Term | Definition |
psychneuroimmunology | the study of the effects of psychological factors such as stress, emotions, thoughts and behavior on the immune system |
Stress- | the term used to describe the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging. |
Stressors- | events that cause a stress reaction |
Distress | the effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressors |
Eustress- | the effect of positive events, or the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being |
Catastrophe- | an unpredictable, large scale event that creates a tremendous need to adapt and adjust as well overwhelming feeling of threat |
Social readjustment rating scale SRRS | assessment that measures the amount of stress in a person’s life over a 1 year in a person’s life resulting from major life events |
College undergraduate stress scale cuss- | assessment that measures the amount of stress in a college students life over a 1 year period resulting from major life events |
Hassles | the daily annoyance of everyday life |
Pressure | the psychological experience produced by urgent demands or expectations for a person’s behavior that come from an outside source |
Frustration- | the psychological experience produced by the blocking of a desired goal or fulfillment of a perceived need |
Aggression- | - actions meant to harm or destroy |
Displaced aggression | taking out ones frustration on some less threatening or more available target |
Escape or withdrawal | leaving the presence of a stressor, either literally or by a psychological withdrawal into fantasy drug abuse, or apathy |
Approach-approach conflict- | conflict occurring when a person must choose between two desirable goals |
Avoidance- avoidance conflict | conflict occurring when a person must choose between two desirable goals |
Approach-avoidance conflict | conflict occurring when a person must choose or not choose a goal that has both positive and negative aspects |
Double approach-avoidance conflict | conflict in which the person must decide between two goals, with each goal possessing both positive and negative aspects |
Multiple approach-avoidance conflict | conflict in which the person must decide between more than two goals, with each goal possessing both positive and negative aspects |
General adaptation syndrome GAS | the three stages of the body physiological reaction to stress, including alarm, resistance, and exhaustion |
Immune system | the system of cells organs and chemicals of the body that responds to attacks from diseases, infections and injuries |
Type 2 diabetes | disease involving failure of the pancreas medication, usually diagnosed before the age of 40 and can be associated with obesity |
Natural killer cell Kt | immune system cell responsible for suppressing viruses and destroying tumor cells |
Health psychology | area of psychology focusing on how physical activities, psychological traits, and social relationships affect overall health and rate of illnesses |
Primary appraisal | the first step in assessing stress, which involves estimating the severity of a stress and classifying it as either a treat or a challenge |
Secondary appraisal | the second step in assessing a treat, which involves estimating the resource available to the person for coping with the stressor |
Type a personality- | person who is ambitious, time conscious, extremely hardworking, and tends to have high levels of hostility and anger as well as being easily annoyed |
Type b personality | person who is relaxed and laid back, less driven and competitive than type a, and slow to anger |
Type c personality | - pleasant but repressed person, who tends to internalize his or her anger and anxiety and who finds expressing emotions difficult |
Hardy personality | person who seems to thrive on stress but lacks the anger and hostility of the type a personality |
Optimists- | people who expect positive outcomes |
Pessimists | people who expect negative outcomes |
Burnout- | negative changes in thoughts, emotions and behavior as a result of prolonged stress or frustration |
Acculturative stress | - stress resulting from the need to change and adapt a person’s ways to the majority culture |
Social-support system | the network of family, friend’s neighbors, coworkers, and others who offer support, comfort, or aid to a person in need |
Repetitive meditation | form of meditation in which a person attempts to become aware of everything in immediate conscious experience, or an expansion of consciousness |
Personality- | the unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave |
Character- | value judgments of a person’s moral and ethical behavior |
Temperament- | the enduring characteristics tics with each person is born |
Unconscious mind | level of the mind in which thoughts, feelings, memoirs and other information are kept that are not easily or voluntary brought into consciousness |
ID- | part of the personality present at birth and completely unconscious |
Pleasure principle- | principle by which the id functions the immediate satisfaction of needs without regard for the consequences |
Ego- | - part of the personality that develops out of a need to deal with reality, mostly conscious, rational, and logical |
Reality principle- | principle by which the ego functions; the satisfaction of the demands of the id only when negative consequences will not result |
Superego | part of the personality that acts as a moral center |
Conscience | part of the superego that produces guilt, depending on how acceptable behavior is |
Psychological defense mechanism | unconscious distortions of a person’s perception of reality that reduce stress and anxiety |
Denial | psychological defense mechanism in which the person refuses to acknowledge or recognize a threatening situation |
Repression – | psychological defense mechanism in which the person refuses to consciously remember a threatening or unacceptable event instead pushing those events in to the unconscious mind |
Rationalization | psychological defense mechanism in which a person invents acceptable excuses for unacceptable behavior |