Deck 18: Stress,Coping,Adjustment,and Health

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of stressors?

A)They produce a state of feeling overwhelmed.
B)They are major life events.
C)They often produce opposing tendencies.
D)They are uncontrollable.

Answer 1

They are major life events.

Question 2

Researchers in the field of _____ study the relationship between the mind and the body,as well as the ways in which these two components respond to challenges from an environment to produce either illness or health.

A)differential psychology
B)health psychology
C)psychoanalysis
D)medicine

Answer 2

health psychology

Question 3

In the context of the stages of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)as proposed by Hans Selye,which of the following is a characteristic of the resistance stage?

A)The immediate fight-or-flight response persists.
B)Resisting stress requires little effort and energy.
C)Bodily resources are used at an above average rate.
D)A person becomes most susceptible to illness and disease.

Answer 3

Bodily resources are used at an above average rate.

Question 4

Which of the following models of the personality-illness connection focuses on the trait of conscientiousness that appears to indirectly influence the relationship between stress and illness?

A)The health behavior model
B)The interactional model
C)The transactional model
D)The illness behavior model

Question 5

In the transactional model,personality can influence:

A)coping.
B)how a person appraises an event.
C)an event.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 6

The _____ model is most likely to guide investigators interested in the genetic basis of illnesses.

A)health behavior
B)interactional
C)transactional
D)predisposition

Question 7

According to Hans Selye (1976),when a person is exposed to a particular stressor day in and day out,the physiological fight-or-flight response is the first step in a chain of events termed:

A)primary appraisals.
B)secondary appraisals.
C)the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).
D)primary and secondary appraisals.

Question 8

The reaction of being startled with an increase in blood pressure and other physiological responses is commonly called:

A)a stressor.
B)the fight-or-flight response.
C)pessimism.
D)hostility.

Question 9

The _____ model suggests that personality influences the degree to which a person perceives and pays attention to bodily sensations and the degree to which the person interprets and labels those sensations as an illness.

A)health behavior
B)interactional
C)transactional
D)illness behavior

Question 10

Stress is the _____ feeling produced by events that are uncontrollable or threatening.

A)objective
B)subjective
C)acute
D)chronic

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true about the transactional model?

A)It suggests that personality can influence the degree to which a person labels bodily sensations as illnesses.
B)It holds that personality and illness are both expressions of an underlying predisposition.
C)It suggests that personality can influence how a person appraises or interprets events.
D)It holds that personality influences the degree to which a person engages in various health-promoting behaviors.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a model of the personality-illness connection?

A)The circumplex model
B)The interactional model
C)The transactional model
D)The predisposition model

Question 13

In the United States,researchers suggest that health behavior deficits contribute to more than _____ of all premature deaths.

A)a quarter
B)30 percent
C)half
D)90 percent

Question 14

According to the stages of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)proposed by Hans Selye,the _____ stage consists of the fight-or-flight response.

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

Question 15

Which of the following models of the personality-illness connection suggests that associations exist between personality and illness because of a third variable,which is causing them both?

A)The health behavior model
B)The interactional model
C)The transactional model
D)The predisposition model

Question 16

Going to a doctor,taking a day off from work,or complaining to others about one's symptoms are all examples of:

A)appraisals.
B)self-efficacy.
C)illness behaviors.
D)health behaviors.

Question 17

Who among the following is a pioneer in stress research and coined the term general adaptation syndrome (GAS)?

A)R.H.Rahe
B)Richard Lazarus
C)T.H.Holmes
D)Hans Selye

Question 18

_____ can take the form of diagrams of key variables,with the causal relations among those variables depicted by arrows.

A)Appraisals
B)Models
C)Theories
D)Hypotheses

Question 19

A limitation of the _____ model is that it does not specifically explain the mechanisms underlying the interactions.

A)health behavior
B)interactional
C)transactional
D)predisposition

Question 20

An early model of the personality health relationship is called the interactional model because:

A)personality and illness are both expected to be expressions of an underlying predisposition.
B)personality is assumed to influence the relationship between stress and illness.
C)personality is assumed to influence how a person appraises or interprets events.
D)personality is expected to affect health indirectly through health-promoting behaviors.

Question 21

_____ is a cognitive process whereby a person focuses on the good in what is happening or has happened.

A)Problem-focused coping
B)Positive reappraisal
C)Creating positive events
D)Disclosure

Question 22

According to psychologist Richard Lazarus,which of the following must occur for stress to be evoked for a person?

A)The fight-or-flight response
B)Primary appraisal
C)Secondary appraisal
D)Primary and secondary appraisal

Question 23

The "broaden and build model" addresses:

A)how positive emotions affect stress and illness.
B)the optimistic bias.
C)the fight-or-flight response.
D)how frustration leads to stress.

Question 24

Which of the following coping mechanisms uses thoughts and behaviors to manage or solve the underlying cause of stress?

A)Problem-focused coping
B)Defensive pessimism
C)Primary appraisal
D)Secondary appraisal

Question 25

Stress is thought to lower the functional ability of the _____ system.

A)circulatory
B)cardiovascular
C)reproductive
D)immune

Question 26

_____ refers to the effects of stress that add up and accumulate in a person over time.

A)Additive effects
B)Stress accumulation
C)Longitudinal buildup
D)Stress accrual

Question 27

Psychologists distinguish _____ varieties of stress,which are _____.

A)three;episodic acute,traumatic,and chronic stress
B)three;benign,traumatic,and chronic stress
C)four;acute,episodic acute,traumatic,and chronic stress
D)four;acute,benign,traumatic,and chronic stress

Question 28

Problem-focused coping:

A)can generate positive emotions.
B)is useful when events are controllable.
C)is useful when events appear uncontrollable on the surface.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 29

The _____ technique for measuring attributional style was developed by Chris Peterson and his colleagues.

A)Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE)
B)Attributional Analysis (AA)
C)Attribution Vocabulary (AV)
D)Peterson Attributional Analysis of Vocabulary (PAAV)

Question 30

_____ is a dispositional way of explaining the causes of bad events.

A)Defensive pessimism
B)Attributional style
C)Problem-focused coping
D)Negative-event interpretation

Question 31

According to psychologist Richard Lazarus (1991),primary appraisal best refers to a cognitive event in which a person _____.

A)creates a mental image or fantasy of a desired object or person to satisfy his or her needs
B)develops and devises strategies for problem solving and obtaining satisfaction
C)perceives that an event is a threat to his or her personal goals
D)concludes that he or she lacks the resources to cope with the demands of a threatening event

Question 32

Having too much to do all the time,having to fight the crowds while shopping,getting stuck regularly in heavy traffic,having to wait in lines all the time,having an unpleasant boss at work,having a long commute,and having to worry over money are all examples of:

A)daily hassles.
B)major life events.
C)attributional style.
D)emotional inhibition.

Question 33

Research suggests that people become vulnerable to microbial infections:

A)if they follow the illness behavior model.
B)if they are in the alarm stage of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)model.
C)if they are under chronic stress.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 34

According to Hans Selye,people are most susceptible to illness in the _____ stage of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)model.

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

Question 35

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)may develop in persons who have _____ life-threatening events.

A)experienced
B)witnessed
C)imagined
D)experienced or witnessed

Question 36

In their initial research,Holmes and Rahe found that people with the most stress points were:

A)most likely to have a serious illness.
B)less likely to have a serious illness.
C)most likely to die during the course of their studies.
D)not much different from those who were less stresseD.

Question 37

Which of the following is most likely to be a stressful life event?

A)Awaiting Christmas
B)Buying a new car
C)Getting married
D)Changing residence

Question 38

When a person perceives that an event is a threat to his goals,he engages in:

A)the optimistic bias.
B)the pessimistic bias.
C)primary appraisal.
D)secondary appraisal.

Question 39

Positive emotions are thought to help with stress by:

A)broadening the scope of attention.
B)helping people build up reserves of energy.
C)helping people build social support networks.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 40

Which of the following is a feature of the Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE)technique?

A)Participants are shown a set of 14 black and white ambiguous pictures and are asked to write a short story about each picture.
B)Researchers are allowed to study participants who are not willing to participate in typical research.
C)Researchers present a set of 10 stories to participants and ask them to select the ones that sound most true to them.
D)Participants discreetly share material containing causal explanations with their therapists and take precaution not to make the material public.

Question 41

In the context of management of emotions,Levy and colleagues (1985)have shown that people who keep their negative emotions to themselves are more likely than expressive persons to _____.

A)have an enhanced immune system
B)have a higher mortality rate
C)score high on the trait of conscientiousness
D)control or influence a stressor

Question 42

Optimism in general has been shown to predict good health as measured by:

A)self-reports.
B)ratings of general health made by physicians.
C)the number of visits to a doctor.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 43

James Pennebaker has suggested that keeping negative events secret:

A)helps maintain self-esteem.
B)requires physical energy.
C)is associated with good health.
D)helps maintain self-esteem and is associated with good health.

Question 44

Self-efficacy is defined as:

A)the belief that one can do the behaviors necessary to achieve a desired outcome.
B)a belief that includes making attributions that are unstable,temporary,and global.
C)the expectation that good events will be plentiful and bad events will be rare in the future.
D)a stage in which a person has higher-than-average self-esteem.

Question 45

The fact that most people underestimate their risks,with the average person rating his or her risk as below what is the true probability,is referred to as:

A)optimism.
B)the optimistic bias.
C)time urgency.
D)the general adaptation syndrome (GAhS).

Question 46

Telling others about a private aspect of oneself is known as:

A)disclosure.
B)problem-focused coping.
C)self-efficacy.
D)the general adaptive syndrome.

Question 47

In the context of the management of emotions,researchers found that emotional expressiveness correlated with:

A)lower self-efficacy.
B)lower self-esteem.
C)higher levels of guilt.
D)higher levels of happiness.

Question 48

In the context of coping strategies and styles,optimists _____,unlike pessimists.

A)believe that their behavior rarely influences outcomes in life
B)believe that life events are unstable and specific
C)overestimate risks and prepare themselves accordingly
D)make global and internal explanations for bad events

Question 49

Research suggests that inhibiting the expression of negative emotions:

A)makes people feel better.
B)makes people feel worse.
C)leads to heightened physiological activity.
D)leads to reduced physiological activity.

Question 50

_____ perceive that they are at a lower risk for negative events than an average person.

A)People with Type A personality
B)Optimists
C)Extraverts
D)People who score high on hostility

Question 51

In the context of optimism and physical well-being,Peterson and colleagues found that the real difference between optimists and pessimists,in terms of the causes of death,was in _____.

A)the severity of microbial infections
B)deaths due to cancer
C)deaths due to heart diseases
D)the frequency of accidents

Question 52

When people express their feelings to their romantic partners,they are:

A)less likely to be effective in communicating with others.
B)likely to have more problems in relationships.
C)likely to have fewer problems in relationships.
D)likely to become effective communicators but have more problems in relationships.

Question 53

Smiling when you receive a gift that you do not really like is an example of:

A)hostility.
B)primary appraisal.
C)secondary appraisal.
D)emotional inhibition.

Question 54

Pausing and reflecting on something positive,such as a compliment received,a pleasing or humorous memory,or a sunset,in stressful situations are all examples of a positive coping mechanism called _____.

A)problem-focused coping
B)positive reappraisal
C)creating positive events
D)disclosure

Question 55

When psychologist James Pennebaker asked research participants to write about their secret unpleasant events,he found that:

A)people felt good as they wrote.
B)many people found it difficult to think of secrets.
C)everyone had some secrets.
D)people felt good as they wrote and that everyone had secrets.

Question 56

One cannot really know the causal mechanisms involved in the health-optimism link because:

A)most of the research is correlational.
B)it is difficult to measure optimism.
C)most of the research is non-correlational.
D)optimism has only recently been studieD.

Question 57

In a study conducted by James Gross and Robert Levenson,it was found that participants who were instructed to suppress their emotions:

A)showed less outward expression.
B)showed more outward expression.
C)showed decreased physiological activity.
D)showed less outward expression and decreased physiological activity.

Question 58

A person with a pessimistic explanatory style makes _____ explanations for bad events.

A)internal
B)global
C)temporary
D)internal and global

Question 59

Dispositional optimism is defined as:

A)the belief that one can do the behaviors necessary to achieve a desired outcome.
B)a public coping style that includes making attributions that are unstable,temporary,and global.
C)the expectation that good events will be plentiful and bad events will be rare in the future.
D)a stage in which a person has higher-than-average self-esteem.

Question 60

In a study-in which a random group of college students was asked to recall and write about an experience that they found distressing and another random group was asked to write about a trivial topic,and both these groups were contacted again after six months-it was found that college students who wrote about trauma:

A)visited the campus health center less.
B)visited the campus health center more.
C)found the task more enjoyable.
D)re-experienced the traumatic event.

Question 61

Which of the following is a subtrait of Type A personality?

A)Self-handicapping
B)Rationalization
C)Defensive pessimism
D)Time urgency

Question 62

Research suggests that disclosing traumatic events:

A)increases physiological arousal during disclosure.
B)improves physical health.
C)reduces the likelihood of depression.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 63

Which of the following conditions most likely causes arteriosclerosis?

A)Loss of fatty deposits from the artery walls
B)Dilation of the arteries
C)Decrease in blood pressure
D)Hardening or blocking of the arteries

Question 64

Which of the following is a characteristic of Type A people?

A)They avoid competing with others.
B)They like to work hard and achieve goals.
C)They avoid doing two things simultaneously.
D)They encourage people to talk slowly without speeding up.

Question 65

_____ is a subjective feeling that comes when you are blocked from attaining an important goal.

A)Stress
B)Frustration
C)Primary appraisal
D)Secondary appraisal

Question 66

In the context of the lethal component of the Type A behavior pattern,people in hostility are _____.

A)necessarily violent
B)outwardly aggressive
C)likely to react disagreeably to disappointments
D)highly likely to be assertive and demanding of others

Question 67

People who score high on hostility:

A)are usually violent and aggressive.
B)are violent and aggressive when dealing with submissive people.
C)react to frustration with disagreeable behavior.
D)All of the answers are correct.