Deck : Social Psychology and Health

Question 1

Some mental health professionals have argued that people who do not grieve heavily after the death of a spouse are in a state of denial. The authors of your text explain that __________.

A) many times, people cannot get out of denial and accept the loss until they grieve properly
B) only by forcing oneself to cry and grieve can one truly break free of denial
C) there is little evidence for this assumption
D) people who grieve are psychologically healthier than those who bottle it up using denial

Answer 1

there is little evidence for this assumption

Question 2

George's wife just died from cancer. Based on your text about how people deal with such a loss, how will George most likely respond to her death?

A) Sell her belongings the next day to rid his memory of her.
B) Grieve heavily for several months.
C) Become severely depressed.
D) Be distressed for a short time, and then bounce back.

Answer 2

Be distressed for a short time, and then bounce back.

Question 3

W. B. Cannon (1942) reported a case of an Australian man's health deteriorating after a witch doctor cast a spell on him. He did not recover until the witch doctor removed the spell. What is the explanation for his health deteriorating?

A) He was actually cursed by the witch doctor.
B) He became sick after exposure to the witch doctor's home.
C) His belief that the spell was real produced so much stress his health deteriorated.
D) He contracted malaria.

Answer 3

His belief that the spell was real produced so much stress his health deteriorated.

Question 4

Based on the conceptualization of stress by Holmes and Rahe (1967), who is most likely to experience stress?

A) Anna, who has a busy school routine
B) James, who is getting married next week
C) Sheila, who works ten hours a day
D) Theron, who is working in order to pay his way through school

Question 5

Researchers often employ correlational designs to assess the relationship between stress and physical health . One problem with this approach is that researchers using this method __________.

A) cannot make definitive causal statements
B) rely solely on respondents' self-reports
C) do not often use representative samples
D) do not sample adequately from all age groups

Question 6

Research presented by the authors of your text suggests that when someone's spouse dies, the majority of widows/widowers respond by __________.

A) expressing joy
B) becoming severely depressed
C) grieving heavily
D) being resilient

Question 7

Jared has recently survived a horrific tornado that devastated his town and injured or killed dozens of his friends, family, and neighbors. Based on information from your text, Jared is most likely to __________.

A) become violent and angry
B) turn to religion as a way to cope with the tragedy
C) be at an increased risk of having heart problems
D) seek a stable romantic partner to start a family

Question 8

According to researchers Holmes and Rahe (1967), stress reflects the degree to which people __________.

A) readjust their lives in response to external events.
B) readjust their lives in response to physiological events.
C) perceive their lives as being threatened.
D) interpret any given stimulus as threatening.

Question 9

Mr. Smith's husband just died. Based on the work presented by the authors of your text, if he's like the majority of widows/widowers, he will respond by __________.

A) expressing joy
B) becoming severely depressed
C) grieving heavily
D) being resilient

Question 10

Adi has had a number of stressors in his lifetime but is doing fine. As the authors of your text report, this indicates that Adi and people like him are __________.

A) psychologically frail
B) in denial most of the time
C) prone to respond very irrationally and emotionally
D) remarkably resilient

Question 11

Bobby has just undergone a major upheaval in his life. He had to declare bankruptcy. Research has shown that he is more likely to __________ compared with people who did not experience such upheavals.

A) die
B) turn to religion
C) become aggressive
D) be optimistic

Question 12

Joanne Hill, who is described in the introduction, attributes her strength in the face of adversity to __________.

A) luck
B) making different choices
C) realism
D) cloud busting

Question 13

People who have endured major trauma, such as survivors of the Los Angeles earthquake in 1994 or terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, tend to be at an increased risk of __________.

A) becoming violent
B) having heart problems that may result in death
C) developing cancer within a year of the event
D) contracting HIV within five years of the event

Question 14

Your text indicates one problem associated with measures such as the College Life Stress Inventory is they focus on stressors experienced by __________ and underrepresent stressors experienced by members of __________.

A) high schoolers; the college community
B) the upper class; the college community
C) the middle class; the upper class
D) the middle class; minority groups

Question 15

The College Life Stress Inventory (Renner & Mackin, 1998) shows which of the following as the HIGHEST stress life event?

A) drinking or use of drugs
B) finals week
C) difficulties with parents
D) ending a steady dating relationship

Question 16

Mild, transient reactions to stressful events, followed by a quick return to normal, healthy functioning, is the definition of __________.

A) coping
B) stress
C) locus of control
D) resilience

Question 17

Hans Selye (1956, 1976) originally defined stress as the __________.

A) mind's perceptions of threat
B) body's psychological responses to threat
C) body's physiological responses to threat
D) mind's responses to disruptive or threatening life events

Question 18

The College Life Stress Inventory (Renner & Mackin, 1998) shows which of the following as the LOWEST stress life event?

A) going on a first date
B) getting straight A's
C) starting a new semester
D) making new friends; getting along well with friends

Question 19

The definition of resilience can best be rephrased as __________.

A) denial
B) optimism
C) learned helplessness
D) bouncing back

Question 20

The more racism minority groups experience, the __________ their health (Mouzon et al., 2017; Prather et al., 2016), and majority groups who express the most racist attitudes experience __________ health (Jackson & Inglehart, 1995).

A) better; improved
B) better; diminished
C) worse; diminished
D) worse; improved

Question 21

According to stress research pioneer Lazarus (1966, 2000), it is __________ and not __________ stress that causes problems for people.

A) physical; emotional
B) negative; positive
C) subjective; objective
D) social; personal

Question 22

According to research presented in the text, poverty and racism are powerful sources of stress. This suggests that one problem with inventories is that the scale focuses on __________.

A) objective stressors, not subjective judgments of stress
B) stressors experienced by the middle class, not poor or minority groups
C) both positive and negative life changes
D) self-reports of both stressors and health

Question 23

Deming is feeling unable to cope with the demands of work, school, and home. Deming is feeling __________.

A) stressed
B) depressed
C) anxious
D) extraverted

Question 24

Consider the findings from the study on stress and the immune system. On a college campus, when would students be most susceptible to catching a cold?

A) just after returning from Spring Break
B) the second week of the semester
C) finals week, when there are many exams and papers due
D) during summer break

Question 25

Sora is participating in research similar to research presented in the text. He has been exposed to the virus that causes the common cold and he has been given six assignments to be completed in the next two days. If his results replicate the previous research findings reported in your text, what will happen to Sora?

A) He will complete the assignments on time and not get sick.
B) He will get sick.
C) He will quit the research.
D) He will be too stressed out to sleep.

Question 26

According to most social psychologists, stress is defined as the negative feelings and beliefs that arise when people __________.

A) experience a large number of changes in their lives
B) respond maladaptively to changes in their lives
C) experience physical or psychological illness
D) believe that they cannot cope with environmental demands

Question 27

Frank has been involved with a peer group that expresses racist attitudes for the last 40 years, and he feels hostility toward certain minority groups. According to your text, due to his hostility and aggression, Frank may be experiencing __________.

A) relationship problems
B) health problems
C) relief of stress in other areas of his life
D) grief due to his limited social connections

Question 28

Frazier et al. (2011), Infurna, Ram, & Gerstorf (2013) and Roepke & Grant (2011) assert that a person's belief that they can influence their environment, and therefore whether they experience positive or negative outcomes, __________.

A) is associated with good physical and mental health
B) is associated with good mental health only as it is a belief in their ability, not a physical change
C) is associated with good physical health only as stress affects us physically
D) does not change the effects of stress as positive and negative outcomes can both be stressful

Question 29

Mia and Bailey are both exposed to a virus that causes the common cold when they are studying for finals with their friend Katie. Bailey has been experiencing more negative stress events in her life than Mia. Based on research completed by Cohen, Tyrrell, & Smith (1991, 1993), Cohen et al. (2008) and Marsland, Bachen, & Cohen (2012), what is the likelihood that Mia and Bailey will get a cold?

A) Bailey is more likely to get a cold because her immune system is weakened due to stress.
B) Bailey and Mia have an equal likelihood of getting a cold because the immune system is not affected by stress.
C) Mia is more likely to get a cold because Bailey's immune system has been strengthened in response to the higher levels of stress to which she has been exposed.
D) Neither Bailey nor Mia are likely to get the cold because both them have strengthened immune systems since they are both experiencing the stress associated with studying for final exams.

Question 30

Studies have been completed in which people's immune responses are measured before and after undergoing mildly stressful tasks in the laboratory. The results indicate that relatively mild stressors __________.

A) produce no change of the immune system
B) produce increases in immunity
C) produce suppression of the immune system
D) cannot be studied effectively in a laboratory setting

Question 31

Mary lives in a large city, which has high levels of pollution. Mary is more likely to have __________ deficits compared to children who grow up in less-polluted areas.

A) physiological and environmental
B) psychological and relational
C) environmental and psychological
D) physiological and psychological

Question 32

Researchers exposed some participants to the virus that causes the common cold and exposed other participants to an inert saline solution. They found that the more stress participants reported, the more likely they were to contract colds. Results of this study suggest __________.

A) stress can negatively affect our immune systems
B) physical illness can make us more susceptible to stress
C) exposure to viruses can be a source of stress on the immune system
D) interpretations of stress are more important than objective stress

Question 33

Patrick has experienced a large number of changes in his life. He's lost his job, is getting a divorce, is facing income tax evasion charges, and his wife is expecting a child. Patrick has also reported an increase in anxiety and has been sick a lot over the last six months. Some researchers would suggest that increased stress has taken a toll on Patrick's health. Others would suggest that __________ better account(s) for this coincidence.

A) certain personality traits
B) a genetic defect
C) environmental pollution
D) drug use

Question 34

Your text reports people's feelings of control __________.

A) are fairly consistent for at least a year
B) vary from day to day
C) are a stable personality trait
D) remain consistent as long as there are no changes in a person's life.

Question 35

When is Sam most likely to catch a cold?

A) when he is exposed to the cold virus and is undergoing a divorce, but he does not find the divorce to be very stressful
B) when he is exposed to the cold virus and recently got a speeding ticket, which was very stressful for him
C) when he is exposed to the cold virus and goes outside on a cold day with wet hair
D) when he is exposed to the cold virus, regardless of what is going on in his life

Question 36

According to the authors of your text, which of the following stressors are omitted from many of the stress inventories?

A) stressors relevant to positive life events
B) stressors relevant to young people
C) stressors relevant to the aged
D) stressors relevant to poverty and racism

Question 37

It is ethically impossible to conduct experimental studies of stress and immune responses in humans to determine whether severe stress and prolonged stress actually causes susceptibility to health problems. However, some researchers have measured __________ and found __________.

A) immune responses; loud noises can suppress immune responses
B) reports of illness; people who experience stress are ill more often
C) immune responses; even minor stressors can suppress immune responses
D) bacterial infections; stressors can increase infection rates

Question 38

Which of the following people, based on personality, would be most likely to experience life difficulties and health problems?

A) Tim, who is highly neurotic
B) Anna, who has a tendency to experience negative moods
C) Lionel, who scores high on openness to new experiences
D) Wilson, who has a relaxed type personality

Question 39

A sense of perceived control is defined as the belief that we can influence our environment, __________.

A) but not the outcomes we experience
B) and therefore positive or negative outcomes
C) but only when it comes to positive outcomes
D) but only when it comes to negative outcomes

Question 40

Which of the following is a major conceptual concern with measuring stress by counting objectively positive and negative life events?

A) Only objectively negative events contribute to stress.
B) Perceptions of an event are more important than objective characteristics.
C) Most people don't confront enough major life events to experience stress.
D) A series of minor events often cause more stress than a major event.

Question 41

Twenge and his colleagues (2004, 2015) report that in the last forty years, college students are believing more and more that they __________ over the good and bad things in life.

A) do not have much control
B) have strong control
C) must turn to God to watch
D) should be unemotional

Question 42

Based on Langer and Rodin's (1976) study of perceived control in elderly nursing home residents, which of the following residents is most likely to feel happier, be more active, and live longer?

A) Bess, who makes her own bed and has a choice of a vegetarian meal
B) Aron, who has his own personal aide to attend to his needs
C) Catherine, who is often escorted outside for walks
D) Jack, whose room is full of lush plants

Question 43

Research summarized in your textbook (Sastry & Ross, 1998) finds that members of __________ cultures show less of a relationship between perceived control and psychological distress because of the __________.

A) Western; culture of honor
B) Western; importance of individual achievement
C) Asian; emphasis on collectivist values
D) Asian; samurai warrior tradition

Question 44

Research summarized in your textbook suggests Western cultures value a(n) __________ more so than other cultures.

A) perceived sense of control
B) increase in positive environmental stressors
C) limit on population growth
D) reduction of stressors

Question 45

According to research by Taylor and her colleagues (1984), __________ is likely to reduce stress related to a negative life event such as cancer, and can actually prolong life.

A) perceived control
B) an accurate attribution
C) objective severity
D) subjective severity

Question 46

Several months after he randomly assigned nursing home residents to control or lack of control visitation schedules, Schulz (Schulz & Hanusa, 1978) was dismayed to find that those residents who had originally controlled the duration and frequency of visits from college students later experienced poorer health and higher mortality rates. These findings seem directly at odds with research by Rodin and Langer (1977), until one considers that __________.

A) Schulz induced only a temporary sense of control
B) Langer and Rodin studied women and Schulz studied men
C) a lack of perceived control is worse than losing it
D) people sometimes blame themselves for health problems

Question 47

A nursing home administrator says to residents, "At each meal you have a choice of three entrées." Based on Langer and Rodin's (1976) study of elderly nursing home residents, the nursing home administrator is increasing the residents' __________.

A) joy for life
B) perception of food quality in the nursing home
C) feeling of "being home"
D) perceived control

Question 48

Lucile believes that she can control many things in her life-such as her health through eating and exercise, her success in school through studying, and her happiness in friendships by being a kind person to others. Lucile is exhibiting a strong __________.

A) external locus of control
B) internal locus of control
C) desire to affiliate with others
D) need for cognition

Question 49

Gina believes that if she eats well, exercises regularly, and learns all she can by reading and talking to experts, she can prevent her breast cancer from returning. Gina has __________.

A) an internal locus of control
B) a sense of perceived control
C) high self-esteem
D) a high degree of neuroticism

Question 50

The concept of __________ refers to the ways in which people react to stressful events.

A) immune reactions
B) attributional style
C) coping style
D) self-efficacy

Question 51

Miguel believes he can control his fate. He has a(n) __________.

A) positive sense of self
B) external locus of control
C) internal locus of control
D) strong belief in self control

Question 52

__________ refers to Leo's belief that he can influence his environment, and can influence the odds of positive or negative outcomes.

A) Self-efficacy
B) Learned helplessness
C) Social support
D) Perceived control

Question 53

Recall that a nursing home director in Connecticut cooperated with researchers Langer and Rodin (1976). To some residents he gave a speech that included such statements as "You have the responsibility of caring for yourselves, of deciding whether or not you want to make this a home...." and "You should be deciding how you want your rooms to be arranged...how you want to spend your time...." and "If you are unsatisfied with anything here, you have the influence to change it...." Contents of this speech were designed to __________.

A) reduce stressors
B) improve residents' moods
C) deal with a staff shortage
D) boost feelings of control

Question 54

Based on information from your text on an internal sense of control, who is most likely to be psychologically well adjusted?

A) Adam, who blames himself for getting lung cancer
B) Lola, who is HIV positive and feels she can control her daily activities
C) Charles, who blames his mother for his being schizophrenic
D) Tyler, who feels it is his own actions, as well as chance, that made him an alcoholic

Question 55

People with a strong external locus of control are best described as believing __________.

A) their fate is a matter of luck
B) they can control their fate
C) they can control other people very easily
D) controlling others is important for success

Question 56

How might perceived control be detrimental when dealing with an illness? Perceived control may __________.

A) lead patients to blame themselves for the disease or for failure to recover
B) make a patient feel better, but actually increases the severity of the physical symptoms
C) alleviate physical symptoms, but decreases immunity toward other diseases
D) lead a patient to ignore the advice of medical professionals

Question 57

Lenny believes that he has very little control over many things in his life such as health, success in school, and happiness in relationships. Lenny is exhibiting a strong __________.

A) external locus of control
B) internal locus of control
C) desire to affiliate with others
D) need for cognition

Question 58

According to research on perceived control, even when people experience life-threatening chronic diseases such as cancer or AIDS, they can maintain a sense of perceived control over __________, and thus maintain psychological adjustment.

A) the consequences of a disease
B) their social networks
C) the course of their treatment
D) the course of the disease

Question 59

Six months ago, a nursing home started a program in which some residents were allowed to choose their daily activities. All else being equal, which of the following residents is likely to die soonest?

A) Edgar, who participated over the entire course of the program
B) Ruth, who recently joined the program
C) Martha, who recently dropped out of the program
D) George, who never participated in the program

Question 60

In terms of psychological and physical health, the authors of your text report it is better to have a(n) __________.

A) internal locus of control
B) false sense of control
C) external locus of control
D) grandiose sense of self

Question 61

According to research by Pennebaker and colleagues, for writing about a trauma to be most beneficial, people should write about it __________.

A) in the hours after the event occurred
B) after a little time has passed and they can have a different perspective
C) only with the supervision of a psychologist
D) immediately and share those writings with friends

Question 62

Pennebaker's research on the effects of "opening up" or confiding in others shows that those people who write stories __________ show the most improvements to their health.

A) with the least amount of traumatic content
B) with the most traumatic content
C) that start out incoherent but become more organized
D) that focus on relationships

Question 63

When Parker is under stress, he tends to either get very confrontational and argumentative, or back away and totally withdraw from the stressful situation. Parker is exhibiting a __________ response to stress.

A) learned helplessness
B) fight-or-flight
C) denial
D) tend-and-befriend

Question 64

When Kate encounters a lot of stress, she often turns to friends for help. When Kate is not under stress, she will often nurture her friends who are under stress, and continue to build up her social network. Kate seems to respond to stress using the __________ response.

A) learned helplessness
B) fight-or-flight
C) denial
D) tend-and-befriend

Question 65

Researchers, Taylor and colleagues (2000), suggest that most research on the fight-or-flight response is limited by having been done primarily on __________.

A) rats
B) males
C) nonhuman species
D) organisms that are experiencing novel as opposed to familiar stressors

Question 66

With regard to gender differences in coping strategies, male is to female as fight-or-flight is to __________.

A) talk-and-walk
B) care-and-share
C) tend-and-befriend
D) shop-'til-you-drop

Question 67

Amberly is really struggling to make ends meet. Even though she has roommates, she still has bills to pay and a very tight food budget. Given the work of Bolger and Amarel (2007), which of the following would you suggest?

A) Maria should suggest that the group have a potluck meal once a week where each roommate brings what she can, because she is really having trouble buying a wide variety of foods.
B) Molly should give Amberly $20 the next time they are out at the grocery store.
C) Mandy should suggest that Amberly consider going to the food bank for groceries.
D) Madeline should buy groceries for Amberly.

Question 68

In collectivistic cultures, which type of social support is more acceptable?

A) visible support, because it shows that everyone in the group deserves help
B) visible support, because it is more effective
C) invisible support, because it shows that the group, not the individual, needs help
D) invisible support, because it shows that the individual, not the group, needs help

Question 69

Carlos finds it difficult to get all of his chores done in time to study at night. Which type of social support would be most effective?

A) Brian telling Carlos that he'll cover the chores for a week
B) Lucas telling Carlos that he would be happy to help with the chores, just give him a call
C) Marcus offering to do Carlos's homework for a small fee
D) Martin suggesting that everyone pitch in to help with all of the chores instead of dividing them up

Question 70

Spiegel and colleagues (1989) randomly assigned breast cancer patients to either a series of weekly meetings to discuss their problems and fears or to a control group. Based on other research on social support, what would you expect to happen in this experiment? Women who met in groups would __________.

A) feel worse, but live longer
B) feel better and live longer
C) feel better about their illness, but not live longer
D) not feel any different, but live longer

Question 71

According to the World Health Organization, more than half of the deaths worldwide are due to preventable chronic diseases (Reardon, 2011). The same is true in the United States, where tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable deaths. According to your text, what is the second highest cause of preventable deaths?

A) drug use
B) obesity
C) stress
D) binge drinking

Question 72

Your text explains the underlying reasons why women tend to use a "tend-and-befriend" approach while males tend to be more prone to use a "fight-or-flight" response to stress. What type of explanation do they provide for this gender difference?

A) cognitive dissonance
B) cultural
C) evolutionary
D) attribution theory

Question 73

Thinking about the "tend-and-befriend" response to stress discussed in your text, befriending refers to __________.

A) building a strong social network
B) manipulating the source of stress and pretending to be their ally
C) nurturing activities
D) turning the other cheek when someone insults you

Question 74

According to the authors of your text, what is one reason why it can be bad to keep negative thoughts inside?

A) Suppressing a thought can lead to that thought occurring more frequently.
B) Suppressing the thoughts can lead to coronary disease within weeks of the trauma.
C) Suppressing a thought can eventually eat away at people mentally until they are depressed.
D) People will internalize those thoughts, leading to learned helplessness.

Question 75

The authors of your text suggest that many health problems stem from behaviors associated with sex, eating, drinking, and smoking because they __________.

A) are necessities
B) are prescribed by culture
C) tend to be so pleasurable
D) are inexpensive ways to entertain oneself

Question 76

The authors of your text report that one response to stress is attacking or fleeing from the source. This is better known as the __________ response.

A) fight-or-flight
B) tend-and-befriend
C) acceptance
D) social support

Question 77

In the "tend-and-befriend" response to stress discussed in your text, tending refers to __________.

A) building a strong social network
B) arguing with the source of stress
C) nurturing activities
D) turning the other cheek when someone insults you

Question 78

Hiro, who is Japanese, is struggling with demands and schedules at work. He is not very likely to ask for social support from his family and friends. Why?

A) Asking for help could demonstrate his independence from his group.
B) Asking for help could disrupt the harmony of his group.
C) Asking for help is a symbol of weakness and lack of independence.
D) Asking for help will affect his locus of control.

Question 79

__________ refers to the perception that others are responsive and receptive to our needs.

A) Social facilitation
B) Social support
C) Positive attribution style
D) Perceived control

Question 80

After his mother's death, Steve began to keep a diary of his thoughts and feelings. Compared to his brother Marc, who chose not to write about the tragedy, Steve is __________.

A) less likely to show an immediate increase in blood pressure
B) more likely to feel better soon
C) less likely to become ill over the next six months
D) more likely to visit the student health center