modules 34-35 - stress, illness, happiness, and health

Question 1

What are the phases of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (GAS)?

Answer 1

Phase 1: alarm reaction
Phase 2: resistance
Phase 3: exhaustion

Question 2

When alerted to a negative, uncontrollable event, the __________ becomes aroused. Heart rate and respiration __________ and blood is diverted from digestion to the skeletal __________. The body releases sugar and fat. All this prepares the body for the __________ response.

Answer 2

sympathetic nervous system; increase; muscles; fight-or-flight.

Question 3

Which field studies mind-body interactions, including the effects of psychological, neural, and endocrine functioning on the immune system and overall health?

Answer 3

Psychoneuroimmunology

Question 4

What general effect does stress have on health?

Answer 4

It reduces the immune system’s ability to function properly, leading to greater risk of physical illness and slower healing.

Question 5

Which component of the Type A personality has been linked most closely to coronary heart disease?

Answer 5

Anger and pessimism. Type A people’s more active sympathetic nervous system may divert blood flow from the liver to the muscles, leaving excess cholesterol and fat circulating in the bloodstream for eventual deposit around the heart. Chronic stress also contributes to persistent inflammation, which is associated with heart and other health problems, including depression.

Question 6

What are the three main types of stressors?

Answer 6

Catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles. Daily hassles includes social stress and potential inequality, prejudice, chronic workplace stress, and the conflicts related to different approach and avoidance motives.

Question 7

How does the appraisal of an event affect the stress reaction?

Answer 7

Stress is the process by which one perceives and responds to stressors appraised as challenging or threatening. Challenging events increases focus in preparation for success; threatening events induce a stress reaction which may cause health to diminish.

Question 8

How do we respond and adapt to stress?

Answer 8

Walter Cannon viewed the stress response as a fight-or-flight system. Hans Selye proposed the GAS. People may react to stress by withdrawing. Others, especially women, may have a tend-and-befriend response.

Question 9

How does stress make us more vulnerable to disease?

Answer 9

It diverts energy from the immune system, inhibiting the activities of its B and T lymphocytes, macrophages, and NK cells. Stress does not cause illness, but by altering our immune functioning, it may make us more vulnerable to diseases and influence their progression.

Question 10

What are the causes and consequences of anger?

Answer 10

Culture can influence the expression of anger. Emotional catharsis may be temporarily calming, but it does not reduce anger; expressing this emotion only amplifies it. Experts suggest reducing the level of physiological arousal of anger by waiting, finding a healthy distraction or support, and trying to move away from the situation mentally. Controlled assertions of feelings may resolve conflicts, and expressing grievances in ways that promote reconciliation can benefit relationships.

Question 11

To cope with stress when we feel in control of our world, we tend to use __________-focused strategies. To cope with stress when we believe we cannot change a situation, we tend to use __________-focused strategies.

Answer 11

problem;emotion

Question 12

How does mindfulness occur in the brain?

Answer 12

It strengthens connections among brain regions, activates brain regions associated with more reflective awareness, and calms brain activation in emotional situations.

Question 13

What are possible explanations from the religiosity-longevity correlation?

Answer 13

Healthy behaviours: religion promotes self-control and healthy lifestyles.
Social support: faith communities are support networks; religiously active people are there for one another when misfortune strikes.
Positive emotions: religiously engaged people may benefit from a stable, coherent worldview; a sense of hope for the long-term future; feelings of ultimate acceptance; and the relaxed meditation of prayer.

Question 14

What are some of the tactics we can use to successfully manage the stress we cannot avoid?

Answer 14

Aerobic exercise, relaxation, meditation, and active spiritual engagement.

Question 15

How does a perceived lack of control affect health?

Answer 15

It provokes a rise in stress hormones and blood pressure and a lowered immune response, which puts people’s health at risk. Being unable to avoid repeated aversive events can lead to learned helplessness. Poverty entails less control, which helps explain the link between economic status and longevity. People who perceive an internal locus of control achieve more, enjoy better health, and are happier than those who perceive an external locus of control. Belief in free will is linked to more helpful behaviour, better learning, and superior persistence, performance, and satisfaction at work.

Question 16

Why is self-control important, and can our self-control be depleted?

Answer 16

Self-control requires attention and energy, but predicts good health, higher income, and better school performance; it does better than an intelligence test score in predicting future academic and life success. Self-control tends to weaken after use, recover after rest, and grow stronger when exercised. Researchers disagree about whether self-control can be depleted, but strengthening self-control can lead to a healthier, happier, and more successful life.

Question 17

How effective is aerobic exercise as a way to manage stress and improve well-being?

Answer 17

Aerobic exercise helps fight heart disease, predicts longevity, and, in their later life, is associated with better cognitive functioning. It boosts mood by promoting muscle relaxation and sounder sleep, triggering the production of neurotransmitters, fostering neurogenesis, and enhancing self-image. It increases arousal and can reduce or prevent depression and anxiety.

Question 18

What is the focus of positive psychology research?

Answer 18

Happy people tend to be healthy, energized, and satisfied with life, making them more willing to help others (the feel-good, do-good phenomenon). Positive psychology, which includes studies of subjective well-being, uses scientific methods to study human flourishing, aiming to discover and promote strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Question 19

How do time, wealth, adaptation, and comparison affect our happiness levels?

Answer 19

With time, our positive and negative emotions tend to balance out, even over the course of the day. Even significantly bad events are usually not permanently depressing. Having enough money to assure comfort, security, and a sense of control predicts happiness; having more than enough does not increase it. Economic growth in many countries has produced rising inequality, which predicts unhappiness; in countries and states with greater inequality, lower income people experience more ill health, social problems, and mental disorders. happiness is relative to our own experiences (the adaption-level phenomenon) and to others’ success (the relative deprivation principle).

Question 20

What is the subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioural medicine?

Answer 20

Health psychology