Describe psychophysiological disorders and some of the factors that may lead to their development. How are some people able to avoid succumbing to the ill effects of these risk factors?
What will be an ideal response?
Psychophysiological disorders are physical disorders that have a strong psychological basis or component yet involve tissue damage (such as coronary heart disease), a disease process (e.g., immune impairment), or physiological dysfunction (e.g., asthma). The primary factor in developing these disorders is exposure to stressors, which are external events or situations that place a physical or psychological demand on a person; they can range from chronic irritation and frustration (like when your computer "crashes") to acute and traumatic events (such as war, rape, or natural disasters). More specifically, we are constantly dealing with biological stressors (e.g., genetic inheritance or genetic predispositions that, when combined with environmental situations, can result in a psychophysiological disorder like asthma or heart disease); psychological stressors (e.g., cognitive functioning); social factors (e.g., lack of social support); or sociocultural factors (e.g., racial, gender, or age bias).
There are many ways to reduce one's risk for developing some of these disorders, or for dealing with them in a healthier fashion. These include living a healthy lifestyle, assuming an optimistic perspective, reducing hostility, creating areas of one's life where s/he has a sense of control, finding social support, developing one's sense of spirituality, and learning to relax.
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Suppose Barbara is feeling sad and she sees Mort struggling to move a piece of furniture. She would be most likely to help Mort if Barbara
a. accepted personal responsible for her bad mood. b. and Mort were young children. c. was self-focused on her own concerns. d. blamed someone else for her bad mood.
Which scenario is an example of a descriptive norm?
a. People show respect to others who put clothes on before going outside. b. Most people do not go outside without clothes on. c. People expect you to put clothes on when you go outside. d. People would be shocked or perhaps upset if you went outside naked.
Marta studies patients who have hemiparesis. She believes that a person's coping strategy can predict how likely they are to deny their paralysis. She asks family members of each patient to recall how the person dealt with stress prior to the onset of hemiparesis. One problem with this approach is the potential for __________ when the family is asked to recall information about coping and denial.
A. inattentional blindness B. motivated forgetting C. decay D. retrospective bias
According to Sternberg's theory of intelligence,__________is academic ability.
A. practical intelligence B. creative intelligence C. analytical intelligence D. interpersonal intelligence