Chapter 13- Stress and Health

Question 1

What is a stressor?

Answer 1

A stressor is any person, object, situation or event that produces stress. This means that virtually anything can be a stressor and therefore a cause of stress to an individual.

Question 2

Give examples of psychological stressors, and physical stressors.

Answer 2

Psychological stressors may include an argument with a friend, running late for a class, failing an exam, changing schools, being bullied, etc.
Physical stressors may include extreme temperatures, intense light, loud noise, a heavy object etc

Question 3

What are internal and external stressors?

Answer 3

An Internal stressor originates within the individual (eg experience of physical pain that may be perceived as signalling an untimely illness, fearing consequences etc)
An external stressor originates outside the individual from situations and events in the environment (eg too much homework, being nagged by parents etc)

Question 4

What is stress?

Answer 4

Stress is a state of physiological and psychological arousal produced by internal or external stressors that are perceived by the individual as challenging or exceeding their ability or resources to cope. It is a subjective experience and depends on our personal interpretation of a potential stressor.

Question 5

What things do we consider when looking at the biopsychosocial framework for stress?

Answer 5

Biological:focuses on physiological changes associated with stress, most of which are involuntary
Psychological: focuses on the Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping to help explain individual differences in the stress response and the role of the individual in determining their experience of the stress response.
Social: focuses on cultural and environmental influences

Question 6

What are three biological factors/influences on stress

Answer 6

• Fight-flight response
• HPA axis
• Allostasis

Question 7

What are three Psychological factors/influences on stress?

Answer 7

• Transactional model of stress and coping
• biofeedback
• coping strategies

Question 8

What are three Social factors/influences on stress?

Answer 8

• Major life events
• Cultural (eg acculturation)
• Environment (eg crowding)

Question 9

What is a stress response?

Answer 9

A stress response is a reaction that involves the physiological and psychological changes people experience when confronted by a stressor.

Question 10

What are the three categories of stress classification?

Answer 10

Mild, acute and chronic. Mild stress can be stimulating, exhilarating, motivating, challenging and sometimes even desirable. An Acute stress response is a sudden level of high arousal for a short period of time. A Chronic stress response produces an increased arousal level that persists over a relatively long time.

Question 11

What is the fight-flight response ?

Answer 11

The fight-flight response is an involuntary reaction resulting in a state of physiological readiness to deal with a sudden and immediate threat by either confronting it or running away to safety

Question 12

What systems does the fight-flight response use, and what are some of the changes that occur?

Answer 12

This response uses both the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine (hormone) system. Changes such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, increases respiration rate, increased glucose secretion by the liver, dilation of pupils and suppression of digestion and sexual drive can occur

Question 13

How does the fight-flight response become initiated on a biological level?

Answer 13

When a threat is perceived the hypothalamus (located above the brainstem) is activated. This then activates the sympathetic nervous system within milliseconds. The sympathetic nervous system then stimulates the adrenal medulla (inner part of the adrenal gland located above each kidney). When the adrenal glands are stimulated, they secrete hormones called catecholamines into the bloodstream. Two of these hormones are called adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones circulate the bloodstream and activate various organs resulting in the physiological reaction of FF.

Question 14

What is the HPA axis?

Answer 14

The HPA axis(system) stands for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. The HPA axis is used if the stressor is not removed or we need to deal with it over time as the body cannot maintain the intensity of the fight-flight response for a prolonged period.

Question 15

How does the HPA axis become initiated on a biological level?

Answer 15

The hypothalamus (located above the brainstem) is stimulated when a stressor is present, this then stimulates the nearby pituitary gland. The pituitary gland then secretes hormones such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the bloodstream. The ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex (outer surface of the adrenal glands) to secrete additional stress hormones called corticosteroids, one of which is called cortisol and its main effect is to energise the body.

Question 16

What is the time difference between the HPA axis and the fight-flight response?

Answer 16

The HPA axis takes seconds to minutes to activate, but lasts over a much longer time; minutes to hours. Unlike the fight-flight response that takes milliseconds-seconds to activate but only lasts between seconds and minutes.

Question 17

What are some symptoms of prolonged stress and cortisol exposure?

Answer 17

• Impaired/slowed immune system
• Dizziness
• Heart palpitations
• Fatigue
• Development of digestive disorders
• Increased likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, immunosuppression and diabetes

Question 18

What bodily systems are affected by stress?

Answer 18

• Nervous system
• Musculoskeletal system
• Respiratory system
• Cardiovascular system
• Endocrine system
• Gastrointestinal system
• Reproductive system

Question 19

What is Eustress ?

Answer 19

Eustress is a positive psychological response to a stressor, as indicated by the presence of positive psychological states such as feeling enthusiastic and motivated, excited, active and alert

Question 20

What is Distress?

Answer 20

Distress is a negative psychological response to a stressor, as indicated by the presence of negative psychological states such as anger, anxiety, nervousness, irritability or tension.

Question 21

How do you tell if stress is eustress or distress?

Answer 21

Generally, when stress is beneficial or desirable it can be described as eustress. When stress is objectional or undesirable, it can be described as distress.

Question 22

Does the body recognise and react differently to eustress and distress?

Answer 22

No, the body (not including the mind and thoughts) reacts in the same way under any kind of stress. All kinds of stress and stressors produce a non-specific stress response.

Question 23

What are the three major categories of Psychological change in response to stress.

Answer 23

Emotional change: which influence the way a person feels
Cognitive change: influence a person’s mental abilities, such as their perceptions of their circumstances and environment, their ability to learn and how they think. Often perceptions are distorted or exaggerated.
Behavioural change: apparent in how a person looks, talks, acts and so on.

Question 24

What is the name of the phenomenon listed under cognitive changes of stress?

Answer 24

Catastrophising, which is considered to occur when we dwell on and overemphasise the potential consequences of negative events

Question 25

What is the name of the model used to explain individual differences in the stress response from a psychological perspective?

Answer 25

The Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping

Question 26

What is the Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping?

Answer 26

The transactional model of stress and coping proposes that stress involves an encounter between an individual and their external environment, and that a stress response depends upon the individual’s interpretation of the stressor and their ability to cope with it.

Question 27

When is it said that an individual will experience a stress response?

Answer 27

When there is an imbalance between a person’s appraisal of the demands of the situation and their estimation of their ability to meet those demands, then they will experience a stress response.

Question 28

What are the types of appraisal in the transactional model of stress and coping?

Answer 28

Primary, Secondary and Re-appraisal

Question 29

What is Primary Appraisal?

Answer 29

Primary appraisal: we evaluate or judge the significance of the situation and determine if the situation is irrelevant, benign-positive or stressful. If the situation is stressful it is either a harm/loss, a threat or a challenge.

Question 30

What is Secondary Appraisal?

Answer 30

Secondary appraisal: we evaluate our coping options and resources and our options for dealing with the stressful situation. Our options and resources available may be internal (determination) or external (money).

Question 31

What is Reappraisal?

Answer 31

In Reapraisal, we determine the extent to which additional resources are needed to cope with the situation. Involves reappraisal of both the situation and coping resouces available.

Question 32

What is coping?

Answer 32

Coping is the process of constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific internal and/or external stressors that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person.

Question 33

What is problem-focused coping?

Answer 33

Problem-focused coping involves efforts to manage or change the cause or source of the stress.
Eg. Obtaining info about the stressor, learning new skills to deal more effectively with the stressor, reappraising the situation from new perspectives, etc.

Question 34

What is emotion-focused coping?

Answer 34

Emotion-focused coping involves efforts to deal with our emotional response to the stressor.
Eg. denial, distancing , avoidance, venting emotions, etc.

Question 35

When do we use either emotion or problem focused coping?

Answer 35

We tend to use problem-focused coping when we believe that we have some control over the situation and can change the circumstances. We tend to use Emotion-focused coping when we believe that we have little or no control over the situation and cannot change the circumstances.