PSYCH 1101 Chapter 14: Stress and Health
Document Summary
Stressors: specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person"s well-being. Stress: the physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors. Health psychology: the subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health. Stressful events: stress ratings of each life change experienced=likelihood of future illness, positive events produce less distress and fewer physical symptoms. Chronic stressors: sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly. Can accumulate to produce distress and illness: report more psychological problems and physical problems, greater and longer-lasting impact than major life events, many linked to social relationships and environments. Environmental psychology: the scientific study of environmental effects/stressors on behavior and health, children that live in the flight path show higher levels of noise annoyance and poorer reading comprehension. Perceived control over stressful events: stressors challenge you to do something.