what is a mediation model?
a model that attempts to explain the mechanism underlying an observed relationship between an IV and DV
what is an example of a mediation model?
connection between work place stress and work output – the mediator variable is sleep
what is moderation?
when one variable (a moderator variable) influence or alters the pattern between two other variables
what is an example of moderation?
sex or gender
what is a stressor?
event and experiences that happen in the world that we respond to
what is a stress response (strain)
affective, behavioral, cognitive, or biological responses to stressors
environmental approach on stress
events and experiences
psychological approach on stress
subjective evaluations of coping ability
physiological approach on stress
activation of biological systems, can be measured retrospectively or in the moment
why is the social readjustment rating scale criticized?
stress effects different people in different ways, positive and negative events are listed on the same scale, and subjectivity not woven into scale
primary appraisal
evaluation of the event; how important is this?
secondary appraisal
assessment of abilities/resources for coping; how well do i feel that i can cope with it
define maladaptive people
major depression, anxiety disorders, type A people
describe the story of John Henry
the folk hero that tried to outrun a stream drill tunneling through a mountain and although he beat the machine, he died from trying too hard – internal locus of control
define internal locus of control
the feeling that you put your mind to something so hard and with so much determination that you never give up until you succeed. a good thing in a comfortable, middle-class world because you don’t give up and you get rewarded but bad in poverty
define repressive personalities
structured, planners, rule-bound lives, people want to be them and have their discipline bc everything comes so easy. when exposed to a challenge they show unusual large increase in HR, BP and sweating
1st major approach to examining the inter-relationships between stress, health and aging
major life events that are relatively rare in their occurrence and that require significant life adjustments ex: divorce or death of a spouse
2nd major approach to examining the inter-relationships between stress, health and aging & 2 types
everyday events or quotidian stressors – 2 types = chronic stress and daily hassles
what is a chronic stress?
ongoing persistent situation ex: caregiving for an ill spouse
what is a daily hassle?
minor events that arise from day-to-day living ex: meeting work deadlines
define fight or flight
Walter Cannon; enhances energy, vigor and strength; ANS suppresses parasympathetic activity (decreases HR) and increases sympathetic activity (increases HR) and releases epinephrine, coritsol and nor epinephrine
how to T-cells relate to the physiological approach of stress?
they have receptors for stress hormones telling them to down or up regulate
define allostasis
process of adjustment and adaptation to meet external demands
define allostatic load
a wearing down of bodily systems due to continual accommodations of the physiological systems in response to stressors
how to study allostasis
measure the total number of biomarkers for which an individual scores in the uppermost and lowermost extreme – can compare allostatic load or biomarkers with other people and that will show veralp stress levels
what is a eustress?
a stress with positive effects ex: performances
define optimum level of arousal
being a little stressed out can be helpful to perform better (running a race); moderate amount of arousal to help you
what is the general adaption syndrome?
stress is in 3 phases: alarm- body mobilizes to confront the stress; resistance- actively confronting the threat and resistance is high; and if the threat continues the body moves into exhaustion
who made the general adaption syndrome?
Hans Selye in 1930-1960s
what 3 ways does a stress move from acute to chronic?
repeated, slow/no adaptation or delayed/failed to return to homeostasis
explain the Lutgendorf and Costanzo figure about Biopyschosocial Model
psychosocial (optimism & anxiety) + biological (sex & age) + health behaviors (sleep & diet) –> life stress (acute & chronic) –> health psychology interventions (meditation & relaxation) –> neuroendocrine (cortisol & dopamine) and immune mechanisms (wound healing & tumor growth) –> vulnerability –> disease onset symptoms –> progression/exacerbation & recovery quality of life –> survival/quality of life
allostatic load in 2012 takes what 4 things into account but not what 1 thing?
sympathetic/parasympathetic NS, inflammation, blood glucose and HR but NOT psychological measures
what is the relationship between SES and allostatic load?
those who have lower SES and who have experienced a traumatic event in childhood have higher allostatic load scores
what does the study of stress in the 1980s concentrate on?
emphasis on the role of stress in illness and the coping strategies
what does the study of stress in the 1990-2010 add?
consideration of individual differences and more inclusive amylases of biological responses
what is the diathesis-stress model
explains behavior as a predispositional vulnerability together with stress experiences
what are pre-disposing factors?
being genetically prone to something ex: rats being genetically prone to hypertension
what are precipitating factors?
being prone to something but not developing it until exposed to another factor ex: rats being genetically prone to hypertension but not developing it until exposed to high salt or stress
what is the #1 killer in america?
cardio vascular disease
why did the earthquake in 1994 cause 26 people to have heart attacks on the day but only 2 the next day?
everyone who had predisposing factors to a heart attack had one that day
define face-valid and give example
something that is on the surface, looking like it actually is (obvious what the research or study is looking for) ex: giving alcohol to mice ISNT face-valid because mice don’t drink alcohol
define mechanistic model and give example
trying to figure out what the underlying mechanism is ex: what is the role of dopamine in nicotine addiction?
define inference models and give example
models with free-standing indices ex: you can infer something about humans from animal models (even if model isn’t very face valid)
define free-standing indices
behavioral or biological responses as indices of changes that may be used t infer processes that relate to humans ex: a change in body weight
how do you get rodent’s to drink alcohol?
the two bottle choice method – water vs. alcohol with a sugar solution in it
why aren’t rodents totally face valid?
because humans have social context that affects decisions too but rodents do not
what 3 things can be taught about studying drunk rodents?
tolerance and dependence, liver diseases, & how very low amounts of alcohol are associated with heart benefits
5 downsides of animal models
ethical considerations, validity to human issues, limitations of certain models, which specie to use, which method of alcohol administration
what are social stress models of rodents?
they develop a type of hierarchy/social structure
what happens to a restraint model rodent?
it is put in a device where they can’t turn around, there i.e. no pain but just makes the feel uncomfortable
what happens to a isolated stress rodent?
you put them alone – they hate it
3 advantages of animal models
important for alcohol and drug dependence because they allow researchers to use methods that cannot be used on humans, can be genetically manipulated and can use methods unethical to use on humans
what are 2 key problems with testing rodents with alcohol?
the researcher determines the alcohol intake which is different than humans determining it themselves AND environmental elements play a role in tolerance
what are the 3 phases of wound healing?
inflammatory, proliferative, and remodeling
how long is the inflammatory phase?
hours to days
what happens in the inflammatory phase?
neutrophils secrete chemicals to kill bacteria and foreign particles are engulfed by macrophages
how long is the proliferative phase?
days to weeks
what happens in the proliferative phase?
fibroblasts increase in the wound and secrete glycoproteins and collagen
how long is the remodeling phase?
weeks to months
what happens in the remodeling phase?
collagen is released to strength the wound and the wound finally closes
skin wounds vs. alzheimer’s caregivers
alzheimer’s caregivers healed 24% slower than age-matched controls
mucosal wounds vs school stress
2nd year dental students healed oral mucosal wounds 40% slower when wounded 3 days prior to exams vs. summer vacation
higher perceived stress predicted what two things?
slower healing and lower levels of 1L-1a and 1L-8 in wound sit
3 reasons to use isolation stress?
to test loneliness in humans (morbidity & mortality), it’s a naturalistic stressor, and mice are often separated in scientific studies to prevent potentially confounding interactions
what concluded from the restraint mice?
they lost weight, increased bacteria, and inflammation increased
what concluded from the isolated mice?
inflammation reduced and bacteria counts lowered
why does isolation impair wound healing?
through alterations in re-epithelialization and wound contraction
how does bacterial burden affect healing?
lower bacterial burden doesn’t account for slower healing in the group
what was the Cahill and McGaugh research studying?
declarative memory – the ability to remember facts
how did the Cahill and McGaugh research work?
ice water was used as the stressor – people put arm in ice water AFTER seeing various images which they were later asked to recall
what does the ice water trigger?
epinephrine and norepinephrine response
what is the role of stress and the amygdala?
stress stimulates the amygdala which is close to the hippocampus
why is it important to remember events that cause strong emotions?
so you can cope and feel better prepared for the future if it happens again
what happened in the Tuskegee syphilis study?
black male participants who participated weren’t given penicillin even though it was available, to treat their illness and suffered
what is a randomized controlled trial (RCT)?
subjects are randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group – gold standard for assessing value of a medical intervention
what does the Avigen 411 drug do?
potential to help with opioid withdraw and drug addiction
what does the glial cell regulator do?
reduces inflammatory actions of glial cells and seems to act by increasing IL-10 and neurotropic factors
why use a placebo?
to stop physiological and psychological health
what is an advantage of randomized control experiment?
you can have a greater sense of causality
what is a statistical significance?
the probability that the effects you observed between the two groups would have occurred by chance (less than 5% chance is statistically significant)
what is a clinical significance?
if there really is a difference between a self-reported pain of 9 to 7.5 – example
what are telomeres?
the ends of the linear chromosome
what 3 functions does have telomere have?
protects the chromosome, has DNA-based caps and protein structure at the chromosome tip and the lengths shorten with each cell division until the Hayflick limit
what a the Hayflick limit?
cannot divide anymore, where the cell arrests and enters senescence
what is telemerase?
the enzyme with RNA and protein components
what 2 things does the telemerase do?
maintains an elongates telomeres and adds telomeric repeat directly to DNA sequence
what is the relationship between telomere length and mortality?
the shorter the telomere length and greater chance of mortality (dying)
what is the relationship between telomere length and age?
there is no correlation with chronological age but the shorter the telomere length, the older the BIOLOGICAL age (marker of “wear and tear” on body)
what is a HeLa cell?
a cell named after Henrietta Lacks, who has cervical cancer. it is a cancer cell that have an active version of telomerase during cell division, which prevents the shortening of telomeres that comes with aging and avoids Hayflick Limit
what was special about Jeanne Calment?
she was the woman who lived until 120 something, she has fight or flight but somehow it does not effect her telomeres