Causes of Stress - B1 Flashcards
Stress Definition
- A physiological and psychological state of arousal that arises when we believe we do not have the
ability to cope with a perceived threat (stressor).
Stressor Definition
- Any feature of the environment that causes a stress response (a threat).
- Physical Stressors – temperature, noise, overcrowding.
- Psychological Stressors – life events, hassles, our personality.
Causes of stress
live events
daily hassles
the workplace
personality
Role of Life Events in Stress
Definition : Major events that cause stress e.g. marriage, divorce, moving house.
• A major change in someone’s life means psychological adjustment, which lots of psychological energy.
• More life events = more stress = more ill health.
Evaluating Life Events as a Cause of Stress
Strengths
• Holmes & Rahe created a Life Events Scale (SRRS) where participants complete a simple self report test to measure life events. Study found a positive correlation between life event scores, stress and ill health.
• Research confirms that life events are a good predictor of later stress and a reliable way to measure stress.
Evaluating Life Events as a Cause of Stress
Limitations
• Does not account for individual differences in how we deal w/ stress, making it less valid
• Daily hassles may be a more effective way to measure stress because life events happen so infrequently so they produce less reliable scores e.g. may only experience one big event a year.
Role of Daily Hassles in Stress
Definition: Minor but frequent irritations in every day life that cause stress.
• Daily hassles add up and increase our stress. These can impact our health.
• More daily hassles = more stress = more ill health.
Evaluating Daily Hassles as a Cause of Stress
Strengths
• Supporting Research - Kanner created the Hassles & Uplifts scale where participants complete a daily self report test . Study found daily hassles were a significantly stronger predictor of stress symptoms than life events
• The hassles scale (self report test) was more practical and reliable than observation because it was not subjective and it encouraged more honest responses than an interview.
Evaluating Daily Hassles as a Cause of Stress
Limitations
• Data from hassles scale may be unreliable as participants required to recall all hassle from the day. This could result in inaccurate responses as people forget or magnify events. This means that the research may under or overestimate the effects of daily hassles on stress.
• 117 hassles on the scale is very long test & only 3 choices, maybe cause response bias.
Role of Workplace Stress
- Stress in the workplace can lead to dissatisfaction and illness
- workplace stress can come in three different ways: Role conflict, effects of environment, Level of control
Role Conflict
(workplace)
• Intra-role Conflict - When job role presents competing demands
• Inter-role Conflict - 2 or more roles with competing demands e.g., parent & full time job
Effects of Environment
(workplace)
• Temperature - Hot/poorly ventilated workplaces are associated with negative outcomes of stress and
anger. Cold conditions can cause distress.
• Noise - Workplaces are noisy and distracting. When you have no control over noise it can increase
stress.
Evaluating Workplace Stress
Strengths
• Research supports the view that a lack of control is a significant stressor that can lead to serious illness
• Findings from the research on workplace stress have been **applicable ** as interventions have been used by employers to decrease stress
Evaluating Workplace Stress
Limitations
• Other psychological factors might explain stress rather than the workplace e.g. individual differences. This means that it is an incomplete explanation of the causes of stress.
• Findings on workplace stress may not be generalisable to the wider population. Some studies have found that the role of job control in stress was dependent on culture. Lack of control more stressful on western individualistic cultures (UK, USA than collective cultures e.g. China.)
Level of Control
(workplace)
• When we feel we have job control, we feel less stressed and that we have an influence.
• When we don’t feel we have job control, it can increase stress
• When things happen at work that are outside of our control, it can affect our feelings about how other people see us. This too can increase stress.
