1
Q
Social Support
A
Comfort, caring, esteem, or help available to a person from other people or groups
2
Q
Emotional/Esteem Support
A
- Conveys caring, concern, positive regard, and encouragement toward the person
- Gives comfort and reassurance
3
Q
Tangible or Instrumental Support
A
Involves direct assistance
4
Q
Informational Support
A
Giving advice, direction, suggestions, or feedback about how the person is doing
5
Q
Companionship Support
A
The availability of others to spend time with the person, thereby providing a feeling of membership in a group of people who share interests and social activities
6
Q
– Who gets social support? –
A
7
Q
Some factors relate to the _ of support
A
- RECIPIENTS
8
Q
How might/might not recipients receive support?
A
People are unlikely to receive support if they are unsociable, don’t help others, don’t let others know that they need help
9
Q
Other factors relate to the _ of support
A
PROVIDERS
10
Q
How might/might not providers receive support?
A
- They may or may not have the resources needed
- Under stress
- Insensitive to the needs of others
11
Q
One’s _ can also impact their social support
A
SOCIAL NETWORK
12
Q
Popular social support (qualitative) measurement?
A
Social Support Questionnaire
13
Q
Gender differences in receiving social support? - WHY
A
Gender differences may result from the greater intimacy that seems to exist in the friendships of women (compared to men) and may reflect differences in the emotional and esteem support women and men seek out and provide
14
Q
Social support can also vary by…
A
sociocultural factors like culture and immigration status
15
Q
Social support may reduce…
A
- the stress people experience
- associated with improved psychological wellbeing including fewer negative emotions in spouses and less rumination about daily stressors
16
Q
Having social support can also benefit…
A
- people’s health
- ex: individuals who had few contacts with friends and relatives had higher mortality rates than those with many contacts
17
Q
Can social media play a positive or negative role in our health?
A
- Research revealed a number of problems, in terms of psychological and social well-being
- Frequent social media use has been associated with increased loneliness, frustration, and anger
18
Q
Primary mechanism by which social media is believed to negatively impact wellbeing?
A
Social comparison
19
Q
– How may social support affect health? –
A
20
Q
Researchers have proposed two main theories:
A
- “Buffering”
- “Direct Effects”
21
Q
The Buffering Hypothesis suggests that..
A
Social support affects health by protecting the person against the negative effects of high stress
22
Q
When does the Buffering Hypothesis particularly occur?
A
- WIth strong stressors
- under low-stress conditions, little to no buffering occurs
23
Q
Reason #1 why buffering works:
A
- When people encounter a strong stressor, those who have high social support may be less likely to appraise the situation as stressful than those with low levels of support
- Individuals with high social support may expect that someone they know will help them
24
Q
Reason #2 why buffering works:
A
- Social support may modify people’s response to a stressor after the initial appraisal
- EX: people with high social suport might have someone provide a solution to the problem
25
The Direct Effects Hypothesis
Maintains that social support benefits health and wellbeing ***regardless* of the amount of stress people experience** -- effects are similar under high and low stressor intensities
26
The health effects of social support may result from *preventing* stress as well - what theory supports this?
**The Stress Prevention Model**
27
**The Stress Prevention Model** suggests that...
Social support may be helpful because it provides resources that help us avoid or minimize exposure to stressful events in the first place
28
Does social support always help? Why/why not?
* NOT ALWAYS!
* Although support may be offered or available to us. we may not perceive it as supportive
29
Why might we not perceive help as supportive? **#1**
When we don't perceive things as supportive, it is less likely to reduce our stress
30
Why might we not perceive help as supportive? **#2**
Receiving support can sometimes convey the message to recipients that they are inadequate to handle their problems on their own, resulting in lower self-esteem
31
"Invisible Support"
Offering support that is a "light touch"; small bits of support
32
-- Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) --
33
HAI - linked to...
similar effects to those observed with human social support
34
HAI - one key mechanism?
**Release of oxytocin**: a hormone released during many different types of human interaction and affiliation in order to encourage bonding
35
The release of oxytocin lowers...
* Heart rate, blood pressure
* Thus a factor in many of the health benefits associated with human and social interaction
36
-- A sense of personal control --
37
Personal control
The feeling that a person can make decisions and take effective action to produce desireable outcomes and avoid undesireable ones
38
Behavioural Control
involves the ability to take concrete action to reduce the impact of a stressor
39
Cognitive Control
The ability to use thought processes or strategies to modify the impact of a stressor, such as by thinking about the event differently or focusing on a pleasant or neutral thought
40
*Internal* Locus of Control
People believe that they have control over their successes and failures
41
External Locus of Control
People who believe that their lives are controlled by forces outside themselves
42
Another important aspect of personal control is...
Self-efficacy: the belief that we can succeed at a specific activity or goal that we want to accomplish
43
People decide whether to attempt an activity or not depending on two expectations:
1. **Outcome expectancy:** that the behaviour would lead to a **favourable outcome**
2. **Self-efficacy expectancy:** that **they can perform the behaviour properly**
44
How do people judge that they have control over things that happen in their lives?
By using information we gain from our successes and failures throughout life; **social learning**
45
At the end of the lifespan, people tend to be at the _ locus of control
external
46
What happens when people experience high levels of stress, and feel that there's nothing they can do?
Can (but not always) lead to learned helplessness; a principal characteristic of depression
47
Attribution in depression - **#1**:
**Internal-external:** people consider if the situation is **due to their own inability to control outcomes** or from **external causes that are beyond anyone's control**
48
Attribution in depression - **#2**:
**Stable-unstable:** people assess if the situation is **long-lasting (stable)** or **temporary (unstable)**
49
Attribution in depression - **#3**:
Global Specific: people consider whether the situation results from factors that have global and wide-ranging effects or specific and narrow effects
50
Pessimistic Explanatory Style
People who think that bad events result from **internal, stable, and global factors**
51
Optimistic Explanatory Style
Attributing negative events to **external, unstable, specific**
52
How can personal control and health be related? **#1**
People who have a strong sense of personal control may be more likely or able to maintain their health and prevent illness than those who have a weak sense of control
53
How can personal control and health be related? **#2**
Once people become seriously ill, those who have a strong sense of control may adjust to illness and promote their own rehabilitation better than those who have a weak sense of control
54
Well-developed measure of personal control?
**Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales**
55
Does a sense of personal control influence people's health?
* Pessimistic/homeless people (those who believe they have little control) have poorer health habits, more illnesses, etc.
* Can help people adjust to becoming seriously ill
* Affects the efforts patients make towards rehabilitation
56
-- Personality as Resilience and Vulnerability --
57
Hardiness
broad array of personality traits that differentiate people who do/don't get sick under stress
58
Hardiness - **Characteristic 1**
* **Control**
* Refers to people's belief that they can influence events in their lives; a sense of control
59
Hardiness - **Characteristic 2**
* **Commitment**
* People's sense of purpose or involvement in the events, activities, and people in their lives
60
Hardiness - **Characteristic 3**
* **Challenge**
* Refers to the tendency to view changed as incentives or opportunities for growth rather than threats to security
61
Coherence
## Footnote
Examples of personality concepts similar to hardiness
tendency of people to see their worlds as comprehensible, manageable, meaningful
62
Optimism
## Footnote
Examples of personality concepts similar to hardiness
view that good things are likely to happen
63
Resilience
## Footnote
Examples of personality concepts similar to hardiness
refers to self esteem, personal control, and optimism
64
Why are some individuals resilient and not others? **2 reasons**
1. Genetic endowments
2. Experiences
65
-- Personality Strengths --
66
Neuroticism vs.
## Footnote
**OCEAN**
emotional stability
67
Extraversion vs.
## Footnote
**OCEAN**
introversion
68
Openness vs.
## Footnote
**OCEAN**
closed mindedness
69
Agreeableness vs.
## Footnote
**OCEAN**
antagonism
70
Conscientiousness vs.
## Footnote
**OCEAN**
unreliablity
71
How can OCEAN relate to health?
Personality traits associated with better health are gen. associated with less exposure in environment - work, relationships, etc.
72
-- How stress affects health --
73
Diathesis-stress model
View that people's vulnerability to a physical or psychological disorder depends on the interplay of their predisposition to the disorder (the diathesis) and the amount of stress they experience
74
What is it about stress that leads to illness? **2 routes**
1. A direct route, resulting from changes produced by stress in the body's physiology
2. An indirect route, affecting health through the person's behaviour
75
-- Biological embedding in early life --
76
High levels of stress in childhood can...
get "under the skin" or become biologically embedded, altering a person's reactivity to stress later in life and leading to larger stress responses, slower recovery from stress, and a greater risk of serious illness in adulthood
77
Social environments during pregnancy can affect...
stress reactivity in infants via biological embedding
78
-- Cardiovascular System Reactivity and Illness --
79
Cardiovascular reactivity - **pre-middle age**
generally stable, showing little change when retested with the same stressors years later
80
Cardiovascular reactivity - **older age**
increases with age, corresponding to increased risk of cardiovascular illness
81
Why does cardiovascular reactivity in response to stress have a negative impact, when it can be positive otherwise (e.g. in exercise)? **#1**
* The rise in heart rate and blood pressure during psychological stress is **excessive**
* (opposed to high levels in exercise actually compensating for the metabolic demands)
82
Why does cardiovascular reactivity in response to stress have a negative impact, when it can be positive otherwise (e.g. in exercise)? **#2**
* **Psychological stress produces several other cardiovascular changes that relate to the development of CHD**
* EX: high stress -> more activated platelets in blood -> increased risk of heart attack or stroke
83
Is the SNS the only thing that impacts the cardiovascular system?
* NO
* "**if the sympathetic system functions like the 'gas pedal'** in activating stress responses, the **parasympathetic NS is also important as a 'brake'** on such reactivity
84
-- Psychoneuroimmunology --
85
Psychoneuroimmunology
focuses on the relationships between psychosocial processes and the activities of the **nervous, endocrine, and immune systems**
86
Psychoneuroimmunology - how do the **nervous, endocrine**, and immune systems create a feedback loop?
NS and ES send chemical messages (via neurotransmitters and hormones) that **increase** or **decrease** immune function
87
Psychoneuroimmunology - how do the nervous, endocrine, and **immune** systems create a feedback loop?
**cells of the immune system produce chemicals**, such as cytokines and ACTH, **that feed information back into the brain**
88
Emotions and Immune function
* Research shows that pessimism, depression, and stress from major/minor events is related to impaired immune function
* Positive emotions can give a boost
89
How can stress affect inflammation?
* Stress can evoke increases in inflammatory substances in blood, as chronic levels of negative affect
* Also a link with depression
90
What can inflammation lead to?
atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, other chronic conditions
91
Psychosocial modifiers of immune system reactivity? **(2)**
* **Social support** can affect immune function of people under long-term, intense stress
* **Optimism** associated with better immune functioning, but can sometimes be worse
92
Lifestyles and Immune Function
**People with generally healthy lifestyles** -- including exercising, getting enough sleep, eating balanced meals, and not smooking - **show stronger immune functioning than those with less healthful lifestyles**
93
The influence of psychological proesses on immune function is not limited to the effects of stress - what else can occur?
the immune system can be **conditioned**
94
-- Psychophysiological Disorders --
95
Psychophysiological Disorders
refers to physical symptoms or illnesses that result from the interplay of psychological and physiological processes
96
Several Psychophysiological Disorders can affect the digestive system - **3 digestive illnesses are...**
1. Ulcers
2. Inflammatory Bowel DIsease
3. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
97
Asthma
**Respiratory disorder** which inflammation, spasms, and mucous **obstruct the bronchial tubes and lead to difficulty in breathing**, with wheezing or coughing
98
How can stress relate to asthma?
Stress in early life may contribute susceptibility to asthma, and later stress can make the condition worse
99
Tension-type headaches
* caused by a combination of **CNS dysfunction** and **persistent contraction of the head and neck muscles**
* produces a dull and steady ache that often feels like a tight band of pressure around the head
100
Migraine headache
results from **dilation of blood vessels surrounding the brain** and a **dysfunction in the brain stem and trigeminal nerve** that extends throughout the front half of head
101
How does stress affect migraines/tension-type headaches?
Can trigger them; especially from everyday hassles
102
Stress can also affect... (2)
1. Rheumatoid arthritis
2. Dymenorrhea
103
-- Stress and Cardiovascular Disorders --
104
Hypertension
* The condition of having **high blood pressure consistently** over **several weeks or more**
* A major risk for CHD, stroke, kidney disease
105
Over 90% of hypertension cases are classified as..
**primary or essential hypertension**: which the causes of high blood pressure are unknown (making medical treatments difficult)
106
Stress, emotions and hypertension
* Occupations can provide sources of stress
* Crowding and aggression can link to stress and hypertension
107
Studies on pessimism, anger, and hostility revealed 2 important links to the development of hypertension:
1. BP is **higher in pessimistic individuals than optimistic**
2. People who are **hypertensive are more likely to be chronically hostile and resentful** than are normotensive people: those with normal BP
108
2008 study showed a high prevalence of hypertension anongst which minority groups?
Black and South Asian Canadians
109
Which minority group is more susceptible to diabetes?
Indigenous peoples
110
-- Coronary Heart Disease --
111
Studies across cultures of CHD show that...
the **incidence** rate of heart disease is **higher in technologically advanced countries** than other nations
112
Why is CHD incidence higher in advanced societies? (2)
1. **People live long enough** to become victims of CHD (which affects older individuals)
2. **More likely to have certain risk factors for CHD**, such as obesity and low levels of physical activity
113
What links stress with CHD? **1**
* **Stress evokes increases in the lipids and inflammatory substances in the blood, cardiovascular reactivity, and increase in catecholamine and corticosteroid release by endocrine glands**
* This can damage the arteries and heart! (+ lead to hypertension)
* Also increases vulnerability to heart attacks
114
What links stress with CHD? **2**
* Stress can cause cardiac arrhythmmia, especially if the heart is susceptible to ischemia
* When severe, can cause cardiac episodes/sudden death
115
What links stress with CHD? **3**
Stress is associated with behavioural risk factors for CHD, such as cigarette smoking and high levels of alcohol use
116
-- Stress and Cancer --
117
Does stress play a role in cancer?
* If it does, it might do so by impairing the immune system's ability to combat the disease, increasing inflammation, and increasing behavioural risk factors (e.g. smoking)
* Overall -- not fully determined, although research has been conducted
PSYC 314
flashcards
Decks in class (36)
# Cards
-
Lecture 1-224
-
Lecture 329
-
Lecture 428
-
Lecture 530
-
Lecture 639
-
Lecture 727
-
Lecture 825
-
Chapter 1105
-
Chapter 3101
-
Chapter 4117
-
Chapter 588
-
-------------------------- MIDTERM 1 --------------------------0
-
Lecture 9 - Health Behaviours and Promotions23
-
Lecture 10 - Health Behaviours and Promotions28
-
Lecture 11 - Health Behaviours and Promotions, Substance Use11
-
Chapter 6158
-
Lecture 12 - Substance Use & Addiction32
-
Chapter 70
-
Lecture 13 - Diet, Exercise, & Weight Control19
-
Chapter 8140
-
Lecture 14 - Using Health Services & Patient-Practitioner Interaction27
-
Chapter 9128
-
Lecture 1520
-
Chapter 1068
-
-------------------------- MIDTERM 2 --------------------------0
-
Lecture 16 - Pain and its Symptoms and Management22
-
Chapter 11 lol119
-
Lecture 17 - Pain and its Symptoms and Management29
-
Chapter 12107
-
Lecture 18 - Managing Chronic Illness and Family Involvement0
-
Chapter 130
-
Lecture 19 - Managing Chronic Illness and Family Involvement0
-
Chapter 140
-
Lecture 20 - Psychosocial Aspects of Chronic Illness and Aging; End-of-Life Care and Bereavement0
-
Lecture 21 - Psychosocial Aspects of Chronic Illness and Aging; End-of-Life Care and Bereavement0
-
Chapter 150
