Unit 5 - Mental and Physical Health Part 1 Flashcards
Alarm Reaction
First stage of the general adaptation syndrome; characterized as the body’s immediate physiological reaction to a threatening situation or some other emergency; analogous to the fight-or-flight response.
Biofeedback
Stress-reduction technique using electronic equipment to measure a person’s involuntary (neuromuscular and autonomic) activity and provide feedback to help the person gain a level of voluntary control over these processes.
Coping
Mental or behavioral efforts used to manage problems relating to stress, including its cause and the unpleasant feelings and emotions it produces.
Cortisol
Stress hormone released by the adrenal glands when encountering a stressor; helps to provide a boost of energy, thereby preparing the individual to take action.
Daily Hassles
Minor irritations and annoyances that are part of our everyday lives and are capable of producing stress.
Distress
Bad form of stress; usually high in intensity; often leads to exhaustion, fatigue, feeling burned out; associated with erosions in performance and health.
Eustress
Good form of stress; low to moderate in intensity; associated with positive feelings, as well as optimal health and performance.
Fight-or-Flight Response
Set of physiological reactions (increases in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and sweat) that occur when an individual encounters a perceived threat; these reactions are produced by activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system.
Flow
State involving intense engagement in an activity; usually is experienced when participating in creative, work, and leisure endeavors.
General Adaptation Syndrome
Hans Selye’s three-stage model of the body’s physiological reactions to stress and the process of stress adaptation: alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and stage of exhaustion.
Happiness
Enduring state of mind consisting of joy, contentment, and other positive emotions; the sense that one’s life has meaning and value.
Health Psychology
Subfield of psychology devoted to studying psychological influences on health, illness, and how people respond when they become ill.
Hypertension
High blood pressure.
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis
Set of structures found in both the limbic system (hypothalamus) and the endocrine system (pituitary gland and adrenal glands) that regulate many of the body’s physiological reactions to stress through the release of hormones.
Immunosuppression
Decreased effectiveness of the immune system.
Job Burnout
General sense of emotional exhaustion and cynicism in relation to one’s job; consists of three dimensions: exhaustion, depersonalization, and sense of diminished personal accomplishment.
Job Strain
Work situation involving the combination of excessive job demands and workload with little decision making latitude or job control.
Lymphocates
White blood cells that circulate in the body’s fluids and are especially important in the body’s immune response.
Negative Affectivity
Tendency to experience distressed emotional states involving anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness.
Perceived Control
Peoples’ beliefs concerning their capacity to influence and shape outcomes in their lives.
Positive Affect
State or a trait that involves pleasurable engagement with the environment, the dimensions of which include happiness, joy, enthusiasm, alertness, and excitement.
Positive Psychology
Scientific area of study seeking to identify and promote those qualities that lead to happy, fulfilled, and contented lives.
Primary Appraisal
Judgment about the degree of potential harm or threat to well-being that a stressor might entail.
Psychoneuroimmunology
Field that studies how psychological factors (such as stress) influence the immune system and immune functioning.
