Stress & Coping Flashcards
stress
physiological and psychological experience of significant life events, trauma, and chronic health
problem-focused coping
involves identifying the problem, brainstorming solutions, picking one, and reassessing its effectiveness
self-responsibility model
generally, we think that we’re responsible for our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and that we aren’t responsible and can’t change those of others
emotion-focusing coping
tries to manage the emotions and physiological responses associated with stress
strategies of emotion-focused coping
- change your body (be active, do things to slow down your body)
- change your attitude (have more gratitude, catch yourself when you’re acting irrationally)
- get social support (talking to someone is better than suppressing and repressing)
Hans Selye
conducted an experiment with rats, finding that their FOF response, when continually activated, could lead to illness and eventually death, found that stress comes with the same series of physiological responses
Selye’s physiological process of stress
- alarm
- resistance
- exhaustion
alarm
the first reaction to stress when the body releases stress hormones
resistance
the second reaction to stress wherein, after a period of chronic stress, the body adapts to the ongoing stress and tries to return to its normal functions, but blood sugar levels and blood pressure continues increasing
exhaustion
the third and final reaction to stress wherein, at this point, the body has run out of energy reserves and immunity, so blood sugar levels decrease, leading to decreased stress tolerance, progressive mental and physical exhaustion, illness, and collapse; organs begin to fail, eventually leading to illness or death
fight-or-flight response
allows us to deal with a threat
sympathetic arousal
refers to the sympathetic nervous system or the neurons involved in FOF, wherein blood moves from our viscera (fats) into our skeletal muscles, which provides more access to deal with a threat by dilating our pupils, relaxing our bladder, inhibiting digestive activity, etc.
HPA axis
includes the Hypothalamus, Pituitary (gland), and Adrenal (glands), excretes hormones like adrenaline and cortisol
HPA response
begins when the hypothalamus secretes releasing hormones that direct the pituitary to relapse ACTH, which directs the adrenal glands to secrete more hormones, esp cortisol
cortisol
stress hormone that releases sugars into the blood
adrenaline (ACTH)
keeps blood pumping faster, increasing heart rate and blood pressure to speed up cardiovascular processes
Holmes and Rahe stress scale
measures vulnerability to stress based on the idea that any change increases stress
Williams et al.
found that ppl who scored higher on measures of anger were 3x more likely to suffer heart attacks and that, on average, men are more likely to respond to stress by activating FOF
2 ways that stress may not be debilitative
- tend-and-befriend response
- eustress
tend-and-befriend
introduced by Shelley Taylor, instead of releasing adrenaline, some ppl release oxytocin during high stress, which encourages affiliative relationships
Shelley Taylor
found that women tend to release oxytocin more than men (due to high levels of estrogen that exacerbate effects of oxytocin, compared to high levels of androgens like testosterone that inhibit effects of oxytocin)
relational aggression
instead of physical violence, aggression can come in the form of social exclusion, gossip, mocking, etc.
Repetti
showed that mothers respond to high stress by providing more nurturing behaviours towards their children
Richard Lazarus
believes that some ppl are hardwired and genetically predisposed to handle stress well or not well, to be emotionally sensitive or not, to think we are capable or otherwise
primary appraisal of stress
we perceive a stressor as being a threat or otherwise
secondary appraisal
we assess if we have the resources to cope with a threat
different models of stress
- stress as a response (Selye, alarm, resistance, and exhaustion)
- stress as a stimulus (Holms and Rahe, env factors as causing distress)
- stress as a transaction (Lazarus, cognitive mediational model of stress)
cognitive mediational model of stress (transactional theory of stress / cognitive appraisal theory of stress)
argues that stress is a transaction between a person (including multiple systems: cognitive, physical, neurological, affective, psychological) and their env; it’s the interaction between what happens, how you think of it, and how the body responds that determines stress
control-focused coping
once you accept that you don’t have the resources or that you can’t change smth, then you focus on what you can change (accept what you can’t change, do smth about what you can)
spaced learning
study a little everyday, proposed by Ebbinghaus, who argued that we need to reinforce learning
progressive relaxation
going thru all the bodily muscles, tightening and relaxing them
health psychology
considers the role of psych in maintaining health, preventing and treating illness; considers the choices we make, the behaviours we engage in, and the emotions we feel
biopsychosocial model of health
posits that psychological and social factors are just as instrumental in disease development as biological ones
Cohen et al.
conducted a study on stress and immune functioning, finding that if you’re less stressed, you’re less likely to contract disease, that having a positive disposition, a sense of control, and good social support also improves physical health
positive emotional style
characterized by happiness, calmness, and liveliness, contributes to lower risk of developing illness
negative emotional style
characterized by anxiety, hostility, and depression
Friedman and Rosenman
found that Type A (competitive, hostile, and impatient) ppl were more at risk of heart disease than Type B (laid-back) ppl
internal locus of control
having the belief and acting like you have control over your life’s direction, leads to better skill and better immune functioning
Schoenfeld et al.
found that ppl don’t adhere to prescribed medical treatment
patient-centric care
improves clinical outcomes by listening to and engaging with the client about their experiences and treatments
Peterson and Seligman
developed the Virtues in Action, as six categories of virtues, which focus on ppl’s strengths
Virtues in Action (VIA)
- courage
- justice
- humanity
- temperance
- wisdom
- transcendence
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)
the APA’s manual of all mental disorders
forgiveness
creates a possibility for a relationship to recover from damage caused by an offence; letting go of negative thoughts and behaviours towards the offender
4 phases of forgiveness (Enright)
- uncovering phase
- deciding phase
- working phase
- deepening phase
uncovering phase
gaining insight into whether and how the injustice and injury compromised one’s life
deciding phase
deciding for yourself whether or not to forgive the offender
working phase
gaining a cognitive understanding of the offender and beginning to see them in a new light, resulting in positive change in affect about self, offender, and relationship
deepening phase
finding increasing meaning in the suffering, feeling more connected with others, and experiencing decreased negative affect and renewed life purpose
humility
- clear and accurate sense of one’s abilities and accomplishments
- ability to acknowledge one’s mistakes, imperfections, gaps in knowledge, and limitations
- involves an openness to new ideas, contradictory info, and advice while keeping abilities and accomplishments in perspective
- characterized by a relatively low self-focus or ability to ‘forget the self’
- includes an appreciation of the value of all things and the ways that ppl and things contribute to our world
