Health Psychology Stress

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Health Psychology (Stress)

• Topic Effect of behavior on health
• Theme Perceived control and health

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Introduction

• Surgeon Generals reports
• 8 of 10 leading killers have behavioral component
• change behavior to extend and improve life (Bush)

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Leading Causes of Death, 1990

• 1. Heart Disease
• 2. Cancer
• 3. Strokes
• 4. Accidents
• 5. Chronic Lung Disease
• 6. Pneumonia and Influenza
• 7. Diabetes
• 8. Suicide
• 9. Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis
• 10. HIV Infection

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• Smoking gt 400,000 deaths annually

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• History
• mind/body interaction a system
• mind/body link through perceived control
• stress/control/immune system/illness

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Stress

• Definition Threat
• primary appraisal
• how bad is it?
• secondary appraisal
• can I cope?
• loss of control

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G.A.S.
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• General Adaptation Syndrome
• (Selye, 1960s 70s)
• 4 stages alarm, resistance, (resolution),
  exhaustion
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder delayed reaction
• Vietnam loss of spouse
• exhaustion depletion of physical and
  psychological resources

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Control and Illness

• Psychosomatic Illness
• involvement of mind and body (interaction)
• exacerbated by stress
• examples infertility, arthritis, autoimmune
  diseases
• contrast with ______________

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The Control Continuum

• Part I Reaction to Perceived Loss of Control
• 1. reactance (try harder)
• 2. fatigue

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• Part II The Immune System
• 3. physical problems
• antigens and lymphocytes
• fewer lymphocytes more susceptibility to
  antigens

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• Part III Mental and Physical Problems
• 4. depression
• 5. learned helplessness (giving up)
• examples dog research by Seligman
• no response lt--gt outcome contingency
• why bother?

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• 1. Is your everyday life filled mostly by
• a. Problems needing solution
• b. Challenges needing to be met
• c. A rather predictable routine of events
• d. Not enough things to keep me interested or
  busy

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• 2. Ordinarily, how rapidly to you eat?
• a. Im usually the first one finished
• b. I eat a little faster than average
• c. I eat at about the same speed as most people
• d. I eat more slowly than most people

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• 3. When you listen to someone talking, and this
  person takes too long to come to the point, do
  you feel like hurrying them along?
• a. Frequently
• b. Occasionally
• c. Almost never

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• 4. If you tell your spouse or a friend that you
  will meet them somewhere at a definite time, how
  often do you arrive late?
• a. Once in a while
• b. Rarely
• c. I am never late

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• 5. Do most people consider you to be
• a. Definitely hard-driving and competitive
• b. Probably hard-driving and competitive
• c. Probably more relaxed and easy going
• d. Definitely more relaxed and easy going

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• 6. How was your temper when you were younger?
• a. Fiery and hard to control
• b. Strong, but controllable
• c. No problem
• d. I almost never got angry

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• 7. In school do you ever keep two projects moving
  forward at the same time by shifting back and
  forth rapidly from one to the other?
• a. No, never
• b. Yes, but only in emergencies
• c. Yes, regularly

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• Do you maintain a regular study schedule during
  vacations such as Thanksgiving, Easter, or Spring
  Breaks?
• a. Yes
• b. No
• c. Sometimes

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• When you are in a group, do the other people tend
  to look to you to provide leadership?
• a. Rarely
• b. About as often as they look to others
• c. More often than they look to others

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Individual Differences and Health

• Psychosomatic Specificity Hypothesis
• Type A Behavior
• measurement Jenkins Activity Survey
• characteristics
• competitive
• time urgent
• hostile
• behavior
• quantification
• rapid eating
• etc.

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• physiology serum cholesterol and artery damage
• development type A parenting good, better,
  best...
• constant striving
• overcome relaxation, time allotment, realistic
  goals
• watch out for other risk factors
• smoking, obesity, exercise, genetics, stress