Health psychology Flashcards
BIOLOGICAL STRESS SYSTEMS.
What is the parasympathetic system used for
Quick response, happens automatically, used to conserve energy for the fight or flight response. Does things like dilating pupils, speeding heart rate, slowing digestion.
What is the parasympathetic system used for
Countering and trying to get back to homeostasis, also happens automatically. does things like speeds digestion, stimulates saliva flow, slows heart rate
What happens in the SAM response
Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system
Which activates the adrenal medulla
Which releases adrenaline and noradrenaline
Which does things like speed up perspiration and respiration.
How does the HPAC response go
Stress activates the hypothalamus,
Which activates the pitutary gland
Which activates the adreno cortex
Which releases corticosteroids such as cortisol
Which does thing like increase energy, suppresses the immune and the inflammatory response
What is the main difference between the SAM and the HPAC
The sam is electrical response which uses nerves to happen quickly, and is over pretty quickly too. The HPAC is a wet system that is to do with actual hormones in the blood. It takes longer and lasts longer, cortisol in the blood long after the stressor is over.
What is one biological model of stress. And who suggested it?
Walter Cannon- said that the SAM is used for immediate threats. The fight of flight response. Evolution- we needed it to run away from predators etc
What does Selye’s say about the biological models of stress?
Claims that the HPAC response is experienced in the exact same way, no matter what the stressor is. this is the problem when it comes to the link between stress and illness. The HPAC is a more adaptive system which reacts to learned threats. Which are threatening in a symbolic way
What is the endocrine system
Linked to the HPAC, made up of ductless glands which transport hormones. Regulated by hypothalamus and pituitary gland
What is Selyes general adaptation syndrome
1) Stress activates the hypothalamus, which releases corticotrophin releasing factor.
2) Which activates the pituitary gland, which releases ACTH.
3) Which activates the adrenal cortex, which releases corticosteroids.
4) This acts on the hypothalamus to stop it releasing ACTH. Thus you become resistant to stress
Criticisms of Selye’s and Cannon
- only take into account the physiological effects to stress, not the importance of psychological.
- only looks at what happens after stress is experienced, not in anticipated stress
- not all stress responses are this uniform, affected by gender, personality, biology
How does stress effect the immune system.
Acute stress causes certain types of cells to prepare to fight illness or injury. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are released and have positive effects. After a while, this becomes prolonged and they can cause tissue damage and risk of disease
Two steps to how stress and immune system create a dangerous pattern
1) Stress causes the immune system to become disregulated
2) Disregulated immune system changes the way our bodies experience stress
What else can stress do to the body?
Shorten telomeres.
What are telomeres
They are the caps on our chromosomes which protect our DNA
How does stress shorten them
Telomeres are responsible for protecting our dna integrity, if they are shorter, the cells can’t be replicated as well as the integrity is damaged so it creates effects like ageing!
What did ‘rhymes with worry, sounds like mummy’ paper offer regarding the physiological effects of stress
‘rhymes with worry, sounds like mummy’ Those who experience stress early have an exaggerated immune response to stress. Poverty, abuse has long and short term effects on the immune system.
What did they find when looking at children who had been abused
Children have low levels of cytokines (which control the immune response). When immune cells are tested in vitro, abused children released more inflammatory cytokines, which are harmful to the immune response over time.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MODELS OF STRESS.
What is stress defined as?
A negative emotional experience accompanied by predictable changes that can be either biochemical, cognitive, behavioural or physiological.
What is the Tend and Befriend and who made it up ‘best friend squad’
Taylor 2006- found that women experience stress differently to men. They have more oxytocin in their blood and are more likely to reach out for support than to go into fight or flight mode, it down-regulates it. We have adapted to care for our offspring
Critical point to do with this
Not all women have high and not all men have low. Not so clean cut
What sort of behaviours are demonstrated in the tend and befriend
Affiliative behaviours
What happens when your affiliative behaviours are reected
Then oxytocin has been shown to actually exasperate the stress response
Two general findings that support the tend and befriend
- Animals with more oxytocin are calmed, more social and paternal/maternal.
- Under stress, women are more likely than men to reach out.
‘cardio-I swear I am SOOO not bothered!’
Cardioso et al., 2013- double blind experiment where ppts were given a social rejection paradigm (someone says they wouldn’t want to work with you) and then administered oxytocin or weren’t. Results showed that IF you reported negative mood after the paradigm and given ocytocin, you reported higher trust. But if you weren’t negatively affected by the paradigm them it made no difference. Shows it works on stress specifically