PSYC 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Telomerase, Amygdala, Coping With
Document Summary
Psychologist no longer use the term psychosomatic" because it has come to mean an imagined illness. We now use the term psychophysiological illness, a real illness caused in part by psychological factors such as stress. People who were given a common cold viruses via a nose drop were more likely to get the cold if they were under stress. Chronis stress can also lead to heart disease. Chronic stress can lead to accelerated cellular aging. Telomeres serve as a cap on the ends of chromosomes and they slow and naturally deteriorate as we age. Negative appraisal- views something as a threat such as a test and will end up getting stressed and distracted. Positive appraisal- views something as a challenge such as i am going to beat this exam will end up getting aroused and focused. There are very few conditions that are inherently and universally stressful; you can often choose your appraisal to most situations however.
