Deck 5: Social Stress and Health

Question 1

Brenner offers two hypotheses to explain the relationship between the economy and mental health. What are they?

A) Provocation and complacency.
B) Inflation and uncovering.
C) Inflation and stagflation.
D) Provocation and reduction.
E) Provocation and uncovering.

Answer 1

Provocation and uncovering.

Question 2

Brenner's thesis is that there are few areas of our lives not intimately affected by the state of the _________________.

A) Economy.
B) Family.
C) Political system.
D) Environment.
E) Self.

Answer 2

Economy.

Question 3

The symbolic interactionist perspective, as outlined by Cooley, Thomas, and Goffman asserts that:

A) Certain situations are inherently stressful.
B) Stress is caused by societal pressure to conform.
C) Stress can result from an individual's perception of the meaning of a situation.
D) Stress is constant.
E) All four answers are features.

Answer 3

Stress can result from an individual's perception of the meaning of a situation.

Question 4

Durkheim suggests that society has an existence __________ the individual.

A) Outside.
B) Inside.
C) Beside.
D) Within.
E) None of the above.

Question 5

______________ suicide occurs when people feel themselves so strongly integrated into a demanding society that their only escape seems to be suicide.

A) Egoistic.
B) Fatalistic.
C) Altruistic.
D) Anomic.
E) None of the above.

Question 6

Which is NOT a component of Coley's theory?

A) We see in our imagination the other person's judgment of ourselves.
B) We have a core sense of individuality, unique to each of us.
C) We see ourselves in our imagination as we think we appear to the other person.
D) As a result of what we see in our imagination about how we are viewed by the other person, we experience some sort of self-feelings.
E) All of these are components.

Question 7

______________ suicide occurs when people become detached from society and, suddenly on their own, are overwhelmed by the resulting stress.

A) Egoistic.
B) Fatalistic.
C) Altruistic.
D) Anomic.
E) None of the above.

Question 8

Symbolic interactionism is based upon the work of ________________ (founder).

A) Drentea.
B) Bourdieu.
C) Cooley.
D) Mead.
E) Durkheim.

Question 9

The work of ______________ reflects the symbolic interactionist approach to human behavior.

A) Durkheim.
B) Thomas.
C) Marx.
D) Brenner.
E) None of the above.

Question 10

Stress can be defined as:

A) A heightened mind-body reaction to stimuli inducing fear or anxiety.
B) A physiological change due to an environmental agent.
C) A disruption in daily life caused by primarily negative events.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 11

The theory of the _______________ maintains that our self-concepts are the result of social interaction in which we see ourselves reflected in other people.

A) Looking mirror.
B) Glass selfish sense.
C) Looking-glass self.
D) Mirror in mirror.
E) None of the above.

Question 12

Goffman believed that in order for social interaction to be possible, people need information about the others in a joint act. Such information is communicated through:

A) A person's appearance.
B) A past experience with similar individuals.
C) The social setting.
D) The information communicated about her/himself through words and actions.
E) All of the above.

Question 13

The importance of Emile Durkheim's work for understanding stress lies in his:

A) Typology of three specific types of suicide.
B) Denial of biological influences on human behavior.
C) Insight into the link between the state of the economy and certain types of illness.
D) Notion of the capability of society to create situations where people are forced to respond to conditions not of their own choosing
E) None of the above.

Question 14

__________________ suicide occurs when people suffer a sudden dislocation of normative systems where their norms and values are no longer relevant, so that controls of society no longer restrain them from taking their lives.

A) Egoistic.
B) Fatalistic.
C) Altruistic.
D) Anomic.
E) None of the above.

Question 15

As members of society, individuals are constrained in their behavior by laws and customs. These constraints are ______________.

A) Imagined.
B) Realities.
C) Social nuances.
D) Social facts.
E) Norms.

Question 16

What is homeostasis?

A) Changing constantly.
B) Physiological adaptation.
C) Not moving or adapting.
D) Physically growing.
E) None of the above.

Question 17

The positive social value that individuals claim for themselves by the line that others assume they have taken during a particular encounter is termed a _____________.

A) Veil.
B) Form.
C) Face.
D) Shield.
E) Self.

Question 18

The _____________ is more important than anything else to us, because it represents who we are and is always with us.

A) Veil.
B) Form.
C) Face.
D) Shield.
E) Self.

Question 19

Which suicide type was not fully developed by Durkheim?

A) Egoistic.
B) Fatalistic.
C) Altruistic.
D) Anomic.
E) None of the above.

Question 20

What is an example of a stressful situation?

A) Death.
B) Divorce.
C) Marriage.
D) A and B only.
E) All of the above.

Question 21

Hurricane Katrina is an example of a(n):

A) Natural disaster.
B) Large-scale disaster.
C) Cause for grief.
D) Extreme situation.
E) All of the above.

Question 22

Functionalist theory focuses on the influence of individuals on the larger society.

Question 23

Symbolic interaction theory emphasizes interpersonal forms of interaction.

Question 24

Considerable evidence shows that persistently coping with chronic stressors can have a profound adverse effect on a person's health.

Question 25

When a person experiences fear or anxiety, the body undergoes psychological changes that prepare it for vigorous effort and the effect of possible injury.

Question 26

Brenner formulated the concept of the "fight or flight" pattern of physiological change to illustrate how the body copes with stress resulting from a social situation.

Question 27

Putnam defines ____________ as a community-level resource reflected in social relationships involving networks, but also norms, and levels of trust.

A) Social facts.
B) Social networks.
C) Social capital.
D) Social circumstances.
E) None of the above.

Question 28

Social situations can cause severe stress that, in turn, affects health and longevity.

Question 29

Mechanic believes that in social situations people use the same skills and abilities in coping with problems.

Question 30

The extent of physiological damage or change within an individual depends on:

A) The stimulus situation.
B) An individual's capacity to deal with the stimulus situation.
C) The individual's preparation by society to meet problems.
D) The influence of society's approved modes of behavior.
E) All of the above.

Question 31

Mead compares the reflection of our self in others to our reflections in a looking glass.

Question 32

The ______________ system controls heart rate, blood pressure, and gastrointestinal functions: processes that are not under the control of the central nervous system.

A) Limbic.
B) Respiratory.
C) Endocrine.
D) Autonomic.
E) None of the above.

Question 33

The outcome or effect of a crisis depends on how well a person comes to terms with the situation and adapts to it.

Question 34

Most threats in modern society are symbolic, not physical, and they do not usually require a physical response.

Question 35

Who developed the theory known as the general adaptation syndrome?

A) Brenner.
B) Siegrist.
C) Selye.
D) Goffman.
E) Pearlin.

Question 36

Besides the type of change and the speed with which it occurs, the extent to which change affects a person's life may also be important. Libby Ruch (1977) investigated this over 30 years ago and suggested that life change actually has three dimensions. Which is NOT a dimension?

A) Degree of change evoked.
B) Undesirability of change.
C) Depth of change expected.
D) Aspect of one's life that is affected.
E) None are dimensions.

Question 37

What is defined by Turner as "the social investments of individuals in society in terms of their membership in formal and informal groups, networks, and institutions"?

A) Social facts.
B) Social networks.
C) Social capital.
D) Social circumstances.
E) None of the above.

Question 38

Antonovsky argues that ______________ is a personal orientation that allows an individual to view the world with feelings of confidence, faith in the predictability of events, and a notion that things will most likely work out reasonably well.

A) Confidence.
B) Coherence.
C) Delusion.
D) Optimism.
E) None of the above.

Question 39

Stress typically starts with a situation that people find non-threatening.

Question 40

Who suggests two major types of stressors: life events and chronic strains?

A) Brenner.
B) Siegrist.
C) Selye.
D) Goffman.
E) Pearlin.

Question 41

People typically flee in panic from the site of a potential disaster (natural/unnatural) area.

Question 42

Define social stressors and life events. How do these concepts relate to stress?

Question 43

Most people have an equal degree of control in managing emotional defenses or similar motivation and personal involvement in a given situation.

Question 44

Social capital is a property of individuals, not a characteristic of networks.

Question 45

The lower class is characterized as having the fewest resources to cope with stress.

Question 46

What are the features of life events that cause stress in individuals?

Question 47

Describe Patricia Drentea's (2000) research on stress, age, and credit card debt.

Question 48

Describe the three types of suicide outlined by Durkheim. How do they relate to stress?

Question 49

How does symbolic interaction theory explain stress?

Question 50

Social connectedness, in Putnam's view, is one of the weakest determinants of health.

Question 51

Conformity to group-approved attitudes and definitions has been hypothesized to reduce anxiety.

Question 52

People's perceptions of an event may be influenced by their intelligence.

Question 53

The upper class and the upper middle class have about the same longevity, which is greater than the lower class.