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Psychology > Stress > Flashcards

Stress Flashcards

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1
Q

Stressors

A

Specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person’s well being

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2
Q

Stress

A

Physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors

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3
Q

Sources of stress

A
  • Can include both positive AND negative life events

- Events are most stressful when there is nothing that can be done - i.e., reduced perceived control

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4
Q

Chronic stressors

A

Sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly

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5
Q

Fight or flight response

A

An emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action

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6
Q

What does the fight or flight response activate?

A

Cascading response of the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical) axis

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7
Q

HPA axis response

A
  • Threat triggers brain activation in hypothalamus
  • Stimulates adrenal glands to release hormones like catecholamines (EP and NEP) and cortisol (increases level of glucose in blood to acquire more energy)
  • Activation of sympathetic nervous system and deactivation of parasympathetic nervous system
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8
Q

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A

Non-specific stress response. Has three stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion

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9
Q

Alarm (GAS)

A

Body mobilizes resources to respond to the threat; fight–or-flight response; pulls resource from stored fat/muscle

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10
Q

Resistance

A

Body adapts to high arousal state and tries to cope with the stressor. Continues to draw on body’s resources; stops other processes.

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11
Q

Exhaustion

A
  • Damage occurs; body becomes susceptible to infection, organ damage, premature aging, death, etc.
  • Reserves depleted
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12
Q

Cell division’s role in aging

A

When a cell divides the telomeres (caps at end of each chromosome to prevent them from sticking) become shorter. If they’re too short, cells can’t divide -> tumours and diseases.

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13
Q

Chronic stress effects on cell division

A

Chronic stress leads to shorter telomere length and lower telomerase (telomere repairing enzyme) activity. Cortison can reduce activity of telomerase.

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14
Q

What can prevent the shortening of telomere length?

A

Exercise/meditation prevent chronic stress from shortening telomere length

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15
Q

Psychoneuroimmunology

A

Study of how the immune system responds to psychological variables (i.e. stressors). Stressors cause hormones (glucocorticoids aka cortisol) to flood the brain, exhausting the immune system and suppressing it.

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16
Q

Immune system

A

Complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances

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17
Q

White blood cells

A

Produce antibodies that fight infection

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18
Q

Experiment with cold virus

A

Healthy volunteers exposed to common cold

  • Some got the cold, others did not
  • Stress made the difference; chronic stress exposure = cold, brief stressful events = no cold
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19
Q

What’s the relationship between low social status, stress and health?

A

More difficulty to provide for yourself/family, exposed to more environmental toxins, can’t afford to/don’t have access to doctors, etc.

20
Q

Stress and cardiovascular health

A
  • Activation of sympathetic NS causes increased BP; prolonged increased BP damages blood vessels
  • Damaged blood vessels accumulate plaque
  • Plaques detach and block narrow blood vessels, block blood supply = heart attack
21
Q

Type A behaviour pattern

A

Tendency towards easily aroused hostility, impatience, time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings; opposite is type B

22
Q

What’s the correlation between Type A behaviour and cardiovascular health?

A

Students who respond to stress with anger/hostility are 3x more likely to develop premature heart disease; 6x more likely to have an early heart attack

23
Q

Primary appraisal

A

Interpretation of a stimulus as stressful

24
Q

Secondary appraisal

A

Determining whether the stressor is something you can handle or not; aka your level of control; determine if stressor is threat or challenge

25
Q

Burnout

A

Physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lower performance and motivation

26
Q

Which professions are at a greater risk for burnout?

A

Helping professions

27
Q

Symptoms of burnout

A
  • Overwhelming exhaustion
  • Deep cynicism
  • Detachment from the job
  • Sense of ineffectiveness
  • Lack of accomplishment
28
Q

What’s the cause of burnout?

A

Defining yourself only by your career; gauging your self-worth only by success at work - nothing left when work fails

29
Q

Repressive coping

A

Avoiding feelings, thoughts, or situations that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint

30
Q

What are the issues with repressive coping?

A
  • Some things are hard to avoid your entire life
  • ## Very difficult to avoid feelings and thoughts
31
Q

Rational coping

A

Facing the stressor and working to overcome it; approaching rather than avoiding

32
Q

Three-step process of rational coping

A

Acceptance: Realize that stressor exists and won’t go away
Exposure: Attending to the stressor; thinking about it, seeking it out
Understanding: Find the meaning of the stressor in life

33
Q

Reframing

A

Finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat

34
Q

Stress inoculation training (SIT)

A

Technique that helps people cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation

35
Q

Stress management from mind perspective

A

Rational coping, repressive coping and reframing/SIT

36
Q

Meditation

A

Intentional contemplation - e.g. clear the mind of thought, focus on a single thought, concentrate on breathing or mantra (om)
- Teach abilities of thought/emotional regulation

37
Q

Relaxation therapy

A

Reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body

38
Q

Relaxation response

A

Reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure

39
Q

Stress management from body perspective

A

Meditation, relaxation therapy, biofeedback and aerobic exercise

40
Q

Biofeedback

A

Use of external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and gain control over that function

41
Q

Aerobic exercise

A

Exercise that increases heart rate/oxygen intake for a sustained period of time
- Serotonin and endorphins can have a positive effect on mood

42
Q

Situation management of stress

A

Social support, religious experience, humour

43
Q

Social support

A

Aid gained through interacting with others; most effective for women (tend and befriend)

44
Q

Religious experience

A

Religiosity (affiliation/engagement with a religion) vs. spirituality (affiliation/engagement with a higher power, not necessarily religion)

45
Q

Humour

A

Can reduce sensitivity to pain/distress; can reduce time it takes to calm down after stress

46
Q

Stress and procrastination

A
  • 70% of undergraduates procrastinate
  • Higher levels of procrastination are associated with poorer academic performance and higher psychological distress
  • Habitual procrastinators show higher levels of self-reported hypertension and cardiovascular disease

Psychology (28 decks)

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