stress and coping

Question 1

stress response

Answer 1

tension, discomfort, symptoms that arise following the experience of a stressor

Question 2

stressor

Answer 2

situation/stimulus that strains our coping abilities

Question 3

yerkes dodson law of arousal

Answer 3

• different levels of stress can be differentially good or bad
• y-axis (side) is performance
• x-axis is arousal

Question 4

appraisal

Answer 4

• interpretation or evaluation of a situation (Lazarus and Folkman)
• primary appraisal
  1. relevance/salience and valence
  is this important to me? is this good or bad?
• secondary appraisal
  1. coping
  do i have the capacity to deal with this?

Question 5

coping

Answer 5

behaviours and thoughts an individual engages in to deal with a stressful situation
for example:
- reappraisal
- acceptance
- distraction
- rumination
problem focused vs emotion focused coping
- problem focused: focus on the stressor
- emotion focus: targeting to deal with the emotions that are a result of the stressor

Question 6

how does stress affect health (physiologically)

Answer 6

• increase blood pressure
• increase heart rate
• changes blood composition
• release of stress hormones
• suppression of immune system

Question 7

how does stress affect health (behaviourally)

Answer 7

• less sleep/rest
• less exercise
• less healthy food eaten
• increased physical tension
• less social support