Deck 4: Stress and Stress-Related Disorders

Question 1

What is the difference between a stressor and a crisis?

A) There is no difference, these are just two words for the same thing.
B) There is a biological response to stress, but not to crisis.
C) A stressor is an unexpected crisis.
D) While all crises are stressors, not all stressors are crises.

Answer 1

While all crises are stressors, not all stressors are crises.

Question 2

According to the text, the term "stress" will be used to refer to:

A) anything that makes us unhappy.
B) those events in our lives that challenge us.
C) the effects of stressors.
D) any demand made on an organism.

Answer 2

the effects of stressors.

Question 3

Which of the following is a criticism of the life event scales?

A) They do not recognize that joyful events can be stressful.
B) No relationship has been found between illness and scores on these scales.
C) They do not recognize that multiple life changes will produce greater stress.
D) Peoples' moods can have an impact on their ratings of stress.

Answer 3

Peoples' moods can have an impact on their ratings of stress.

Question 4

The fact that physical conditions affect psychological functioning is recognized by the consideration of ________.

A) Axis V
B) Axis III
C) Axis I
D) Axis II

Question 5

Today there is a growing recognition of the fact that

A) cognitive factors determine the course of both psychological and biological disorders.
B) behavioral and biological factors interact to determine health.
C) all psychological disorders have a clearly defined biological basis.
D) it is unlikely we will ever be able to determine the causes of psychological disorders.

Question 6

Despite all the criticisms of the use of life stress scales,

A) their reliability and validity was never challenged.
B) they are still the preferred method for measuring reactions to specific environmental events.
C) the finding that life change produces stress has been supported by other work.
D) today's approaches to assessing the effects of life events are no better.

Question 7

Selye

A) focused on the cognitive component of the stress response.
B) conducted extensive research on the effects of stress on the immune system.
C) failed to acknowledge the role of the environment in adapting to stress.
D) recognized that both happy and sad life events can be sources of stress.

Question 8

The term "crisis" refers to

A) encountering a number of stressors simultaneously.
B) any encounter that requires a readjustment of self concept.
C) a period of especially acute stress.
D) any time when a stressful situation exceeds one's ability to cope.

Question 9

Which of the following is considered to be the most reliable life event approach?

A) the Life Event and Difficulty Schedule
B) the Impact of Events Scale
C) the Social Readjustment Rating Scale
D) Snoopy's How's It Going Schedule

Question 10

Health psychology is

A) a subspecialty of medicine that examines how medications affect a person's moods, thoughts, and behaviors.
B) a subspecialty within behavioral medicine that employs psychotherapy to improve people's mental health.
C) a form of psychology that looks at how the environment, noise, crowding, and pollution affects mental health.
D) a subspecialty within behavioral medicine and psychology that deals with the psychological components of physical dysfunction.

Question 11

Behavioral medicine emphasizes

A) integrating psychology and sociology in an effort to replace surgery for physical illness.
B) utilizing imagery to treat disabling illnesses such as cancer.
C) replacing traditional medical methods with psychological methods in the treatment of physical illness.
D) the role of psychological factors in the occurrence, maintenance, and prevention of physical illness.

Question 12

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale

A) examines the role that coping plays in dealing with life changes.
B) is an imperfect means of quantifying the level of stress experience over a period of time.
C) has been used to demonstrate that life events and health are not related.
D) did not acknowledge that happy events create life changes and, as a consequence, stress.

Question 13

Schizophrenia is an disorder.

A) Axis V
B) Axis I
C) Axis II
D) Axis III

Question 14

The interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of physical disorders thought to have psychological factors as a major aspect of their causal patterns is known as

A) psychosomatics.
B) health psychology.
C) behavioral medicine.
D) psychoneurological medicine.

Question 15

Which statement about behavioral medicine is accurate?

A) It examines the psychological causes of physical illnesses rather than such treatment issues as compliance with advice and the effectiveness of interventions.
B) It represents a kind of icing on the cake: helping people feel better after they have been cured of a disease.
C) It is a field that has developed rapidly over the past 30 years and has had a major impact on virtually the entire range of clinical medicine.
D) It makes a distinction between those illnesses that have a psychological cause and those that do not.

Question 16

The Life Event and Difficulty Schedule

A) focuses on how difficult life events are handled.
B) includes cognitive factors in its examination of the impact of life events.
C) provides a quick way to assess stress responses and coping skills.
D) provides a timeline for describing the stress response.

Question 17

Who is likely to have the most severe stress?

A) Lauren, who sees the clean-up of an accident and finds out later it involved one of her friends.
B) Bill, who has a deadline the next day for an important project.
C) Josh, who has just been told he has cancer and whose wife announces she is leaving him when he tells her the news.
D) Anne, who is planning her wedding.

Question 18

A personality disorder that puts one at risk for cardiovascular disease would be found on _.

A) Axis V
B) Axis I
C) Axis II
D) Axis III

Question 19

The development of new methods of coping

A) may be an outcome of a crisis.
B) always occurs when adaptive capabilities are exceeded.
C) is continuously needed as we face new stressors on a daily basis.
D) increases the expectation of future failures.

Question 20

Unlike earlier editions of the DSM, the DSM-IV-TR includes

A) Axis III for medical conditions.
B) a category called Mental Disorders Due to a General Medical Condition on Axis I.
C) psychosomatic disorders on Axis II.
D) organic mental disorders on Axis V.

Question 21

Which of the following will lessen the impact of stress on a person?

A) positive social and family relationships
B) being single and alone, there is less for the person to cope with
C) having a lot of extremely stressful experiences in the past
D) having family relationships, even if they are tense

Question 22

Which of the following stressors is likely to have the strongest negative impact on people?

A) being in a multi-car accident on a sunny day
B) having back surgery after other options for pain didn't work
C) changing from a boring job to a more exciting one
D) getting a divorce after many years

Question 23

An individual with a high stress tolerance:

A) may feel threatened more readily than those with low stress tolerance.
B) can function well in the face of a high level of stress.
C) is likely to be particularly vulnerable to slight frustration.
D) is particularly vulnerable to acute stress disorder.

Question 24

Why are stressors such as airplane crashes more stressful than a fire?

A) After a fire, people receive more social and financial support than after a crash.
B) There is less publicity after a fire, so people don't relive the experience over and over as they doin an airplane crash.
C) People tend to take something like an airplane crash more personally than they do a fire.
D) After a fire, people can often find some positive aspect, such as that the family survived or the fire didn't spread - it is harder to do this with an airplane crash.

Question 25

Which of the following will lessen the impact of a stressful situation?

A) Minimizing the use of social support.
B) Being uncertain as to how long the stressor will persist.
C) Holding unrealistic expectations about the stressor.
D) Preparing for the stressor.

Question 26

The field of study that focuses on how behavior, our defenses against illness, and the brain all interact is known as

A) psychoneuroimmunology.
B) health psychology.
C) psychophysiology.
D) behavioral medicine. A

Question 27

After a fire destroyed their house, the Johnson's told everyone that they were grateful no one was hurt and that the family was still together. In fact, they said, everyone in the family seemed to be even closer since the fire. The Bachman family also experienced a fire that destroyed their house. They told everyone about all the photos and priceless possessions they have lost and how they can never replace them. They are worried about money and say their anxieties are causing them to fight more. The Johnson family

A) is likely to suffer later more extreme reactions to stress than the Bachman family because the Johnson family is in denial.
B) will have a more moderate impact and better adjustment to the stress than the Bachman family.
C) will have the same impact from stress as the Bachman family because they both experienced the same stressor.
D) will have a worse reaction to the stress because the Bachman family is experiencing a stronger emotional reaction.

Question 28

The allostatic load is

A) the reaction of the sympathetic nervous system to stress.
B) a factor in increasing white blood cells.
C) the amount of cortisol that is adaptive.
D) the biological cost of adapting to stress.

Question 29

Cognitive factors

A) can create or intensify stress.
B) alone determine what effect a traumatic event will have on the immune system.
C) always serve to minimize stress reactions.
D) have no impact on how the body responds to a challenge.

Question 30

The "fight or flight" response

A) is made possible by the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system.
B) is what causes a Type A personality behavior pattern.
C) is made possible by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system.
D) is an adaptive reaction to the daily demands faced today.

Question 31

The stress response begins in the

A) brain.
B) sympathetic nervous system.
C) parasympathetic nervous system.
D) adrenal gland.

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT an effect of cortisol?

A) hippocampal damage
B) increased metabolism
C) elevated blood sugar
D) enhanced immune function

Question 33

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system

A) only happens if someone chooses "fight" rather than "flight".
B) can have ill effects when it is sustained over time.
C) helps a person relax.
D) happens in response to exposure to viruses.

Question 34

Under what circumstances in the release of cortisol most adaptive?

A) after exposure to a virus
B) after the initial cause for alarm is removed
C) when you are in a hurry and do not have time to eat
D) when you are injured but do not have time to tend to your injury

Question 35

The substances that cause an increase in heart rate when the fight-or-flight response is activated are released by the

A) hypothalamus.
B) pituitary.
C) kidney.
D) adrenal.

Question 36

Cortisol can be used to

A) enhance immune responses.
B) stimulate the pituitary gland.
C) reduce inflammation.
D) decrease heart rate following sympathetic activation.

Question 37

Antigens

A) are a type of leukocyte.
B) respond to foreign bodies.
C) make rapid immune responses possible.
D) lead to the generation of antibodies.

Question 38

Which of the following is the study of the interactions between the nervous system and the immune system?

A) immunology
B) health psychology
C) psychoneuroimmunology
D) behavioral medicine

Question 39

When do the effects of cortisol become a problem?

A) always
B) when the cortisol response is not terminated
C) when the normal immune response is inhibited
D) never

Question 40

Viruses are

A) antigens.
B) antibodies.
C) leukocytes.
D) lymphocytes.

Question 41

The fact that cytokines can communicate with the brain as well as with the immune system means that

A) the brain is capable of influencing immune processes.
B) the brain does not play an active role in the immune system.
C) the brain also produces leukocytes.
D) they are effective in fighting off diseases of the brain.

Question 42

Research on the stressful life events and the immune response found

A) greater overall stress led to more use of social support and better immune functioning.
B) there was no association between levels of stress and immune functioning.
C) greater overall stress eventually strengthened the immune system and slowed the transition from HIV positive to AIDS.
D) greater overall stress was associated with more rapid transition from HIV positive to AIDS.

Question 43

A lifestyle factor

A) is something that we can control.
B) is something that we cannot control.
C) is our reaction to stressors.
D) is genetic.

Question 44

Which of the following provides evidence of the role that psychosocial factors play in AIDS?

A) Many people have been cured with the placebo effect.
B) Psychosocial stressors tend to strengthen immune function.
C) Dissatisfaction with social support was predictive of faster development of AIDS.
D) Many people who are HIV-positive have a history of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Question 45

The healthiest way to deal with anger is to

A) suppress it.
B) express it.
C) communicate it constructively.
D) use it to energize positive actions.

Question 46

Which of the following blood pressures would be classified as "prehypertension"?

A) 135/90
B) 130/80
C) 100/50
D) 145/95

Question 47

Hypertension is given the designation "essential" hypertension when it

A) results from an identifiable biological predisposition.
B) has no specific physical cause.
C) is notable for its many overt warning symptoms.
D) is a chronic condition.

Question 48

Which of the following is TRUE?

A) Gender differences in the prevalence of hypertension are not seen.
B) Women are more likely to suffer from hypertension than men.
C) Hypertension is rare before age 50.
D) African Americans have higher rates of hypertension than do whites.

Question 49

Research on the role of anger in hypertension finds that

A) expressing anger serves to reduce the blood pressure of those with hypertension.
B) anger and blood pressure are not related.
C) suppressed anger explains the hypertension of most of the population.
D) expressed anger increases blood pressure.

Question 50

Macrophages

A) are a type of leukocyte.
B) inhibit the proliferation of B-cells.
C) are antigens.
D) activate T-cells.

Question 51

T-cells

A) mature in the bone marrow.
B) are a type of leukocyte.
C) mature in the brain.
D) inhibit the proliferation of B-cells.

Question 52

Bonnie and Judy have both been treated badly by a job interviewer. Bonnie responded by yelling at the interviewer and calling him names. Judy responded by telling the interviewer why she felt upset and asking if there was anyway to work things out. Which woman is more likely to have high blood pressure?

A) neither, because they both expressed their anger
B) Bonnie because she had emotional release
C) both, because they are both very angry
D) Judy because she expressed her anger constructively

Question 53

Cytokines are

A) foreign bodies such as viruses and bacteria.
B) in the bone marrow and produce antibodies.
C) a type of leukocyte and are part of the immune system.
D) chemical messengers that allow immune cells to communicate with each other.

Question 54

B-cells

A) mature in the brain.
B) produce antibodies.
C) increase the allostatic load.
D) are a type of virus.

Question 55

All of the following are examples of lifestyle factors that impact health EXCEPT

A) tobacco use.
B) unsafe sex.
C) diabetes.
D) sleep loss.

Question 56

Unlike B-cells, T-cells

A) become active and multiply rapidly when the immune system is stimulated.
B) are not able to recognize specific antigens by themselves.
C) inhibit the proliferation of B-cells.
D) are a type of leukocyte.

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT an accepted explanation for why African Americans have higher rates of essential hypertension than European Americans?

A) Physicians are more likely to diagnose hypertension in this population because they expect to see it.
B) This population is subjected to the stresses of poverty, inner-city life, and racism.
C) As a group, blacks retain excessive levels of ingested sodium.
D) African Americans are less likely to exercise than Caucasians.

Question 58

Constricted blood vessels, accelerated heart rate, restricted blood flow to visceral organs: these symptoms jointly reflect

A) atherosclerosis.
B) myocardial infarction.
C) migraine headache.
D) hypertension.

Question 59

Julia has hypertension. Which of the following would be expected to differentiate her physiological functioning from that of someone who does not suffer from this condition?

A) even pulse
B) blood pressure less than 120/80
C) regular heartbeat
D) lessened blood flow to visceral organs

Question 60

An old explanation for hypertension viewed hypertension as an)

A) sign of ego disintegration.
B) expression of unsatisfied sexual urges of the id.
C) consequence of fixation in the latent stage.
D) result of unexpressed anger.

Question 61

Which of the following is characteristic of an adjustment disorder?

A) The symptoms persist indefinitely.
B) Medical intervention is usually necessary.
C) Symptoms may lessen when the individual has learned to cope.
D) The precipitating stressor is a traumatic event that few people face.

Question 62

What would be the best piece of advice to give to a person who exhibits Type A behavior in order to decrease their risk of coronary heart disease?

A) use it or lose it
B) don't deny your feelings, use them effectively
C) mom never said life was fair
D) take time to smell the roses

Question 63

The main reason people have not found a consistent relationship between Type A and coronary heart disease is

A) the overlap between the Type A pattern and other mental illnesses.
B) the use of small samples.
C) an inability to consistently define "coronary heart disease."
D) different ways of measuring Type A.

Question 64

Adjustment disorders

A) do not lessen once the precipitating stressor is removed.
B) are not disorders, but a selection of symptoms seen in response to normal events that necessitate change.
C) occur within 6 months of a stressor.
D) develop in response to normal life events.

Question 65

A main symptom of PTSD is

A) depression.
B) panic attacks when remembering the trauma.
C) reexperiencing of the traumatic event.
D) development of stress related diseases.

Question 66

The results of the Framingham Heart Study show that Type A behavior is

A) just as likely in people with normal hearts as people with diseased hearts.
B) a risk factor for women, while depression is a risk factor for men.
C) a risk factor for heart disease in men only.
D) a risk factor for heart disease in both men and women.

Question 67

PTSD

A) develops in about 20% of those who report having experienced a traumatic event.
B) usually lasts for less than 4 weeks.
C) symptoms vary considerably depending on the characteristics of the trauma and the victim.
D) must develop within four weeks of the precipitating event in order for a diagnosis to be made.

Question 68

Charles spends most of his time feeling tense and anxious. He has a good job but worries that he might be fired at any time. Charles has an increased risk of having a heart attack because

A) he has a Type X personality.
B) he has a Type A personality.
C) he has a Type B personality.
D) he has a Type D personality.

Question 69

Estimates of the prevalence of PTSD:

A) find that it rarely exists as a comorbid condition.
B) demonstrate that it is more commonly seen in women.
C) have not been made.
D) indicate that most people who experience a traumatic event develop PTSD.

Question 70

Fatal heart attacks are associated with

A) depression and impulsivity.
B) impulsivity and excessive worry.
C) antisocial attitudes and paranoid thoughts.
D) anxiety and depression.

Question 71

Geoffrey is extremely impatient when he has to wait in line or in traffic. He often feels enormous rage but tries to control it. Geoffrey suffers from

A) Type B behavior pattern.
B) hostility personality disorder.
C) Type A/B behavior pattern.
D) Type A behavior pattern.

Question 72

What aspect of the Type A personality is thought to increase the risk of coronary artery disease?

A) extreme work commitment
B) impatience
C) hostility
D) excessive competitive drive

Question 73

Acute stress disorder becomes PTSD when

A) the symptoms last for more than 2 weeks.
B) the symptoms last for more than 4 weeks.
C) the trauma is an event out of the realm of normal life experience.
D) the symptoms begin within 6 months of the trauma.

Question 74

Research has found that there is a strong correlation between and mortality following a heart attack.

A) hostility
B) anxiety
C) Type A behavior
D) depression

Question 75

All of the following are clinical manifestations of coronary heart disease EXCEPT

A) myocardial infarction.
B) heart attack.
C) angina.
D) stroke.

Question 76

Which of the following psychological factors is most useful as a predictor of heart attack survival?

A) time urgency
B) pessimism
C) depression
D) anger

Question 77

Kelly was recently diagnosed with cancer. Her physician recommended that she keep a journal about her feelings and thoughts. Research suggests

A) this is a good idea - emotional disclosure is often effective in improving physical condition.
B) this is neither good nor bad - emotional disclosure has no real impact on physical condition.
C) this is a moderately good idea - emotional disclosure may make her feel better but will have no impact on her physical condition.
D) this is a bad idea - emotional disclosure tends to make people's physical condition worse.

Question 78

No association has been found between nonfatal heart attacks and

A) hostility.
B) vital exhaustion.
C) anxiety.
D) depression.

Question 79

Combat soldiers, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been found to have high rates of PTSD. This is because

A) soldiers have higher rates of preexisting mental conditions than the general population.
B) soldiers have personality traits that make them more at risk.
C) combat situations involve many factors that create intense stress, including fear, loss of security and lack of sleep.
D) combat situations expose soldiers to many physical substances linked to PTSD.

Question 80

The chance of having a heart attack can

A) not be impacted by stress.
B) be increased if a person experiences major stress.
C) be increased if a person experiences moderate to major stress.
D) be increased even by low level or everyday stress.