Stress Basics
The process of perceiving and responding to threatening or challenging events.
What is stress?
The system that prepares the body for a fight-or-flight response.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
Major life events like natural disasters or personal loss.
What are traumatic events?
The type of coping that focuses on fixing the problem.
What is problem-focused coping?
The field that studies how psychology affects physical health.
What is health psychology?
The first step in evaluating whether an event is stressful or not.
What is primary appraisal?
The hormone released by the adrenal glands during stress.
What is cortisol?
Minor everyday annoyances like traffic or arguments.
What are daily hassles?
The type of coping that focuses on managing emotions.
What is emotion-focused coping?
The body system weakened by chronic stress.
What is the immune system?
The person who developed the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
Who is Hans Selye?
The three stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome.
What are alarm, resistance, and exhaustion?
The scale that ranks stress based on life changes.
What is the Social Readjustment Rating Scale?
The belief that you control your own fate.
What is an internal locus of control?
The personality trait linked to resilience and stress resistance.
What is hardiness?
The positive type of stress that can be motivating.
What is eustress?
The brain structure that activates the HPA axis.
What is the hypothalamus?
The type of stressor that lasts a long time without a clear end.
What is a chronic stressor?
A personality type linked to heart disease and high hostility.
What is Type A personality?
The hormone that can damage health when released over time.
What is cortisol?
The model that views stress as a result of the interaction between a person and their environment.
What is the transactional model of stress and coping?
The term for the cumulative wear and tear caused by chronic stress.
What is allostatic load?
The two broad categories of stressors.
What are acute stressors and chronic stressors?
The feeling that you can influence or manage stressors.
What is perceived control?
Two healthy habits that reduce stress.
What are exercise and eating well?