Stress and Health (Ch. 10) Flashcards
health psychology
an interdisciplinary field investigating the link between behavior, cognition, and physical health
health psychology
founded on the understanding that processes in the mind play an important role in maintaining a healthy body
stress appraisal
psychological interpretation of the meaning of an event
perceived high stress
when the primary appraisal of the demands of a situation exceeds the secondary appraisal of one’s ability to cope
general adaptation syndrome (bodys psysiological response to stress)
Hans Selye
1. initial alarm phase
2. prolonged resistance to the stress
3. exhaustion if the stressor doesn’t end before one’s physical ability to cope with it has been depleted
two axes of stress response
SAM & HPA
SAM
sympathetic-adren-medullary axis
- fast-acting, largely cardiovascular response that controls fight or flight
HPA
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
- provides a more sustained immunological response to longer-lasting threats, helping to fend off possible infection
allostatic load
wear and tear on the bodily tissues and internal organs due to a chronically activated stress response
what personality trait increases the likelihood of the stress response?
Type A (hostility), increases the risk for cardiovascular disease
finding meaning in negative events
- must make sense and find benefits from negative events
- writing about traumatic experiences is beneficial for health and well-being
state of flow
- when doing tasks that are just difficult enough to challenge their abilities
- intrinsically motivating tasks
- experience positive emotions
mindfulness
- can improve self-control, body awareness, self-compassion
how to change bad habits
- incentive systems to reinforce healthy behaviors
- knowing which cues trigger healthy behaviors
- implementation intentions: cognitive links between situations and desired behavior
sympathetic nervous system
controls “fight or flight” responses
parasympathetic nervous system
controls your body’s response during times of rest and regulates “rest and digest” functions
challenge reactivity
sympathetic arousal leads your heart to beat faster and start pumping blood with greater force and in greater volume. Artieries expand to allow oxygenated blood to disperse freely and efficiently throughout body
(ex. asked to read a chapter out loud in front of the class, but secondary appraisal response bc you feel confident in your ability)
threat reactivity
the heart pumps out more blood but the vasculature constricts, preventing it from usefully distributing through the body
(ex. asked to read a chapter out loud in front of the class, but have a fear of public speaking)
