CHAPTER 1: The

Concept of Stress Adaptation

1. Sondra, who lives in Maine, hears on the evening news that 25 people were killed in a tornado in south Texas. Sondra experiences no anxiety upon hearing of this stressful situation. This is most likely because Sondra: a. Is selfish and does not care what happens to other people. b. Appraises the event as irrelevant to her own situation. c. Assesses that she has the skills to cope with the stressful situation. d. Uses suppression as her primary defense mechanism. 2. Cindy regularly develops nausea and vomiting when she is faced with a stressful situation. Which of the following is most likely a predisposing factor to this maladaptive response by Cindy? a. Cindy inherited her mothers nervous stomach. b. Cindy is fixed in a lower level of development. c. Cindy has never been motivated to achieve success. d. When Cindy was a child, her mother pampered her and kept her home from school when she was ill. 3. When an individuals stress response is sustained over a long period, the endocrine system involvement results in which of the following? a. Decreased resistance to disease. b. Increased libido. c. Decreased blood pressure. d. Increased inflammatory response. 4. Management of stress is extremely important in todays society because: a. Evolution has diminished human capability for fight or flight. b. The stressors of today tend to be ongoing, resulting in a sustained response. c. We have stress disorders that did not exist in the days of our ancestors. d. One never knows when one will have to face a grizzly bear or saber-toothed tiger in todays society. 5. Nancy has just received a promotion on her job. She is very happy and excited about moving up in her company, but she has been experiencing anxiety since receiving the news. Her primary appraisal is that she most likely views the situation as which of the following? a. Benign-positive. b. Irrelevant. c. Challenging. d. Threatening. 6. Precipitating stressors, past experiences, existing conditions, and genetic influences are components of the transactional model of stress adaptation, and influence an individuals response to stress. Identify each of these conditions in the following examples. a. Precipitating stressor. b. Past experience. c. Existing conditions. d. Genetic influences. C Mr. T is fixed in a lower level of development. D Mr. Ts father had diabetes mellitus. B Mr. T has been fired from his last five jobs. A Mr. Ts baby was stillborn last month.