AS Psychology Stress Basic Definitions

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Eustress
A positive kind of stress that is healty for us.
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Distress
A negative kind of stress - stressors that we feel we cannot cope with.
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Stress
Stress is the body's way respond to some demand placed on it. Some stress is positive, it motivates and drives us. This is eustress. When we cannot cope with because it is either too much or too little (leading to boredom/apathy).
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Life Changes
Alterations and events in our lives that may be stressful, including house moves, job changes etc.
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Daily Hassles
The small annoyances or irritations of everyday life, such as missing the bus, or losing one's keys.
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Fight or Flight response
The stress response evolved to allow us to deal with a problem or run away from it. This is the fight (deal with it) or flight (run away from it) response.
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Emotion-focused coping
An approach to coping with stress, also known as `avoidant` techniques. The person finds relief from the symptoms of stress by employing defence mechanisms, reappraising the situation and reducing arousal levels.
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Problem-focused coping
An approach to coping with stress, also known as `approach` techniques. The person finds relief from the stress by treating it as a problem to be solved. He or she may do this by employing methods of anticipatory coping and by seeking social support.
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Type A behaviour
A personality described as having an excessively competitive drive, being impatient and hostile, expressing themselves with fast movements and rapid speech. A very `intense` person who is more likely to suffer with coronary heart disease.
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Workplace stress
Issues in our workplace that may lead to stress, including workload, enviroment and the amount of control we have over our work.
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Stress management
The control of stress. Methods can be either physiological or psychological.
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Stress-related illness
Exposure to stress can influence our physical functioning and lead to a stress-related illness.
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Social readjustment rating scale (SRRS)
A scale designed by Holmes and Rahe (1967) to measure the effects of life events on health. The higher the score on SRRS, the greater the likelihood of suffering from subsequent physical illness.
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Psychological method of stress management
A problem-focused method of coping with stress. The principle one is cognitive behavioural therapy, an example of this being stress inoculation training.
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Stress inoculation training
A psychological method of stress management. A form of cognitive behavioural therapy, developed by Michenbaum (1972), it aims to reduce stress by helping people to think differently about it.
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Stress management
The control of stress. Methods can be either physiological or psychological
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Physiological methods of stress
Methods of managing stress that work by reducing the physical symptoms of the stress. They include the use of drugs.
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Parasympathetic branch
The part of the nervous system that returns the body to normal after an emergency has passed.
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Peripheral nervous system
Part of the nervous system that consists of all the neurons that lie outside the brain and spinal cord. Some of these neurons make up the autonomic nervous system.
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Neurons
Specialised nerve cells that make up the nervous system.
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Nervous system
A system of billions of neurons communicating using neurotransmitters. Divided into two parts, the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).
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Immune system
The mechanism in the body that provides a defence against infections.
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Hormones
Chemicals released into the bloodstream by the endocrine system that travel rapidly to different parts of the body. Some have a general effect on the body, some influence specific organs or glands.
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General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
A theory developed by Hans Selye in the 1940s that helps us understand how stress may lead to illness. Selye found a similar pattern of physical responses in animals regardless of the nature of the stress they were experiencing.
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Endocrine system
A system of glands that control many biological functions and affect a wide range of behaviours by using chemicals in the bloodstream called hormones.
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Corticosteroids
A number of different hormones that have specific effects on the body, such as encouraging blood clotting, or the water-salt balance in the body, etc.
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
A psychological therapy within the cognitive approach to psychopathology. It aims to identify errors and distortions in thinking that give rise to problems and help clients to find alternative ways of thinking to overcome them.
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Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Part of the peripheral nervous system that deals with physiological processes that ordinarily we do not consciously control, such as breathing and heartbeat. It has two components: the sympathetic branch and the parasympathetic branch.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

A negative kind of stress - stressors that we feel we cannot cope with.

Back

Distress

Card 3

Front

Stress is the body's way respond to some demand placed on it. Some stress is positive, it motivates and drives us. This is eustress. When we cannot cope with because it is either too much or too little (leading to boredom/apathy).

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Alterations and events in our lives that may be stressful, including house moves, job changes etc.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The small annoyances or irritations of everyday life, such as missing the bus, or losing one's keys.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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