Psych - Stress And Wellbeing

Front 1

Transactional model of stress

Back 1

Lazarus and Folkman - focuses on psychological aspects of stress
• Primary appraisal: is the event a threat (stressor) or not?
• Secondary appraisal (if stressor): do I have the skills to cope with this?
--Coping skills perceived to be available: eustress
-- Inability to cope perceived: distress

Front 2

Types of coping in the transactional model of stress

Back 2

• Problem based: re-evaluating, managing, or changing causes - reducing effects of stressor or adapting to its impact
• Emotional based: reducing emotional response - defence mechanisms like denial, venting.

Front 3

Strengths and limitations of the transactional model of stress

Back 3

Strengths
• Takes into account cognitive factors
• Research with humans
• Suggests ways of dealing with stress
• Helps to understand individual differences in stress response
Limitations
• Subjective, not open to experimentation
• Doesn't take into account pre-existing states of mind into account

Front 4

Transactional model of stress

Back 4

Lazarus and Folkman - focuses on psychological aspects

Front 5

General adaptation syndrome (GAS) (what is it?)

Back 5

Selye's pattern of responding to stress, in humans and animals, that is the same regardless of stressor.

Front 6

Stages of GAS (quick summary)

Back 6

• Stage 1: Alarm - shock (low resistance), counter shock (high resistance resistance)
• Stage 2: Resistance- high resistance, cortisol, where infection is seen
• Stage 3: Exhaustion - breakdown, physical and psychological illnesses

Front 7

Stage 1 of GAS

Back 7

Alarm stage-
• shock - body's resistance low. Low blood pressure, body temp and muscle tone lost
• counter shock - fight-flight response activated, resistance increases above normal.

Front 8

Stage 2 of GAS

Back 8

Resistance stage-
• high level of resistance, but fight-flight response decreases. • Cortisol helps with wound healing and tissue repair, but lowers immune system
• This leaves organism susceptible to infections - signs of illness may be seen

Front 9

Stage 3 of GAS

Back 9

Exhaustion-
• Continued release of cortisol and the high-energy demands lead to breakdown
• Physical/psychological illnesses may occur
• Body can also go into exhaustion if another stressor is added

Front 10

Strengths and limitations of the GAS

Back 10

Strengths
• Shows link between stress and illness
• Reliable - based on observational and laboratory studies, seen in humans and animals
Limitations
• Use of animals - same thing not necessarily happening in humans
• Ignores cognitive/psychological factors
• Focuses on HPA axis - other things happening
• Stress response not always identical

Front 11

Transactional model of stress

Back 11

Lazarus and Folkman - focuses on psychological aspects of stress
• Primary appraisal: is this event a threat (stressor) or not?
• Secondary appraisal (if stressor): do I have the skills to cope with this?
-- Coping skills perceived to be available: eustress
-- Inability to cope perceived: distress

Front 12

Types of coping in the transactional model of stress

Back 12

• Problem focused: reducing effects of stressor or adapting to its impact; re-evaluating, managing or changing causes; when the person has resourced to address stressor, and tends to feel they have control
• Emotion focused: reducing the emotional response to the stressor; includes defence mechanisms like denial, venting etc.; tends to be when the person doesn't feel they have control

Front 13

Strengths and limitations of the transactional model of stress

Back 13

Strengths
• Takes into account cognitive factors
• Based on research with humans
• Suggests ways of dealing with stress
• Helps to understand individual differences in stress responses
Limitations
• Subjective, not open to experimentation
• Doesn't take into account pre-existing states of mind
• Model is linear, implies conscious processes - we are not aware of many stressors