1. ____________ are defined as the situations, beliefs, people, and attitudes that cause you to feel stress, a response that can include physiological, psychological, and emotional components.

c. Stressors

2. When Eric witnessed the birth of his first child, he felt it was the proudest moment of his life. This kind of “good” stressor leads to a reaction known as:

a. eustress.

3. Your professor is using the Social Readjustment Rating Scale in a study she is conducting. She predicts that the more ____________ people have, the more stress reactions they will experience, which increases the likelihood they will become ill.

d. life-changing events

4. When faced with a threat, portions of the brain, including the hypothalamus, activate the ____________, which leads to the secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine.

b. sympathetic nervous system

5. Once an emergency has ended, the ____________ reverses the processes put in motion through the fight-or-flight reaction. Heart rate and blood pressure start to decrease and respiration returns to normal.

a. parasympathetic nervous system

6. According to the general adaptation syndrome, if a threat remains constant, the body’s resources become depleted during the ____________, resulting in a vulnerability to illnesses, physical exhaustion, and even death.

c. exhaustion stage

7. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal system plays an important role in stress reactions. This system helps to maintain balance in the body by overseeing the neuroendocrine and ____________ while monitoring the immune system.

d. sympathetic nervous systems

8. Stressors can lead to health problems, because as the body mobilizes its resources for fight or flight, ____________ is less powerful, and the work of its lymphocytes is reduced.

a. the immune system

9. Physical exercise provides a powerful way to reduce the impact of stress, by increasing blood flow, activating the autonomic nervous system, and initiating the release of ____________, the body’s natural painkilling neurotransmitters.

b. endorphins

10. The students in your study group are extremely worried about tomorrow’s final exam. One student has been seeing a counselor all semester because of her anxiety. When she walks into class tomorrow, she will use what she has learned about ____________ to help her reduce tension in her body.

d. progressive muscle relaxation

11. Your friend is worried he will lose his job, so he goes home and drinks too much alcohol. His reaction may be explained by the self-medication hypothesis, and his behavior is an example of how:

c. stressors are related to health problems.

12. ____________ refers to the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional abilities used to manage a challenging or difficult situation.

b. Coping

13. You have been given two options for a presentation in your speech class: a 15-minute speech about a childhood friend or a 15-minute speech about a favorite pet. These two speeches sound equally boring to write and to deliver. Your decision regarding which to choose would be considered an:

d. avoidance–avoidance conflict.

14. Someone who is competitive, aggressive, and hostile would be likely to have a ____________, which indicates he is more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than someone who is more relaxed, patient, and nonaggressive.

a. Type A personality

15. Last week, you met an exchange student who began to tell you about her life back home. She described times when she had to deal with hunger, war, and living in an orphanage. Yet she seems so optimistic and resilient. Psychologists would likely suggest her personality includes a characteristic known as:

b. hardiness.

16. Describe how someone you know used assimilation, separation, or integration to deal with the acculturative stress of moving to a new country or new region of the United States.

Answers will vary, but can be based on the following explanation. There are various ways people respond to acculturative stress. Some try to assimilate into the culture, letting go of old ways and adopting those of the new culture. Another approach is to cling to one’s roots and remain separated from the new culture. Such an approach can be very problematic if the new culture does not support this type of separation and requires assimilation. A combination of these two approaches is integration, or holding on to some elements of the old culture, but also adopting aspects of the new one.

17. List the many hassles you have had to deal with during the past week. Also list any life events you have experienced in the past 12 months. Consider how all these stressors may have influenced your health and explain what you can do to reduce their impact.

Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. Daily hassles are the minor problems or irritants we deal with on a regular basis. Life-changing events are occurrences that require a life adjustment (for example, marriage, change in school status). During times of stress, people tend to sleep poorly, eat erratically, and may increase their drug and alcohol use, along with other poor behavioral choices. These tendencies can lead to health problems. Exercise, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, and social support all have positive physical and psychological effects on the response to stressors.

18. Describe an example from a movie or television show of someone who seemed to be responding to a threat by the fight-or-flight response. What evidence of this did you observe?

Answers will vary, but can be based on the following information. Reactions associated with the fight-or-flight response include increased pulse, breathing rate, and mental alertness. A coordinated effort of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system, the fight-or-flight reaction primes the body to respond to danger, either by escaping or confronting the threat head-on.

19. Give examples of an approach–approach conflict, an approach–avoidance conflict, and an avoidance–avoidance conflict that you have encountered in your own life.

Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. One major source of stress is conflict, which can be defined as the discomfort felt when making tough choices. Often two choices presented are both attractive to you (approach–approach conflict); at times a choice or situation has favorable and unfavorable characteristics (approach–avoidance conflict); and at other times the two alternatives are both unattractive (avoidance–avoidance conflict).

20. Describe someone you know who has an internal locus of control, in particular regarding his or her health-related behaviors. Now describe someone you know who has an external locus of control, and focus on his or her health-related behaviors.

Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. Someone with an internal locus of control generally feels as if she is in control of life and its circumstances; she probably believes it is important to take charge and make changes when problems occur. A person with an external locus of control generally feels as if chance, luck, or fate is responsible for her circumstances; there is no need to try to change things or make them better. Any decisions related to healthy choices can be influenced by locus of control.