PSYC chapter 13

conflict

a situation in which a person feels pulled between two or more opposing desires, motives, or goals

pessimistic explanatory style

accounting for negative events or situation with internal, stable and global explanations

optimistic explanatory style

accounting for negative events or situations with external, unstable and specific explanations

Robert Ader

american psychologist who first demonstrated that immune system responses could be classically conditioned; helped establish the new interdisciplinary field of psychoneuroimmunology

psychoneuroimmunology

an interdisciplinary field that studies the interconnections among psychological process, nervous and endocrine system functions, and the immune system

escape-avoidance

emotion focused coping strategy in which the person shifts his or her attention away from the stressor and towards other activites

stressors

events or situations that are perceived as harmful, threatening, or challenging

daily hassles

everyday minor events that annoy and upset people

corticosteroids

hormones released by the adrenal cortex that play a key role in the body's response to long-term stressors

catecholamines

hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla that cause rapid physiological arousal; include adrenaline and noradrenaline

planful problem solving

problem-focused coping strategy in which the person relies on aggressive or risky efforts to change the situation

lymphocytes

specialized white blood cells that are responsible for immune defenses

biopsychosocial model

the belief that physical health and illness are determined by the complex interaction of biologica, psychological, and social factors

health psychology

the branch of psychology that studies how biological, behavioral, and social factors influence health, illness, and medical treatment, and health-related behaviors

social support

the resources provided by other people in times of need

acculturative stress

the stress that results from the pressure of adapting to a new culture

stress

a negative emotional state occurring in response to events that are perceived as taxing or exceeding a person's resources or ability to cope

Janice Kiecolt-Glaser

American psychologist who conducted extensive research on the effect of stress on the immune system

Martin Seligmen

American psychologist who conducted research on explanatory style and the role it plays in stress, health and illness

Richard Lazarus

American psychologist who helped promote the cognitive perspective in the study of stress and coping; emphasized the importance of cognitie appraisal in the stress response

Walter Cannon

American psychologist who made several important contributions to psycholog, especially in the study of emotions; he described the fight-or-flight response, which involves the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system

general adaptation syndrome

Selye's term for the three-stage progression of physical changes the occur when an organism is exposed to intense and prolonged stress. The three stages are alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

fight or flight response

a rapidly occurring chain of internal physical reactions that prepare people either to fight or take flight form an immediate threat

Type A behavior pattern

a behavioral and emotional style characterized by a sense of time urgency, hostility, and competitiveness

Hans Selye

Canadian endocrinologist who was a pioneer in stress research; described a three-stage response to prolonged stress that he called the general adaption syndrome

coping

behavioral and cognitive responses used to deal with stressors; involves our efforts to change circumstances, or our interpretation of circumstances, to make them more favorable and less threatening

immune system

body system that produces specialized white blood cells that protect the body from viruses, bacteria, and tumor cells

problem focused coping

coping efforts primarily aimed at directly changing or managing a threatening or harmful stressor

emotion focused coping

coping efforts primarily aimed at relieving or regulating the emotional impact of a stressful situation