Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the US.

What is the second leading

cause of death? cancer
a. accidents
b. suicide
c. cancer
d. diabetes
Name a feature of stress-cancer research in animals that limits its relevance to humans:
a. studies are typically about induced tumors
b. studies are typically about genetic cancers
c. studies are typically about cancers caused by environmental carcinogens
d. studies are typically with only male rats
What is a shortcoming of retrospective studies of the stress-cancer link? people with
a. women have had more stressful lives than men
b. cancer occurs so late in life that everyone has gone through stressful events
c. cancer may cause stress in peoples lives
d. people with cancer diagnoses may be more likely to remember stressful events
Name a feature of the cancer-prone personality Sapolsky describes: holds meotionsin
a. extroverted and friendly
b. holds emotions in
c. emotionally expressive
d. disrespectful
What does Sapolsky suggest as a reason that Spiegels results have not been replicated?
a. other researchers are not as good at delivering the group therapy
b. patients in Northern California are more open to therapy
c. it is now difficult to get people assigned to the control group to forego therapy
d. fewer people have cancer now
The ___________ model includes sociocultural and psychological factors that may contribute to
an individuals risk of morbidity and mortality.
a. mind-body
b. biomedical
c. biopsychosocial
d. cognitive behavioral

Which of the following factors influence HPA axis activity?

a. time of day
b. negative feedback
c. physical and psychological stress
d.
all of the above
Dr. Bower is conducting a study examining the effects of lifetime stress exposure on immune
system functioning among 400 women recently diagnosed with breast cancer. This type of
study design is best characterized as:
a.
b.
c.
d.

experimental
observational
randomized
a and c

Which of the following methods of measuring stress is most likely to be confounded by a

participants mood and personality?
a. A life events inventory administered by a trained interviewer
b. A self-report questionnaire assessing subjective stress levels
c. Assessment of heart rate response to a laboratory stressor
d. None of the above
Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones conduct a longitudinal study of 12,500 male employees at a large
corporation in the United States. They find that men with the highest levels of work stress at the
beginning of the study were more likely to have elevated intima-medial thickness (IMT) nine
years later. Which of the following would be a good next step if the researchers want to
demonstrate that work stress causes increased risk of elevated IMT?
c. Conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effects of a stress-reduction
intervention on IMT
d. Conduct an epidemiological study to see if work stress is associated with cardiovascular
disease in the general population
group were not adequately trained.
________________ is produced by the HPA axis, whereas ________________ is produced by
the sympathetic nervous system.
a. Cortisol; epinephrine
b. Cortisol; antibody
c. Epinephrine; cortisol.
d. Adrenaline; noradrenaline.

Which of the following statements best describes the findings described in class regarding
stress and HIV?
a. Stress is associated with HIV incidence.
b. Stress-reduction interventions tend to worsen HIV disease progression.
c. Stress is associated with HIV disease progression, and these effects are most likely
due to activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
d. Stress is associated with HIV disease progression, and these effects are most likely due to
activation of the HPA axis.
Cognitive behavioral stress management interventions, such as those carried out with HIV+
individuals, usually include which of the following components?
a. Instruction on cognitive approaches to stress management
b. Coping skills training
c. Individual therapy
d. a & b
e. All of the above
Cancer describes diseases in which:
a. abnormal cells divide uncontrollably and invade other tissues.
b. SNS activation leads to decreased levels of CD4+ T cells.
c. damaged cells are destroyed through a process known as apoptosis.
d. the lining of the blood vessels becomes inflamed.
A student sitting next to you during lecture coughs during class, exposing you to a cold virus.
According to the studies of the common cold described in class, recent exposure to which of the
following stressors would be most likely to increase your chances of becoming ill?
a. parachuting acute
b. a single fight with your boss
c. delivering a talk to a large group of people
d. recently divorcing your spouse after a difficult marriage
What is CRP?
a. a blood plasma indicator of cancer
b. an indicator of inflammation
c. a hormone produced by the HPA axis
d. a product of B-cells
Danese and colleagues hypothesized that childhood maltreatment would be associated with...

a. increased hsCRP levels in adulthood

b. increased fibrinogen levels in adulthood
c. increased white blood cell levels in adulthood
d. all of the above
What is a potential criticism of the study by Danese and colleagues?
a. reports of physical and sexual abuse were retrospective
b. participants were not followed into adulthood
c. intervention and control groups had unequal age ranges
d. the sample was heterogeneous
What alternative explanation(s) did Danese and colleagues test for the link between childhood
maltreatment and adult inflammation?
a. the co-occurring risk hypothesis
b. the adult stress hypothesis
c. the health-behavior hypothesis
d. all of the above
According to Danese and colleagues, what percentage of cases of high hsCRP were
attributable to childhood maltreatment?
a. 2%
b. 11%
c. 33%
d. 56%