Chapter 5: Coping with Stress

Question 1

coping

Answer 1

the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional ways in which we manage stressful situations

Question 2

problem focused coping

Answer 2

a coping strategy for dealing directly with a stressor, in which we either reduce the stressor’s demands or increase our resources for meeting its demands

Question 3

emotion focused coping

Answer 3

a coping strategy in which we try to control our emotional response to a stressor

Question 4

rumination

Answer 4

repetitive focusing on the causes, meanings, and consequences of stressful experiences

Question 5

emotional cascade

Answer 5

you’re so focused on an upsetting event that you work yourself up into an intense, painful state of negative emotion

Question 6

emotional approach coping

Answer 6

the process of working through, clarifying, and understanding the emotions triggered by a stressor

Question 7

psychological control

Answer 7

the perception that one can determine one’s own behavior and influence the environment to bring about desired outcomes

Question 8

microaggressions

Answer 8

insults, indignities, and marginalizing messages sent by well-intentioned people who seem unaware of the hidden messages they are sending

Question 9

minority stress theory

Answer 9

the concept that proposes that health disparities among minority individuals are due to chronically high levels of stress experienced by members of stigmatized groups

Question 10

resilience

Answer 10

the quality that allows some people to bounce back from difficult events that might otherwise disrupt their well being

Question 11

where does resilience come from?

Answer 11

three places. individual traits, and positive life experiences and social support.

Question 12

what factors affect the ability to cope?

Answer 12

resilience, explanatory style, pessimism, optimism.

Question 13

explanatory style

Answer 13

our general propensity to attribute outcomes always to positive causes or always to negative causes, such as personality, luck, or another person’s actions. people who look on the bright side of life tend to cope well with stress

Question 14

pessimism

Answer 14

those with higher pessimism have significantly higher mortality rates than those who are optimistic

Question 15

optimistic bias

Answer 15

the belief that other people are more likely than oneself to develop a disease, be injured, or experience other negative events

Question 16

personal control

Answer 16

the belief that we make our own decisions and determine what we do and what others do to us. people with a strong sense of personal control tend to engage in adaptive, problem focused coping, such as exercising direct control over health-related behaviors

Question 17

regulatory control

Answer 17

the various ways in which we modulate our thinking, emotions, and behavior over time and across changing circumstances

Question 18

cardiovascular reactivity

Answer 18

changes in cardiovascular activity that are related to psychological stress

Question 19

reactivity hypothesis

Answer 19

the hypothesis that individuals who show large changes in blood pressure and vascular resistance to stress have increased risk of developing heart disease

Question 20

choice culture and control

Answer 20

situations in which there is no choice or in which choice has been removed have been linked to detrimental effects on motivation, performance, and health (too much choice can be bad for motivation and well being as well)

Question 21

repressive coping

Answer 21

an emotion focused coping style in which we attempt to inhibit our emotional responses, especially in social situations, so we can view ourselves as imperturbable

Question 22

negative affectivity (neuroticism)

Answer 22

a coping style or personality dimension consisting of chronic negative emotions and distress; also known as neuroticism

Question 23

social support

Answer 23

companionship from others that conveys emotional concern, material assistance, or honest feedback about a situation

Question 24

buffering hypothesis

Answer 24

a theory that social support produces its stress-busting effects indirectly by helping the individual cope more effectively

Question 25

direct affect hypothesis

Answer 25

a theory that social support produced its beneficial effects during both stressful and nonstressful times by enhancing the body’s physical responses to challenging situations

Question 26

who receives social support?

Answer 26

those with better social skills (hostile people receive less support)

Question 27

how social support makes a difference

Answer 27

according to the buffering hypothesis, social support mitigates stress indirectly by helping us cope more effectively. according to the direct affect hypothesis, social support enhances the body’s physical responses to challenging situations. remarkably, even the subliminal priming of thoughts about social relationships can have an effect

Question 28

when social support is not helpful

Answer 28

a person may not perceive it as beneficial to receive social support, the type of support offered may not be what i needed at the moment, and too much social support may increase a person’s stress

Question 29

stress management

Answer 29

the various psychological methods designed to reduce the impact of potentially stressful experiences

Question 30

progressive muscle relaxation

Answer 30

a form of relaxation training that reduces muscle tension through a series of tensing and relaxing exercises involving the body’s major muscle groups

Question 31

relaxation response

Answer 31

a meditative state of relaxation in which metabolism slows and blood pressure lowers

Question 32

deep breathing and visualization

Answer 32

can help induce relaxation

Question 33

mindfulness based stress reduction

Answer 33

a form of therapy that focuses on using structured meditation to promote mindfulness, a moment-to-moment, nonjudgemental awareness. this is generally used to improve people’s ability to self-regulate negative reactions to stress

Question 34

cognitive behavioral therapy

Answer 34

based on the view that our way of thinking about the environment, rather than the environment itself, determines our stress level. the use of principles from learning theory to change unhealthy patterns o thinking and behavior

Question 35

cognitive behavioral stress management (multimodal)

Answer 35

combines relaxation training, visualization, cognitive restructuring, reinforcement, and other techniques into a multimodal intervention that has helped people cope with a range of stressors

Question 36

stress inoculation training

Answer 36

a cognitive behavioral treatment in which people identify stressors in their lives and learn skills for coping with them so that when those stressors occur, they are able to put those skills into effect

Question 37

what are the three stages of stress inoculation training?

Answer 37

reconceptualization, skills acquisition, and follow through

Question 38

emotional disclosure

Answer 38

a therapeutic activity in which people express their strong, often related emotions by writing or talking about the events that triggered them