Deck 5: Coping With Stress

Question 1

Repressive coping is best defined as:

A) a problem-focused coping style in which we inhibit emotional responses.
B) an emotion-focused coping style in which we inhibit emotional responses.
C) the tendency to obsess and be overwhelmed by persistent thoughts about stressful experiences.
D) the perception of having no control over stressors.

Answer 1

an emotion-focused coping style in which we inhibit emotional responses.

Question 2

Psychological control is the belief that we are capable of ______,whereas self-efficacy is the belief that we are capable of ______.

A) dealing with psychological stressors; influencing the environment
B) mentally coping with stress; behaviorally coping with stress
C) controlling ourselves; controlling others
D) making impactful decisions; dealing with stressful situations

Answer 2

making impactful decisions; dealing with stressful situations

Question 3

People who engage in fantasizing,wishful thinking,and passive behaviors in order to cope with stress are using which type of approach?

A) emotional-approach coping
B) minimizing coping
C) avoidance coping
D) problem-focused coping

Answer 3

avoidance coping

Question 4

Optimism can diminish stress-related elevations in hypertension,inflammation,and immunosuppression by:

A) shortening the duration of negative emotional arousal.
B) changing the processes that occur during negative emotional arousal.
C) increasing C-reactive protein.
D) increasing avoidance coping styles that lead to avoidance of stress.

Question 5

After getting a bad grade on an exam,Brandon can't stop thinking about his failure as a student.Brandon's thought process is an example of:

A) problem-focused coping.
B) rumination.
C) repressive coping.
D) avoidance coping.

Question 6

Hunter typically feels most comfortable trying to actively and consciously evade any problem he is facing.He is using a(n)_____ coping method.

A) emotional-approach
B) avoidance
C) minimizing
D) problem-focused

Question 7

Karen is working through her emotional reactions to losing her job by seeking out others who have been through the same experience.She is using:

A) avoidance coping.
B) emotional-approach coping.
C) problem-focused coping.
D) rumination.

Question 8

What do Martin Seligman's "ABCs" of optimism stand for?

A) Acceptance,Balance,Cheerfulness
B) Affect,Being,Cognition
C) Adversity,Beliefs,Consequences
D) Attitude,Belonging,Confidence

Question 9

Regarding etiology,positive affect is influenced more by ______,and negative affect is influenced more by ______.

A) heredity; emotions
B) coping skills; situational experiences
C) situational experiences; heredity
D) dispositional affect; coping skills

Question 10

Emotion-focused efforts would theoretically be most effective in coping with the worry and stress caused by:

A) having two final exams scheduled for the same day.
B) waiting to hear if your application to graduate school has been accepted.
C) receiving a notice that your taxes will be audited by the IRS next week.
D) being laid off from work.

Question 11

_____ coping strategies are more often linked with better health outcomes when used for school- or work-related stressors.

A) Problem-focused
B) Emotion-focused
C) Rumination-based
D) Avoidance

Question 12

The consideration of coping as a dynamic process implies that coping involves:

A) a wide range of actions and reactions to stress.
B) efforts that are moderated by personal resources.
C) an ongoing set of responses by which the person continues to act on the environment.
D) an ongoing set of responses by which the person and the environment are involved in a reciprocal interaction.

Question 13

Which example does NOT demonstrate emotion-focused coping?

A) speaking to a close friend about your feelings
B) using alcohol to avoid thinking about a problem
C) keeping busy to avoid thinking about a problem
D) joining an anger-management support group

Question 14

Crystal uses _____ coping methods; that is,she confronts her stressors head-on and takes direct action.

A) emotion-based
B) minimizing
C) avoidance
D) approach

Question 15

James,who can't stop thinking about his poor exam score,sometimes gets so caught up in a vicious cycle of rumination that he resorts to self-medicating with alcohol.This destructive pattern is called a(n):

A) rumination-compulsion cycle.
B) emotional roller coaster.
C) lose-lose scenario.
D) emotional cascade.

Question 16

Which factor mitigates the detrimental health effects of negative affectivity?

A) disengagement as a coping strategy
B) rumination as coping strategy
C) collectivist culture
D) individualistic culture

Question 17

Which of these is NOT true of coping?

A) It may be adaptive or maladaptive.
B) It is closely related to how a given stressor is appraised.
C) It is a one-time reaction.
D) It is a goal-directed response aimed at managing stressful situations.

Question 18

Coping is best defined as:

A) the cognitive,behavioral,and emotional ways in which people manage stressful situations.
B) a one-time reaction to a potentially stressful event.
C) any attempt to control one's emotional response to a stressor.
D) any attempt to increase one's resources for meeting the demands of a stressor.

Question 19

People who are optimistic:

A) tend to use denial as a means of coping with stress.
B) may recover more quickly from heart surgery.
C) tend to have more health problems.
D) tend to use emotion-focused coping.

Question 20

Psychologically distancing oneself from a stressor is an example of _____ coping.

A) emotion-focused
B) problem-focused
C) emotional-approach
D) repressive

Question 21

All of these U.S.children are disproportionately likely to grow up in a low-SES family EXCEPT:

A) African American children.
B) American Indian children.
C) Hispanic children.
D) Asian American children.

Question 22

An increased risk for hypertension,heart disease,and diabetes is associated with:

A) high levels of psychological control.
B) having an underreactive emotional style.
C) chronic inflammation.
D) high SES.

Question 23

When Marisa is feeling stressed,she seeks support and encouragement from her friends instead of obsessing over the stressors in her life.By doing this,she feels less stress and her coping skills are significantly improved.This example demonstrates the:

A) dispositional affect hypothesis.
B) matching hypothesis.
C) buffering hypothesis.
D) direct effect hypothesis.

Question 24

Our capacity to modulate our thinking,emotions,and behavior is called:

A) vagal tone.
B) hardiness.
C) self-efficacy.
D) regulatory control.

Question 25

According to the _____ hypothesis,social support enhances the body's physical responses to challenging situations.

A) buffering
B) direct effect
C) indirect effect
D) matching

Question 26

Researchers have found that people who perceive they have strong social support are less likely to ruminate about their plight when confronting stressors than are people who feel more alienated from others.This finding supports the:

A) buffering hypothesis.
B) direct effect hypothesis.
C) matching hypothesis.
D) indirect effect hypothesis.

Question 27

The type of social support that is MOST helpful in dealing with uncontrollable stressors is:

A) informational support.
B) instrumental support.
C) social companionship.
D) emotional support.

Question 28

Which statement regarding the impact of socioeconomic status (SES)on health and well-being is FALSE?

A) Low SES is associated with increased risk for chronic disease,disability,and premature mortality.
B) Access to health care explains most of the relationship between SES and health.
C) Health disparities increase with each step down the SES ladder.
D) SES predicts whether or not supportive personal relationships will have a positive impact on health benefits.

Question 29

Among adults,resilience has been associated with each of these EXCEPT:

A) the capacity to make realistic plans.
B) European descent.
C) physical fitness.
D) higher regulatory control.

Question 30

The belief that one can determine one's own internal states and behavior,influence one's environment,and/or bring about desired outcomes is:

A) optimism.
B) psychological control.
C) self-efficacy.
D) hardiness.

Question 31

People who are higher in socioeconomic status (SES)have each of these EXCEPT:

A) lower morbidity for chronic disease.
B) lower mortality from all causes of death.
C) reduced rates of disability.
D) a stronger inflammatory response to environmental stressors.

Question 32

Students with high vagal tone or regulatory control:

A) are less likely to use constructive coping strategies.
B) are more likely to use constructive coping strategies.
C) tend to rely on emotion-focused coping.
D) have weaker immune systems.

Question 33

Is social support always helpful?

A) Yes,the recipient of social support may not perceive it as helpful,but social support always produces health benefits.
B) No,social support can be psychologically damaging,but it is generally always physically helpful.
C) No,social support is not helpful when it isn't asked for.
D) No,social support isn't helpful when too much support is offered.

Question 34

A strong sense of personal control has been associated with:

A) the tendency to use adaptive,problem-focused coping.
B) impaired immune functioning.
C) the release of pain-relieving beta-endorphins.
D) increased secretion of corticosteroids.

Question 35

Stress management describes a variety of psychological methods that are designed to:

A) educate oneself to recognize stress and its impact on one's health.
B) avoid environmental and circumstantial triggers to stress.
C) appreciate the role stress plays in our lives and maximize its benefits.
D) reduce the impact of potentially stressful experiences.

Question 36

Self-efficacy refers to:

A) the belief that one will be able to deal with potentially stressful situations.
B) a person's overall sense of self-worth.
C) the unrealistic belief that everything will always turn out for the best.
D) strong control over one's moods and behaviors.

Question 37

Information from others that one is loved and cared for and is a part of a network of communication is called:

A) coping.
B) internal resources.
C) social support.
D) external resources.

Question 38

Kenny believes he has the ability to make decisions to impact his surroundings,and he does so by getting angry and behaving aggressively when he doesn't get his way.Kenny demonstrates poor:

A) self-efficacy.
B) psychological control.
C) regulatory control.
D) resilience.

Question 39

Which of these is NOT a documented health benefit of perceiving strong social support?

A) faster recovery from a variety of diseases
B) lower mortality rates
C) less depression in the face of a terminal illness
D) having fewer sources of stress in one's life

Question 40

An important external factor in how we cope with threatening events is the degree of:

A) social support we receive.
B) psychological control we exhibit.
C) regulatory control we exercise.
D) resilience we have.

Question 41

How should one strive to breathe when feeling stressed?

A) short and deep breaths
B) long and deep breaths
C) short and rapid breaths
D) long and rapid breaths

Question 42

_____ is a multimodal intervention that combines relaxation training,visualization,cognitive restructuring,reinforcement,and other techniques to help people cope with a range of stressors.

A) Cognitive-behavioral therapy
B) Cognitive-behavioral stress management
C) Stress inoculation training
D) Emotional disclosure

Question 43

When people write or talk about traumatic events,their skin conductivity,heart rate,and systolic and diastolic blood pressure all:

A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) change in different directions.
D) remain stable.

Question 44

_____ is considered the cornerstone of many modern relaxation procedures.

A) Mindfulness-based stress reduction
B) The relaxation response
C) Progressive muscle relaxation
D) Diaphragmatic breathing relaxation

Question 45

According to the text,some researchers have proposed that mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques are effective because they reduce people's tendency toward ruminating over stressful experiences.This statement exemplifies:

A) the buffering hypothesis.
B) optimism.
C) resilience.
D) dispositional affect.

Question 46

Using fMRI,one study found that volunteers who completed an eight-week course of mindfulness-based stress reduction training exhibited _____ tissue density in their _____.

A) increased; hippocampus
B) decreased; hippocampus
C) increased; amygdala
D) decreased; amygdala

Question 47

Darren's psychologist is trying to replace his client's vicious cycle of maladaptive,self-defeating thoughts with healthier,adaptive ones,by,most likely,using:

A) mindfulness-based stress reduction.
B) relaxation therapy.
C) stress-inoculation training.
D) cognitive restructuring.

Question 48

Learning to replace thoughts such as "I can't handle this" with "I can handle this" is part of:

A) mindfulness-based stress reduction.
B) appraised meaning.
C) emotional disclosure.
D) cognitive restructuring.

Question 49

Cognitive-behavioral therapists teach people to manage stress by changing their:

A) personality traits.
B) behaviors.
C) thought patterns.
D) philosophy of life.

Question 50

In experienced meditators,the relaxation response includes lowered heart rate,lowered blood pressure,reduced oxygen consumption,and:

A) lowered blood lactate levels.
B) improved muscle tone.
C) increased skin conductivity.
D) reduced blood CO₂ levels.

Question 51

Which stress-management technique was developed at the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts as an adjunct to medical treatment for people with a variety of chronic health problems?

A) progressive muscle relaxation
B) relaxation response
C) diaphragmatic breathing relaxation
D) mindfulness-based stress reduction

Question 52

_____ is a form of therapy that focuses on using structured meditation to promote a moment-to-moment,nonjudgmental awareness.

A) Progressive muscle relaxation
B) The relaxation response
C) Mindfulness-based stress reduction
D) Diaphragmatic breathing relaxation

Question 53

Neuroimaging studies have shown that mindfulness training seems to increase activity in the:

A) prefrontal cortex.
B) amygdala.
C) hypothalamus.
D) limbic system.

Question 54

Which is NOT one of the four requirements cardiologist Herbert Benson (1996)identified for achieving the relaxation response?

A) a quiet place
B) a comfortable position
C) a clear mind
D) a passive,nonjudgmental attitude

Question 55

Psychologist James Pennebaker conducted a series of expressive writing studies which revealed that,six months after the study took place,students who wrote about ____ visited the university health center far less often than students who wrote about _____.

A) daily hassles; a neutral assigned topic
B) positive events; negative events
C) coping strategies; stressors
D) stressful experiences; everyday things

Question 56

Emotional disclosure has been shown to help reduce the risk of _____ in people who have been diagnosed with alexithymia,or difficulty in identifying and expressing their own emotions.

A) autoimmune disorders
B) depression
C) anxiety disorders
D) cardiovascular disease

Question 57

Progressive muscle relaxation and relaxation response are similar in that they both:

A) teach skills to achieve willful relaxation.
B) form cornerstones for many modern relaxation procedures.
C) were discovered by cardiologist Herbert Benson (1996).
D) involve the technique of creating then releasing tension.

Question 58

Beatrice has entered a stress-management program at her new college,and she is keeping a stress journal to help her identify what causes her stress,as well as how she responds to stress.Which phase of the program is she experiencing?

A) education
B) acquiring skills
C) identifying triggers
D) practicing skills

Question 59

A typical stress-management program offered at many colleges helps new students cope with the challenges of transitioning from high school to college; the program includes all of these EXCEPT:

A) education.
B) acquiring skills.
C) mindfulness.
D) practicing skills.

Question 60

Which of these is NOT a stages of stress inoculation training?

A) reconceptualization
B) skills acquisition
C) cognitive restructuring
D) follow-through

Question 61

How do our relationships with pets compare to human friendships regarding stress management and well-being?

A) Similar to human friendships,relationships with pets provide a variety of benefits to health and well-being.
B) Pets,such as emotional-support animals,can be useful in some situations; however,human friendships are typically more beneficial to our health and well-being.
C) Human friendships provide a great source of social support in most cases; however,pets typically have a far greater positive impact on human health and well-being.
D) Human friendships provide a significant positive impact on human health and well-being,whereas pets are a great source of fun and affection but are not typically linked with health benefits.

Question 62

Describe the specific characteristics of the resilient personality that are demonstrated by healthy individuals.What empirical evidence links this type of personality to positive physical and mental health outcomes?

Question 63

Describe the two pathways through which social support provides benefits to coping and health.Compare and contrast the different mechanisms of each pathway,and give specific examples of each.

Question 64

The text identifies gratitude,humor and laughter,pet ownership,and spirituality as additional coping tools and techniques.Describe these additional coping tools and their impact.

Question 65

Research has shown that laughter can do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) promote vascular health.
B) reduce cortisol secretion.
C) reverse symptoms of dementia.
D) boost the immune system.

Question 66

Explain the importance of social support in coping with stressful events.When is social support not helpful?

Question 67

The impact of low socioeconomic status (SES)on stress management,health,and illness has been empirically studied and examined for some time.Discuss how this impact has the potential to be mediated by effective coping mechanisms,stress management training,or other interventions.

Question 68

Define dispositional affect,optimism,and psychological control.How do these personal factors affect one's ability to cope with potential stressors,and how do they affect health and well-being?

Question 69

Describe the various relaxation therapies and the mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques.What is the primary goal or focus of both of these therapies? What are the benefits of each?

Question 70

According to the text,cultivating gratitude is an effective way to develop:

A) positive affectivity.
B) relaxation.
C) regulatory control.
D) psychological control.

Question 71

Imagine that you have been given the task of designing a stress-management program to help students cope with the demands of college.What would your program consist of? Why?

Question 72

One possible explanation for the longer life expectancy of religiously active people is that:

A) they respond to stress with lower vagal tone.
B) they receive more social support.
C) their sympathetic nervous system responds to challenges with greater arousal.
D) they visit the doctor more frequently.

Question 73

How do people use meaning-focused coping?

A) by attempting to change a stressful situation
B) by finding personal value and significance in stressful situations
C) by attempting to change levels of distress associated with a stressful situation
D) by associating a stressful situation with a greater power

Question 74

Define coping,and differentiate problem-focused coping from emotion-focused coping.Give a specific example demonstrating under what circumstances each type of coping might be seen as most appropriately adaptive.

Question 75

What is the premise of cognitive-behavioral therapy,and how is this therapy applied to stress management?