Psychological Stressors & Health

In this video I discuss the psychological components of stress and how we can become stressed from the anticipation of threats. Psychological stressors are especially dangerous because they have the potential to become chronic stressors which constantly plague us. Next … Read More

Stress & The Immune System

In this video I briefly describe the immune system and the cells involved in surveillance and protection from invaders, pathogens, and other threats. Next I discuss the relationship between stress and decreased immune function, which is related to elevated levels … Read More

General Adaptation Syndrome

In this video I describe homeostasis, which refers to maintenance of an optimal state, and allostasis, which clarifies that an optimal state is actually a range of possible states depending on context. Next I discuss Hans Selye’s theory of General … Read More

The Stress Response & HPA Axis

In this video I describe the stress response in more detail, including possible gender differences in reaction to threats. Shelley Taylor proposed the tend–and–befriend response to refer to a female tendency to focus on relationships, empathy, and group cohesion in … Read More

Understanding Obesity

In this video I consider evolutionary explanations for the modern struggle with obesity. I describe how obesity is defined using the calculation of body mass index or BMI and consider potential problems with this simple calculation. I also discuss set … Read More

What is Meditation?

In this video I describe meditation, focusing on two types of practices: focused awareness meditation and mindfulness meditation. Focused awareness involves maintaining fixed attention on a particular object, sound, or mantra, while mindfulness allows attention to move freely without allowing … Read More

What is Stress?

You’re undoubtedly familiar with the concept of stress, but like many psychological variables we’ve seen, you may find it difficult to come up with a precise definition. What exactly is stress and how can we go about measuring it Walter … Read More

Key Terms for Stress & Health

Download a free pdf of this key terms list here: Stress-and-Health-Key-Terms Find explanations and examples of all of these key terms and more here: Master Introductory Psychology: Complete Edition       health psychology   etiology   epidemiology   retrospective studies … Read More