support
- close, supportive ties -> predicts longevity, even when controlling for all other variables
- lack of support -> inc risk of mortality (similar effect size as obesity or smoking)
physiological effects of social support
lower blood pressure, lower resting heart rate, lower norepinephrine levels, lower markers of inflammation, faster wound healing, stronger response to vaccines, less likely to get a cold, even “passive support” is good for your health
happiness and longevity
happiness seems to both prevent ppl from falling ill and reduce stress (which is associated with inflammation, which is associated with chronic and acute illnesses); also associated with better health habits, which likely is a factor in the longevity of happy people
heart rate variations with pos psych exercises
record heart rate at several time points; before intervention and after, count pulse for 15 secs; results show that after gratitude and laughter exercises heart rate went down (but we didn’t see that in class); lower heart rate good for health, good to be able to lower heart rate when stressed, positive emotions can “undo” stress response
what is happening with your brain when you experience elevation?
SNS and PNS both involved, physiological evidence for nurturance AND protection motivations simultaneously; affiliative/nurturing AND protective motives
“Salutary Effects” of mindfulness
- mental health- better grasp of reality and the here and now leads to better psychological well-being
- physical health- paying attention to the physical body inc the info available, may inc tolerance to pain if we stop avoiding the experience of it
- behavioral regulation- more flexible responses to the environment and reduces habitual responses
- interpersonal responses- more likely to respond to others constructively, paying attention to others inc quality of relationship you establish
lovescaping
just hearing the words of what love is and what it is not elicits strong physiological response in our bodies; love serves evolutionary purpose; 15 pillars
positive institutions, law, and policy
happy workers = productive; inc satisfaction by giving them a voice, giving way to talk about what is happening to them, foster self-efficacy, teach about significant strengths, share realistic vision of job demands
value of work
why do we work/what’s the value of work; instrumental value of work vs intrinsic value of work; in theory there is a choice btwn realization and service to others; BUT there are market forces we can’t control like institutional barriers (job requirements, ex: how much education have), indiv barriers (abilitiy, ex: time), other barriers (economic needs)
