Deck 15: Stress, Coping, and Health

Question 1

During finals week,one of your friends comes up to you and says,"I'm so worked up this week.I've been so worried,tense,and strung out that I've really lost it!" Statements like these are most consistent with the definition of stress as a(n):

A) stimulus.
B) transaction.
C) response.
D) interaction.

Answer 1

response.

Question 2

Acts of terrorism (like the one that occurred at the World Trade Center in New York)would generally be categorized as:

A) macrostressors.
B) major negative events.
C) catastrophic events.
D) microstressors.

Answer 2

catastrophic events.

Question 3

The stress model discussed in the text that emphasizes the importance of cognitive appraisal and physiological responses is most compatible with which definition of stress? Stress as a(n)___________.

A) stimulus
B) response
C) antecedent
D) person-situation interaction

Answer 3

person-situation interaction

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of stress as a response?

A) a difficult instructor for a class
B) tense muscles and elevated heart rate
C) a person with poor coping skills who hates family gatherings
D) failing an exam

Question 5

Which of the following statements regarding stress is most accurate?

A) Catastrophic events typically have strong negative effects on physical and psychological well-being,but major negative events and microstressors do not.
B) Catastrophic events and major negative life events typically have strong negative effects on physical and psychological well-being,but microstressors do not.
C) Major negative events and microstressors typically have strong negative effects on physical and psychological well-being,but catastrophic events do not.
D) Catastrophic events,major negative events,and microstressors all typically have strong negative effects on physical and psychological well-being.

Question 6

A person appraises his or her ability to cope with the situation in the ________________ appraisal stage.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) tertiary
D) coping

Question 7

Joe experiences stressors everyday on his way to work (e.g. ,traffic)and at work (e.g. ,a broken copying machine).These stressors would be categorized as:

A) microstressors.
B) major negative events.
C) ministressors.
D) life-related stressors.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of stress as a stimulus?

A) an exam
B) breaking out in hives
C) a person who is pre-disposed to anxiety disorders being afraid of public speaking
D) difficulty sleeping because of anxiety

Question 9

An approach to studying stress that conceptualizes stress as a(n)___________ would primarily focus on stressors or situational events that place strong demands on us.

A) behavioural response
B) eliciting stimulus
C) organism-environment interaction
D) cognitive appraisal

Question 10

A person appraises a potential stressor as benign,neutral,or threatening in the ______________ appraisal stage.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) interactive
D) emotional

Question 11

Melissa recently experienced the death of her boyfriend.This stressor would be called a:

A) macrostressor.
B) major negative event.
C) catastrophic event.
D) microstressor.

Question 12

Although early stress researchers concluded that _____________ events were associated with problems in adjustment,subsequent research has determined that ____________ events consistently predict negative health and behavioural outcomes.

A) both positive and negative;negative
B) negative;both positive and negative
C) positive;negative
D) positive;both positive and negative

Question 13

Mary thinks if she doesn't do well on her history midterm,it means she will fail the course,fail out of university,and will probably never get her degree or get a good job.As a result of these beliefs,she is very anxious,is having trouble studying,and sleeps poorly.Her exaggeration of the consequences of the midterm is an example of

A) primary appraisal of the situational demands
B) distorted appraisals causing inappropriate stress responses
C) physiological responses
D) conditioned responding

Question 14

Once you get over the initial stress associated with your first exam of finals week,the fact that you have several more exams will likely lead your body to enter the __________ stage of the general adaptation syndrome.

A) alarm
B) resistance
C) descendence
D) persistence

Question 15

The appraisal of the nature and demands of a situation is to primary appraisal as the:

A) appraisal of personal meaning is to antecedent stimuli.
B) judgements of what the consequences of a situation could be are to secondary appraisal.
C) appraisal of personal meaning is to consequences.
D) appraisal of resources available to cope with a situation is to secondary appraisal.

Question 16

A behavioural psychologist focuses exclusively on the environmental causes of behaviour and assumes that psychological factors have little or no importance.This psychologist would be most likely to use which of the following definitions of stress in her work? Stress as a ___________________________.

A) stimulus
B) response
C) transaction between the person and the environment
D) person-situation interaction

Question 17

Richard Lazarus's notion of primary appraisal is most analogous to the appraisal of ___________ in the four-step model of cognitive appraisal discussed in the text.

A) demands
B) resources
C) consequences
D) personal meaning

Question 18

Christopher has a father who gets very upset with him when he fails in sports.While getting ready to bat at a little league baseball game,he starts to think about how disappointed and upset his dad will be with him if he fails to get a hit.As a result of his cognitive appraisals,Christopher gets very anxious and strikes out.His thoughts best illustrate which of the following? Appraisal of ________________________.

A) situational demands
B) personal resources
C) consequences
D) physiological response

Question 19

A type of questionnaire that asks people about such things as (1)whether a stressful event occurred, (2)whether their interpretation of the event was positive or negative,and (3)whether the event was a major event or a daily hassle is called a:

A) transactional stress scale.
B) cognitive appraisal questionnaire.
C) life event scale.
D) polygraph.

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of stress as a transaction?

A) your car being hit by another car
B) sympathetic nervous system activation
C) a resilient person who succeeds in the face of many obstacles
D) difficulty sleeping because of anxiety

Question 21

Which of the following statements regarding stress and health is most accurate?

A) Despite conventional wisdom,stress appears to have little or no effect on health outcomes.
B) Although stress is associated with negative health outcomes,there is little evidence that stress affects the functioning of the immune system.
C) Stress is associated with negative health outcomes and research suggests that one of the ways it may achieve this effect is by impairing the functioning of the immune system.
D) Although research indicates that stress can temporarily impair immune system functioning,this impairment is usually quite small and is often not enough to negatively influence health outcomes.

Question 22

Research has shown that excessive levels of stress can have detrimental effects on both psychological and physical health.Evolutionary theorists speculate that this may be because the physical mobilization system that was shaped by evolution to help people cope with life-threatening ___________ stressors may not be adaptive for coping with the _____________ stressors that characterize the modern world.

A) emotional;physical
B) physical;psychological
C) psychological;emotional
D) emotional;physical.

Question 23

Hans Selye would most likely assert that many college students get sick at the end of the quarter or semester because they:

A) are in the exhaustion stage of his GAS model.
B) perceive an imbalance between their personal resources and situational demands.
C) have just experienced a "major negative event."
D) made negative appraisals of situational consequences and of the meaning of those consequences.

Question 24

After September 11,2001,20% of residents living closest to the World Trade Center manifested symptoms consistent with:

A) generalized anxiety disorder.
B) post-traumatic stress disorder.
C) panic disorder.
D) obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Question 25

Research examining the relation between stress and illness has revealed that stress appears to:

A) produce immediate negative effects on health but has little impact on long-term outcomes.
B) produce long-term negative effects on health but has little impact on immediate outcomes.
C) produce both immediate and long-term negative effects on health outcomes.
D) have little or no effect on either immediate or long-term health outcomes.

Question 26

Poor coping skills and the lack of a social support network are examples of ______________ that can _____________ a person's resistance to stress and the negative effects that stress can cause.

A) protective factors;increase
B) vulnerability factors;decrease
C) problem-focused coping;increase
D) emotion-focused coping;decrease

Question 27

Marcus has a good social support network,strong coping skills,and an optimistic personality.These characteristics make him less vulnerable to the effects of stress and are best considered as examples of:

A) protective factors.
B) vulnerability factors.
C) emotion-focused coping skills
D) problem-focused coping skills

Question 28

The factors that help people cope more effectively with stressful events are called _________ factors.

A) protective
B) vulnerability
C) coping
D) bereavement

Question 29

Gene is a child who recently emigrated to Canada from a war-torn country where he lived in several refugee camps.Before arriving in Canada,he witnessed many atrocities and was frequently worried about his safety and the safety of his family.After immigrating,he was constantly anxious during school and suffered from frequent nightmares.A school psychologist would most likely conclude that Gene has:

A) generalized anxiety disorder.
B) panic disorder.
C) agoraphobia.
D) post-traumatic stress disorder.

Question 30

Studies of soldiers who had been subjected to the horrors of war resulted in the creation of a psychological disorder called ____________________.

A) exhaustion syndrome
B) post-traumatic stress disorder
C) generalized anxiety disorder
D) somatoform disorder

Question 31

Which of the following is most clearly associated with decreased psychological well-being?

A) catastrophic events
B) physical stressors
C) physical health problems
D) relationship problems

Question 32

A review by House and his colleagues (1988)of studies conducted with almost 37,000 people living in the United States,Finland,and Sweden found that people with low levels of ______________ were twice as likely to die during the study.The relationship between this variable and health was __________ for men than it was for women.

A) personal coping skills;stronger
B) pessimism;weaker
C) social support;stronger
D) optimism;weaker

Question 33

Work with nonhuman primates has found that mild early life stress _________ emotional,cognitive,and hormonal resistance to stressors later in life.

A) decreases
B) strengthens
C) impairs
D) has no effect on

Question 34

With regard to the relation between stress and illness,the tendency to become anxious or pessimistic under stress is as an example of a(n)_____________,while strong social support or coping skills are typically viewed as being ____________.

A) negative primary appraisal;positive primary appraisals
B) instrumental behaviour;expressive behaviours
C) demand;consequences
D) vulnerability factor;protective factors

Question 35

When Sandra was 18 years old,she was in a serious car accident.Although she made a full recovery from her injuries,she experienced extreme anxiety afterwards.Sandra is now very anxious when driving,will not drive near the site of the accident,has nightmares about the accident,and flinches when she goes through intersections.Sandra has symptoms suggestive of:

A) primary appraisal problems.
B) specific phobia.
C) post-traumatic stress disorder.
D) flight-or-fight syndrome.

Question 36

Studies examining the relation between negative life events and psychological distress have indicated that there is _______________ correlation between these variables,but interpreting this finding is difficult because there is/are _________________ of this result.

A) a positive;several possible causal interpretations
B) a negative;only one possible causal interpretation
C) no;several possible causal interpretations
D) a positive;only one possible causal interpretation

Question 37

All of the following are possible explanations for the positive correlation between self-reported negative events and psychological distress,EXCEPT it could be that:

A) the negative events cause psychological distress.
B) psychological distress influences people to report more negative events.
C) distress and negative life events are both caused by some other unmeasured variables,such as a personality trait.
D) psychological distress influences people to report fewer negative events.

Question 38

Post-traumatic stress disorder arose,at least in part,because of recognition of trauma related to:

A) the invention of the car.
B) near drownings in swimming pools.
C) war combat.
D) child sexual abuse.

Question 39

Which of the following stages of the general adaptation syndrome is associated with suppressed immune functioning?

A) alarm
B) resistance
C) exhaustion
D) all three stages

Question 40

The major symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include all of the following except,the person:

A) talks incessantly about a trauma they have experienced.
B) avoids things that remind them of a trauma.
C) experiences severe anxiety that was not present before a trauma.
D) relives the trauma in flashbacks,dreams,or fantasy.

Question 41

A person who lives under great pressure and demands much of him- or herself and others is the definition of the _______________ personality.

A) Type A
B) Type B
C) Type C
D) Type E (Extrovert)

Question 42

Research suggests that higher levels of social support are:

A) associated with more health problems.
B) associated with fewer health problems.
C) not related to physical health.
D) associated with health only for catastrophic events.

Question 43

In a 30-year study of children who have experienced traumatic events,one factor that appeared to be common to all children who survived and thrived in very difficult situations was having:

A) at least one person who believed in them and provided social support.
B) a very strong and resilient immune system.
C) a strong,optimistic personality type.
D) learned both problem- and emotion-focused coping skills at a young age.

Question 44

Linda has positive views of the future and often expects that things will work out well in the long run.Linda's beliefs are most strongly associated with which of the following concepts?

A) self-efficacy
B) optimism
C) empathy
D) hardiness

Question 45

The "three Cs" that constituted a stress-protective factor called hardiness are:

A) caring,crisis management,coping
B) coping,control,chocolate
C) commitment,control,challenge
D) caring,coping,challenge

Question 46

Your roommate just witnessed a horrifying car accident.What should you encourage her to do?

A) express her emotions about the event
B) avoid thinking about the event
C) cover her emotions with a "brave face"
D) distract herself with hobbies and events

Question 47

Which of the following is associated with negative health outcomes?

A) discussing negative emotions
B) avoiding discussing negative emotions
C) writing about negative emotions
D) talking about negative emotions into a tape recorder

Question 48

In a research study by Naomi Eisenberger and colleagues,participants who were ostracized during a game of Cyberball:

A) had increased immune system activation.
B) showed increased neural activity in the amygdala,suggesting a fear response occurred.
C) displayed in-group favouritism towards the other participants.
D) showed neural activity patterns very similar to those found with lower levels of social support.

Question 49

Greater social support appears to be associated with fewer health problems because it affects:

A) appraisals of stress consequences.
B) exposure to stress.
C) the immune system response.
D) optimism or pessimism.

Question 50

In James Pennebaker's research,university students were given the opportunity to talk about traumas they had experienced to an experimenter in an adjoining room.Participants in a control group were asked to talk or write about trivial everyday matters.Blood samples taken from the students indicated ___________ in the experimental group who talked or wrote about trauma but not in the control group.

A) decreased immune response
B) enhanced immune functioning
C) decreased circulating hormones
D) increased catecholamines

Question 51

Which of the following has NOT been shown to be a protective factor for reactions to stressors?

A) coping self-efficacy
B) degree of social support
C) predisposition for optimism
D) low level of hardiness

Question 52

Research suggests that the Type A personality has a particularly strong association with:

A) AIDS
B) cancer
C) leukemia
D) coronary heart disease

Question 53

Which of the following patterns of behaviour is associated with more physical health problems?

A) Type A
B) Type B
C) Type A and Type B have the same rate of association.
D) Type X

Question 54

The text mentioned that optimistic people have all of the following benefits,EXCEPT,optimists:

A) have a lower risk for anxiety and depression when confronting stressful events.
B) have fewer infectious illnesses and made fewer visits to doctors.
C) have larger social support networks.
D) with breast cancer are likely to live longer.

Question 55

You notice that your instructor has a fast-paced lifestyle and regularly experiences negative emotions.You might be concerned about your instructor's physical health because he likely has a(n)_____________ personality.

A) Type A
B) Type B
C) physiologically reactive
D) invulnerable

Question 56

Which of the following forms of emotional disclosure is associated with positive health outcomes?

A) discussing negative emotions with another person
B) writing about negative emotions
C) talking about negative emotions into a tape recorder
D) All of these

Question 57

Research on emotional disclosure suggests that people who "purged" themselves of negative emotions about a past trauma had:

A) enhanced immune functioning.
B) 50% fewer visits to campus health centres in ensuing months.
C) both enhanced immune functioning
D) more health problems

Question 58

Which of the following provides the best description of the Type A personality?

A) competitive,hostile,and demanding
B) sociable,nice,and emotionally inhibited
C) aggressive,friendly,and pressed for time
D) relaxed,agreeable,and experiences minimal time pressure

Question 59

Robert Baron and his colleagues (1990)conducted a study of people whose spouses were being treated for cancer.Those who rated themselves as having good social support responded to the injection of artificial antigens with more antibodies,demonstrating how strong social support appears to ______________ function and providing additional evidence that high social support is an important __________ factor.

A) enhance immune system;protective
B) impair immune system;protective
C) enhance immune system;vulnerability
D) impair immune system;vulnerability

Question 60

Tamika is about to compete in a triathlon.Although such a competition would likely inspire fear and nervousness in most people,Tamika is feeling good about the race because she believes she has the skills to successfully complete it.Tamika has high self-_________________.

A) efficacy
B) esteem
C) confidence
D) control

Question 61

Coping strategies that attempt to confront and deal directly with the demands of a stressor are called ________________-focused coping.

A) problem
B) demand
C) emotion
D) strategy

Question 62

Stronger religious beliefs are generally:

A) good for physical health.
B) bad for physical health.
C) unrelated to physical health.
D) mixed in their effect on health depending on the stressor.

Question 63

Research on the impact of religious beliefs on responses to stressful events has determined that:

A) there is no relationship between these variables.
B) people with stronger religious beliefs always tend to cope more effectively with stress.
C) religious beliefs can either increase or decrease the impact of stress.
D) surprisingly,people with stronger religious beliefs always tend to cope worse with stress.

Question 64

The stress response has been referred to as the "fight or flight" response.Which of the following is NOT associated with the benefits of this stress response?

A) Increased sensitivity to visual stimuli.
B) Faster and stronger movements.
C) Injury is less likely to generate movement limiting swelling
D) The increased speed of digestion.

Question 65

Which of the following protective factors against the negative effects of stress has also occasionally been found to be a vulnerability factor?

A) hardiness
B) self-efficacy
C) religious beliefs
D) optimism

Question 66

Before a job interview you read extensively about the company and practice all the important answers you may need to give.This preparation is an example of ____________-focused coping.

A) emotion
B) demand
C) problem
D) future

Question 67

Daniel McIntosh (1993)studied a group of parents who had lost their babies because of sudden infant death syndrome.In his study,he found that religious beliefs helped people to cope with these losses and appeared to contribute to greater well-being and less distress up to 18 months later.This result most likely occurred because the religious beliefs facilitated which of the following?

A) finding higher meaning
B) optimism
C) self-efficacy
D) social support

Question 68

Jerry is a competitive person who is almost always pressed for time.He has a very stressful job and he has very high expectations for himself and others.When things don't go his way,such as when there are mistakes or delays at work,Jerry tends to become very irritated and upset.Jerry would most likely be classified as having a ___________________ personality.

A) self-actualizing
B) Type C
C) Type A
D) self-efficacious

Question 69

Coping strategies that attempt to turn to others for assistance and emotional support in times of stress are called:

A) problem-focused coping.
B) emotion-focused coping.
C) seeking social support.
D) demand-focused coping.

Question 70

In general,which coping strategy is associated with more positive outcomes following stress?

A) emotion-focused coping
B) problem-focused coping
C) seeking social support
D) problem-focused coping and seeking social support

Question 71

A stress researcher familiar with the impact of personality variables on health would most likely say that people who ___________ are particularly vulnerable to coronary heart disease.

A) are very time-focused
B) are very competitive
C) experience negative emotions
D) have high achievement motivation

Question 72

Which of the following is the most important predictor of physical health for people with Type A personality?

A) time urgency
B) ambition
C) negative emotions
D) making lists

Question 73

Research on the impact of religious beliefs has suggested that they have the most positive effects in helping people to deal with __________ but often function to increase the stress of people dealing with ___________.

A) illnesses;losses
B) losses;marital problems
C) marital problems;personal setbacks
D) marital problems;illnesses

Question 74

Research has shown that which of the following may serve to inoculate an individual against subsequent stressors?

A) Mild stressors early in life
B) Low levels of cortisol.
C) Prolonged elevation of stress hormones.
D) A regular exercise regime.

Question 75

The stressfulness of a situation is defined by a balance between __________________.

A) low and high blood sugar levels
B) fight or flight instincts
C) demands and resources
D) resistance and exhaustion

Question 76

Endocrinologist Hans Selye was a pioneer in studying the body's response to stress.He called the physiological response pattern to strong and patterned stressors the,"General Adaptation Syndrome" (GAS).This includes the following three phases:

A) alarm reaction;resistance and recovery
B) alarm reaction;resistance and exhaustion
C) reaction;resistance and response.
D) reaction;response and exhaustion

Question 77

You are faced with a very difficult test next week.To alleviate stress you decide to rent a favourite movie to help you relax.This is an example of,__________-focused coping?

A) emotion
B) demand
C) problem
D) self

Question 78

Coping strategies that attempt to manage the emotional responses from stressors are called ______________ coping.

A) problem-focused
B) demand-focused
C) emotion-focused
D) weak base

Question 79

Your doctor conducts some blood tests and finds that you have a persistent secretion of cortisol.Your doctor may be concerned that this will lead to: lead to:

A) anxiety and depression.
B) low self-esteem.
C) decreased fight or flight response
D) reduce function of the adrenal glands.

Question 80

Your upcoming surgery makes you very nervous.You decide to spend time with your friends before the surgery and make sure your parents are there when you come out of surgery.Your behaviour would be an example of which coping strategy?

A) emotion-focused coping
B) problem-focused coping
C) seeking social support
D) demand-focused coping