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Psych2550A - Personality > Chp 12 - Stress and Health > Flashcards

Chp 12 - Stress and Health Flashcards

(41 cards)

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1
Q

Stressor

A

anything that places excessive demands on the individual

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2
Q

The Stress Response (1+6+1)

A

Sympathetic nervous system
Endocrine system (cortisol)

Changes in
- glucose (higher)
- respiration (faster)
- heart rate (faster)
- digestion (shut down, to move faster)
- brain function (hippocampus)
- immune function (suppressed)

Stress can be good
- Allows you to meet demands
but chronic stress causes health problem

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3
Q

Cortisol is a ______ _____

A

Steroid hormone: can enter every cell type in the body

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4
Q

What was the best predictor for developing a cold?

A

Best predictor of developing a cold was stress
- Stress suppresses the immune system
Access whether or not had a cold

Measures of lifestyle, personality
Control group:
- Saline water up nose
Test:
- Cold virus up nose

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5
Q

Acute stress and immunity

A
  • mild stress enhances immune function
  • moderate to severe stress suppresses immune function
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6
Q

Chronic Stress effect on body

A
  • powerfully suppress immune function
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7
Q

Sleep problems and stress (4)

A
  • Spontaneous waking
  • Not getting enough sleep is a stressor
  • Stressed about not getting sleep
  • Reinforce being stress
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8
Q

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale

A

Judge whether they were sleep deprived or not

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9
Q

Top stressors (4)

A

Homework/School
Parents/Family
Time
Social Life/Personal

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10
Q

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) (4)

A

Anything that causes us to change the way we live is stressful
- higher point= greater stress

  • Newer scales only measures emotionally negative
  • Emotionally positive events can protect against illness
  • student stress scale
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11
Q

SRRS Scores and Illness

A

The more negative life changes, more likely to experience serious illness:

300 points or more, seen by medical professional due to illness

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12
Q

Stress Continuum

A

Minor Stressor (microstressors)
Cataclysmic Phenomena (hurricanes, wars..)

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13
Q

The chronic daily hassles

A
  • Elicit stress respones
  • Major stressors make us more sensitive to chronic daily hassles (if already highly stressed)

got lots of microstressors happening

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14
Q

Stress and Psychological Health (6) is a risk factor for:

A

Stress is a risk factor for
- mood disorder
- anxiety disorder
- substance abuse
- dissociative disorder
- psychoses
- somatoform disorder

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15
Q

Diathesis-Stress Model (4)

A

For all disorders, there are prior predispositions (e.g. genes/ experience)
- Has high predisposition, only need low level of stress to manifest disorders
- stress doesn’t cause disorder, but amplifies risk factors

Model also fit physical disorders

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16
Q

Personality Characteristics and Unhealthy Behaviour (4)

A
  1. Unhealthy Behaviours
  2. Sick Role
  3. Disease
  4. Stress
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17
Q

Personality Characteristics and Unhealthy Behaviour: 1. Unhealthy Behaviours (6)

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A
  • If depressed, impulsive, isolated, angry -> more likely to put self at risk
  • Problems with emotional regulation, higher risk of self-medication (High impulsivity, low ego-control)
  • Low self-esteem -> poor self care
  • Social factors (e.g. peer pressure; resistance cultures (reject norms of societal expectations)
  • Poor stress coping skills
  • Thrill seeking: need for stimulation, arousability, risk taking
18
Q

Personality Characteristics and Unhealthy Behaviour: 2. Sick Role

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A

Expectations about how a sick person behaves, and how others behave towards a sick person

May adopt sick role, as a response to stress, reinforced by sympathy, care, avoidance

19
Q

Personality Characteristics and Unhealthy Behaviour: 3. Disease

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A

Some diseases linked to personality changes e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, Hypothyroidism

20
Q

Personality Characteristics and Unhealthy Behaviour: 4. Stress (2)

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A
  • Profound impact on psychological and physical health
  • Individual difference in vulnerability
21
Q

Lewis Terman and Longevity Project, 1932 (5)

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A

1258 gifted children
80 years
What were the most important factor for living healthy and happy?

Conscientiousness
Sociability
Cheerfulness
Stress
Mental Health

22
Q

Type A Personality (3)

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A
  • Tense, impatient, competitive, impulsive, aggression, vigilant, need for control
  • Higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), Esp for males
  • “Workaholics” or aggression?
    health risks more due to aggression
23
Q

Type B Personality

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A
  • Easy-going, non-competitive
  • not concerned about organisational skills
  • Tend to be sensitive to others’ feelings (outward facing)
24
Q

Type C Personality

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A
  • Outwardly calm, unexpressive
  • overly calm, repressed
  • higher risk of cancer
25
Hardiness
Not very impacted by stress Recovers from stress easier
26
Hardiness, Resilience, and the 3C's (3)
Control: - internal locus of control; perception of control Commitment: - involved in daily life, committed to work, family, etc Challenge: - challenges or opportunities, not threats
27
How we deal with stress is the reason why some strive in stress and some don't
how we cope with stress - vulnerability/predispositions If we cannot address the source of the stress, change your emotional reaction
28
Change your emotional reaction (3)
1) Focus on the positive - Think of the good things about you, your life, the situation 2) Tension Reduction 3) Disclosure
29
Focus on the positive: gratitude journal
Gratitude: significant elevation in mood If reflect in everyday, we always think of what went wrong, natural inclination/negativity bias Train themselves in having a positivity reflection, rather a default
30
4 ways to regulate stress and emotions
- Tension Reduction - Exercise - Disclosure - Social Support
31
Tension Reduction
Relaxation techniques - Meditations - Exercise - Relaxation - Breathing focused When busy, people drop these activities out of their schedule "I shouldn’t spend time in the gym" But when busy, tension reduction is the most important in maintaining health
32
Exercise on mood
Improves and helps regulate mood Enhances immune function Outdoors- additional benefit from sunlight Even moderate exercise: *Aerobic *Mood *Immune function *Outdoors *Sleep
33
Pets: Lower stress (4)
- Lowers cortisol (stress hormone) - Lowers blood pressure - Increases mood - Increases self-esteem
34
Disclosure (3) and the experiment
Talk about it, write about it University students affected by a major trauma Disclosure: Write about the distressing experience - Specifically their emotions during and after the event Control: Write about what you did today - Write about it several times a week One-month follow up: - Control: no change in stress levels - Disclosure: lower stress Journal/ diary helpful in dealing with stress
35
Taking a break on stress
Positive emotion - When you take a break - Engage in a break Distracting but emotionally neutral vs emotionally engaging (fun) Emotionally engaging break: - Relief and protective - Protecting us from negative impact of stress
36
Social Support (3+2)
Assistance offered by others * Tangible assistance * Advice, information * Emotional support Timely, appropriate - A good time: eg. Wanna vent, needs to be now - Appropriate: maybe you only want to vent At least one
37
Conscientiousness (longevity project)
- Predicts longevity, esp in males - Protective from all causes of death: accident, CHD, cancer - Significant even when control for lifestyle variables - Widely supported
38
Sociability (Longevity Project)
- no clear link to longevity - social support is linked to better health
39
Cheerfulness (Longevity Project)
- died younger - As adults more out-going, more likely to smoke, drink, take risks Cheerfulness -> carefree, careless, higher risks Optimism -> positive evaluation of present and future; work toward future; healthier; trust
40
Stress (Longevity Project) (3)
- childhood stress - shorter lifespan - Parental divorce, significant risk factor - But parental divorce lower risk than openly hostile famility environment
41
Mental Health (Longevity Project)
- Mental stability ("ego strength"): dependability, trust, stability, self-control linked to better health, longer life

Psych2550A - Personality (12 decks)

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