Deck 12: Section 3: Stress, Health, and Coping

Question 1

Daily hassles are events or situations that are negative, severe, and far beyond our normal expectations for everyday life or life events.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

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

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a disorder that involves intrusive thoughts of a traumatic event, emotional numbness, and symptoms of anxiety, such as nervousness, sleep disturbances, and irritability.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Research has confirmed the idea that particular life events have essentially the same impact on most people, and this impact can be quantified in terms of a specific number of "life change units."

Question 5

Confirming the views of Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe, researchers have found that positive or desirable events can be just as stress-producing as negative or undesirable events. Change in itself is stressful and potentially damaging to one's health.

Question 6

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

Question 7

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale was developed by Richard Lazarus in an attempt to measure the amount of stress people experience.

Question 8

Health psychologists are guided by the biopsychosocial model, which holds that health and illness are determined by the complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.

Question 9

A gratitude list involves conjuring up mental images of people, circumstances, or items that you are thankful for.

Question 10

In contrast to the view of Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe, most people weather major life events without developing serious physical or psychological problems.

Question 11

Witnessing or surviving a violent attack and experiences associated with combat, warfare, or major disasters are examples of the types of events that are typically considered to be daily hassles.

Question 12

People who have accumulated more than 150 life change units within a 12-month period, as measured by the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, always experience a physical illness in the following year.

Question 13

An interdisciplinary field that solely focuses on the interconnections among psychological processes, nervous and endocrine system functions, and the immune system is called health psychology.

Question 14

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale is based on the assumption that the impact of life events, as measured in life change units, varies according to how people cognitively appraise the event or situation.

Question 15

Traumatic events are events or situations that are negative, severe, and far beyond our normal expectations for everyday life.

Question 16

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale was developed by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in an attempt to measure the amount of stress people experience.

Question 17

Stress 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.

Question 18

One large survey of college students found that 85 percent reported having been exposed to a traumatic event during their lifetime.

Question 19

Research shows that less than 30 percent of those who experience major disasters-such as floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes-develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Question 20

Cumulative adversity refers to the total amount of negative events experienced over a lifetime.

Question 21

Daily hassles are everyday minor events that annoy and upset people.

Question 22

Social conditions such as, crowding, crime, unemployment, poverty, inadequate health care, and substandard housing are associated with increased stress.

Question 23

Because scores on the Daily Hassles Scale had virtually no predictive value, plans for developing variations of the scale for children, college students, and other groups, were dropped.

Question 24

People in lower socioeconomic groups, who have low incomes, low education levels, low-status occupations, and so on, experience more health problems and more incidents of violence than people in higher-status groups.

Question 25

"People think I'm shy, when I really just have trouble speaking English" is an example of an item from the Acculturative Daily Hassles Scale for Children.

Question 26

People in the highest socioeconomic levels of society tend to have the highest levels of psychological distress and physical illness.

Question 27

People in lower socioeconomic groups, who have low incomes, low education levels, low-status occupations, and so on, experience fewer health problems and fewer incidents of violence than people in higher-status groups.

Question 28

The Daily Hassles Scale was developed by Richard Lazarus and his colleagues to measure the occurrence of everyday annoyances, such as being stuck in traffic, or being inconvenienced by bad weather.

Question 29

The number of daily hassles that people experience is a better predictor of physical illness and symptoms than the number of major life events.

Question 30

Following the development of the original Daily Hassles Scale, variations of the scale were developed for different groups, including one for children and one for college students.

Question 31

Daily hassles can contribute to the stress produced by major life events, because major life events, whether negative or positive, can create a ripple effect, generating a host of new daily hassles.

Question 32

People in the lowest socioeconomic levels of society tend to have higher levels of psychological distress, physical illness, and higher levels of stress hormones than those in higher-status groups.

Question 33

The daily hassles that we all experience can be annoying and irritating, but there is no evidence that their effects are cumulative and can have consequences for health and well-being.

Question 34

Suzanne feels overloaded at work and feels that she has a lack of control over her work environment. This has led to exhaustion, cynicism, and a sense of failure or inadequacy. It is likely that Suzanne is experiencing a phenomenon called burnout.

Question 35

Crowding, crime, unemployment, poverty, inadequate health care, and substandard housing are social problems that people from all socioeconomic backgrounds cope with every day and are not significant sources of stress.

Question 36

When work stress is prolonged and becomes chronic, it always produces a stress response called generalized anxiety disorder.

Question 37

Resilience refers to perceiving events as taxing and exceeding the ability to cope.

Question 38

One explanation as to why daily hassles take a toll on health and well-being is that these minor irritations, which are relatively unimportant by themselves, are cumulative and the effects add up.

Question 39

Daily hassles do not contribute to the stress produced by major life events.

Question 40

The Daily Hassles Scale was developed by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in an attempt to measure the amount of stress people experience.

Question 41

An immigrant who follows the cultural adaptation pattern of marginalization is likely to experience the least degree of acculturative stress.

Question 42

Racism and discrimination are important sources of chronic stress for many people.

Question 43

In a survey about racism, a majority of African American adolescents reported being treated as incompetent or dangerous, or both, on the basis of their race. Such subtle instances of racism are called microaggressions.

Question 44

An immigrant who follows the cultural adaptation pattern of integration successfully is likely to experience the least degree of acculturative stress.

Question 45

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

Question 46

When an individual who encounters a new culture decides to maintain her cultural identity and avoid or reject the values and customs of the dominant society, she is opting for a basic pattern of adaptation called separation.

Question 47

An immigrant who follows the cultural adaptation pattern of assimilation is likely to experience a moderate degree of acculturative stress.

Question 48

In a survey about racism, more than three-quarters of African American adolescents reported being treated as incompetent or dangerous-or both-on the basis of their race.

Question 49

If a new immigrant continues to value his original cultural customs and at the same time seeks to become part of the dominant society, he is following a basic pattern of cultural adaptation called integration.

Question 50

When an individual who encounters a new culture decides to maintain her cultural identity and avoid or reject the values and customs of the dominant society, she is opting for a basic pattern of adaptation called marginalization.

Question 51

Microaggressions, which are subtle instances of racism, take a cumulative toll and significantly contribute to the chronic stress often experienced by members of minority groups.

Question 52

If a new immigrant continues to value his original cultural customs and at the same time seeks to become part of the dominant society, he is following a basic pattern of cultural adaptation called assimilation.

Question 53

Subtle instances of racism are called microaggressions.

Question 54

In a survey about racism, less than 10 percent of African American adolescents reported being treated as incompetent or dangerous-or both-on the basis of their race.

Question 55

An immigrant who follows the cultural adaptation pattern of marginalization is likely to experience the greatest degree of acculturative stress.

Question 56

When an individual who encounters a new culture decides to maintain her cultural identity and avoid or reject the values and customs of the dominant society, she is opting for a basic pattern of adaptation called marginalization.

Question 57

Acculturative stress describes the rapidly occurring chain of internal physical reactions that prepare people either to fight or take flight from an immediate threat.

Question 58

The stress contagion effect refers to the stress that results from the pressure of adapting to a new culture.

Question 59

Although racism and discrimination can create social problems, they are not significant sources of ongoing or chronic stress for those who are discriminated against on the basis of their race.

Question 60

Because microaggressions are subtle forms of racism, they contribute very little to the stress experienced by minority groups.

Question 61

Walter Cannon proposed that the general adaptation syndrome involves a progression of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Question 62

The general adaptation syndrome is Walter Cannon's term for the three-stage progression of physical changes that occur when an organism is exposed to intense and prolonged stress.

Question 63

The release of catecholamines is triggered by the sympathetic nervous system acting on the adrenal medulla, while the secretion of corticosteroids is triggered by the pituitary gland and ACTH acting on the adrenal cortex.

Question 64

People respond to an immediate threat with an increase in corticosteroids, but they respond to prolonged or chronic threats with an increase in catecholamines.

Question 65

The release of corticosteroids is triggered by the sympathetic nervous system acting on the adrenal medulla, while the secretion of catecholamines is triggered by the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland acting on the adrenal cortex.

Question 66

The alarm stage of the general adaptation syndrome is best described as the body's attempts to resist or try to adjust to the continuing stressful situation.

Question 67

Catecholamines are hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla that cause rapid physiological arousal, helping to mobilize the body's resources to flee or fight an immediate threat to survival.

Question 68

Walter Cannon is known for his description of the fight-or-flight response, which involves the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system.

Question 69

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

Question 70

In response to a stressor, the pituitary gland triggers ACTH release, which causes the adrenal medulla to release stress hormones called catecholamines.

Question 71

Robert Ader is known for his description of the fight-or-flight response, which involves the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system.

Question 72

Stress can indirectly affect a person's health by promoting behaviors that jeopardize physical well-being and can directly affect physical health by altering body functions.

Question 73

A rapidly occurring chain of internal physical reactions that prepare people to either fight or take flight from an immediate threat is called the fight-or-flight response.

Question 74

In response to a stressor, the pituitary gland triggers ACTH release, which causes the adrenal cortex to release stress hormones called corticosteroids.

Question 75

Hans Selye described the response to acute threat, calling it the fight-or-flight response, while Walter Cannon described the response to prolonged or chronic stressors, calling it the general adaptation syndrome.

Question 76

The first stage of the general adaptation syndrome, during which intense arousal occurs as the body mobilizes internal physical resources to meet the demands of the stress-producing event, is called the resistance stage.

Question 77

The general adaptation syndrome is Hans Selye's term for the three-stage progression of physical changes that occur when an organism is exposed to intense and prolonged stress.

Question 78

Walter Cannon described the response to acute threat, calling it the fight-or-flight response, while Hans Selye described the response to prolonged or chronic stressors, calling it the general adaptation syndrome.

Question 79

In the exhaustion stage of the general adaptation syndrome, the symptoms of the alarm stage reappear, only this time irreversibly; as the body's energy reserves become depleted, adaptation begins to break down, leading to physical disorders, and, potentially, death.

Question 80

Corticosteroids are hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla that cause rapid physiological arousal, helping to mobilize the body's resources to flee or fight an immediate threat to survival.