Comprehensive Stress and Health Psychology: Definitions, Responses, and Coping Strategies

What is the definition of chronic stressors?

Sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly.

What is the fight-or-flight response?

An emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action.

What are the three stages of Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)?

Alarm phase, resistance phase, and exhaustion phase.

What role do telomeres and telomerase play in the body?

They facilitate cell division by protecting chromosomes as they are copied.

How does chronic stress impact the immune system?

Stressors cause glucocorticoids to flood the brain, which wears down the immune system and reduces its ability to fight invaders.

What is the relationship between hostility and coronary heart disease?

Research links intensity, drive, anger, and hostility to increased rates of heart disease and coronary incidents.

What is the two-step process of stress interpretation according to Lazarus and Folkman?

Primary appraisal (interpreting an event as threatening or not) and secondary appraisal (determining if a coping mechanism is in place).

What is the purpose of the College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS)?

It is an adaptation of the Holmes and Rahe scale designed to assess life events specifically relevant to college students.

How does perceived control affect the experience of stress?

A lack of perceived control can add to stress, while perceived control over stressful events is often linked to more effective coping.

What are the physical consequences of constant exposure to stress?

Constant stress causes wear and tear on the body and leads to accelerated aging.

What is the function of ACTH in the stress response?

It travels through the bloodstream to activate the adrenal glands to release catecholamines and cortisol.

How does discrimination impact health outcomes?

Discrimination can lead to elevated stress, negative health outcomes, and the adoption of maladaptive coping behaviors like smoking or overeating.

What is health psychology?

The subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health.

What does the 'resistance' phase of GAS involve?

The body builds resistance to stress over time, but this capacity is limited before exhaustion sets in.

Why is social status related to health outcomes?

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is often linked to chronic stress, which negatively affects the immune response and increases risk for illness.

What is Type A behavior pattern?

A behavioral pattern characterized by intensity, drive, anger, and hostility, which is linked to increased rates of heart disease.

How does the body's response differ between a 'threat' and a 'challenge'?

The body responds differently depending on the appraisal; a threat is viewed negatively, while a challenge is viewed as a positive appraisal.

What are the long-term effects of chronic stress on BIPOC populations in Canada?

They experience significantly more chronic stressors, such as financial issues and racial discrimination, contributing to health disparities.

What is the primary finding of the Holmes and Rahe (1967) study?

Major life changes, whether negative or positive, require readjustment and are linked to increased stress and illness.

What are lymphocytes?

White blood cells that are part of the immune system and are affected by stress-induced hormones.

What is psychoneuroimmunology?

The study of how the immune system interacts with psychological processes and the nervous system.

What is atherosclerosis?

A condition involving the buildup of fats, cholesterol, and other substances in and on the artery walls, often associated with coronary heart disease.

Why might people from equity-seeking groups mistrust health care providers?

A history of discrimination by health care providers has resulted in fear and mistrust among these groups.

What is the definition of stress?

The physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors.

What is the difference between primary and secondary appraisal?

Primary appraisal is the initial interpretation of an event's threat level, while secondary appraisal is the assessment of one's ability to cope with that event.

What is burnout?

A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation, often accompanied by lowered performance and motivation.

What did Kahneman and Deaton find regarding the relationship between income and happiness?

Self-reported happiness and stress improve as income increases, but only up to approximately $75,000.

What is rational coping?

Facing a stressor and working to overcome it through a three-step process: acceptance, exposure, and understanding.

What are the three steps of rational coping?

Acceptance (acknowledging the stressor), exposure (attending to or seeking out the stressor), and understanding (finding the meaning the stressor holds in one's life).

What is repressive coping?

Avoiding situations or thoughts that remind one of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint.

What is reframing in the context of stress management?

Finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its perceived threat.

What is stress inoculation training (SIT)?

A reframing technique that helps people cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about those situations.

What is the purpose of meditation in stress management?

It is the practice of intentional contemplation, often involving clearing the mind, focusing on breathing or a mantra, which is restful and can lengthen telomeres.

What is the relaxation response?

A condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

What is biofeedback?

The use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function (like heart rate or brain activity) to help a person gain control over that function.

What is EEG biofeedback (neurofeedback)?

A type of biofeedback used to treat brain-wave abnormalities, increase relaxation, and decrease chronic pain.

How does aerobic exercise help with stress?

It increases heart rate and oxygen intake for a sustained period, which may increase serotonin and endorphins while keeping the body fit.

What is social support?

Aid gained through interacting with others, which acts as a buffer against stress.

How do stress responses typically differ between men and women?

Men often exhibit a 'fight-or-flight' response, while women often exhibit a 'tend-and-befriend' response.

What is the difference between religiosity and spirituality?

Religiosity is the affiliation with or engagement in the practices of a specific religion, while spirituality is a belief in and engagement with a higher power, not necessarily linked to a specific religion.

What are the stress-reducing benefits of humor?

Humor reduces sensitivity to pain and stress and decreases the time needed to calm down after a stressful event.

What is Electromyography (EMG)?

A technique used to measure the subtle activity of muscles, often used in relaxation therapy.

What are common causes of burnout?

Gauging self-worth by work success alone and working in emotionally stressful jobs.

What does research suggest about the effect of prayer on medical outcomes?

Studies, such as those on cardiac bypass patients, have found no differences in complications between those who were prayed for and those who were not.

What is situation management?

Changing your life to reduce stress through methods like social support, spiritual practice, humor, and avoiding procrastination.

What is the benefit of writing about deepest thoughts and feelings?

It has been shown to have a range of beneficial health effects as a form of body management for stress.

What is the primary goal of relaxation therapy?

To reduce tension by consciously relaxing the muscles of the body.

Why is prolonged exposure sometimes used in therapy?

Reliving traumatic memories in a controlled way can help individuals process and overcome the stress associated with those memories.

What is the relationship between childhood environment and adult earnings?

Spending childhood years in nicer neighborhoods is associated with increased adult earnings.

What is the core philosophy of mind management in stress?

Stressful events are often magnified in the mind, so a significant part of stress management involves controlling one's thoughts through techniques like rationalization or reframing.

What is the sickness response?

A coordinated, adaptive set of reactions to illness organized by the brain, which can be prompted by stress even without infection.

What is the primary purpose of the sickness response?

To cause the person to withdraw from activity and eating to conserve energy to fight the illness.

What role do cytokines play in the sickness response?

They are proteins that activate the vagus nerve and induce the 'I am sick' message to the brain.

How is the sickness response linked to depression?

In humans, the connection between the sickness response, immune reaction, and stress is often illustrated in depressive symptoms.

What is the 'sick role'?

A socially recognized set of rights and obligations linked with illness that provides exemptions and obligations.

Define malingering.

Feigning medical or psychological symptoms to achieve a desired outcome.

What are the keys to effective patient-practitioner interaction?

Physician empathy, understanding the patient's state, and the ability to motivate the patient to comply with the prescribed regimen.

What factors cause medical treatment compliance to deteriorate?

Compliance decreases if the treatment is frequent, inconvenient, painful, or if the number of treatments increases.

Why do placebos work?

They work because patients believe in the nature of medicine, and they trigger the release of endorphins while lowering brain activation in pain-associated areas.

What is the role of classical conditioning in the placebo effect?

Part of the placebo effect is unconscious and stems from classical conditioning associated with medical treatment.

What are the three personality characteristics of 'hardy' individuals?

A sense of commitment, a belief in control, and an acceptance of challenge.

How does optimism influence health?

It aids in the maintenance of psychological health in the face of physical problems and is generally healthier than pessimism.

Define self-regulation.

The exercise of voluntary control over the self to bring the self into line with preferred standards, often referred to as willpower.

What is the primary challenge in self-regulation?

It often involves delaying instant gratification for longer-term gains, and self-control may be a limited resource.

Why is dieting often ineffective for long-term weight management?

The process of conscious self-regulation can be easily undermined by stress.

What is a more effective strategy than reducing food intake for health?

Focusing on increasing physical activity, which provides people with positive and active goals to pursue.

What is the 'illusion of unique invulnerability'?

A cognitive bias that makes individuals believe they are less likely to experience negative outcomes, often leading to risky sexual behaviors.

What percentage of lung cancers are caused by smoking?

Approximately 80%.

What is procrastination?

The act of putting off a task for later, often because the task is boring, difficult, unpleasant, or requires too much effort.

What is the long-term consequence of procrastination?

It causes stress in the long run, though effective time management can reduce it.

How do researchers study the accuracy of pain reporting?

By using brain scans to observe activity in areas known to respond to painful stimulation, which correlates with the patient's reported pain levels.

What is the danger of slowness in recognizing illness?

It can be dangerous because it delays necessary treatment and intervention.

What are the two main psychological factors that influence personal health?

Health-relevant personality traits and health-promoting behaviors.

What does Julie Lythcott-Haims suggest about 'overparenting'?

She suggests it can cause harm by depriving children of opportunities to learn creativity, competence, and confidence.

What happens to the immune system during the sickness response?

It begins the activation of white blood cells to fight potential infection.

What is the relationship between stated and actual medication intake in patients?

Research shows that most patients tend to exaggerate their medication intake compared to their actual usage.

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