Stress Management for Life A Research-Based Experiential Approach, 4th Edition by Michael Olpin – Test Bank

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Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

True / False

1. It is the interpretation of an event that initiates the fight-or-flight response, not the event itself.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: True

REFERENCES: Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

2. The key message of the POPP formula for stress prevention is that there is an actual point in time where a positive

interpretation of a potential stressor can prevent the stress response from initiating.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: True

REFERENCES: Cognitive Restructuring

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

3. When we sense any kind of danger, our body’s natural way to survive it is the fight-or-flight response.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: True

REFERENCES: Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

4. One can only inherit the characteristics of hardiness. They are genetically passed through the parents’ DNA to their

children.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: False

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

5. The Chinese word for ‘crisis’ consists of two characters—danger and chance.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: False

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

6. Cognitive restructuring substitutes our perceptions of stressors from thoughts that are non-threatening to thoughts that

are threatening.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: False

REFERENCES: Cognitive Restructuring

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 1Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

7. An inverse relationship exists between the amount of control we feel and the corresponding amount of stress we feel.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: True

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

8. Individuals with a tendency to think from the perspective of an external locus of control are more likely to take

responsibility for the fact that they influence what happens in their life.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: False

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

9. Ultimately, we do not have the power to control anyone else.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: True

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

10. The essential concept in preventing stress is that only a modest number of events in life are inherently stressful.

a. True

b. False

ANSWER: False

REFERENCES: The World is NOT a Stressful Place

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

Multiple Choice

11. Which dimension of health is the focus of this chapter?

a. physical

b. spiritual

c. emotional

d. social

e. intellectual

ANSWER: e

REFERENCES: The Power of Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

12. The most critical aspect in preventing unnecessary and unhealthy stress is _____.

a. social training

b. genetic makeup

c. perception

Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 2Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

d. one’s environment

e. physical exercise

ANSWER: c

REFERENCES: Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

13. The author estimates that in reality most Americans are in actual danger

a. less than 1

b. 5-10

c. about 25

d. about 40

e. over 50

ANSWER: a

REFERENCES: Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

_____

percent of the time.

14. Cognitive restructuring is sometimes referred to as _____.

a. self-limiting beliefs

b. cognitive distortion

c. locus of control

d. reframing

e. self-efficacy

ANSWER: d

REFERENCES: Cognitive Restructuring

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

15. Stress is a coupled action of the body and mind, involving appraisal of a _____.

a. problem

b. threat

c. terror

d. pain

e. new situation

ANSWER: b

REFERENCES: Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

16. Whenever we sense a potential for pain or danger of any kind—emotional, social, spiritual, or physical—our body

reacts in its perfect way to help us _____.

a. fix the problem

b. anticipate a future threat

c. change how we think

d. survive the threat

e. remain calm

ANSWER: d

REFERENCES: Perception

Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 3Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

17. The POPP formula for prevention of stress stands for _____.

a. periods of perceptive positioning

b. practice of prevention pointers

c. point of positive perception

d. putting out paranoid perceptions

e. period of preventive perception

ANSWER: c

REFERENCES: Cognitive Restructuring

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

18. The characteristics of a hardy individual are _____.

a. commitment, challenge, and control

b. creativity, courage, and compassion

c. candor, courage, and control

d. confidence, commitment, and collaboration

e. compassion, commitment, and control

ANSWER: a

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

19. Which statement best demonstrates internal locus of control thinking?

a. “I am stressed because my boyfriend never asks my opinion about what we should do on a date.”

b. “I wouldn’t be so stressed if my teachers didn’t give us so much homework.”

c. “How can I not be stressed when my parents don’t give me any money for car payments?”

d. “I would get to class on time if this school provided more parking for students.”

e. “Making a schedule and planning my time will help me reduce my stress levels.”

ANSWER: e

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Apply

20. Benedict, a sophomore, pre-med major, finds himself thinking “I will never do well enough in these required courses

to get into med school.” He is engaging in _____.

a. positive perceptions

b. self-limiting beliefs

c. questioning reality

d. phased-out thinking

e. cognitive restructuring

ANSWER: b

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Apply

Matching

Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 4Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

Match the correct answer with the appropriate term.

a. The mental act of changing the meaning or interpretation of an environmental stressor

b. When perceptions become distorted or magnified out of proportion to their seriousness

c. A mental process that consists of thinking and reasoning skills

d. Commitment to inaccurate beliefs about ourselves

e. Interpretation of a stressor

f. The belief in one’s ability to accomplish a goal or change a behavior

g. Faulty beliefs that a person does not have the ability to carry out a specific task

REFERENCES: Cognitive Restructuring

Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

21. cognition

ANSWER: c

22. cognitive appraisal

ANSWER: e

23. cognitive restructuring

ANSWER: a

24. cognitive distortion

ANSWER: b

25. premature cognitive commitment

ANSWER: d

26. self-efficacy

ANSWER: f

27. self-limiting beliefs

ANSWER: g

Completion

28. To address the question

“Can I handle this situation?”

in order to help diffuse the stress response, we look to

____________________.

ANSWER: our past experience

REFERENCES: Putting It All Together

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

29. According to Dr. Daniel Freedman, an individual’s perception of threat is modified by the person’s

____________________

and experience.

ANSWER: temperament

REFERENCES: Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

30. The purpose of the POPP formula is ____________________.

Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 5Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

ANSWER: prevention

REFERENCES: Cognitive Restructuring

OTHER: Bloom’s: Remember

Subjective Short Answer

31. According to the culture connection in Chapter 5, Fear of Failure, the Chinese word for ‘crisis’ consists of two

characters: danger and opportunity. Explain how this understanding of the term ‘crisis’ relates to personal experience with

stress.

ANSWER: The text quotes Paul J. Rosch, M.D., president of the American Institute of Stress, who says that most

anxiety is based on personal perception. “The Chinese word for ‘crisis’ consists of two characters

—

danger and opportunity. If you fear failure, you are under the kind of constant, slow-burning stress

that can deplete your energy and corrode your health. If you can learn to see your failures as

opportunities to learn and grow, the danger is gone and stress evaporates.”

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

32. Give a specific example that shows how locus of control impacts an individual’s experience with stress.

ANSWER: Student examples will vary. Locus of control (LOC) refers to the extent to which we believe that we

control events that affect us. People with an internal locus of control see themselves as responsible for

the outcomes of their own actions. People with an external locus of control believe that whatever

happens to them is unrelated to their own behavior—making it beyond their control. People with a

tendency to think from an internal LOC perspective are more likely to take responsibility and believe

they can influence what happens to them. Moving toward this style of thinking positively affects

one’s ability to reduce the stress in one’s life.

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

33. Briefly describe the three personality traits of hardy people.

ANSWER: The three personality traits are commitment, challenge, and control. A hardy individual is someone

who:

1. Views potentially stressful events as interesting and meaningful (commitment)

2. Sees change as normal and as an opportunity for growth (challenge)

3. Sees oneself as capable of having an influence on events (control)

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

34. Discuss why the personality traits associated with hardiness can help buffer stress.

ANSWER: Individuals strong in commitment believe in the truth and value of who they are and what they are

doing. They have a sense of meaning and purpose in work and relationships. Therefore they remain

committed and deeply involved rather than allowing themselves to become alienated by fear,

uncertainty, or boredom. The term challenge reflects an outlook on life that enables an individual to

perceive change as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat to one’s sense of security or

survival. Change, rather than stability, is seen as the common mode of life. The term control reflects a

belief that one can influence the course of life events within reasonable limits. Hardy individuals have

an internal sense of personal mastery, confronting problems with confidence in their ability to

implement effective solutions.

REFERENCES: Hardiness

Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 6Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

35. Describe the three questions we can ask ourselves when we find ourselves becoming tense, in order to diffuse the need

to turn on the stress response.

ANSWER: 1. Is this stressor real? Am I really in danger, or am I just imagining or creating the danger or pain? If

we look at the situation with a rational eye, we find that rarely is the danger or pain real.

2. Can I handle this situation? One sure source to determine if we can handle something, and

therefore diffuse the need to turn on the stress response, is our past experience.

3. Can I think about this differently? As events happen, we have a choice about how we view them or

what they mean to us. Depending on how we interpret the situations will lead to feelings of calmness

or stress.

REFERENCES: Putting It All Together

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

36. Explain what is meant by the statement, “It is the perception or interpretation of an event that sparks the fight-or-flight

response, rather than the event itself.”

ANSWER: The chronic stress that we feel is rarely, if ever, the result of a truly threatening situation. Our stress

almost always stems from situations that are not, by their nature, sufficient to put us in real danger.

The outcome that we think is going to do us harm usually doesn’t. As a result, we create in our bodies

a false sense of emergency. This leads to an important conclusion about the stress we feel: The

perception or the interpretation of an event is what initiates the fight-or-flight response. The event

itself is not what causes us to experience stress. As stress theory has evolved, the notion that human

stress is a direct response to external stimulus is no longer credible. Whether we feel stressed seems to

depend on how we view what is happening. Interpretation of stressors, not the stressors themselves,

causes distress.

REFERENCES: Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

37. Explain the statement, “The world is not a stressful place.”

ANSWER: The essential concept in preventing stress is that no event in life is inherently stressful. Rather, we

make stressful interpretations of the events of our days. No event in life causes stress universally for

everyone. We have decided that some facet of the situation will inflict pain or discomfort, which may

be physical, emotional, or spiritual. The situation also may be seen as a threat to our sense of well-

being and comfort. This understanding shifts the influence of what causes stress from external factors

to internal control. Although some situations, such as a tsunami, a hurricane, an incurable illness, or

being attacked, will be interpreted as stressful almost universally, we usually have the power to take

control of how we interpret any event in life.

REFERENCES: The World is NOT a Stressful Place

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

38. Briefly describe the research study highlighted in the text related to job stress and health problems.

ANSWER: Job stress can raise blood pressure over the long term, according to a study in the American Journal of

Epidemiology. Men working 25 or more years in a demanding job where they felt they had little

control had higher blood pressure at work and home than those who felt they had more control. The

deterioration of health was not a result of the job itself but, rather, to the lack of control the worker

felt. Feeling in control of our life reduces the unhealthy physiological changes induced by the stress

response.

REFERENCES: Hardiness

Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 7Chapter 05 – The Power of Perception

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

39. Explain cognitive restructuring.

ANSWER: Cognitive restructuring refers to the mental act of changing the meaning or our interpretation of the

environmental stressors in life. This is sometimes called reframing. This approach substitutes our

perceptions of stressors from thoughts that are threatening to thoughts that are non-threatening. The

source of excess stress is cognitive distortion, in which perceptions become distorted and magnified

out of proportion to their seriousness. Cognitive restructuring entails first awareness, and then

correction, of these stressful, erroneous thoughts.

REFERENCES: Cognitive Restructuring

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

40. The authors pose the question, “If someone were to give you a thousand dollars to sit next to a crying baby during a 2-

hour airplane flight, . . . could you do it?” What is the point that they are making?

ANSWER: The authors are providing a contrast to self-limiting beliefs. If the need or desire is great enough, we

can control a lot more than we think. In answer to question posed, they respond, “Of course you

could. Could you do it without feeling stressed? Suddenly it is not so awful, is it? Events that seem

irritating and stress-producing take on new meaning. When we are highly motivated, we can take

control and prevent the event from initiating the stress response. If you could control your stress

response for a thousand dollars, would you do it for a lifetime of less stress and better health? Again,

we see the principle of perception and interpretation at play in virtually all events.”

REFERENCES: Hardiness

OTHER: Bloom’s: Understand

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