Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

PSYC102 > Stress & Health > Flashcards

Stress & Health Flashcards

1
Q

Health psychology

A

Says the mind plays a key role in the health of the body.
Tries to bridge the gap between service providers trained only in psychology or physical medicine.
Good health isn’t just the absence of illness and disease, it depends on having a good environment and actions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Biopsychosocial model

A

Physical health is a function of biological, psychological, and social factors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Stress

A

Physical response to an environmental factor that’s taxing or seen as beyond your capabilities. Can include catastrophes, any major (positive or negative) life events, or daily hassles.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Under what 3 cognitive conditions is a person most likely to feel stressed?

A
  1. There’s uncertainty.
  2. You feel like you lack control.
  3. You feel like others might think of you negatively.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Stress appraisal

A

Not everyone responds the same to stress. Stress appraisal is the psychological interpretation of what an event means.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Perceived stress

A

When your appraisal of what the situation demands surpasses your secondary appraisal of what you’re capable of.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are the 3 types of event that can lead to stress?

A
  1. Catastrophic event: can be wide-scale like a tsunami or personal like being sexually assaulted.
    1. Major life events: positive or negative, anything that causes a reorganization of how you live your life. Disrupts social safety nets.
    2. Daily hassles: traffic, emails, etc–BP rises across a day when people experience these daily hassles. Has a cumulative effect–health symptoms better predicted by daily hassles than major negative life events.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What percentage of people who have experienced childhood sexual abuse report no long term increase in mental health symptoms?

A

20-50%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What’s Selye’s general adaptation syndrome and how did he find out about it?

A

Selye injected rats with parts of ovaries and noticed they had immunological symptoms. Decided to do double-blind study with a control group who were injected but not with parts of ovaries. Control group had same response–realized it was stress.

Described 3 stages of stress:
• Initial alarm
• Prolonged resistance to the stress
• Exhaustion if the stressor doesn’t end before your physical ability to cope is depleted, which lessens immune response.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What’s the SAM axis?

A

Sympathetic-adreno-medullary

Fight or flight

Ephinephrine and norephinephrine

Cardiovascular

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What’s the HPA axis? (4)

A

Helps fend off possible infection.

○ Cytokines-inflammation

○ Hypothalamus and pituitary produce cortisol

○ Increases blood sugar and suppresses immune system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Allostatic load

A

Physiological stress response being activated all the time leads to wear and tear on bodily tissues and internal organs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How does chronic stress increase likelihood of cardiovascular disease?

A

increase in blood pressure -> build-up of plaque on artery walls

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What’s the role of the parasympathetic nervous system in stress? When does it fail?

A

Should ideally bring body back to normal conditions (homeostasis) after stressful event.

However, chronic stress impairs the body’s ability to activate the PNS. The body becomes inflexible to coping with new challenges.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

How does chronic stress lead to a weakened immune system?

A

In an acute episode, HPA response enlists cytokines to helps fight off infection by inducing fever and inflammation to kill invading cells.

But when it’s activated chronically, it makes it harder for your body to recruit and regulate immune system responses, which increases inflammation and makes it take longer for you to heal.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What did Sapolsky’s zebras tell him?

A

“Why zebras don’t get ulcers”–human body developed to deal with acute stress but is not adapted to sustain stress over a lot time, or the types of stressors in modern societies, like social situations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Why do people eat to cope with stress?

A

○ Activates reward system
○ Focuses attention on food instead of bad stuff
○ Evolutionary adaptation to store food in times of stress

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

In what way do stimulants ‘help’ with stress?

A

Stimulants can act as short-term emotional inhibitors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

How do opiates ‘help’ with stress?

A

Emotional pain activates same parts of brain as physical pain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Alcohol myopia (2)

A

Focus of attention narrows

Impulse control impaired

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Why are stressed people more likely to take risks?

A

Suppresses pre-frontal cortex.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Why is having a type A personality a risk factor for developing heart disease?

A

Type A personalities were originally identified bc people who have them are more likely to develop heart disease.

In particular, the part of it that’s an issue responding to negative events with hostility. It’s hard work on your cardiovascular system.

23
Q

What factor makes you less likely to get stressed?

A

Optimism.

24
Q

Diathesis-stress model

A

People with predisposition more at risk if they experience a stressor.

Higher predisposition might need very little stress, lower predisposition might still develop it after a lot of stress.

25
Q

Differential sensitivities model. What is it, what causes it, and what effects does it have?

A

People who have a genetic predisposition to be more sensitive to their environment–both stressful and supportive.

Having two short alleles in serotonin transporter gene predicts being more sensitive to ups and downs. Might make you more sensitive to your environment, and the effects of this depend on what environmental factors you come across.

According to the differential sensitivities hypothesis, both trauma and support have a big effect on sensitive children, so a supportive environment would likely give a highly sensitive child a big boost–even compared to those who aren’t as sensitive.

26
Q

Epigenetics and stress

A

Pretty new field, tries to understand how stressful experiences modify genes that affect health. Rat pups who were neglected showed more methylated genes and greater stress reactivity.

27
Q

Why does low SES status lead to health inequalities? (3 +2)

A

Access, stress, discrimination.

Epigenetic changes that cause chronic inflammation

Perception key

28
Q

How is illness a source of stress?

A
  • Being sick can be fucking stressful, esp. chronic illness.

* Caring is also fucking stressful.

29
Q

Why is thinking you have control good for stress? (1)

A

Problem-focused coping

30
Q

How does humour help people deal with stress?

A

Healthier perspective on stressors

Closer relationships

Buffers people from effects of negative events on health

31
Q

What three things are people with a sense of humour more likely to be?

A

Optimistic
Higher self esteem
Less depressed

32
Q

Broaden-and-build function

A

Idea positive emotions and humour developed as a signal that things are safe, letting you explore and be creative

33
Q

How does developing, or not developing, insight and meaning after a stressful event help or hinder?

A
  • Stressful events can threaten sense of meaning of your life. But many people feel they grow in response to stressful events.
    • Finding meaning involves making sense of (processing) the events and finding benefits in them.
    • Searching for meaning in a traumatic event and not finding it leads to prolonged unhappiness.
34
Q

Give two examples of how finding meaning helps people deal with stress

A
  • Writing. T cells and antibodies.

* HIV.

35
Q

How can relationships help or hinder health?

A
  • Thinking you have a supportive network around you has massive health benefits
    • Positive relationships -> healthy behaviours
    • If supportive others are around, physiological response to stress changes
36
Q

What cultural differences are there in what kind of social support is helpful in times of stress?

A

○ Interdependent may not want to burden others

○ Interdependent knowing that you have people to turn to may be more important than actually seeking support

37
Q

What are the two key components of flow?

A
  1. Task is treated as a challenge rather than a threat
  2. Task is just challenging enough to require undivided attention but not so challenging as to result in repeated failure or difficulty
38
Q

What happens in the mind and body during flow?

A
  • Sense of self-awareness disappears

* Experience cardiovascular challenge profile

39
Q

What kind of tasks are more likely to lead to flow?

A

Intrinsically motivating

40
Q

What are the 2 good effects of flow?

A

Positive emotions

Challenge reactivity

41
Q

What are the good effects of doing intrinsically enjoyable tasks?

A

BP
Cortisol
BMI

42
Q

What four factors may make mindfulness good for health?

A

○ Attention regulation
○ Awareness of your body
○ Emotional regulation
○ View of self

43
Q

What positive effects might mindfulness have on the body?

A
  1. Cortisol
  2. BP
  3. Cytokines
44
Q

What affect does stress have on diet, exercise, and sleep?

A
  • Shit
  • HPA and high-calorie food
  • 47% of Americans who exercise to reduce stress skip exercise because of stress
45
Q

What are the 5 stages to changing behaviour? PCP AM

A
  1. Precontemplation
  2. Contemplation
  3. Preparation
  4. Action
  5. Maintenance

PCP AM

46
Q

What 4 things can you do to help you form a new habit?

A
  1. Incentives
  2. Triggers
  3. Implementation intentions: If-then
  4. Healthy environments
47
Q

Implementation intentions

A

Create cognitive links between situations and desired behaviour so they become more routine. One example is sleep hygiene–having a regular nighttime routine that cues your body that it’s time for sleep.

48
Q

What 5 techniques can reduce procrastination?

A
  1. Smallest task
  2. Emotions
  3. Specific plans
  4. Volitional scaffold
  5. Self-compassion/forgiveness
49
Q

How does identifying and starting the smallest task help with procrastination?

A

Affective forecasting

50
Q

What 3 questions can you ask to label and admit your emotions to reduce procrastination?

A

What am I feeling right now?
What caused this feeling?
What would I like to do now?

51
Q

How does forming specific plans help procrastination?

A

Implementation intentions

Chains

52
Q

What is a volitional scaffold? (3)

A
  1. Create positive environment
  2. Eliminate distractions
  3. Build social supports
53
Q

How does cultivating self-compassion and self-forgiveness help with procrastination? (3)

A
  1. Harsh
  2. Label emotions
  3. Avoidance
54
Q

What are 2 tasks you can do to facilitate self-compassion and self-forgiveness for procrastinating?

A

Self-affirmation

Values-reflection task

PSYC102 (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions