Psych: Stress and Anxiety Flashcards
What is anxiety?
A negative emotional state characterised by nervousness, worry and apprehension and associated with activation or arousal of the body
Name 5 cognitive aspects of anxiety?
Negative thoughts Worries Self Doubt Negative Images Difficulty Concentrating
Name 5 somatic aspects of anxiety?
Butterflies Shaky hands Tense Dry Mouth Yawning Needing the toilet
What are the characteristics of state anxiety?
- Ever changing emotional state
- Temporary response to a specific situation
- Moment to moment changes
What are the characteristics of trait anxiety?
- Stable personality characteristic
- Behavioural disposition to perceive situations as threatening
- Influences demand perceptions
Name 5 ways that anxiety can be measured?
- Heart rate increase
- Respiration increase
- Skin Conductance
- Biochemistry (changes in catecholamines eg adrenaline)
- Self-report questionnaire (Likert Scale)
What is stress?
A substantial imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet that demand has important consequences
Name the 4 types of stress?
Process
Perceived Imbalance
Acute - short lived
Chronic - Long term
What are the stages of the stress process?
1) Environmental Demand (physical and psychological)
2) Individuals perception of environmental demand (amount of ‘threat’)
3) Stress Response (arousal, muscle tension, state anxiety)
4) Behavioural Consequences (performance of outcome)
How can stress be measured?
1) Stress hormone - cortisol (can be sampled in blood, saliva & urine for an acute response or a hair sample that can measure chronic stress up to 6 months
2) Self report Questionnaire
3) Interview/ focus group
Name the theories of Anxiety and performance?
1) Drive theory
2) Inverted U hypothesis
3) Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF)
4) Multidimensional Anxiety theory
5) Catastrophe Phenomenon
6) Direction and Intensity
What are the effects of anxiety and stress? 3 categories
1) Cognitive (negative thoughts, Attentional narrowing, Lack of concentration)
2) Affective (Feeling anxious, scared, restless, worried)
3) Behavioural (Muscle Tension, Poor Skill execution, Muscle soreness, Fatigue, Withdrawal)
