9.04-9.05 Stress

Question 1

the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging

Answer 1

stress

Question 2

stress-causing events

Answer 2

stressors

Question 3

occurs when people experience unpleasant stressors

Answer 3

distress

Question 4

beneficial stress that results from positive events that demand adaptation or change; the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being

Answer 4

eustress

Question 5

an unpredictable event that happens on a large scale and creates a huge amount of stress

Answer 5

catastrophe

Question 6

the two men who believed that any life event that required change, adaptation, or lifestyle adjustment would result in stress

Answer 6

Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe

Question 7

Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe’s scale for measuring stress

Answer 7

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Question 8

the SRRS results indicate a link between stress and __ and __

Answer 8

illness and accidents

Question 9

the daily annoyances that make up the bulk of the stress we experience

Answer 9

hassles

Question 10

hassles are good predictors of __

Answer 10

short-term illnesses, such as headaches, colds, and backaches

Question 11

the experience produced by urgent demands for a person’s behavior, coming from an outside source

Answer 11

pressure

Question 12

most common form of pressure

Answer 12

time pressure

Question 13

time pressure tends to decrease __ levels

Answer 13

creativity

Question 14

occurs when a person is prevented from achieving a desired goal or fulfilling a perceived need

Answer 14

frustration

Question 15

occur when a goal or need cannot be attained because of a person’s characteristics

Answer 15

internal frustrations

Question 16

possible responses to frustration

Answer 16

persistence, aggression, displaced aggression, escape/withdrawal

Question 17

continuing the efforts to get around the cause of the frustration

Answer 17

persistence

Question 18

using actions meant to harm or destroy

Answer 18

aggression

Question 19

taking out one’s frustrations aggressively on an available scapegoat; often directed at targets that are less threatening than the cause of a person’s frustration

Answer 19

displaced aggression

Question 20

leaving the presence of the stressor, either by withdrawing psychologically or literally

Answer 20

escape

Question 21

suggests that some form of frustration nearly always precedes aggression

Answer 21

frustration-aggression hypothesis

Question 22

psychological escape into apathy, fantasy, or substance abuse

Answer 22

withdrawal

Question 23

occurs when we find ourselves torn between completing desires or goals, can cause stress

Answer 23

conflict

Question 24

conflict that typically does not cause much stress, because it requires a choice between two attractive goals

Answer 24

approach-approach conflict

Question 25

stressful conflict between two undesirable choice

Answer 25

avoidance-avoidance conflict

Question 26

a conflict generally involving one goal, and the decision to pursue it or not

Answer 26

approach-avoidance conflict

Question 27

a conflict that requires a decision between two goals/options, both with benefits and drawbacks

Answer 27

double approach-avoidance conflict

Question 28

a conflict that requires a decision between more than two goals/options, all with benefits and drawbacks

Answer 28

multiple approach-avoidance conflict

Question 29

division of the nervous system responsible for automatic, involuntary, and life-sustaining activities

Answer 29

autonomic NS

Question 30

two divisions of the ANS

Answer 30

sympathetic and parasympathetic

Question 31

division of the ANS that reacts when the human body is subjected to stress

Answer 31

sympathetic

Question 32

three actions of the sympathetic NS

Answer 32

* heart rate increases * digestion slows down * energy sent to muscles

Question 33

division of the ANS that returns the body to normal functioning after stress has ended

Answer 33

parasympathetic

Question 34

founder of the modern field of stress research

Answer 34

Hans Selye

Question 35

Selye's name for the body's sequence of physiological reactions to stress

Answer 35

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Question 36

three stages of GAS

Answer 36

alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Question 37

GAS: activation of sympathetic NS; burst of energy; possible fever, nausea or headache

Answer 37

arousal

Question 38

GAS: stress hormones continue to be released; analgesia

Answer 38

resistance

Question 39

GAS: body's resources gone; stress-related diseases may result; stressor ends and parasympathetic activity resumes

Answer 39

exhaustion

Question 40

two most common diseases that result from stress

Answer 40

ulcer and high blood pressure

Question 41

the nerve that normal alerts the brain when a pathogen has infected the body; the nerve is not active in the stress response, but the brain acts as though it has been stimulated by this nerve

Answer 41

vagus nerve

Question 42

stress hormone that interferes with the proteins that prevent cancer

Answer 42

adrenaline / epinephrine

Question 43

field that focuses on how our physical activities, psychological traits, and relationships affect our health and rate of illness

Answer 43

health psychology

Question 44

his cognitive-mediational theory of emotions explains why people who interpret a stressor differently can have different responses to it; he also identified a two-step process for assessing the degree of harm of a stressor, and how one should react to it

Answer 44

Richard Lazarus

Question 45

purpose of Lazarus's primary appraisal

Answer 45

estimate the severity of the stressor and classifying it as a threat, a challenge, or a harm that has already occurred; at this stage, perceiving the stressor as a challenge, rather than as a threat, makes coping easier

Question 46

purpose of Lazarus's secondary appraisal

Answer 46

estimate one's ability to cope with a harmful stressor

Question 47

characteristics of the Type A personality

Answer 47

competitive, ambitious, workaholic, pressured to do well, easily upset

Question 48

characteristics of the Type B personality

Answer 48

easygoing, slow to anger

Question 49

the Type A personality trait most closely tied to disease

Answer 49

hostility

Question 50

characteristics of the Type C personality

Answer 50

tend to internalize anger, find it hard to express negative emotions, pleasant on the surface, experience despair and loneliness

Question 51

the disease most closely tied to the Type C personality

Answer 51

cancer

Question 52

personality type for Type A people who seem to thrive on stress, rather than letting it wear them down

Answer 52

hardy (H)

Question 53

people who tend to look for positive outcomes, generally live longer and have increased immune functioning

Answer 53

optimists

Question 54

his research found that optimists are more likely to take preventative health measures, experience less psychological stress, and that they are less likely to become depressed or fall prey to learned helplessness

Answer 54

Martin Seligman

Question 55

the lack of sufficient money to provide for the basic necessities of life; a significant stressor

Answer 55

poverty

Question 56

occurs when prolonged stress results in mental and physical exhaustion

Answer 56

burnout

Question 57

stress associated with adapting to a new or different culture; can result from having to deal with prejudice and discrimination

Answer 57

acculturative stress

Question 58

response to acculturative stress: one maintains a sense of his/her original culture, but also forms positive relationships with the new

Answer 58

integration

Question 59

response to acculturative stress: one abandons the old culture and complete adopts the new; leads to some stress, as culture is lost

Answer 59

assimilation

Question 60

response to acculturative stress: one rejects the new culture and maintains the old completely; can be very stressful, especially if the separation is forced by discrimination, rather than voluntary

Answer 60

separation

Question 61

individuals with few ties to the original culture or acceptance of the new

Answer 61

marginalized

Question 62

coping strategy: working to eliminate the stressor, or to reduce its impact

Answer 62

problem-focused coping

Question 63

coping strategy: changing the way one views or responds to the stressor

Answer 63

emotion-focused coping

Question 64

performing mental exercises to refocus attention

Answer 64

meditation