Physical Disorders and Health Psychology

Question 1

Interdisciplinary approach applying behavioral science to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical problems.

Answer 1

behavioral medicine

Question 2

Subfield of behavioral medicine that studies psychological factors important in health promotion and maintenance.

Answer 2

health psychology

Question 3

Sequence of reactions to sustained stress described by Hans Selye. These stages are alarm, resistance, and exhaustion, which may lead to death.

Answer 3

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Question 4

Body’s physiological response to a stressor, which is any event or change that requires adaptation.

Answer 4

stress

Question 5

Perception of having the ability to cope with stress or challenges.

Answer 5

self-efficacy

Question 6

Body’s means of identifying and eliminating any foreign materials (for example, bacteria, parasites, and even transplanted organs) that enter.

Answer 6

immune system

Question 7

Foreign materials that enter the body, including bacteria and parasites.

Answer 7

antigens

Question 8

Condition in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue rather than antigens.

Answer 8

autoimmune disease

Question 9

Painful, degenerative disease in which the immune system essentially attacks itself, resulting in stiffness, swelling, and even destruction of the joints. Cognitive-behavioral treatments can help relieve pain and stiffness.

Answer 9

rheumatoid arthritis

Question 10

Study of psychological influences on the neurological responding involved in the body’s immune response.

Answer 10

psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

Question 11

Group of minor health problems such as weight loss, fever, and night sweats that appears after HIV infection but before development of full-blown AIDS.

Answer 11

AIDS-related complex (ARC)

Question 12

Category of often-fatal medical conditions involving abnormal cell growth and malignancy.

Answer 12

cancer

Question 13

Study of psychological factors involved in the course and treatment of cancer.

Answer 13

psychoncology

Question 14

Afflictions in the mechanisms, including the heart, blood vessels, and their controllers, responsible for transporting blood to the body’s tissues and organs. Psychological factors may play important roles in such diseases and their treatments.

Answer 14

cardiovascular disease

Question 15

Temporary blockage of blood vessels supplying the brain, or a rupture of vessels in the brain, resulting in temporary or permanent loss of brain functioning.

Answer 15

stroke/cerebral vascular accident (CVA)

Question 16

Major risk factor for stroke and heart and kidney disease that is intimately related to psychological factors. Also known as high blood pressure.

Answer 16

hypertension

Question 17

High blood pressure with no verifiable physical cause, which makes up the overwhelming majority of high blood pressure cases.

Answer 17

essential hypertension

Question 18

Blockage of the arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle; a major cause of death in Western culture, with social and psychological factors involved.

Answer 18

coronary heart disease (CHD)

Question 19

Cluster of behaviors including excessive competitiveness, time-pressured impatience, accelerated speech, and anger, originally thought to promote high risk for heart disease.

Answer 19

type A behavior pattern

Question 20

Cluster of behaviors including a relaxed attitude, indifference to time pressure, and less forceful ambition; originally thought to promote low risk for heart disease.

Answer 20

type B behavior pattern

Question 21

Pain that typically follows an injury and disappears once the injury heals or is effectively treated.

Answer 21

acute pain

Question 22

Enduring pain that does not decrease over time; may occur in muscles, joints, and the lower back, and may be caused by enlarged blood vessels or degenerating or cancerous tissue. Other significant factors are social and psychological.

Answer 22

chronic pain

Question 23

Substances occurring naturally throughout the body that function like neurotransmitters to shut down pain sensation even in the presence of marked tissue damage. These may contribute to psychological problems such as eating disorders. Also known as endorphins or enkephalins.

Answer 23

endogenous (natural) opioids

Question 24

Incapacitating exhaustion following only minimal exertion, accompanied by fever, headaches, muscle and joint pain, depression, and anxiety.

Answer 24

chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)

Question 25

Use of physiological monitoring equipment to make individuals aware of their own bodily functions, such as blood pressure or brain waves, that they cannot normally access, with the purpose of controlling these functions.

Answer 25

biofeedback

Question 26

Active components of meditation methods, including repetitive thoughts of a sound to reduce distracting thoughts and closing the mind to other intruding thoughts, that decrease the flow of stress hormones and neurotransmitters and cause a feeling of calm.

Answer 26

relaxation response