A rapidly occurring chain of internal physical reactions that prepare people to either fight or take flight from an immediate threat.

An interdisciplinary field that studies the interconnections among psychological processes, nervous and endocrine system functions, and the immune system.

Hormones released by the adrenal cortex that play a key role in the body’s response to long-term stressors.

Accounting for negative events or situations with internal, stable, and global explanations.

Accounting for negative events or situations with external, unstable, and specific explanations.

The resources provided by other people in times of need.

Everyday minor events that annoy and upset people.

A technique in which practitioners focus awareness on present experience with acceptance.

The belief that physical health and illness are determined by the complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.

A behavioral and emotional style characterized by a sense of time urgency, hostility, and competitiveness.

A negative emotional state occurring in response to events that are perceived as taxing or exceeding a person’s resources or ability to cope.

Coping efforts primarily aimed at relieving or regulating the emotional impact of a stressful situation.

Behavioral and cognitive responses used to deal with stressors; involves our efforts to change circumstances, or our interpretation of circumstances, to make them more favorable and less threatening.

Body system that produces specialized white blood cells that protect the body from viruses, bacteria, and tumor cells.

Hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla that cause rapid physiological arousal, including adrenaline and noradrenaline.

The branch of psychology that studies how biological, behavioral, and social factors influence health, illness, medical treatment, and health-related behaviors.

The stress that results from the pressure of adapting to a new culture.

Events or situations that are perceived as harmful, threatening, or challenging.

Repeated, duplicate DNA sequences that are found at the very tips of chromosomes and that protect the chromosomes’ genetic data during cell division.

Developed by Richard Lazarus, a model of stress that emphasizes the role of an individual’s evaluation (appraisal) of events and situations and of the resources that he or she has available to deal with the event or situation.

An unhealthy condition caused by chronic, prolonged work stress that is characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and a sense of failure or inadequacy.

Coping efforts primarily aimed at directly changing or managing a threatening or harmful stressor.

Hans Selye’s term for the three-stage progression of physical changes that occur when an organism is exposed to intense and prolonged stress. The three stages are alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Specialized white blood cells that are responsible for immune defenses.