Question 1

Marcella has been experiencing frequent headaches and irritability; therefore, she is attempting to improve her manner of coping with stress. According to the textbook, what should she do first?

Accepted Answer

The first step in improving coping with stress is to identify stressors, or what is causing the stress. This will allow Marcella to create a plan to address these specific stressors in order to reduce her symptoms. Without identifying the sources of stress, it will be difficult to develop an effective stress-coping plan or determine which stressors are changeable or able to be eliminated.

Question 2

For the past eight months, Ernie has been successfully replacing his TV watching time with at least one exercise activity (like bicycling or working out). According to Prochaska, Ernie is in the ____ stage of readiness.

Accepted Answer

Ernie has successfully replaced his TV watching with exercise for eight months, indicating he is in the maintenance stage according to Prochaska's Stages of Change model.

Question 3

Sheila used to be faced with anxiety, confusion, and discouragement resulting from her "perfectionist" attitude. She made herself much calmer and happier when she adopted the attitude, "Perfection is impossible; all I can do is my best." This is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

Sheila's adoption of the attitude, "Perfection is impossible; all I can do is my best," reflects a cognitive restructuring technique. This involves changing one's thought patterns and beliefs in order to improve their emotional well-being. By shifting her perspective on perfectionism, Sheila was able to reduce her anxiety and become happier. The other choices (A, C, and D) do not relate to the situation described.

Question 4

Carrie realizes that she smokes too many cigarettes and drinks too many alcoholic drinks every day. Acknowledging the serious effects her smoking and drinking can have on her health, she develops a plan to cut back on her smoking. She also checks herself into an alcohol treatment center and abstains from alcohol for four months. Carrie is in the ____ stage of readiness regarding her smoking and in the ____ stage of readiness regarding her drinking.

Accepted Answer

According to the stages of change model, Carrie is in the preparation stage regarding both smoking and drinking because she has developed a plan for cutting back on smoking and has checked herself into an alcohol treatment center. However, she is in the action stage for abstaining from alcohol for four months. Therefore, the best choice is C, which includes preparation for smoking and action for drinking.

Question 5

Miranda's friends think Miranda drinks too much and are worried about it. When they confront Miranda, she says she knows she has a problem but doesn't know what to do about it. Which stage is Miranda at in changing her unhealthy behavior?

Accepted Answer

Miranda is aware of her problem but doesn't know what to do about it, which suggests that she is in the contemplation stage. In this stage, people are aware of their problems and are considering making a change, but they may not have a plan yet.

Question 6

Kasi is a full-time student with two part-time jobs. In addition, Kasi is involved in numerous student organizations. To reduce the pressure that he feels, Kasi decides to quit one of his jobs and reduce his involvement in extracurricular activities. Kasi is using a ____ coping strategy to reduce stress.

Accepted Answer

Kasi is changing his behavior by quitting one of his jobs and reducing his involvement in extracurricular activities in order to reduce his stress levels. This is a behavioral coping strategy.

Question 7

The most effective plans for coping with stress ____.

Accepted Answer

Effective plans for coping with stress aim at removing the stressors that can be changed and reducing stress responses to the remaining stressors. Avoiding stress-related situations completely is not always feasible, so coping strategies should focus on managing stress rather than avoiding it. Changing stress-producing problems into interesting challenges and cognitive coping strategies can be helpful, but they may not always be effective in removing or reducing stressors.

Question 8

Ellen seeks the help of a professional because she feels much anxiety. The therapist helps her identify one major stressor, her relationship with her brother. Which of the following is the least effective way for Ellen to reduce the impact of this stressor?

Accepted Answer

Ignoring her brother is not an effective way to reduce the impact of the stressor as it does not address the underlying issues in their relationship. Learning to believe she has control, predicting stressful situations, and changing her interpretation of her brother's actions are all effective ways to manage the stress caused by the relationship.

Question 9

Jay is writing a song about his use of an emotional coping strategy in dealing with his relationship problems. Which song title is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Jay is writing a song about his...

Question 10

Dr. Shenker realized that Lori needed to learn how to think more calmly, rationally, and positively in the face of stress. He therefore prescribes ____.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive restructuring is a type of therapy that helps individuals change their negative thought patterns and learn how to think more positively and rationally. This approach would be helpful for Lori in reducing her stress and anxiety levels.

Question 11

Sarita knows that she is greatly overweight, and although she thinks about her weight all the time and worries about its effects on her health, she doesn't seem to be able to change her eating habits. According to Prochaska's model, Sarita is at the ____ stage.

Accepted Answer

In Prochaska's model, the contemplation stage is characterized by an individual acknowledging that they have a problem and considering the pros and cons of changing their behavior. Sarita clearly recognizes her weight issue and worries about the health consequences, indicating that she is in the contemplation stage. The precontemplation stage is characterized by denial or lack of awareness of a problem, the preparation stage involves taking initial steps towards behavior change, and the maintenance stage involves successfully maintaining behavior change over a prolonged period.

Question 12

Boris is feeling really stressed and calls a friend for some advice. This is an example of a(n)____ coping strategy.

Accepted Answer

Seeking social support for emotional reasons, such as calling a friend for advice when feeling stressed, is an example of an emotional coping strategy. It involves managing emotional responses to stressors rather than directly addressing or changing the stressor itself.

Question 13

The fact that cognitive restructuring is effective in managing stress indicates that ____.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive restructuring involves changing our thought patterns and beliefs about a stressor, indicating that our cognitive appraisal of a stressor plays a significant role in our stress response. This suggests that our reaction to stress is not solely determined by the objective nature of the stressor, but also by our perceptions and interpretations of it.

Question 14

Shaquille needs to lose some weight and has recently enrolled in a local Weight Watchers program. For the past month, he has also been taking walks in the evening and doing sit-ups in the mornings. Shaquille seems to be at the ____ stage of readiness.

Accepted Answer

Shaquille is in the action stage of readiness because he has already started taking specific actions towards his goal of losing weight, such as enrolling in a Weight Watchers program and incorporating exercise into his daily routine.

Question 15

Carl has been under a lot of stress as he struggles to maintain high grades to get into a top engineering graduate program. His roommate encourages Carl to view his situation as a positive challenge, rather than as a stressful situation, and to concentrate on just doing as well as he can and not worrying about the rest. Carl's roommate is advocating ____ as a stress-coping mechanism.

Accepted Answer

Carl's roommate is encouraging him to reframe his thoughts about his situation and view it as a positive challenge rather than a stressor. This is an example of cognitive restructuring, which is a stress-coping mechanism that involves changing one's thoughts and beliefs about a stressful situation to make it more manageable.

Question 16

Miranda is trying to enjoy healthier eating habits. She is currently in the maintenance stage of changing her health behavior. Which of the following correctly identifies what occurs at this stage?

Accepted Answer

The maintenance stage is when a person has successfully changed their behavior and has been maintaining it for more than 6 months. So, Miranda being in the maintenance stage means that she has been eating properly for at least a year. Options A, C, and D describe the earlier stages of behavior change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, and action respectively), but not the maintenance stage.

Question 17

Jimmy Fallon, the host of a late night talk show, is worried that no one likes his hosting ability. If Jimmy decides to engage in an emotional coping strategy, he's most likely to ____.

Accepted Answer

Going to people who value and care for him would provide Jimmy with social support, which is an effective emotional coping strategy for dealing with feelings of inadequacy or insecurity. Prescription drugs (A) and meditation (D) may also be helpful, but they do not involve seeking social support. Identifying upsetting thoughts and changing them (C) is a cognitive coping strategy rather than an emotional one.

Question 18

Casey wants to start eating healthy foods. She has purchased books on the topic and even enrolled in a nutrition class for next semester. According to Prochaska's stages of change model, Casey is most likely in the ____ stage of readiness.

Accepted Answer

Casey has already taken steps towards her goal by purchasing books and enrolling in a nutrition class. This indicates that she is in the preparation stage, where she is actively seeking out information and planning for change. The contemplation stage is characterized by considering the need for change but not yet taking action, while the action stage involves actually implementing the desired behavior. The maintenance stage is focused on sustaining the behavior change over time.

Question 19

Will and Grace have finally gotten Karen to acknowledge that she drinks way too many martinis every day. Karen says that she has a specific plan for giving up alcohol, and she has already taken preliminary steps by drinking only two instead of ten martinis each day. According to Prochaska's model, Karen is in the ____ stage of readiness to change health behaviors.

Accepted Answer

Karen has already taken preliminary steps towards giving up alcohol by limiting herself to two martinis instead of ten, indicating she is in the preparation stage of Prochaska's model. The contemplation stage involves recognizing the need for change, the action stage involves actively changing behavior, and the maintenance stage involves sustaining the behavior change.

Question 20

Magda is creating a plan to cope with the stress in her life. Now that she has identified her stressors, her next step will involve ____.

Accepted Answer

Once Magda has identified her stressors, the next step is to determine which of them are changeable. This will help her focus her efforts on the stressors that she has the power to improve or eliminate, rather than wasting energy on things that are beyond her control. After determining which stressors are changeable, Magda can then move on to listing the steps necessary to cope with the stress.

Quiz 12: Health Stress and Coping