Deck 12: Stress, Coping, and Health

Question 1

Which of the following best defines stress?

A) The body's ability to achieve stability through change
B) Pressures or demands that make our lives difficult
C) Anything people do to manage their emotions
D) An event or condition that causes a change in behavior

Answer 1

Pressures or demands that make our lives difficult

Question 2

Maddie is studying for four exams and tells her roommates that she is going to pull her hair out because she just isn't able to handle the work. Maddie is experiencing __________.

A) dissociation
B) decay
C) coping
D) stress

Answer 2

stress

Question 3

The ____________ view of stress focuses on its antecedents.

A) consequences
B) reinforcement
C) stimulus
D) conditioning

Answer 3

stimulus

Question 4

Tori's physician is treating her for ulcers she developed after her son's extended hospital stay. Tori's condition can be best addressed by which view of stress?

A) response
B) hassle
C) primary
D) HPA axis

Question 5

Jacob performs well in his job as a stock trader, but Phil, his co-worker, fells overwhelmed performing the same tasks. Phil's situation can best be interpreted by the ___________ view of stress.

A) secondary appraisal
B) allostasis
C) relational
D) response

Question 6

Which of the following events may serve as a stressor to some individuals?

A) financial troubles
B) planning a wedding
C) the birth of a child
D) all of these

Question 7

Which event is rated as most stressful on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)?

A) a major work role change
B) marriage
C) a serious personal illness
D) the death of a spouse

Question 8

Megan realizes that she needs to score only 72 on the final exam to still earn an A in her psychology class, so she does not plan to study as hard as she usually does. Megan's consideration of how the final exam will affect her is called __________.

A) a primary appraisal
B) a frequency distribution
C) behavior modification
D) vicarious reinforcement

Question 9

Angel was very worried about studying for his math test, so he asked his boss for the night off from work, and she said yes. Now he has plenty of time to study for the test and is no longer too concerned. Initially, when Angel was stressed, he engaged in __________.

A) primary appraisal
B) secondary appraisal
C) congruence
D) learned helplessness

Question 10

The ________________ system refers to the hormonal processes involved in stress and emotions.

A) central nervous
B) limbic
C) neuroendocrine
D) none of these

Question 11

The key structures involved in stress are the __________.

A) hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands
B) thalamus, hypothalamus, and pons
C) pons, brain stem, and amygdala
D) amygdala, visual cortex, and kidneys

Question 12

Which of the following hormones controls autonomic nervous system (ANS) activation?

A) glucocorticoids
B) estrogens
C) catecholamines
D) none of these

Question 13

Glucocorticoids do which of the following?

A) connect the hypothalamus with the occipital lobes
B) maintain physiological processes in an emergency
C) prevent puberty processes
D) prevent age-related decline in motor skills

Question 14

The first neural pathway activated in response to stress is called the __________.

A) adrenal-medullary system
B) brainstem-pons-hypothalamus pathway
C) hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
D) pituitary-dopamine response

Question 15

Cheng, who is anxiously preparing for her baseball game, is experiencing increased respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate. Which of the following catecholamines has activated these biological processes?

A) epinephrine
B) norepinephrine
C) dopamine
D) L-dopa

Question 16

Which of the following events occurs first in a reaction to an emotional event?

A) The adrenal gland releases important hormones.
B) Glucocorticoids decrease heart rate and respiration.
C) Catecholamines signal the hypothalamus to produce adrenalin.
D) The hypothalamus signals the brain stem to activate sympathetic neurons.

Question 17

Which of the following correctly describes the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis's response to stress?

A) The pituitary gland releases cortisol, which signals the hypothalamus to turn on the stress response.
B) Cortisol signals the hypothalamus of stress; the pituitary triggers appropriate hormonal responses.
C) The hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to trigger the adrenal production of cortisol.
D) The adrenal gland produces hormones that trigger the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to prepare behavioral responses.

Question 18

Alysia's body can no longer cope with the stress she has experienced since her father's death. Her usual stomach problems are exacerbated, and she cannot shake the cold and cough she has had for a month. According to Hans Selye's theory, Alysia is most likely experiencing __________.

A) psychoneuroimmunology
B) the Type A behavior pattern
C) a major depressive disorder
D) the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Question 19

_______________ is the "stress hormone."

A) cortisol
B) epinephrine
C) norepinephrine
D) dopamine

Question 20

Hans Selye's theory of stress response views the physiological processes involved as being deviations from __________.

A) appraisal
B) allostasis
C) homeostasis
D) sublimation

Question 21

In the general adaptation syndrome (GAS), the body's initial alarm reaction to a stressor is called the __________.

A) resistance stage
B) exhaustion stage
C) alarm stage
D) allostasis

Question 22

Larry has an extremely stressful job and comes home every day with an upset stomach and a headache. He says he'll just have to deal with it for now, so he takes aspirin and stomach acid reducers on a daily basis. Larry is in the ___________ stage of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).

A) resistance
B) alarm
C) exhaustion
D) motivation

Question 23

Illness will most likely occur in which of Hans Selye's stages of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)?

A) alarm
B) resistance
C) exhaustion
D) none of these

Question 24

John Mason's research (1971) challenging the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) theory showed that stress was decreased when __________.

A) the orbitofrontal cortex is removed
B) the thalamus is damaged
C) an organism can anticipate a stressor
D) an organism is trained in techniques to cope with stress

Question 25

____________ is a concept which acknowledges that the body responds in many ways to stressors in the environment.

A) Temperament
B) Allostasis
C) Equilibrium
D) Validity

Question 26

Prolonged stress can do which of the following to the brain?

A) decrease neurogenesis in the hippocampus
B) decrease the plasticity of the neocortex
C) shrink dendrites in the hippocampus
D) all of these

Question 27

Stress interferes with memory formation because it __________.

A) damages the brain stem
B) decreases ventricle size
C) damages hippocampus neurons
D) all of these

Question 28

Russ is dealing with the death of his sister by going on a golfing trip. Psychologists would say that this is Russ's way of __________.

A) coping
B) alarm
C) burnout
D) observer bias

Question 29

Natalie's roommate talked on her cell phone very loudly every night, all week. So Natalie took the battery out of the phone and threw it away when her roommate was in the shower. Natalie engaged in __________.

A) self-control
B) emotion-focused coping
C) problem-focused coping
D) operant behavior

Question 30

Lazarus and Folkman described stress-reduction processes such as escape-avoidance, self-control, and reappraisal as part of __________.

A) emotion-focused coping
B) accepting responsibility
C) kinesthesis
D) a mental set

Question 31

________________ attempts to decrease the experience of stress; ___________ attempts to change a stressful situation.

A) Rehearsal; perceptual constancy
B) Problem-focused coping; cognitive dissonance
C) Reconditioning; seeking social support
D) Emotion-focused coping; problem-focused coping

Question 32

Darren is feeling extremely stressed from his recent divorce but is reluctant to discuss this with others. When he finally seeks a therapist's help, the therapist asks him to write for 15 minutes about the events before, during, and after the divorce that he found to be particularly stressful. This treatment technique is known as __________.

A) problem-focused coping
B) emotional disclosure
C) partial reinforcement
D) a visual cliff

Question 33

Researchers have found which of the following to be true of confessions?

A) Confessing decreases autonomic activity.
B) Confessing increases blood pressure.
C) Confessing increases sweating.
D) all of these.

Question 34

The direct effects hypothesis states that social support is beneficial to mental and physical health in which of the following situations?

A) only when a person has a highly stressful life
B) only when a person's friends are trained in listening techniques
C) whether a person is under stress or not under stress
D) when a person does not usually listen to advice

Question 35

Having social connections has been shown to be beneficial for which of the following circumstances?

A) quitting smoking
B) decreasing the chance of getting a cold
C) increasing the life span
D) all of these

Question 36

Christakis and Fowler (2008) showed that if a married smoker's spouse quit smoking, the chance that the smoker would also quit increased by __________.

A) 21 percent
B) 34 percent
C) 36 percent
D) 67 percent

Question 37

Research has shown that a person has the greatest chance of becoming obese if that person's ____________ became obese.

A) sibling
B) friend
C) wife
D) husband

Question 38

______________ tend to see "the glass as half full"; _____________ tend to see "the glass as half empty."

A) Realists; optimists
B) Pessimists; realists
C) Optimists; pessimists
D) Pessimists; optimists

Question 39

Because Ken is an optimist, he would most likely experience which of the following?

A) increased incidence of major depression
B) fewer negative emotions
C) greater susceptibility to illness
D) all of these

Question 40

As compared to people who believe they have no control, people who do believe they can control the outcome of a major illness are __________.

A) less stressed
B) less happy
C) more stressed
D) more likely to experience a rapid decline in their condition

Question 41

Marisol is easygoing, very flexible, and can bounce back from any situation. Her friend told her she's like a cat that always lands on all four feet. Health psychologists would say that Marisol exhibits __________.

A) resilience
B) negative affect
C) Type A behavior
D) sublimation

Question 42

Research by Epel and colleagues (2004; 2006) examined women's DNA and found which of the following?

A) Women who experienced more stress had an extra 16^th chromosome.
B) Women who experienced more stress had shorter telomeres.
C) Women who experienced less stress had an extra 23^rd chromosome.
D) Women who experienced less stress had a stronger double helix structure.

Question 43

Psychosomatic theory addresses __________.

A) the psychological factors involved in faking an illness to gain attention
B) the cellular processes involved in fighting off illnesses
C) how emotional events can trigger or exacerbate certain disorders
D) an individual's tendency to report physical symptoms when no illness is present

Question 44

Dr. Bisco is a health psychologist. Which of the following would she most likely study?

A) intergenerational transmission of parenting practices in non-Western cultures
B) children's processing speed of unfamiliar words at ages 8, 10, and 12
C) the age-related degeneration of the cortex involved in long-term memory recall
D) The psychological factors that surround the onset, prevention, and treatment of diabetes

Question 45

Suzanne is conducting her doctoral dissertation research on the psychological implications of poor doctor-patient communication in terminally ill patients. Suzanne is likely a __________.

A) cognitive psychologist
B) health psychologist
C) evolutionary psychologist
D) none of these

Question 46

Egbert believes that prolonged physiological responses to stress can weaken the body's ability to fight off illnesses. His idea best reflects those proposed by which of the following?

A) the physiological reactivity model
B) the health behavior approach
C) psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
D) opponent-process theory

Question 47

Sympathetic arousal likely evolved to prepare an organism for quick response, but it may be maladaptive in today's world, because __________.

A) we usually do not have an appropriate outlet for action
B) our cardiovascular systems are much different than those of our ancestors
C) the brain is usually focused instead on electronic distracters
D) all of these

Question 48

Sustained physical arousal in response to the presence of a prolonged stressor can be harmful to the body in which of the following ways?

A) Blood pressure elevations can reduce the elasticity of arteries.
B) There is an increased change of fatty buildup in the arteries.
C) Immune suppression will make someone vulnerable to disease.
D) all of these.

Question 49

Prolonged stress affects the body's ability to fight disease because __________

A) sustained cortisol production inhibits immune cell production
B) the activation of the HPA axis depletes the body's red blood cell count
C) white blood cells and red blood cells cannot occupy the same organs
D) stress lowers levels of good cholesterol.

Question 50

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is the field of study that focuses on the __________.

A) psychology of the medical field
B) connection between mental states and the immune function
C) cognitive capacity of people afflicted with severe brain disorders
D) development of vaccinations to increase immune responses

Question 51

Prior to the 1970s, doctors believed that the human immune system was __________.

A) responsible for all new neuronal growth in people over age 21
B) the driving force in the operation of the peripheral nervous system
C) separate from and unaffected by the central nervous system
D) capable of warding off illness only if trained via operant techniques

Question 52

Rats given sugar water paired with nausea-inducing radiation learned to avoid the sugar water in a phenomenon called __________.

A) operant conditioning
B) conditioned taste aversion
C) reinforcement
D) all of these

Question 53

Robert Ader and colleagues fed rats saccharin water and injected them with an immunosuppressant. Later, when fed only saccharin water, the rats' bodies demonstrated an impaired immune response to a foreign substance. This demonstrates that there is __________.

A) no association between food preference and the ability to fight disease
B) a connection between psychological states and immune functioning
C) a linear relationship between leukocytes and sweet tastes
D) a distinct difference between rats' and humans' immune responses

Question 54

The connection between the central nervous system and the immune system is best described as __________.

A) bidirectional
B) solely genetic
C) a learned coping mechanism
D) kinesthetic

Question 55

Derek cut his finger badly, but damaged cells in the injured area released enzymes to kill any germs that might be invading the cut. This physiological reaction is part of Derek's __________.

A) acquired immunity
B) natural immunity
C) phagocytosis
D) antigens

Question 56

Phagocytosis and inflammation are components of the body's ______________ response to foreign substances invading the body.

A) psychobiological
B) cognitive
C) natural immunity
D) set point

Question 57

Acquired immunity responses occur in which of the following situations?

A) automatically to common conditions, like a cold
B) when lymphocytes are not populous
C) only when the body has had prior exposure to a given antigen
D) if the organism can isolate the affected area quickly enough

Question 58

"T cells" (T lymphocytes) fight antigens by __________.

A) activating several cellular processes that attack foreign substances
B) releasing antibodies that suppress foreign substances
C) building up antigens similar to the ones they wish to dissolve
D) none of these

Question 59

Cellular immunity involves the functioning of __________.

A) the thymus
B) phagocytosis
C) B lymphocytes
D) T lymphocytes (T cells)

Question 60

Cohen and colleagues (1993) showed that which of the following predicted whether or not someone would develop a common cold?

A) the number of stressors to which he or she was exposed
B) the food he or she ate before the study
C) his or her perception of stress
D) his or her job responsibilities

Question 61

The number-one killer of men and women in the United States is __________.

A) AIDS
B) heart disease
C) dehydration
D) suicide

Question 62

Dmitri works in a busy grocery store after school. When a customer challenges the price of an item, Dmitri becomes impatient, combative, and hostile. Psychologists would say that he exhibits which of the following?

A) the Type A behavior pattern
B) the Type B behavior pattern
C) Weber's law
D) fundamental attribution error

Question 63

Friedman and Rosenman (1964) theorized that people who exhibit a Type A behavior pattern are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people who do not exhibit a Type A behavior pattern when they are __________.

A) competitive
B) female
C) provoked
D) ill

Question 64

Death from heart disease has been shown to be related to which of the following personality traits?

A) shyness
B) hostility
C) vengefulness
D) arrogance

Question 65

In coronary patients, in the hour following an angry outburst there is an __________.

A) increased risk of heart attack
B) increase in immune responses
C) increased chance of homeostasis
D) all of these

Question 66

What is the association between depression and coronary disease?

A) Being clinically depressed decreases the risk of death from coronary disease.
B) Being clinically depressed quadruples the risk of death from coronary disease.
C) Being clinically depressed more than doubles the risk of death from coronary disease.
D) Clinical depression is unrelated to coronary disease.

Question 67

Cigarette smoking reduces life expectancy by __________.

A) 5 years
B) 10 years
C) 20 years
D) 25 years

Question 68

May drinks alcohol excessively. What should she know about what this is doing to her body?

A) It can cause liver damage.
B) It increases the central nervous system (CNS) function.
C) It prevents cirrhosis.
D) all of these.

Question 69

Being severely overweight increases one's chance of __________.

A) cancer
B) diabetes
C) high blood pressure
D) all of these

Question 70

Ted eats Smacky O's cereal when he is stressed because he says it calms him down. He has a point, because research shows that eating __________.

A) increases the likelihood of developing clinical depression
B) significantly increases testosterone production
C) reduces activity in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
D) slows spinal cord activity

Question 71

Bosley has a habit of eating when he is severely stressed. Where is he most likely to gain weight?

A) hips
B) rms
C) face
D) abdomen

Question 72

Shawna cannot maintain 85 percent of her ideal body weight, yet she tells her friends how fat she thinks she is. Shawna would most likely be diagnosed with which of the following disorders?

A) bulimia nervosa
B) anorexia nervosa
C) obsessive-compulsive disorder
D) bipolar disorder

Question 73

Jillian often eats high-calorie snacks and then forces herself to vomit or take laxatives so that she will not gain weight. In addition, she exercises at least three hours every day, because she has an intense fear of putting on weight. Jillian would most likely be diagnosed with __________.

A) schizophrenia
B) major depressive disorder
C) anorexia nervosa
D) none of these

Question 74

Research has shown that, compared to nonanorexics, anorexics are more likely to be less __________.

A) neurotic
B) open to experience
C) conscientious
D) introverted

Question 75

Mary, who exercises at a gym five days per week, is likely to __________.

A) have a reduced risk of heart disease
B) have a reduced risk of stroke
C) slow any bone loss
D) all of these

Question 76

Physical exercise may sharpen one's memory, because it has been shown to __________.

A) lead to neurogenesis in the hippocampus
B) increase the number of ventricles in the brain
C) decrease the thickness of the corpus callosum
D) all of these

Question 77

______________ is a technique for reducing stress in which a person is trained to concentrate on the present and to be aware that every thought or emotion that may arise in one's mind will fade away.

A) Mindfulness meditation
B) Physical exercise
C) General adaptation
D) Allostasis

Question 78

Christian's car broke down and he had to walk six miles to school. He said to his friends, "At least I don't have to go to the gym today-I got my exercise!" Psychologists would call Christian's coping style __________.

A) reappraisal
B) accepting responsibility
C) distancing
D) Motivation