Stress+Health (Module 2 Ch 12) Flashcards
Memorize by 10/10
Stress
The process by which we perceive and respond to events that we identify as challenging or threatening
Stressors
Events that trigger a stress response
Tend-and-Befriend
Dealing with stressful stimuli through emotional and social support
Catharsis
Letting out the negative emotional response to stress via lashing out
Actually perpetuates negative emotions
Adaptation-Level Phenomenon
Tendency to judge a current experience based off of a past one
Relative Deprivation
Tendency to feel worse about ourselves or our situations than we would if the same thing was happening to someone else
Crisis Debriefing
Attempting to prevent negative stress responses following a big traumatic event by going through a 3-4 hour debriefing session with others who experienced the same event
Is Crisis Debriefing effective?
No, research shows it makes people more likely to develop PTSD because the debrief occurs so shortly after the event and may force people to recall the event in an uncomfortable way
Stress as Stimuli
Focuses on the event that leads to the stress response
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
Quantifies stress in terms of major life changes
Drawbacks: ignores that people view the same stressor differently and ignores people’s emotional responses to stressors
Stress as Response
Focuses on the immediate physical and mental reactions to a stressful situation
Stress as Transaction
Focuses on the interaction between a person and their environment (how we cope with stress)
Primary vs Secondary Appraisal
Determining the relevancy of an event to you vs determining what resources you have to deal with that event
What are the categories of Stress?
Frustration, Conflict, and Pressure
Frustration
Your pursuit of a goal is blocked or thwarted
Conflict
Trying to decide between two internal motivations or external behavioral impulses
Approach-Approach Conflict
Making a decision between two attractive choices
Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict
Making a decision between two unattractive choices
Approach-Avoidance Conflict
Making a decision between two things that have pros and cons
Pressure
Social expectations or demands that you have to behave in a certain way even if you don’t want to
What are the categories of Stressors?
Catastrophe, Life Changes, and Daily Hassles
Catastrophe
Some sort of large disruption to your typical life
Life Changes
Any sort of long-term transition in your life
Daily Hassle
Small annoyances that strain your ability to cope
Type A Stress Personality
Tend to be ambitious, driven, competitive, hostile, and have higher levels of stress
Type B Stress Personality
Tend to be relaxed, patient, easy-going, and chill
Explanatory Style
Are you an optimist or a pessimist
Locus of Control
How much control you feel you have over your life
Internal vs External Locus of Control
You feel that you’re the one leading your life vs you feel the world is making decisions for you
Diathesis-Stress Model
Stress can kick off a genetic predisposition for a disease or disorder, including cancer
Psychosomatic Theory
Emotional factors can lead to the occurrence or worsening of illness
Physiological Reactivity Approach vs Health Behavior Approach
Sustained activation of the body’s stress response increases likelihood of illness VS diet, exercise, and substance abuse increase likelihood of illness
Inflammation
The experience of stress leads to greater inflammation responses, which can associated with heart disease
Fallacy of Uniform Efficacy
Stress is a personal response
Not every coping strategy is going to work for everyone, such as exercise, meditation, and religiosity
What have studies shown us about relaxation techniques?
They can decrease your risk of getting another heart attack (after you’ve already had one before)
Why does religion contribute to lower levels of stress?
Some of the rules associated with it, such as banning alcohol consumption, can be better for health
Social support
Decisional Control
Increasing the control you feel you have over your decisions (shifting from external to internal locus of control)
Informational Control
The ability to gain more information about a stressful event
Emotional Control
The ability to control your negative emotions, decreasing the level of stress response
Problem-Focused Coping
Coping with stress by attempting to solve the problem, situation, or stimuli that’s causing the stress
Emotion-Focused Coping
Dealing with the mental and emotional response to stress
Replacing negative emotionality with positive emotionality
Social Support
Reaching out to closely affiliated others seeking help or support with stressful situations
Direct Effects Hypothesis
Social support is beneficial to physical and mental health even when you’re not experiencing stress
Associated with increased happiness and health in both collectivist and individualist cultures
Positive Well-Being
Focuses on increasing your satisfaction with the past, your happiness in the present, and your optimism for the future
Positive Traits
Focuses on enhancing positive traits like creativity, leadership, courage, etc.
Positive Institutions
Seeking to create a positive social environment for growth and development
What concepts can contribute to Longevity?
Money, Internal Locus of Control, Self-Control, Explanatory Style (optimism), Social Support
How does self-control increase longevity?
Tend to have lower levels of stress (greater patience)
Less likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors
Neuroendocrine System
The hormonal systems involved in emotions and stress
Catecholamines
Released by the adrenal glands
Control Autonomic Nervous System activation (fight or flight)
Dopamine and norepinephrine
Glucocorticoids
Activates physiological systems during emergencies
Control metabolic functions
Cortisol
Adrenal-Medullary System
Neuroendocrine pathway in which the hypothalamus tells the adrenal glands to release norepinephrine, activating the sympathetic nervous system
HPA Axis
Neuroendocrine pathway that tells the adrenal gland to release cortisol
Hans Seyle
Coined the term General Adaptation Syndrome, which refers to a generalized, nonspecific set of changes that occur in the body in response to stress
What are the 3 stages of General Adaptation Syndrome?
Alarm - initial physiological shock or emergency response; mobilizes the body’s resources
Resistance - the body tries to manage the threat
Exhaustion - the body depletes its resources for fighting the threat, making illness more likely
Allostasis
The body achieves stability through change
Natural Immunity vs Acquired Immunity
Preexisting processes such as phagocytosis (cell eating) and inflammation (restoration of tissue) that help remove foreign objects from the body
VS
Using specialized cells to kill specific foreign bodies
B vs T Lympocytes
White blood cells that release antibodies vs white blood cells that fight antigens
CVR Model
Hostility increases the likelihood of heart disease
