Stress and Coping

Question 1

What are the three general processes involved in stress?

Answer 1

1. the stimulus/stressor
2. the response (strain)
3. the process (interaction between the two)

Question 2

GIve a definition of stress.

Answer 2

a physical or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may lead to disease causation

a negative emotional experience accompanied by biochemical, physiological, cognitive, and behavioral changes that are directed toward altering the stressful event

Question 3

What are the two general kinds of stress?

Answer 3

physical stress (cold, heat, infection, extended exercise)

psychological stress - an event that is PERCEIVED as negative (not directly physically threatening)

Question 4

True or false; psychological stress is a top down process.

Answer 4

true

but once the stressor is seen as negative, it will cause the same physiological changes as a bottom-up physical stressor

Question 5

What are the two main axes involve din the physiological resposne to stress?

Answer 5

1 the sympathetic-adrenal-medulla axis (SAM)

2. the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA)

Question 6

In general, what wil the adrenal medulla release under stress in the SAM axis?

Answer 6

epiephrine and norepinephrine to increase BP and HR

Question 7

Under stress, what will the hypothalamus realsase in the HPS axis?

Answer 7

corticotropin releasing hormone

Question 8

What does that CRH do?

Answer 8

hits the anterior pituitary and causes release of adrenocorticotropic hormone

Question 9

What does the ACTH do?

Answer 9

It goes tot he adrenal cortex and causes release of cortisol

Question 10

How does cortisol work in stress?

Answer 10

It maintains the normal organic and metabolic functions of the sympathetic system. In generally it makes the system more effieicient under states of emergency

but it’s a bad idea for this to be working all the time!!

Question 11

THe adrenal gland is involved in both axes. How?

Answer 11

the adrenal medulla secretes catecholamiens in the SAM

the adrenal cortex releases steroids in the HPA axis

Question 12

What is the effect of cortisol on the immune system?

Answer 12

suppresses it in several ways

psychoneuroimmunology

Question 13

What was Walter Cannon’s contribution to stress research?

Answer 13

came up with the idea of homeostasis

Question 14

What is allostasis? How does it differ from homeostasis?

Answer 14

the compensation that an organism engages in to achieve homeostasis successfully

more focused on ACTIVE PROCESS to maintain homeostasis

Question 15

Describe the fight or flight response

Answer 15

It’s the prototypical stress response

The fight-flight response incorporates powerful emotional (anxiety, fear, anger), neuroendocrine and autonomic changes to increase chance of survival.

Question 16

What did Hans Selye contribute to the study of stress?

Answer 16

developed an idea of a General Adaptation Syndrome

especially significant because he includes the concept that CHRONIC stress is bad

Question 17

What are the three stages of general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 17

alartm reaction (detects the external stimulus)
Adaptation (engages in defensive countermeasure)
Exhaustion (body begins to run out of defenses int he face of long-term exposure)

Question 18

What is the limitation on Selye’s model?

Answer 18

Used animals, so didn’t take into account the psychological and social influences on stress

Question 19

What did RIchard Lazarus ontribute?

Answer 19

Gave a cognitive model for coping…

Question 20

What is coping?

Answer 20

the process of managing demands that are apprasied as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person

so it’s an internal effort to manage environmental demand

Question 21

What are the steps of Lazarus’ coping mdoel?

Answer 21

1. environment event (test)
2. Primary apprasial (what is this test? easy or hard? easy - no stress response, hard - stress response begins)
3. If stress begins, secondary appraisal occurs (what resources can I use to cope with this test?)
4. Coping behaviors
5. Coping outcome (biological, psychological and behavioral responses(

Question 22

What is problem focused coping? Direct action?

Answer 22

In this example, studying for the exam

Question 23

What is emotion regulation coping?

Answer 23

deep breathing in between studying, drink a cup of tea, etc

relaxation to maintain focus in the long run

Question 24

Describe Type A behavior

Answer 24

time urgency
impatience
competitiveness
hard on themselves
hostility

may not cope well with stress

Question 25

What is the type A hostility a particular risk for?

Answer 25

coronary heart disease

Question 26

IF a person learns they don’t have control over a stressful situation, can their performance improve when given coping skills?

Answer 26

typically not

Question 27

How has chronic activation of the HPA system been shown to affect cardiovascular health?

Answer 27

chronic HPA activity is associated with the developent of cardiovascular disease - the cortisol in compinantion of cholesterol leads to increased atherosclerosis

Question 28

WHat is the relationship between depression and MI?

Answer 28

people who have depression are more likely to have an MI than those that don’t have depression

Question 29

How can stress INDIRECTLY affect health?

Answer 29

by contributing to unhealthy behaviors like smoking, drinking, poor diet, and sedentary lifestyle

become problematic if they become long-term coping strategies because they don’t actually help with the stress! smoking doesn’t reduce stress levels! From physiology it actually increases stress because it increases cortisol release!

Question 30

How does stress affect care seeking/

Answer 30

increases care seeking for minor symptoms, but may decrease care seeking for serious ones