Psyc 2301 Vocab - Ch 3

Chapter 3: Stress and Health Psychology stress – the body’s nonspecific response to any demand made on it; physical and mental arousal to situations or events that we perceive as threatening or challenging stressor – trigger that prompts a stressful reaction eustress – pleasant or beneficial stress, such as moderate exercise distress – stress that is unpleasant or objectionable, as from chronic illness life change – change that require some adjustment in behavior or lifestyle, causing some degree of stress chronic stressors – ongoing stressors, such as a bad marriage, poor working conditions, or an intolerable political climate hassles – minor stressors of daily living, such as time pressures and financial concerns burnout – physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion frustration – stressor that occurs when our goals are blocked conflict – stressor that occurs when we are forced to make a choice between at least two incompatible alternatives approach-approach conflict – forced choice between two or more desirable alternatives avoidance-avoidance conflict – forced choice between two or more undesirable alternatives approach-avoidance conflict – forced choice between two or more alternatives that have both desirable and undesirable results sympathetic nervous system – prepares us for immediate action, or “fight or flight” from a threat HPA axis – enables us to deal to chronic stressors by responding more slowly but longer than the sympathetic nervous system general adaption syndrome (GAS) – a three-part physiological reaction to severe stressors psychoneuroimmunology – the interdisciplinary field that studies the effects of psychological factors on the immune system

cancer – leading cause of death for adults in the United States; occurs when a particular type of primitive body cell rapidly divides, forming a tumor that invades healthy tissue heart disease – general term for all disorders that eventually affect the heart muscle and lead to heart failure type A personality – behavior characteristics that include intense ambition, competition, exaggerated time urgency, and a cynical, hostile outlook type B personality – behavior characteristics consistent with a calm, patient, relaxed attitude hardiness – a resilient type of optimism that comes from three distinctive attitudes: a strong sense of commitment to both their work and personal life, the feeling of being in control of their lives, and looking at change as an opportunity for growth and improvement post-traumatic stress disorder (TPSD) – an anxiety disorder following exposure to a life threatening or other extreme event that evoked great horror or helplessness; characterized by flashbacks, nightmares, and impaired functioning ulcers – painful lesions to the lining of the stomach and upper part of the small intestine health psychology – the study of how biological, psychological, and social factors affect health and illness smoking prevention programs – programs that focus on more immediate problems with smoking smoking cessation programs – combines nicotine replacement therapy with cognitive and behavioral techniques, helping smokers identify stimuli or situations that make them feel like smoking binge drinking – occurs when a man consumes five or more drinks in a row, or a woman consumes four or more drink at a time, on a least three occasions during the previous two weeks chronic pain – continuous or recurrent pain lasting six months or longer behavior modification – program that involves establishing an individualized pain management plan that incorporates daily exercise and relaxation techniques biofeedback – an electromyography (EMG) measures muscle tension by recording electrical activity in the skin; when the patient is relaxed, the machine signals with a tone or light, teaching patients self-regulation skills that help control their pain

relaxation techniques – techniques that can help divert attention from pain, such as breathing and muscle relaxation exercises coping – attempt to manage stress in some effective way emotion-focused forms of coping – coping strategies based on changing one’s perceptions of stressful situations defense mechanism – the act of unconsciously distorting reality to protect their egos and avoid anxiety problem-focused forms of coping – coping strategies that use problem-solving strategies to decrease or eliminate the source of stress external locus of control – belief that chance or outside forces beyond one’s control determine one’s fate internal locus of control – belief that one controls one’s own fate progressive relaxation – helps reduce or relieve the muscular tension commonly associated with stress; patients first tense and then relax specific muscles, teaching them to recognize the difference between tense and relaxed muscles