HEALTH 1

Question 1

Biopsychosocial Model

Answer 1

A model of health that predicts that the causes and effects of physical well-being are a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors.

Under this model health problems can be protected against or amplify by cognition and social support

Question 2

Burnout

Answer 2

Long-term exhaustion and loss of motivation caused by chronic stress.

Question 3

PTSD

Answer 3

A clinically diagnosable disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, anxiety, and insomnia that lingers for weeks after a traumatic event

Question 4

Stress

Answer 4

A physiological response to an event that is appraised as taxing or exceeding one’s ability to adapt that often fails to be dealt with in a social context or with the help of others.

Question 5

Stress Appraisal Theory

Answer 5

What counts as a stressor is up to our own interpretation of an event (anything ca be stressful)

Question 6

Primary appraisal

Answer 6

the first evaluation of the demands of the specific situation: what will it take for me to be able to sufficiently deal with this situation

Question 7

Secondary appraisal

Answer 7

the secondary evaluation of our ability to deal with the demands of the situation: do i have the necessary skills/ resources to do this?

Question 8

When does a physiological stress response happen?

Answer 8

Primary appraisal > secondary appraisal

Question 9

What are the three types of event seen as high stressors?

Answer 9

Psychological Uncertainty, Frustration/ Pressure,

Goal Conflict

Question 10

Psychological uncertainty

Answer 10

the feeling of not knowing what the correct behavior is or what will happen next

Question 11

Frustration/ Pressure

Answer 11

feeling that a goal is important but not being able to accomplish it (e.g. being stuck in traffic)

Question 12

Goal conflict

Answer 12

being stuck between two goals

Question 13

Types of goal conflict

Answer 13

Approach-Approach conflict,
Avoidance-Avoidance conflict
Approach-Avoidance conflict

Question 14

Approach-Approach conflict and example

Answer 14

wanting two apposing desirable things.

Ex. Student gets into two ideal universities and has to decide which one to go to.

Question 15

Avoidance-avoidance conflict and example

Answer 15

choosing between two bad things

Ex. doing assignment or doing housework

Question 16

Approach-avoidance conflict and example

Answer 16

wanting a single goal that has both good and bad consequence

ex. choosing a job that both financial gain and prestige but also high stress

Question 17

Stress response

Answer 17

A cascade of physiological responses to stress that occurs through two pathways - SAM axis and HPA axis

Question 18

SAM axis

Answer 18

Sympathetic-adreno-medullary (SAM) axis

Question 19

HPA axis

Answer 19

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

Question 20

Sympathetic-adreno-medullary (SAM) axis

Answer 20

A very fast sequence of physiological responses, beginning in the hypothalamus, that will activate the sympathetic system and through the adrenal gland, stimulate the medulla and release catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine)

Question 21

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

Answer 21

A slower sequence of physiological responses, beginning in the hypothalamus, that - through ACTH - will stimulate the adrenal gland and lead to the release of glucocorticoids (mostly cortisol in humans)

Question 22

Epinephrine/ Adrenaline

Answer 22

The hormone secreted by the adrenal gland involved in activating and maintaining the sympathetic system. Primarily involved in regulating liver and kidneys

Question 23

Norepinephrine

Answer 23

The hormone secreted by the adrenal gland involved in activating the sympathetic system. Has strong psychoactive effects in the brain (e.g. stimulant drugs are full of norepinephrine)

Question 24

Actions of catecholamines

Answer 24

Suppress digestion, increase focus, increase respiration and heart rate

Question 25

Cortisol

Answer 25

Stress-specific hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stressor through the HPA axis

Question 26

Cortisol’s primary function

Answer 26

Regulate energy use by the body by increasing the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood, which improve brain function and speeds up the healing of the tissues.

Question 27

Cortisol’s other functions

Answer 27

Suppress immune system, digestion, and reproduction systems (i.e. things that you don’t need this very moment)

Question 28

Cortisol unlike catecholamines

Answer 28

Effects of cortisol are slower, build up over time, and stay in the bloodstream longer

Question 29

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Answer 29

Three-stage response to stress that characterizes how your body deals with short and long term stressors

Question 30

Three stages of General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Answer 30

Alarm phase, Resistance phase, exhaustion phase

Question 31

Alarm phase

Answer 31

SAM axis is quickly mobilized and catecholamines activates sympathetic system and get the body ready to act. Ideally, this is sufficient to cope with stressor’s effect is done.

Question 32

Resistance phase

Answer 32

In response to prolonged threat, the organism tries to cope, while long-term effects of cortisol through the HPA axis continue to modify regular biological functions.

Question 33

Exhaustion phase

Answer 33

the body can no longer deal with the stress and become highly susceptible to infection, aging, organ damage, even death

Question 34

How is short-term stress measured?

Answer 34

heart-rate, muscle tension or skin conductance (sweat) monitors. Mostly measures sympathetic system.

Question 35

How is long-term stress measured?

Answer 35

Measured by estimating the amount of cortisol in the body: blood, saliva, or even your hair. Measures HPA axis

Question 36

Amplification (human beings)

Answer 36

Human beings tend to be some of the most acute sources of stress, since we tend to be less predictable, more frustrating, and get in each other’s way.

In fact, some of the most stressful occupations in the world are specifically those where we have to deal with people

Question 37

Slow down (human cooperation)

Answer 37

Human cooperation allows us to mobilize resources that no single individual can have, helping us trigger secondary appraisal and stopping the stress reaction very quickly.

Question 38

Positive effects of the mobilization of cortisol and catecholamines in the short term

Answer 38

1. Increased attention and focus at the stressful event
2. Conservation of energy and ability to more quickly process information
3. Increase encoding of memories for the current event.
4. Emotional experience of fear/anger/surprise, including expression of that to others.

Question 39

Some amount of stressful arousal allow us to (temporarily) do ____ on a task

Answer 39

better

Question 40

Good stress

Answer 40

Stress response in the short term is critical for survival as it allow our bodies to act rapidly and with more energy.

In moderate amounts it is something we really enjoy.

Question 41

Bad stress

Answer 41

When chronic/ prolonged or triggered by many different stimuli, it can lead beyond the alarm phase and into full-blown exhaustion

Question 42

Human beings have created complex social structures

Answer 42

Stress is caused by prolonged and difficult to control circumstances (mortgages, final exams, money)

As a result, we have the same response to traffic jams as other animals do when they are running for their life