Exam 3: Emotion and Motivation, Psychological Disorders, Therapy and Treatment, and Stress and Health

Stress

process where an individual percieves and repsponds to events that one appraises as overwhelming or threatening to one’s well-being

Stimulus-Based Stress

stress characterized as a stimulus that causes certain reactions

Response-Based Stress

the physiological responses that occur when faced with demanding or threatening situations are emphasized

Stressors

environmental events that may be judged as threatninh or demanding; cause of stress

Primary Appraisal

judgment about the degree of potnential harm or threat to well-being that a stressor might entail

Secondary Appraisal

judgement of options available to cope with a stressor and their potential effectiveness

Eustress

good form of stress

Distress

bad form of stress

Health Psychology

devoted to studying psychological influences on health, illness, and how people respond when they become ill

Chronic Stressors

events that persist over an extended period of time

Acute Stressors

brief focal events that sometimes contiue to be experienced as overwhelming after the event has ended

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

popular scale designed to measure stress

Daily Hassles

minor irritations and annoyances that are part of everyday lives and are capable of producing stress

Job Strain

work situation involving the combination of excessive job demands and workload with little decision makking or job control

Job Burnout

general sense of exhaustion in relation to one’s job

Exhaustion

a sense that one’s emotional resources are drained

Depersonalization

a sense of emotional detachment between workers and recipients of their work

Diminished Personal Accomplishment

tendency to evaluate one’s work negatively

Fight-or-Flight Response

set of physiological reactions that occur when a person encounters a perceived threat

(increased blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and sweat)

General Adaptation Syndrome

Han Selye’s 3 stage model of the body’s physiological reactions to stress and the process of stress adaptation

(reaction, resistance, and exhaustion)

Alarm Reaction

the body’s immediate physiological reaction to a threatening situation/emergency

Stage of Resistance

the body adapts to a stressor for a period of time

Stage of Exhaustion

the body’s ability to resist stress becomes depleted

(prone to illness, disease, and death)

Sympathetic Nervous System

releases adrenaline from adrenal glands as a trigger to arousal

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

set of structures found in both the limbic system (hypothalamus) and the endocrine system (pituitary and adrenal glands) that regulate many of the body’s physiological reactions to stress through hormones

Hypothalamus

activates the pitutitary gland

Cortisol

Stress hormones released by the adrenal glands when encountering a stressor

Psychophysical Disorder

physical disorder/disease on which symptoms are brought about or worsened by stress

Immune System

various structures, cells, and mechanisms that protect the body from foreign substances that can damamge the body’s tissue and organs

Autoimmune Disease

when the immune system mistakes the body’s own healthy celss for invaders and repeatedly tries to attack them

Immunosuppression

decreased effectivness of the immune system

Psychoneuroimmunology

studies how physiological factors (stress) influence the immune system and functioning

Lymphocytes

white blood cells that circulate the body’s fluids and attack unknown “invaders” that enter the body

Cardiovascular Disorder

disorder that involve the heart and blood circulation system

Heart Disease

the heart’s inability to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs

(ex: heart attacks, strokes)

Hypertension

high blood pressure

Type A

tend to be competitive, impatient, rushed, and hostile towards others

Type B

tend to be relaxed and laid back

Negative Affectivity

a tendency to experience distressed emotional states and can lead to development of hypertension and heart disease

Problem-Focused Coping

one attempt to manage/alter the problem that is causing stress

Emotion-Focused Coping

efforts to change/reduce the negative emotions associated with stress

Perceived Control

people’s beliefs concerning their capacity to influence and shape outcomes in their lives

Hopelessness Theory

one lacks control over negative outcomes is important in fostering a sense of learned helplessness

Social Support

soothing and beneficial support from others

Relaxation Response Technique

stress reduction technique combing elements of relaxation and meditation

Biofeedback

stress reduction technique using electronic equipment to measure a person’s involuntary activity and provide feedback to help the person gain a level of voluntary control over these processes

Elements of Happiness

pleasent life,