chapter 13
Nancy is a doctor who has spent the past year volunteering at a clinic in a war-ravaged developing nation. She has seen many patients lose their lives in the conflict, but she does her job to the best of her ability. The two stress hormones at play in Nancy's system are:
cortisol & adrenaline
One of the characteristics of burnout is:
cynicism
Harper got up late and stubbed her toe on the dresser rushing to get ready for work. When she made her toast, she found that there was no jam in the fridge. Then, as she was grabbing her purse, the strap broke. Richard Lazarus would call these incidents:
daily hassles
Suppose that, in an experiment, researchers expose participants to a stressor in the presence of either a close friend or a companion animal such as a pet cat or dog. The researchers then assess participants' blood pressure and cardiovascular response to stress. In this study, blood pressure is a(n) _____ variable.
dependent
According to information provided in the textbook, adults who never marry are about _____ percent more likely to die early than are adults who are married and living with their spouses.
60
In the 1950s, college students were asked about their parents' love and caring. Fifty years later, researchers investigated the physical health of the same participants (Shaw et al., 2004). Of the students who had rated their parents' love and caring as low, nearly _____ percent had developed a serious illness.
90
Which statement is true about the role of social support and health?
Negative interactions are worse for distress than positive interactions are for well-being.
_____ is to addressing work problems with a colleague, as _____ is to talking to one's hairstylist about all of the problems at work.
Problem-focused coping; emotion-focused coping
The cognitive appraisal model of stress was developed by:
Richard Lazarus.
Which of the following is NOT a reason social support can help the ability to cope with stress?
Social support is the primary factor that reduces health concerns related to stress.
Which statement is false regarding people with pessimistic explanatory styles?
They have a high number of lymphocytes, T cells, and helper T cells.
Which of the following statements does NOT describe a factor of traumatic events?
Traumatic events always cause posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The fight-or-flight response was first described by:
Walter Cannon.
Based on the text, which BEST describes the type of coping someone from an individualistic culture is likely to exhibit?
an emphasis on exerting control over one's circumstances, particularly when threatening or stressful
According to the _____ model, health and illness are determined by the complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.
biopsychosocial
When coping with stress, a person in a collectivistic culture tends to favor emotion-focused coping styles such as:
controlling personal reactions to stressful situations rather than controlling the situation.
The ways in which we try to change circumstances, or our interpretation of circumstances, to make them more favorable and less threatening, is referred to in the text as a strategy called:
coping.
In times of stress, the outer part of the adrenal glands secrete corticosteroids such as:
cortisol
The textbook describes an experiment by Petrovic and his colleagues (2002) in which hot metal was placed on the back of each participant's hand. Each participant then received either an opioid painkiller or a placebo. PET scans then measured participants' brain activity. Brain activity was a(n) _____ variable in this study.
dependent
According to the In Focus box, "Gender Differences in Responding to Stress," males tend to adopt the _____ response, and females typically engage in the _____ behavioral pattern of responding.
fight-or-flight; tend-and-befriend
Dr. Hasker is studying the effects of HIV awareness campaigns and the reduction of new HIV cases within the Latino population of a major city. He is examining what is working and what is not working to stem the tide of infection in this high-risk area of the city. He is also looking at medication compliance and wellness examinations. He is a:
health psychologist
Dr. Turnbull uses the biopsychosocial model to guide her research into how psychological factors influence health, illness, and treatment. Dr. Turnbull is MOST likely a:
health psychologist
Which action is MOST apt to help someone who is in need of tangible support?
helping the person to do housework
Many students are sick during midterms and final exams because these are times of _____ stress that _____ the effectiveness of the immune system to fight off illness.
high; decrease
A person who got married, had a baby, and started a new job all within a year may have a _____ score on a stress scale than someone whose mother had a serious illness in the last year.
higher
Research by Sheldon Cohen and his colleagues demonstrated that individuals with chronic stressors are _____ likely to develop a cold after being exposed to a cold virus.
highly
_____ are cells that attack bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances.
lymphocytes
When Claudia became ill due to a viral infection, her immune system kicked into high gear to defend her by releasing:
lymphocytes.
A technique in which practitioners focus awareness on present experience with acceptance is called:
mindfulness meditation
Distancing is a form of emotion-focused coping that involves:
minimizing or eliminating the emotional impact of a stressful situation.
Those who respond with _____ become angry, question their religious beliefs, and may believe that they are being punished.
negative religious coping
According to the In Focus box entitled, "Providing Effective Social Support," which is NOT a recommended behavior for helping someone in distress?
offer unsolicited advice
Recall the three types of social support defined in the In Focus box in the textbook. Informational support involves:
offering helpful suggestions or advice
Whenever anything goes wrong in his life, Dean typically feels that it must be something about him that causes the problem. He also believes that no amount of personal effort will improve his situation. Martin Seligman would say that Dean has:
pessimistic explanatory style
Dritan came to Italy when his family sailed a makeshift boat across the Adriatic to escape the turmoil in his native Albania. His family took residence with another family of refugees in a neighborhood made up entirely of Albanians. After 5 years, Dritan still speaks little Italian and has had trouble finding work at local businesses, which avoid hiring from the Albanian community. According to the Culture and Human Behavior box in the textbook, it appears that Dritan has adopted a pattern of acculturation called _____ and has probably experienced a _____ degree of stress as a result of being isolated within this new culture.
seperation;high
Escape-avoidance is a form of emotion-focused coping that involves:
shifting one's attention away from the stressor and towards other activities.
Edward's high-pressure job as an air traffic controller and his family responsibilities mean that he is under chronic stress. Frank is the same age as Edward but has little chronic stress in his life. As a result, Edward's telomeres are probably _____ than Frank's.
shorter
_____ is a negative emotional state that occurs in response to events that are perceived as taxing or exceeding a person's resources or ability to cope.
stress
Amal is under a lot of stress at school. She is having trouble keeping up with her assignments because she must work in the evenings to pay for tuition. Which should Amal avoid to minimize the adverse impact of this stress?
take stimulants regularly
Which can be a direct physical effect of stress?
tension headaches
Which of the following is NOT a cognitive function impacted by stress?
tension headaches
Which of the following models of stress emphasizes the role of an individual's evaluation of events and situations and of the resources that he or she has available to deal with the event or situation?
the cognitive appraisal model
As compared to short-term stress, long-term stress has _____ effect on telomerase activity.
the opposite
The textbook describes an experiment by Petrovic and his colleagues (2002) in which hot metal was placed on the back of each participant's hand. Each participant then received either an opioid painkiller or a placebo. This experiment would constitute a double-blind study if:
the researchers did not know which participants received the placebo, and each participant did not know whether he or she was receiving the placebo or the painkiller.
Women are more susceptible than men to the stress contagion effect because:
they tend to have a larger intimate social network
Seeking social support is a form of emotion-focused coping that involves:
turning to friends, relatives, or other people for emotional, tangible, or informational support.
People who are competitive, super-motivated, impatient, and verbally aggressive are likely to be classified as:
type A
Erika is a very impatient and competitive corporate executive who feels that she must be the best in her field. In addition, she has a reputation for being hostile toward co-workers and employees. Erika would likely be classified as having a(n):
type A behavior pattern
People who are easygoing, relaxed, and don't let things get to them are classified as:
type B
Bennie is a very laid-back, easygoing waiter. He loves his job because it allows him to meet people. Bennie would likely be classified as having a:
type B behavior pattern
Confrontive coping is a form of problem-focused coping that involves:
using an aggressive or risky effort to change the situation.
The stress contagion effect occurs:
when someone becomes upset about the negative events that happen to people they care about.
Randall wants advice on how to cope with the stress of returning to active military service after being in the civilian workforce for several years. He would be BEST advised to approach his situation:
with a sense of personal control and optimism.
Concerns about job security and challenges working for a difficult supervisor are examples of:
work stress
Which set contains a discrepant element?
{unstable, specific, pessimistic}
Amelia is under an extreme amount of stress. She is battling with her boss about deadlines and a lost promotion. In this time of stress, Amelia turns to her friends for support and spends as much time with her family as possible. Taylor and colleagues would say that she is responding to stress according to which model?
"tend & befriend"
Research cited in the textbook suggests that social isolation is as great a mortality risk as smoking _____ cigarettes per day.
15
Donald scored 300 points on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. What does that mean?
It is impossible to accurately predict whether Donald will develop physical and psychological problems.
In a series of studies with nursing home residents, _____ demonstrated the importance of a sense of personal control.
Judith Rodin and Ellen Langer
The American psychologist BEST known for ground-breaking research on the role of explanatory styles in stress, health, and illness is:
Martin Seligman
Annmarie gets a phone call that her daughter has been injured in a car accident. Annmarie is scared and shocked. In response to this stressor, her pituitary gland has received a signal from her hypothalamus to release a hormone called:
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
Henrietta gets a phone call that she is going to be laid off from her job. Henrietta is scared and shocked. In response to this stressor, her pituitary gland has received a signal from her hypothalamus to release a hormone called:
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
High levels of stress are MOST likely to interfere with one's:
attention
People tend to use emotion-focused, rather than problem-focused, coping strategies when they:
believe they cannot change a stressful situation.
Five-year-old Jazmyn was playing in her yard when a snake reared up near her, and she experienced the classic symptoms of the fight-or-flight response. According to Walter Cannon, it is likely that Jazmyn's sympathetic nervous system stimulated her adrenal medulla to secrete hormones, called:
catecholamines
Both adrenaline and noradrenaline are hormones called:
catecholamines.
Research has shown that positive emotions are associated with all of the following EXCEPT:
chronic disease
The likelihood that Peter will experience stress when his car breaks down along the road depends largely on his perception of the situation, also known as:
cognitive appraisal
Reggie has lost his job. He quickly got in touch with his parents to tell them the bad news and seek help. He is hopeful that his father's connections might help him find a better job. What sort of culture does Reggie MOST likely come from?
collectivistic
Planful problem-solving is a form of problem-focused coping that involves:
efforts to rationally analyze the situation, identify potential solutions, and then implement them.
According to the In Focus box titled "Providing Effective Social Support," researchers have been able to narrow down social support into three broad categories:
emotional, tangible, and informational.
According to the _____ approach, both positive and negative changes are inherently stress-producing.
life events
Where in the brain does activation occur in response to a threat?
hypothalamus
The _____ is known as the body's surveillance system; it detects and battles bacteria, viruses, and tumor cells.
immune system
Dorothy has recently separated from her husband of 17 years. This situation is likely to affect Dorothy's health by:
impairing her immune system
This morning, Barb must not only finish a research paper due this afternoon, but also prepare a presentation for her evening class tonight. Today's stress should _____ telomerase activity, thereby potentially _____ the telomeres.
increase; lengthening
What is Crystal likely to experience if she has many daily hassles and chronic stressors in her life?
increased health problems
What risk is associated with Type A personalities?
increased risk of heart disease due to the fact that they react to stress and adversity with anger
Suppose that, in an experiment, researchers expose participants to a stressor in the presence of either a close friend or a companion animal such as a cat or a dog. The researchers then assess participants' blood pressure and cardiovascular response to stress. In this study, whether participants experienced the stressor in the presence of a human or an animal is a(n) _____ variable.
independent
The textbook describes an experiment by Petrovic and his colleagues (2002) in which hot metal was placed on the back of each participant's hand. Each participant then received either an opioid painkiller or a placebo. Whether participants received a painkiller or a placebo was a(n) _____ variable in this study.
independent
Not eating or sleeping properly are two ways in which stress can _____ affect one's health.
indirectly
People in _____ cultures tend to emphasize personal autonomy and personal responsibility in dealing with problems.
individualistic
Selina has lost her job. She has been combing the newspapers looking for another one and has been in contact with colleagues to inquire about a position at other firms. She is a bit embarrassed and still hasn't told any of her family about her stressful situation. What sort of culture does Selina MOST likely come from?
individualistic
_____ support provides helpful suggestions, advice, or possible resources for help.
informational
Type A personality is to Type B personality, as _____ is to _____.
irritable; calm
Thaddeus likes to confront his problems. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he immediately began researching various treatments and their effectiveness, so he could discuss his options with his specialist at their first meeting. His behavior BEST illustrates:
planfull problem-solving
The emotion-focused coping strategy known as _____ involves minimizing the negative emotional aspects of the situation and trying to create positive meaning by focusing on personal growth.
positive reappraisal
Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way one interacts with that stressor is known as:
problem-focused coping
After his third month of low sales, Ali is called into the sales manager's office and told that he had better start meeting his quota or he will be laid off. The manager appears to be coping with the problem of low sales by using a(n) ______ coping strategy called ______.
problem-focused; confrontive coping
Hector's son brings home his third poor report card from the university. Hector tells his son if his grades don't improve next semester, he will no longer pay his tuition. Hector appears to be coping with the problem of his son's low grades by using a(n) _____ strategy called _____.
problem-focused; confrontive coping
When reading the In Focus box entitled, "Gender Differences in Response to Stress," the evolutionary perspective would suggest that women and men have different behavioral responses to stress. A female's tend-and-befriend way of responding is, according to researchers, a way of:
promoting the survival of both the individual and the individual's offspring.
Recall the three types of social support defined in the In Focus box in the textbook. Tangible support involves:
providing transportation, money, or help with tasks.
During which phase of the general adaptation syndrome reaction does the body adapt to its high state of arousal in an attempt to cope with the stressor?
resistance