Daily hassles P2

Question 1

What is a daily hassle?

Answer 1

-irritating, frustrating,
distressing demands that to
some degree characterise
everyday transactions with the
environment. It must involve
some level of frustration to
which you respond.

Question 2

Explain primary and secondary appraisal

Answer 2

-According to Lazarus when we experience a
hassle we first carry out a primary appraisal.
-We
think about how threatening the hassle is to our
psychological health.
-If we conclude it is a threat, then we perform
secondary appraisal and think about how well-
equipped we are to cope.
This is important because it means the concept
includes the idea that we interpret the meaning
hassles have for us.

Question 3

How do you measure daily hassles?

Answer 3

Kanner et al. 1981 developed the hassle scale. It had 117 daily
hassles from seven categories work health family friends
environment practical considerations and chance occurrence.
Each day you select all the hassles you have experienced that
day and also identified the severity

Question 4

Why do daily hassles threaten our health?

Answer 4

-we experience a lot of them and their effects add up.
They can also make as ill through the link with life
events which can disrupt our normal daily routines.
Life events are indirect sources of stress

Question 5

Kanner et al (1981) study aim

Answer 5

To compare the hassles and uplift scale with the SRRS as predictors of
psychological symptoms of stress, such as ill health.

Question 6

Kanner et al (1981) study procedure

Answer 6

• 100 participants (52 woman and 48 men), aged 45-
  64, who participated in a 12 month-study on stress, coping and emotions.
  -generally well-educated Americans from California.
  -The study
  used daily hassles scale (117 hassles) and the uplift scale (135 uplifts)
  -Tests were sent to participant (self-report).
• They were followed up at
  intervals throughout.

Question 7

Kanner et al (1981) findings

Answer 7

-Hassles and uplift scores were generally consistent from month to month
-Men’s life events were positively corrolated with hassles and neg correlated for uplifts
-Women life events pos correlated with both hassles and uplifts
-Daily hassles sig better predictor of psychological symptoms then life events

Question 8

Kanner et al (198) Conclusions

Answer 8

-Daily hasseles are a better predictor of stress then majoir life events

Question 9

Kanner et al (1981) pos evaluation

Answer 9

-use of the hassle scale. This is a
self-report method, which makes
sense because asking people to
report the hassles is most direct
way of assessing them.
* Self reports also encourage
openness and honesty, because
participants note their response on
the questionnaire rather than
giving them face to face to another
person.
* These factors increase the validity
of our measurement of stress

Question 10

Kanner (1981) neg evaluation

Answer 10

-The hassle scale
may have suffered from response
bias.
-117 items make this very
lengthy, and participants had to
complete this every month, plus
completing the other scales as well.
* The items on the hassle scale are
scored in one direction only. This is
for every item. This makes it easy for
participants to automatically choose
the same response each time.
* This means that the hassle scale may
not be a valid measure of the stress
of daily hassles.