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72 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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3 ways psychologists view stress? |
Stimulus
Response
Organism-environment interaction |
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Stress defined in terms of stimulus? |
Eliciting stimuli that place strong demands on us |
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Stressed defined in terms of response? |
Response that has cognitive, physiological, and behavioural components |
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Stress defined in terms of an organism-environment interaction? |
Transaction between the organism and the environment |
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What are "Microstressors"? |
Daily hassles and everyday annoyances we encounter at school, work... |
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What are "catastrophic events"? |
Occur unexpectedly
Affect large numbers of people
E.g., natural disasters, acts of war, concentration camps |
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What are "major negative events"? |
Being victim of a major crime or sexual abuse
Death of a loved one
Academic or career failure
Major illness |
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What are the "life event scales"? |
Quantify the amount of life stress that a person has experienced over a given period of time |
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What does the life event scale ask people? |
Ask people to indicate whether a particular even has occurred
Also whether event was positive or negative
Whether it was a major event or "day-to-day" event |
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How do modern researchers now define stress? |
In terms of negative changes only
Positive events cancel our negative events |
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4 aspects of appraisal process |
Appraisal of the demands of the situation
Appraisal of the resources available to cope
Judgements of what the consequences of the situation could be
Appraisal of the personal meaning |
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What is primary appraisal? |
Appraisal of the demands of the situation
Whether it is benign, neutral, threatening
Significance for you well-being |
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What is secondary appraisal? |
Appraisal of the resources available to cope with it
Coping resources: knowledge, abilities, social skills, verbal skills
If you believed that the demands of the situation (e.g., job interview) exceed your resources you will experience dress |
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Important of taking into account "potential consequences of failing"? |
Allows you to cope successfully with the situation
Includes both seriousness of the consequences and likelihood it will occur |
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Importance of "psychological meaning of the consequences"? |
Related to you basic beliefs about yourself or the world
Certain beliefs make propel vulnerable to situational demands
E.g., doing poorly in interview evidence that you are worthless failure |
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What are the 3 phases of the "general adaption syndrome"? (GAS) |
Alarm reaction
Resistance
Exhaustion |
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Why does the alarm reaction occur? |
Sudden activation of the sympathetic NS
Release of stress hormones by endocrine system |
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How does the alarm reaction help the body deal with stress? |
Slowing of digestion diverts blood to muscle
Increased HR increases oxygen
Pupil dilation makes our eyes more sensitive to light |
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Most important hormone produced by adrenal glands? |
Cortisol
Triggers increase in blood sugar by acting on liver
Suppressed immune system |
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How does the body mainstream stable internal state of homeostasis? |
Parasympathetic nervous system activity
Functions to reduce arousal |
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What happens to the body during "resistance" stage? |
Body's resources continue to be mobilized so person can function despite stress |
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How long can "resistance" stage last? |
Can last relatively long time
Depends on severity of the stress, individual's health, available support |
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When does resistance stage end? |
When body's resources no longer sufficient |
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What happened during exhaustion stage? |
Body's resources become dangerously depleted
Increased vulnerability to disease and death |
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What determines how soon the body will reach exhaustion stage? |
More severe stress
Weakest body system will be first to be affected |
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Example of traumatic stressor that has strong and long-lasting impact? |
Survivors of holocaust
High levels of anxiety and recurrent nightmares
Feelings of insecurity and difficulties forming close relationships
Soldiers who experience trauma of combat |
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Rape trauma syndrome |
Months or years after rape victims feel nervous and gear another attack
Change their residence but nightmares persist |
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Memory of distress people |
Remember negative things that have happened to them
Tend to view events as negative |
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People who have high neuroticism |
Heightened tendency to experience negative emotions
Get themselves into stressful situations through maladaptive behaviour |
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Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) |
Severe anxiety disorder
Caused by exposure to traumatic life events (severe stress) |
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4 major groups of symptoms with PTSD |
Severe anxiety, physiological arousal
Painful uncontrollable reliving of events (flashbacks)
Emotional numbing and avoidance of stimuli associated with trauma
Intense survivor guilt |
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People subject to greater risk of PTSD? |
Vietnam vet terms who spent significant time in combat
Civilian victims of war
Refugees of bloody civil war
Victims of rape, assault |
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Wen does PTSD develop? |
Does not necessary develop immediately after trauma
Develops within 3 months (can be years after) |
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Can PTSD increase vulnerability to other disorders? |
Study: women with PTSD has double risk of developing alcohol-related problems in the future |
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Stress and illness |
Can combine to cause common cold, cancer, heart disease
Can be immediate or less immediate |
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What happens when prolonged exposure to hippocampus and elevated stress levels? |
Physics deterioration of hippocampus
Memory loss |
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Study: can anything protect us from stress of life? (Rat pups) |
Rats given additional stimulation (daily handling during first week of life showed faster recovery from stress during adulthood |
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Recent research: additional stimulation during early life? |
Mother can provide additional stimulation
Pups grow to recover stress more efficiently and behave differently as mothers
Passed from generation to generation |
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Which stage of life has longer impact on stress hormone levels? |
Experiences humans have when they are young have lasting impact on stress hormone levels and efficiency of recovery |
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Effect of childhood abuse on stress? |
Interferes with ability of hippocampus to control stress respond
Increased risk of suicide |
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Sex differences: relation between social isolation and poor health |
Stronger for men than women |
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How does social support protect against stress? |
Enhances immune system functioning
More disease-resistance |
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Stress buffering benefits of social support |
Greater sense of identity when they feel part of social system
Reduce exposure to risk factors, i.e., loneliness
Social pressure can prevent coping with stressors e.g., alcohol |
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3C's of Hardiness |
Commitment
Control
Challenge |
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What is hardiness? |
Characteristics that help one cope with stress |
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Study: mortality rate of widowers vs married individuals |
Higher morality rate of widowers than married people of the same age |
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What is resilience? |
Unexpectedly good recovery following stress
E.g., child who grows up in abuse family but becomes health and successful |
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How do resilient people recover? |
Use humour, positive emotions, social support, optimism, positive thinking |
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How does several different stressors affect risk of developing health problems? |
Several different stressors increase risk of health problems |
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How can existing medical condition be affected by stress? (Study) |
Traumatic life event can worsen existing medical condition
E.g., black girl bused to new school and buillied "go back to where you belong" develop sickle cell anemia and died |
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Physiological responses of stress to body systems |
Excessive secretions of stress hormones can damage arteries
Reduced fat metabolism can cause blockage in arteries and heart attacks |
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How does stress affect immune system functioning? |
Stress causes breakdown of functioning of immune system
Increased risk of illness |
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Study: conflicts in relationships and immune system functioning |
Hostile interactions associated with decrease in immune functioning
Particularly immune function that protects against influenza and pneumonia |
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How does stress affect people's behaviour? |
Diabetics less likely to regulate their diets and take their medication
People are less likely to exercise
May lead to smoking, alcohol, drug use, sleep loss |
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Important stress hormone? |
Cortisol
Effect on brain and cognitive functioning |
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Which brain structure is especially sensitive to cortisol? |
Hippocampus
Important for learning and memory |
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Coping self-efficacy |
Conviction that we can perform the behaviours necessary to cope successfully
Important protective factor |
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Which are most effective coping strategies? |
Problem-focused and seeking social support
Emotion- focused case depression and poor adjustment |
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How is self-medication reinforced? |
Negative reinforcement
Promotes future self-medication |
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Reasons for self-injury |
Coping mechanism to provide temporary relief from intense feelings of anxiety and stress |
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Study: bottling of feelings |
Those who wrote about trauma had lower stress and missed fewer classes
Writing or talking about traumatic event provides exposure and allows extinction to occur |
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Sex differences: uses of problem/focused coping |
Men more likely to favour this coping technique |
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Culture difference in coping techniques |
North American and Europeans tend to use more problem-focused coping than Asians and Hispanics |
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Type A personality |
Live under greater pressure and are demanding of themselves
Double the risk of heart disease |
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Type B personality |
More relaxed, agreeable
Less time urgency |
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Which of the Big 5 person lit factors is most strongly linked to physical health? |
Conscientiousness
Individuals will be less likely to engage in risky behaviours
Less likely to smoke or drink |
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Finding meaning in stressful life events |
Humanistic theorists believe it is human need to find meaning in ones life
Source of comfort in face of crisis
Experience less distress longer-term positive effects |
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Religious beliefs in stressful life events |
Can increase or decrease stress depending on their nature or type of stressor |
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Study: medically ill adults and religious beliefs |
Patients with poor physical adjustment viewed it as God punishing them
Saw themselves as victims of demonic forces
Questioned their faith |
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Problem- focused coping |
Confront and deal directly with demands of situation
Change situation so it is no longer stressful |
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Emotion-focused coping |
Manage emotional responses
Appraising situation to minimize emotional impact E.g., denying problem exists |
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Seeking Social Support |
Turn to others for assistance and emotional support in times of stress |
