CBSE Class 12 Psychology Meeting Life Challenges Assignment

Question. Stress is often a factor in ____________ disease, the leading cause of death.
(a) heart
(b) cancer
(c) dementia
(d) both (a) and (b)
Answer. A

Question. Coping by making efforts to control one’s emotions is known as:
(a) Task-oriented strategy
(b) Emotion-oriented strategy
(b) Avoidance-oriented strategy
(d) Goal-oriented strategy
Answer. B

Question. Radhika is frustrated and is crying, as she has not prepared well for her examination.
The coping strategy that she is using to deal with this stress is:
(a) Avoidance oriented
(b) Task oriented
(c) Problem focused
(d) Emotion oriented
Answer. D

Question. An individual’s level of stress which helps in achieving peak success and managing minor crisis is known as:
(a) Stress
(b) Distress
(c) Eustress
(d) Strain
Answer. C

Question. Stress is:
(a) an independent variable
(b) a dependent variable
(c) both (a) & (b)
(d) an intervening variable
Answer. D

Question.Match the following:
(a) T cells                     (i) Increase immunological activity
(b) T helper cells          (ii) Involved against viruses
(c) Natural killer cells   (iii) Destroys invaders
(d) B cells                    (iv) Produces antibodies
Answer. (a)–(iii), (b)–(i), (c)–(ii), (d)–(iv)

Question. Stressed individuals are more likely to expose themselves to _____________ which are agents causing physical illness.
Answer. Pathogens

Question. A dynamic situation-specific reaction to stress is known as _____________.
Answer. Coping

Question. Personality traits of hardiness are control, commitment and _____________.
Answer. Challenge

Question. _____________ involves feelings of tension or uneasiness that occur before, during and after an examination. 
Answer. Examination anxiety

Question. Explain the concept of stress. Give examples from daily life.
Answer. Stress is described as the pattern of responses an organism makes to stimulus event that disturbs the equilibrium and exceeds a person’s ability to cope. Stressors like noise, crowding, a bad relationship, daily commuting to school or office are events that cause our body to give the stress response. Happenings in our daily lives such as noisy surroundings, commuting, quarrelsome neighbours, electricity and water shortage, traffic snarls cause stress. Attending to various emergencies are daily hassles experienced by a housewife.

Question. Reflect on the environmental factors that have
Answer. 
(a) a positive impact on the being,
Perceived support, i.e. the quality of social support is positively related to health and well being. Studies have revealed that women exposed to life event stresses, who have a close friend, were less likely to be depressed and had lesser medical complications during pregnancy. Social support can help to provide protection against stress. People with high levels of social support from family and friends may experience less stress when they confront a stressful experience, and they may cope with it more successfully. 
Social support may be in the form of tangible support or assistance involving material aid, such as money, goods, services, etc. For example, a child gives notes to her/his friend, since s/he was absent from school due to sickness. Family and friends also provide informational support about stressful events. For example, a student facing a stressful event such as a difficult board examination, if provided information by a friend who has faced a similar one, would not only be able to identify the exact procedures involved, but also it would facilitate in determining what resources and coping strategies could be useful to successfully pass the examination. During times of stress, one may experience sadness, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem. Supportive friends and family provide emotional support by reassuring the individual that she/ he is loved, valued, and cared for. Research has demonstrated that social support effectively reduces psychological distress such as depression or anxiety, during times of stress. There is growing evidence that social support is positively related to psychological well-being. Generally, social support leads to mental health benefits for both the giver and the receiver.

(b) a negative effect.
Environmental stresses are aspects of our surroundings that are often unavoidable such as air pollution, crowding, noise, heat of the summer, winter cold, etc. Another group of environmental stresses are catastrophic events or disasters such as fire, earthquake, floods, etc.

Question. Describe the GAS model and illustrate the relevance of this model with the help of an example.
Answer. Selye observed that animals exposed to stressors show a similar pattern of bodily response. Selye studied this issue by subjecting animals to a variety of stressors such as high temperature, X-rays and insulin injections, in the laboratory over a long period of time. He also observed patients with various injuries and illnesses in hospitals. Selye noticed a similar pattern of bodily response in all of them. He called this pattern General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
According to him GAS involves three stages:
(i) Alarm reaction: The presence of a stressor leads to activation of the adrenal-pituitarycortex system. This triggers the release of hormones producing the stress response.
Now the individual is ready for fight or flight.
(ii) Resistance Stage: Under prolonged stress, the para-sympathetic nervous system calls for more cautious use of the body’s resources in which the organism makes efforts to cope with the threat.
(iii) Exhaustion stage: Continued exposure to the same stressor or additional stressors drains the body of its resources and leads to the third stage of exhaustion. The physiological systems involved in alarm reaction and resistance become ineffective and susceptibility to stress-related diseases increases.

Question. How does stress affect the immune system?
Answer. Release of stress hormone results in weakening of our immune system thus affecting mental and physical health. Weakened immune system has a serious effect on the individuals’ health. Stress has physiological effects and can affect natural killer cell cytotoxicity, which is of major importance in the defense against various infections and cancer. Reduced levels of natural killer cell cytotoxicity have been found in people who are highly stressed, including students facing important examinations, persons who have lost a loved one and those who are severely depressed. Psychological stress is accompanied by negative emotions or burnout situation and associated symptoms such as depression, anxiety, irritability and aggression. Individuals may have panic attacks or show obsessive behaviours, mood swings or phobias. These individuals have feelings of hopelessness which is worsened by injury or disease. Studies reveal that immune functioning is better in individuals receiving social support.
Emotions such as fear, anger or hostility are associated with anger outbursts, tantrums,withdrawal symptoms and feelings of hopelessness thus leading to weakening of the immune system thus effecting mental and physical health.

Question. Explain the effect of stress on psychological functioning.
Answer. The effects of stress are described as follows:
(i) Emotional Effects: Those suffering from stress experience mood swings, show decreasing confidence, suffer from feelings of anxiety, depression or increased physical and psychological tension.
(ii) Physiological Effects: Under stress there is an increased production of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones produce marked changes in heart rate, blood pressure levels, metabolism and physical activity. Changes such as release of epinephrine or nor-epinephrine, slowing down of the digestive system, expansion of air passages in the lungs and constriction of blood vessels also occur.
(iii) Cognitive Effects: Cognitive effects of stress are poor concentration and reduced short-term memory capacity.
(iv) Behavioural Effects: These include disrupted sleep patterns, increased absenteeism and reduced work performance.

Question. Describe how life skills can help meet life’s challenges.
Answer. Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. They are described below:
(i) Assertiveness: Assertiveness is a behaviour or skill that helps to communicate clearly and confidently, our feelings, needs, wants and thoughts. It is the ability to say no to a request, to state an opinion without being self-conscious, or to express emotions such as love, anger openly. An assertive person feels confident, has high self-esteem and a solid sense of his identity.
(ii) Time Management: Managing time helps to relieve pressure, organizing our life and thus leading a balanced life. Learning to plan and delegate responsibilities helps to relieve pressure. It requires one to be realistic, deciding on the task to be done and organizing your life.
(iii) Rational Thinking: This involves challenging your distorted thinking and irrational beliefs, driving out potentially intrusive negative anxiety-provoking thoughts and making positive statements.
(iv) Improving Relationships – This involves listening to what the other person is saying, expressing how you feel and what you think and accepting the other person’s opinions and feelings even if they are different from your own.
(v) Self-care: This involves keeping ourselves healthy and relaxed which prepares us physically and emotionally to tackle the stresses of everyday life.
(vi) Overcoming Unhelpful Habits: This involves overcoming unhelpful habits such as perfectionism, avoidance or procrastination. Perfectionists are persons who want everything to be just right, find it difficult to relax, are critical of self and others. Avoidance is to put the issue under the carpet and refuse to accept or face it. Procrastination means putting off what we need to do and to be done at a later hour.It involves deliberately avoiding and confronting fears of failure or rejection.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 3 Meeting Life Challenges Very Short Answer Questions 

Question. Explain the behavioural effects of stress. 
Answer. Behavioural effect of stress include disrupted sleep patterns, increased absenteeism and reduced work performance.

Question. What do you mean by ‘burnout’? 
Answer. The state of physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion is known as burnout.

Question. What is psycho-neuro-immunology?
Answer. Psycho-neuro-immunology focuses on the links between mind, brain and the immune system. It studies the effects of stress on the immune system.

Question. What is stress?
Answer. Stress is described as the pattern of responses an organism makes to stimulus event that disturbs the equilibrium and exceeds a person’s ability to cope. Stressors like noise, crowding, a bad relationship, daily commuting to school or office are events that cause our body to give the stress response.

Question. Explains the term ‘well-being’?
Answer. Well-being means to have positive health. Health is a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being, and not merely the absence of disease.

Question. What is fight or flight response?
Answer. (i) Selye observed that animals exposed to stressors show a similar pattern of bodily response. He called this pattern General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
(ii) The fight or flight response, also called as ‘acute stress response’ refers to a physiological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically. The response is triggered by the release of hormones that prepare the body to deal with a threat or to run away to safety. The term ‘fight or flight’ represents the choices.

Question. What is coping?
Answer. Coping is a dynamic situation-specific reaction to stress. E.g., watching TV, phone up a friend or try to be with other people.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 3 Meeting Life Challenges Short Answer Questions-I 

Question. What are the sources of stress? 
Answer. The various sources of stress are:
(i) Life Events: Changes due to life events such as moving into a new house, break-up of a long-term relationship cause stress.
(ii) Hassles: Happenings in our daily lives such as noisy surroundings, commuting, quarrelsome neighbours, electricity and water shortage, traffic snarls cause stress.Attending to various emergencies are daily hassles experienced by a housewife.
(iii) Traumatic Events: Effects of extreme events such as fire, train or road accident, robbery, earthquake, tsunami persist as symptoms of anxiety, flashbacks, dreams and intrusive thoughts. Severe trauma can also strain relationships or can lead to disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Question. Explain the concept of stress resistant personality. Give suitable examples.
Answer. Studies by Kobasa show that people with high levels of stress but low levels of illness are referred to have the personality traits of hardiness which buffer the adverse impact of stress, share the following the three characteristics, the three Cs:
(i) Control: These people have a sense of purpose and direction in life.
(ii) Commitment: They have a commitment to work, family, hobbies and social life.
(iii) Challenge: They see changes in life as normal and positive rather than as a threat.

Question. What is Examination Anxiety?
Answer. Examination anxiety involves feelings of tension, apprehension, fear of failure occurring before, during or after an examination. Although, this feeling of anxiety helps in motivating and creates pressure required for increased productivity (Eustress), but some students fall sick during exams. They show symptoms of body aches, stomach upset, nausea, diarrhea, fever. These students are extremely nervous and emotionally aroused. It decreases concentration, produce high emotional reactions, feelings of helplessness and attentional blocks. To overcome it, one has to give ample study time, judge one’s strengths and weaknesses, discuss difficulties, plan out further studies, concentrate and keep one-self cool by relaxation techniques.

Question. What are the types of stress?
Answer. The major types of stress are:
(i) Physical and Environmental Stress: Physical stresses are caused when we overexert ourselves physically, lack a nutritional diet, suffer an injury or fail to get enough sleep. Environmental stresses are caused by air pollution, crowding, noise, heat of the summer, winter cold or disasters such as fire, or natural disasters such as earthquake, floods, drought, land-slides, volcanic eruption etc.
(ii) Psychological Stress: This is caused by
(a) Frustration: It results from blocking of needs and motives while achieving a desired goal. Causes of frustration are social discrimination, interpersonal hurt,low grades in school.
(b) Conflicts: It may occur between two or more incompatible needs or motives, e.g., whether to learn dance or study psychology.
(c) Internal pressures: These stem from beliefs based upon expectations from inside us to ourselves such as, ‘I must do everything perfectly’.
(d) Social pressures: These are brought about from people who make excessive demands on us, e.g., parents and teachers.
(iii) Social Stress: These result from our interaction with other people, such as death or illness in the family, strained relationships, trouble with neighbours, etc. For example, attending a party could be stressful for a person who is an introvert and staying at home for a person who is a party lover.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 3 Meeting Life Challenges Short Answer Questions-II

Question. State the dimensions of stressors.
Answer. The stresses which people experience vary in terms of intensity (low intensity vs high intensity), deviation (Short-term vs long term), complexity (less complex vs predictable). The outcome of stress depends on the position of or particular stressful experience along these dimensions usually, more intense, prolonged or chronic, complex and unanticipated stresses have more negative consequences than have less intense, short term, less complex and repected stress. An individual’s experiences of stress depend on the physiological strength of that person. Thus, individuals with poor physical health and weak constitution would be more inalterable than would be those who enjoy good health and strong constitution.

Question. Distinguish between Eustress and Distress giving suitable examples.
Answer. Eustress describes the level of stress that is good and positive and is one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak performance and managing minor crisis. Distress is the manifestation of stress that causes our body’s wear and tear. It produces unpleasant effects, hampers our productivity, emotionally upsets us and causes our performance to deteriorate.

Question. Describe the factors affecting the appraisal of the stressful events.
Answer. The factors affecting the appraisal of the stressful events are:
(i) Past experience: If one has handled similar situations very successfully in the past,they would be less threatening for him or her.
(ii) Controllable: A person who believes that she/he can control the onset of a negative situation or its negative consequences will experience less amount of stress than those who have no such sense of personal control.

Question. Describe the effect of stress on the immune system.
Answer. Release of stress hormone results in weakening of our immune system thus affecting mental and physical health. Weakened immune system has a serious effect on the individuals’ health. Stress has physiological effects and can affect natural killer cell cytotoxicity, which is of major importance in the defence against various infections and cancer. Reduced levels of natural killer cell cytotoxicity have been found in people who are highly stressed, including students facing important examinations, persons who have lost a loved one and those who are severely depressed. Psychological stress is accompanied by negative emotions or burnout situation and associated symptoms such as depression, anxiety, irritability and aggression. Individuals may have panic attacks or show obsessive behaviours, mood swings or phobias. These individuals have feelings of hopelessness which is worsened by injury or disease. Studies reveal that immune functioning is better in individuals receiving social support.
Emotions such as fear, anger or hostility are associated with anger outbursts, tantrums, withdrawal symptoms and feelings of hopelessness thus leading to weakening of the immune system thus affecting mental and physical health.

Question. Describe the life skills which help in meeting the challenges of school life.
OR
How life skills enable individuals to deal effectively with stressful experiences of life?
Answer. Life skills are the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. They are described below:
(i) Assertiveness: Assertiveness is a behaviour or skill that helps to communicate our feelings, needs, wants and thoughts, clearly and confidently. It is the ability to say no to a request, to state an opinion without being self-conscious, or to express emotions such as love, anger openly. An assertive person feels confident, has high self-esteem and a solid sense of his identity.
(ii) Time Management: Managing time helps to relieve pressure, organizing our life and thus leading a balanced life. Learning to plan and delegate responsibilities helps to relieve pressure. It requires one to be realistic, deciding on the task to be done and organizing your life.
(iii) Rational Thinking: This involves challenging your distorted thinking and irrational beliefs, driving out potentially intrusive negative anxiety-provoking thoughts and making positive statements.
(iv) Improving Relationships: This involves listening to what the other person is saying,expressing how you feel and what you think and accepting the other person’s opinions and feelings even if they are different from your own.
(v) Self-care: This involves keeping ourselves healthy and relaxed which prepares us physically and emotionally to tackle the stresses of everyday life.
(vi) Overcoming Unhelpful Habits: This involves overcoming unhelpful habits such as perfectionism, avoidance or procrastination. Perfectionists are persons who want everything to be just right, find it difficult to relax, are critical of self and others. Avoidance is to put the issue under the carpet and refuse to accept or face it. Procrastination means putting off what we need to do and to be done at a later hour. It involves deliberately avoiding and confronting fears of failure or rejection.

Question. Distinguish between eustress and distress giving suitable examples. Discuss the different sources of psychological stress.
Answer. Eustress describes the level of stress that is good and positive and is one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak performance and managing minor crisis. Distress is the manifestation of stress that causes our body’s wear and tear. It produces unpleasant effects, hampers our productivity, emotionally upsets us and causes our performance to deteriorate.
The various sources of stress are:
(i) Life Events: Changes due to life events such as moving into a new house, break-up of a long-term relationship cause stress.
(ii) Hassles: Happenings in our daily lives such as noisy surroundings, commuting, quarrelsome neighbours, electricity and water shortage, traffic snarls cause stress.Attending to various emergencies are daily hassles experienced by a housewife.
(iii) Traumatic Events: Effects of extreme events such as fire, train or road accident, robbery, earthquake, tsunami persist as symptoms of anxiety, flashbacks, dreams and intrusive thoughts. Severe trauma can also strain relationships or can lead to disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Important Notes for Class 12 Psychology Chapter 3 Meeting Life Challenges

Chapter At A Glance

Stress is the process that occurs in response to situations or events (stressors) that disrupt or threaten to disrupt our physical or psychological functioning. The general adaptation syndrome (GAS), first reported by Hans Selye, describes how our bodies react to the effects of stress and includes three distinct stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion. Stressors can be major life events, such as death of spouse or daily hassles of everyday life, such as receiving a minor traffic congestion or having to wait in a queue at the grocery store. Sources of work-related stress include work overload and underload, role conflict and performance appraisals. Even relatively low levels of stress may interfere with task performance. Prolonged exposure to high levels of stress may lead to illness. Regular, moderately intense exercise promotes both physical and psychological health.

Q1- What is stress?

Q2- What are stressors?

Q3- What is strain?

Q4- Explain and elaborate the Cognitive Theory of Stress.

Q5- What are the signs and symptoms of stress?

Q6- What are the types of stress?

Q7- What are the sources of stress?

Q8 - What are the effects of stress on psychological functioning and health?

Q9- What is GAS model?

Q10 - How does stress affect the immune system?

Q11 - Explain the effect of stress on psychological functioning.