Chapter 12; Stress Flashcards
stress
a type of response, consists of tension, discomfort, or physical symptoms that arise when a stressor strains the ability to cope
stressor
a stimulus in the environment
trauma
a stressor so severe it can produce long term psychological or health consequences
what are the 3 ways of approaching the study of stress
- stressors as a stimuli
- stress as an transaction
- stress as a response
stessors as a stimuli
the things/events that stress people out, doesn’t give us a definition of what stress is
stress as a response
4 categories; thoughts, feelings, behaviours, physiological
stress as a transaction
Lazarus; stimulus + appraisal = response, appraisal allows us to have variability in responses to the same stimuli
Stress = Demand > coping resources
what do we engage in when we encounter a potential threat according to Lazarus?
primary appraisal: assessing if the situation is a threat
secondary appraisal: assessing how well you can cope with your given resources
problem focused coping and what kind of control do we engage in?
a coping strategy where we tackle life’s problems head on, actively changing something about the situation that is causing stress (actively engaging in behavioural control)
emotion focused coping and what does it overlap with?
changing your emotional reaction to a situation (overlaps with cognitive control)
Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (3 stages of adaptation to prolonged stress)
- Alarm: fight or flight, we’ve identified a stressor, activation of sympathetic nervous system (corticosteroid release)
- resistance: increased resistance to stress; adapting to the initial surge of hormones and getting to a place where we can cope
- exhaustion: if the stressor persists for a really long time our resistance breaks down
Social readjustment rating scale (SRRS); who is created it, what does it measure, and what does it not take into account?
David Holmes; adopts the view of stressors as a stimuli; questionnaire based on 43 life events ranked in terms of their stressfullness, scored by adding the numbers over the preceding year
scale measures how we adapt to changing circumstances
number of stressors reported are associated with physical and psychological disorders
doesn’t take into account peoples interpretations of the events, coping resources, chronic ongoing stressors, and the fact that some stressful life events can be consequences rather than causes of psychological problems
hassels
minor nuisances that strain our ability to cope
Hassels scale
measures how small annoyances to major daily pressures affect our adjustment
frequency/perceived severity of hassles are better predictors of physical health, anxiety, and depression than major life events
eustress
good stress
tend and befriend
reaction to stress that mobilizes people to nurture or seek social support
yerkes dodson law
there is an optimal level of stress/arousal (medium) for peak performance
rumination
when negative thoughts spiral out of control
critical incident stress debriefing/ crisis debriefing
talking about a trauma/ stressful event right after it occurs, increases risks of PTSD
social support
interpersonal relationships with people, groups, and the larger community; 4 major ties: marriage, contact with friends, church membership, and formal/informal group association
behavioural control
the ability to step up and do something to reduce the impact of a stressful situation/ prevent its reoccurance
cognitive control
changing your thoughts about a stressor
decisional control
ability to choose among alternative courses of action
informational control
ability to acquire info about a stressful event, includes practive coping: when we anticipate stressful situations and take steps to prevent/minimize difficulties before they arise
