BSS : Stress

Question 1

What is stress?

Answer 1

-Experiencing events or situations that are perceived as endangering one’s physical and/or psychological wellbeing

Question 2

What are the 3 models of stress?

Answer 2

Stress as a STIMULUS
Stress as a RESPONSE
Stress as an INTERACTION

Question 3

Describe the stimulus model? How is it measured?

Answer 3

• Stressors
  > Acute : daily life hassels
  > Chronic : disability, poverty
• Scales and quesitionnaires
  >Have you experienced this event? Not whether u actually felt stressed

Question 4

Describe stress as a response. What are the 2 pathways?

Answer 4

-How does the body respond to stress
-Pysiological/biological model
e.g. Fight or flight ,General Adaptation Syndrome
-used to explain link between stress and illness

Question 5

Problems with the response model?

Answer 5

• Non-specific – depends on, controllability, predictability of stressor
• Other responses – cognitive, emotional, behavioural
• Individual differences in:
• Stress resistance- ability to deal with stress
• Stress recovery time - back to baseline

Question 6

How is neuroendocrine immune pathway relevant to unit 3?

Answer 6

-Cortisol > fight or flight > reducing protein demand by immune system > reducing lymphocytes > more prone to acute illness > takes longer
- Chronic stress > high level of inflammation > deregulation to immune system

Question 7

Describe transactional model.

Answer 7

-response which occurs when one believes the demands on them outweigh their capacity to meet those demands
-Psychological model
-Focus on individual’s characteristics and stress appraisals
- Emphasis on interaction between perceived stressor and perceived ability to cope.
- Measured by self report scales “perceived stress scale”

Question 8

Primary and secondary appraisal?

Answer 8

• Primary appraisal - the nature and magnitude of the threat. Am I harmed? Is there a threat or a challenge?

-Secondary appraisal - What resources do I have available to me? How well am I coping? Resources can be internal or external

Question 9

What are stress appraisals influenced by?
What is eustress and distress?

Answer 9

• Life change involved
• Time in life
• Imminence (now or later)
• Desirability (do we want this)

May be appraised +vely as a challenge → eustress – positive emotions rather than
distress – negative emotions

Question 10

What is the link between stress and ill health? Stress Process

Answer 10

Question 11

What role does stress play in the immune response?

Answer 11

• Link between stress and ill health
  Is the relationship…..

Causal :
- Behavioural responses
- Personality traits, e.g. optimism
- Use of health services

Indirect - There is a neurophysiological basis (↑stress, leading to ↑cortisol, leading to ↓immune function)

Question 12

What is allostatic load?

Answer 12

• physiological consequences chronic stress./ amount of wear and tear on the body
• It is used to explain how frequent we activate the body’s stress response, essential for managing
  acute threats, can in fact damage the body in the long run. Allostatic load is generally measured
  on the cardiovascular system.

Question 13

Evidence to show that stress has an impact on illness
What are the problems with this research?

Answer 13

-Psychoneuroimmunology:
> interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems
*High stress more likely to get :
1. colds
2. longer cut healing times
3. Flareups

-Limited populations studied , measure immune response due to differing types and numbers of leukocytes.