Question 1

Medical patients who are distracted from thinking about their pain

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that distraction techniques can lead to a reduction in certain types of pain, such as acute procedural pain. Therefore, medical patients who are distracted from thinking about their pain can experience a reduction in some types of pain.

Question 2

Why does the police department ask new trainees to practice their skills under difficult and unpleasant conditions?

Accepted Answer

The police department asks new trainees to practice their skills under difficult and unpleasant conditions so they will be less likely to panic in real-life conflicts. This helps to prepare them to handle stressful and dangerous situations calmly and effectively.

Question 3

Music or a similar distraction from a painful stimulus

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that music or a similar distraction can increase pain tolerance, especially when people expect the distraction to be effective. This suggests that the psychological component of belief and expectation can play a role in the effectiveness of distraction as a pain management technique.

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a means of reducing the harmful effects of stress?

Accepted Answer

Concentrating on the stressful event can increase its harmful effects and make the stress feel more overwhelming. The other choices, previous experience, predictability, and illusions of control, can all help reduce the harmful effects of stress.

Question 5

If you expect to face a stressful experience,what can you do to make it less stressful?

Accepted Answer

Getting experience with a milder degree of the stressor can help prepare you for the more intense experience and make it less stressful. Options A and D involve giving up control or not knowing when the experience will happen, which can increase stress levels. Option B suggests keeping the stress to oneself, which can lead to bottling up emotions and increased stress in the long run.

Question 6

Listening to music during a painful experience

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that listening to music during a painful experience can sometimes reduce the intensity of perceived pain. However, this may depend on individual preferences and the type of pain being experienced.

Question 7

In one experiment,subjects listened to either music or no music while holding their fingers in ice water.Under which conditions did subjects tolerate the pain most successfully?

Accepted Answer

Subjects who listened to music and were told that it would relieve the pain were able to tolerate the pain most successfully. This suggests that the combination of distraction and positive expectation may be more effective in pain management. The other three conditions (no music, listening to alleged ultrasonic sounds, or listening to music without being told it would relieve pain) did not lead to as successful pain tolerance.

Question 8

How do relaxation and exercise affect stress?

Accepted Answer

Both relaxation and exercise have been shown to be effective in reducing stress. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga have been shown to lower cortisol levels and reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. Exercise also has stress-reducing effects, as it releases endorphins, improves mood, and can promote better sleep. Therefore, both relaxation and exercise can be useful methods for managing stress.

Question 9

A person who fears dental work is given a series of mild shocks to the teeth before going to the dentist to help her in coping with the stress associated with dental work.The technique being used here is

Accepted Answer

The technique of giving a series of mild shocks to the teeth before going to the dentist is an example of inoculation. Inoculation is a technique used to build up resistance to a stressor by presenting a milder version of the stressor to the person in advance, so they can gradually learn to cope with it. In this case, the shocks are a milder version of the stress associated with dental work, which may help the person cope better with the stress when they go to the dentist.

Question 10

One of the most effective ways to cope with stress is to

Accepted Answer

Increasing your perceived ability to predict or control the situation can help you feel a sense of empowerment and reduce the feeling of helplessness that often comes with stress. Isolating yourself or relying on negative coping mechanisms like alcohol or overeating can actually make the stress worse. Additionally, focusing on how bad the situation might become can increase anxiety and stress levels.

Question 11

What effect,if any,does exercise have on stress?

Accepted Answer

Exercise has been shown to reduce stress by promoting the release of endorphins (feel-good chemicals), reducing the levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, and promoting relaxation through physical exertion. A moderate level of exercise is typically recommended for stress reduction, as excessive exercise can cause physical strain and actually increase stress levels.

Question 12

Reinterpreting a situation to make it seem less threatening describes the coping style called

Accepted Answer

Reinterpreting a situation to make it seem less threatening is a form of reappraisal, which involves changing the way we think about a situation to reduce its emotional impact. This is a type of problem-focused coping strategy, as it focuses on changing the situation rather than just managing emotions.

Question 13

Having taken a job as a high-school teacher,you want to decrease the stress that your students have to face.Which of the following steps would be helpful?

Accepted Answer

Announcing the schedule of tests and assignments at the start of the semester can help students plan and manage their time effectively, reducing their stress level. B may work for some students who are comfortable with public speaking but may increase the stress level of others who struggle with anxiety. C and D are likely to increase stress levels as students will feel unprepared and anxious about what is expected of them.

Question 14

Under which of the following circumstances would the effects of stress on a person be most severe?

Accepted Answer

When a stressful event occurs at unpredictable times, it creates a sense of helplessness and lack of control, which can lead to more severe effects of stress on the person.

Question 15

Reinterpreting a situation to find a different meaning

Accepted Answer

Reinterpreting a situation to find a different meaning is an example of emotion-based coping strategy. It involves altering the emotional response to a situation rather than changing the problem or circumstances itself. This technique is often used in cognitive-behavioral therapy to help individuals with anxiety and depression to challenge and change their negative thought patterns. It can be an effective way of managing stress and improving mental health outcomes.

Question 16

One way to cope with stress is to do something to control the situation.This method of coping is called

Accepted Answer

Problem-focused coping involves doing something to directly address and solve the problem causing the stress. This can help to reduce stress by providing a sense of control and accomplishment. Therefore, D is the correct choice. A, B, and C are not specific enough and do not accurately describe this type of coping strategy.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT an emotion-based (or blunting)strategy for coping with stress?

Accepted Answer

Relaxation, exercise, and distraction are all examples of emotion-based coping strategies, as they aim to reduce emotional distress and manage the physiological response to stress. Inoculation, on the other hand, is a problem-focused coping strategy that involves preparing oneself for future stressors by building resources and skills to handle them effectively.

Question 18

In general,unpleasant events produce more stress if they are

Accepted Answer

Unpredictable events can cause more stress because they catch people off guard and don't give them time to prepare or cope. Control and predictability give people a sense of agency and can help them feel more equipped to manage the situation. Rarity does not necessarily play a role in the level of stress caused by an event.

Question 19

You have impulsively volunteered for an experiment on the effects of electric shock on performance.You now have a choice among three schedules for receiving exactly twenty shocks.Which of these schedules,if any,would probably prove to be the most stressful?

Accepted Answer

The schedule with 20 shocks delivered on an irregular basis without any warning signal would be the most stressful because the unpredictability of the shocks would create more anxiety and fear, leading to a higher level of stress. The other two schedules have some predictability, whether it's shocks delivered on a regular basis or preceded by a warning signal, which would provide some sense of control and possibly reduce the overall stress level.

Question 20

Considering relaxation techniques and exercise,which,if either,has been shown to effectively reduce stress?

Accepted Answer

Both relaxation techniques and exercise have been shown to effectively reduce stress. Studies have found that both activities can lower cortisol levels, which is a hormone associated with stress. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation have been found to be particularly effective in reducing stress. Exercise also releases endorphins, which can improve mood and reduce stress levels. Therefore, both relaxation techniques and exercise can be effective stress-reducing strategies.

Quiz 12: Emotional Behaviors,stress,and Health