PSY 367 Exam 3

Coping

thoughts and behaviors someone uses to manage the internal and external demands of situations that are appraised as stressful

The set of intentional goal-directed efforts people engage in to minimize the physical, psychological or social harm of an event or situation

What does it mean to say coping is a stress moderator

It means that it affects the relationship between 2 things. It influences the association between stress and mental health as well as stress and physical health

What are three attributes of coping

an attempt, a process that occurs over time and interacts with environment, a learning process

An attempt coping attribute

when we cope we are attempting to preserve our mental and physical health but it might not work

A process that occurs over time and interacts with environment coping attribute

we cope with something multiple times and we do transactions with the environment. We cope and get feedback from environment

a learning process coping attribute

a change based on experience

trait-oriented view of coping

It relates coping to personality, self-esteem, and genetics, relates to stable things; we have a style of coping and we use that same style for every stressor

trait-oriented view of coping two styles

approach style and avoidance style

approach style coping

confront a stressor head on, take direct action to resolve stressor, vigilance (very oriented to stress actions of something)

avoidance style coping

try to avoid stressor no matter what, not orientated toward the stressful actions, orientated towards averting attention away from stressor

Which of the 2 trait orientated views of coping styles is linked to better outcomes

approach style

state-oriented view of coping

People cope differently with different stressors, coping relates to the situation; what is needed at the time. Can be problem focused or emotion focused

Problem focused coping

doing something constructive, confront stressor head on, direct action of stressor,

Examples of problem focused coping

active coping (take direct action at the problem), planning (make a plan of action), restraint coping (force yourself to wait until the right time), seek social support for instrumental reasons (talk to someone to find out more about the situation

Emotion Focused Coping

don’t deal directly with stressor, deal with your emotions surrounding the stressor, attempt to regulate emotions around a stressful event

Examples of emotion focused coping

seeking social support for emotional reasons (talk to someone about how you feel), alcohol drug disengagement (drink and take drugs), denial (refuse to believe it happened), turn to religion (pray more)

example of a coping strategy that can be both problem-focused and emotion-focused

seeking social support

example of an emotion-focused coping strategy that is clearly harmful

rumination

example of an emotion-focused coping strategy that is clearly beneficial

emotion-approach coping

rumination

emotion focused, replay negative emotions over and over, repetitive negative thinking focused on a stressor, linked to poor behaviors, substance abuse, self injury

emotion-approach coping

attempt to clarify and work through negative emotions, can sort out if it is sadness, anxiety, frustration ask why you are having them

criteria that researchers use to define effective/successful coping

1\.     Eliminate or reduce a stressor

2\.     Reduce psychological distress

3\.     Allow one to continue satisfying relationships with others

4\.     Enable return to normal, daily life

5\.     Enhance prospect of recovery if one is ill

6\.     Reduce reactivity or restore reactivity to pre-stress levels

finding of Aldao et al. (2010);

It was a meta-analysis of 114 studies, found associations between six coping strategies and psychopathological symptoms some were internalizing and some externalizing

What coping strategy showed the largest effect size in Aldao 2010

rumination

Were coping strategies more strongly associated with externalizing or internalizing psychopathology in Aldao 2010

internalizing psychopathology

acceptance

accepting the reality; learning to live with it

avoidance

avoiding it at all costs

problem solving

come up with a strategy about what to do

reappraisal

view in a different light; more positive

rumination

repetitive negative thoguhts

suppression

putting it out of one’s mind; squashing

what were the five patterns of coping found in cancer patients by Dunkel-Schetter, Feinstein, Taylor, & Falke (1992)?

1\.     Seek and use social support

2\.     Cognitive escape avoidance

3\.     Distancing

4\.     Focus on the positive/reappraisal

5\.     Behavioral escape avoidance (using drugs and alcohol)

How were the 5 patterns of coping associated with psychological distress

Social support and focusing on the positive are associated with positive emotional distress (less distress)

Behavioral escape avoidance and cognitive escapes avoidance are associated with negative emotional distress (more distress)

What did they find regarding gender differences and why was this notable? (in 5 patterns of coping strategy)

They found no difference across genders unlike previous studies

Personality

characteristic way of thinking, feeling and acting

The contemporary approach

five factor model/ big 5

* openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism(emotional stability)

Openness

a tendency toward a variety of experience (curious, prefer different experiences)

Conscientiousness

a tendency toward self-discipline (planful and on time)

Extraversion

a tendency toward sociability (prefer company of others)

Agreeableness

a tendency to be compassionate, cooperative (helpful and kind)

Neuroticism

a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions (quick to frustration and sadness)

Heritability

extent to which variation among people is due to genetics, does personality come down to genes or is it learned

What does research on personality suggest about heritability

that it is strongly inherited

What have the twin studies found about heritability

showed identical twins look similar in personality tests than fraternal twins

What have the adoption studies found about heritability

shows that personality they look more similar to biological relatives than adoptive relatives

Is personality stable over time? How do we know – what are the lines of research that support stability

Yes it is.

As we compare scores from when they were younger to older they are similar as it stabilizes around age 20 and does not change with major life events

What is the maturation effect that happens in personality

As we grow older we become more consciousness and agreeable over time

* Less cranky/narcotic overtime
* Less likely to have depression and anxiety

What did the meta-analysis by Malouff, Thorsteinsson and Schutte (2005) find regarding the pattern of Big 5 dimensions and being diagnosed with some type of mental health disorder

There was a typical profile, but one trait didn’t make a difference either way (it opened up to vulnerability of it), the 4 factor profile was- openness didn’t relate to it, high neuroticism, low consciousness, low extraversion, low agreeableness. Neuroticism had the largest effect size in that it puts them more at risk for mental health disorders.

What is the most consistent and predictable association between personality and physical health

neuroticism

symptom perception hypothesis

part of association between neuroticism and health may be more of a perception when its nothing and excessive

Those with higher neuroticism- misattribute benign sensations to illness, think they have symptoms or an illness after being exposed to information about it, be more vulnerable to a nocebo effect

symptom perception hypothesis supported by

symptom questionnaires

What did Cohen et al. (2003) do in regards to symptom perception hypothesis

They assessed personality and exposed individuals to a virus. Then measured actual and self reported/perceived symptoms

What did Cohen et al. (2003) find in regards to the symptom perception hypothesis

They found neuroticism made the biggest difference. The higher neuroticism had the highest complaints but not the highest objective symptoms. They also had the greatest disconnect and most negative emotional styles

What are potential pathways in the connection between neuroticism and actual physical disease diagnoses?

Illness anxiety disorder

It is associated with metabolic risk syndrome

Higher stress= more susceptible, less likely to take care of themselves

Illness anxiety disorder

person is preoccupied with thoughts about having or getting a significant illness, in reality person has no or at most mild somatic symptoms

Type D

When there is a combination of high neuroticism and social inhibition; d=distressed

Tendency to experience negative emotions; propensity to suppress the expression of emotions ad behaviors in social contacts; the feeling of unhappiness, tendency to worry, irritability, low self-esteem; distance in social relations, being introvert

Which diseases has Type D been linked to

bad self-reported health, heart disease risk increase, and early death to a greater degree than neuroticism alone

About how many Americans would be categorized as Type D

1 in 5 healthy adults

50% with heart disease

What did research find regarding Type A and Type B personality

found that the predictions with them did not last over time and some people did not fit into either personality it also lacked data

What are the key emotions in Type A?

anger, hostility, rude, aggressive, competitive

Can someone be a “healthy neurotic” and what does that look like

Yes they can as long as they have high conscientiousness

They found that it was linked with lowest levels of IL-6, healthier body weights, healthier behaviors, and less chronic conditions; individuals with this profile may harness the anxiety that is fundamental in neuroticism and use it in a positive way

What is the primary explanation for correlations between conscientiousness and longevity (e.g., findings of Bogg & Roberts, 2004)?

They are small but reliable associations with high conscientiousness and increases longevity

Primary explanation is that increased conscientiousness increases the number of healthy behaviors they do and decrease risky behaviors

How do the Big 5 traits relate to health behaviors in college students? (Raynor & Levine, 2010)

They found that conscientiousness had the most consistent findings for healthy behaviors. Also that extraversion was not associated with healthy behaviors but instead risky behaviors

According to Angela Duckworth’s research, how does conscientiousness compare to other traits in relating to variables of life success?

Conscientiousness is most consistently related to higher income and wealth while cognitive ability (intelligence) is significantly associated with lifetime income.

Conscientiousness people do best in life and extraversion is the strongest association to positive affect

How does Duckworth define grit

combination of conscientiousness, optimism and resilience

They all combine to create grity people, They have long term goals and stick to them

trait/dispositional optimism

Part of your nature or character, high belief of good outcomes

Which scale is commonly used to assess trait optimism

The LOT or life orientation test. It is a series of statements which indicate agreement or disagreement

What has research on the LOT scale revealed regarding mean scores in different samples of people

found that average scores are very high out of 30 average is 25 and this is true for all populations even chronic illnesses. However the exception was depression or other mental health disorders

How does trait optimism relate to the Big 5? Self-esteem?

Big 5- negatively correlated with neuroticism and positively correlated with extraversion.

Self-esteem is correlated at .5

How might optimism protect people from stress

It protects people from stress by leading to better coping strategies and healthy behaviors

what coping strategies has trait optimism been connected to?

been connected to problem focused strategies and lower in optimism would want to escape/avoid situation

How might trait optimism influence people’s responses to health messages or communications

They are less likely to

* Minimize the situation
* Increase beliefs in the prevalence of the behaviors
* Increase intentions to do a behavior

More open to response and less defensive

Unrealistic Optimism

state optimism above specific situations or events. Optimism is incorrect but about specific events of situations (when we are optimistic and wrong)

How is unrealistic optimism concept distinct from trait optimism

because it is how we react to a certain situation and not all the time

How is unrealistic optimism assessed

It is where we look at if they are being realistic or unrealistic

In the study by my colleagues and I (Dillard, McCaul, & Klein, 2006), which category did most of the smokers fall into? What outcome were linked with unrealistic optimism

Most feel into unrealistic optimism- they perceived risk is lower than it truly is. They are more likely to endorse myths and had lower intentions for quitting

Resilience

ability to bounce back after a stressor or otherwise negatively experience

It represents a process of adapting well in the face of adversity, tragedy, or significant sources of stress

What do scales of resilience tend to measure

they measure how you are likely to react in a certain event

example of one is brief resilience scale

What did the early research on resilience focus on

They focused on risky families theory

They are low socio-economic status, high stress neighborhoods (low education opportunities, high crime), poor parenting, neglect or abuse (marital distress; substance abuse)

What specific competency do highly resilient individuals tend to have, according to research?

They tend to be highly socially competent, more easy to make bonds/friends with other people

Positive Psychology

Study of positive emotions, resilience, positive traits and positive institution

What are the two reasons that psychology has historically focused on negative emotions?

Psychology historically focuses on treating problems caused by negative emotions

Negative emotions are easier than positive emotions to study

What does the broaden-and-build theory say?

It says that positive emotions build resources and broaden cognition

Positive emotions --- broaden (expands inventory)---- build (develops resources both physical, mental and social) ---- transform (advance personal growth)

It broadens emotions and cognition as opposed to narro

what are the effects of positive emotions on thoughts according to the broaden- and - build theory

Changes produced by emotions are cognitive not behavioral; changes reflect broadening not narrowing. Emotions create thoughts not behaviors

What are the effects of positive emotions on response to stress according to broaden and build theory?

Stress recovery is quicker when experiencing positive emotions and response builds overtime

What did Harker & Keltner (2001) do (and find) in the yearbook study?

They analyzed 141 college yearbook photos and measured their life satisfaction

They found that positive photos had strong correlation to what observers expected upon interactions

Expression of positive emotion more important than physical attractiveness

Social Support

information from others that one is loved and cared for, esteemed and valued and part of a network of communication and mutual obligations

Three main categories of social support

Instrumental support, informational support, emotional support

instrumental support

material or tangible support; Example- services, goods, financial assistance

informational support

get guidance from friend or supportive person; problem focused

emotional support

reassure you, build up self-esteem, show you are valued; can just be making someone feel good

What has research shown regarding the health benefits of perceived social support versus received social support?

The perceived social support is helpful and beneficial to the person while received social support is nulled or sometimes harmful

Perceived social support allows for better quality of life and better cardiovascular profile

Describe the costs that receiving social support can have

Might make them feel guilty, can damage their health, they could learn to not take care of themselves

direct effects hypothesis

social support is always helpful and good for us; can create better quality of life and doesn’t matter on the amount of stress

buffering hypothesis

social support only matters when we are stressed; that’s when we see effects of social support

Which hypothesis is correct direct effect or buffering

both are supported by research but more has been done with buffering

What are examples of health benefits of marriage?  

Less depression, less anxiety, less likely to get cancer, and heart diseases, car accident and dementia

What is the key to marriage if it is to be a significant source of social support?

Satisfaction

No satisfaction is less healthy than being single

How has research distinguished between highly satisfied versus lowly satisfied couples?

Lowly satisfied couples have more frequent negative interactions (fighting, disagreements); and handle conflict in particular way (fight in unhealthy ways, less validity); repeated hits and lack of adaptation

Who seems to get the greatest health benefits from marriage?

the husband