Ch 3 Flashcards
2 components of stress
physical (involving direct material or bodily challenge) and psychological (involving how individuals perceive their life circumstances)
3 ways to examine stress components
seeing stress as (1) a stimulus or a change in the environment, (2) as a psychological or physiological response to stressors, (3) a process that includes stressors and strains
Stressors
physically or psychologically challenging events or circumstances
2 types of stressors
acute stressors (limited) and chronic stressors (prolonged or repeated)
Strain
the psychological and physiological response to a stressor
What important dimension does the process approach of stress add?
the relationship between the person and the environment, particularly transactions
Transactions
continuous interactions and adjustments between the person and the environment as we assess the existing demands, resources, and discrepancies in our own life or another’s (vicarious)
How does the process approach of stress differ from the stimulus and response approaches?
the person is seen as an active agent who can influence the impact of the stressor through behavioral, cognitive, and emotional strategies
Definition of stress
the circumstance in which transactions lead a person to perceive a discrepancy between the physical or psychological demands of a situation and the resources of one’s biological, psychological, or social systems
What do a demand, resource, or discrepancy have in common?
they may either be real or just believed to exist
What situation typically results in stress?
forming inaccurate perceptions of discrepancies between environmental demands and the actual resources
What typically happens when our resources are taxed?
it impacts all three of our systems (biopsychosocial)
Demands
the amount of our resources the stressor appears to require
When does a discrepancy exist?
when there is a mismatch between the demands of a situation the resources available in a person; either the demands exceed the resources or the resources are underutilized
Cognitive appraisal
a mental process that occurs in transactions that is divided into primary and secondary appraisal
Primary appraisal
people first assess the implications of the situation on our well-being, particularly whether a demand threatens our physical or psychological well-being
3 judgements that primary appraisal could yield
the circumstance is irrelevant, good or benign-positive, or stressful
Botulism
a life-threatening type of food poisoning
3 possible implications of a circumstance that was appraised as stressful
harm-loss, threat, and challenge
Harm-loss implication
the amount of damage that has already occurred (the impact of minor stressors may be exaggerated)
Threat implication
the expectation of future harm
Challenge implication
the opportunity to achieve growth, mastery, or profit by using more than routine resources to meet a demand
What kind of appraisal influences our response to stress experienced by others?
primary appraisal
Secondary appraisal
our assessment of the resources we have available for meeting the demands of the situation in terms of behavioral and cognitive control
Behavioral control
changing something in the environment to meet the demands of a situation
Cognitive control
changing one’s perception of control and ability to meet the demands of the situation
When are we especially aware of our secondary appraisals?
when we judge a situation as potentially stressful and try to determine if our resources are sufficient to meet the harm, challenge, or threat we face
2 types of factors affecting cogntive appraisal
situational factors (e.g. desirability, controllability, imminence, timing, ambiguity, life transitions) and personal factors (e.g. personality, self-esteem, motivation, perfectionism)
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
a psychiatric disorder resulting from exposure to an extremely severe stressor (i.e. a traumatic event), creating intense fear and horror
8 criterias for PTSD in DSM-5
(1) exposure to a stressor; (2) intrusion of trauma; (3) avoidance of trauma-related thoughts/feelings and other external reminders; (4) negative alterations in cognitions/mood; (5) alterations in arousal; (6) symptoms last for more than a month; (7) functional significance; (8) exclusion of other potential causes
4 ways of getting exposed to a stressor
direct exposure, witnessing in person, indirectly (e.g. learning about a friend/relative’s trauma), repeated or extreme indirect exposure to aversive details of an event
What is intrusion?
recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive memories (e.g. traumatic nightmares, flashbacks)
Symptoms of PTSD
alterations in arousal (difficulty concentrating or sleeping); frequently reliving the event (through intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares); avoiding people, places, and activities that remind a person of the event
2 types of factors that lead to stressful appraisals
those that relate to the person (i.e. personal factors) and those that relate to the situation
Personal factors
a person’s intellectual, motivational, and personality characteristics (e.g. high self-esteem may lead to interpreting an event as a challenge rather than a threat)
Perfectionism
the tendency to appraise minor issues as major problems; causes emotional distress and poses a serious threat to long-term health
What characteristics of events make them more likely to be appraised as stressful?
if they are demanding, imminent, life transitions, ambiguous, undesirable, uncontrollable (both behaviorally and cognitively), and deviate from timing in the social clock,
What 3 factors are assumed to influence the amount of stress experienced?
stressor frequency, intensity, and duration
Chronic stress
stress that occurs often or lasts a long time (e.g. many stressors occur simultaneously, rumination); increases negative emotions and likelihood of getting ill
Effects of chronic stress on the HPA axis
it becomes dysregulated leading to elevated cortisol, blood glucose and increased visceral fat, higher cholesterol and plaque build-up in arteries (atherosclerosis), impaired immune functioning and inflammation
2 ways that chronic stress can contribute to illness
directly via physiological effects on bodily systems OR indirectly via health behaviors for coping (e.g. substance abuse, poor sleep and exercise, unhealthy eating)
Rumination or dwelling
when thoughts about a trauma recur frequently over time