Stress - 1. The Philosophy of Stress

Question 1

Stress

Answer 1

A mismatch between the demands made upon an individual and their ability to meet those demands

Question 2

When does stress arise?

Answer 2

When you believe you can’t deal with all the demands placed upon you

Question 3

What may the demands require of the individual?

Answer 3

They may require physical, mental or emotional adjustment

Question 4

Stressor

Answer 4

Anything in life that makes you think you cannot cope with the demands placed upon you - anything that causes you stress.
Stressors are different for everyone

Question 5

What creates stress?

Answer 5

Pressure

Question 6

Positive and negative forms of pressure

Answer 6

A little bit of pressure can be productive as it may give you motivation and improve your performance
Excessive pressure can be unhealthy for the mind and body, leading to long term illness

Question 7

Two stress pathways

Answer 7

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPS) axis
Sympatho-adrenomedullary (SAM) axis

Question 8

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPS) axis pathway of stress

Answer 8

Hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland
ACTH is released, which acts on the adrenal cortex
Adrenal cortex releases cortisol

Question 9

Sympatho-adrenomedullary (SAM) axis pathway of stress

Answer 9

Hypothalamus activates the sympathetic branch of the ANS
Adrenal medulla releases adrenaline and noradrenaline

Question 10

Cortisol is a…

Answer 10

Hormone

Question 11

When is cortisol released?

Answer 11

During the fight or flight response
At all times of the day for homeostasis

Question 12

What is responsible for detecting if your blood has the correct level of cortisol in it?

Answer 12

Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland

Question 13

What disease is associated with a lack of cortisol (little/no cortisol)?

Answer 13

Addison’s disease

Question 14

What is a result of too much cortisol?

Answer 14

Cushing’s syndrome

Question 15

How is cortisol good for the fight or flight response?

Answer 15

It restricts blood vessels, making it good as it increases blood pressure and heart rate which means that more blood is sent to the muscles

Question 16

Negative side effects of increased/high blood pressure

Answer 16

Can lead to cardiovascular disorders. Long term stress is linked to these disorders

Question 17

3 things that cortisol helps to maintain

Answer 17

Blood pressure
Immune functions
The body’s anti-inflammatory process

Question 18

What can cortisol be problematic?

Answer 18

When we are under long-term stress cortisol can have negative effects on the individual, such as the 3 functions not being able to be maintained

Question 19

What did Newcomer et al find about the recall ability of participants who were given cortisol levels as high as when experience major stress?

Answer 19

Newcomer et al found that their ability to recall was poorer than participants who were given the same cortisol levels as when experiencing minor stress

Question 20

Conclusion of Newcomer et al’s study in to the role of cortisol?

Answer 20

High levels of cortisol can impact cognitive functioning

Question 21

GAS

Answer 21

General Adaptation Syndrome

Question 22

Who developed one of the most influential pieces of research into how the body responds to stressful situations?

Answer 22

Selye (1936)

Question 23

How did Selye create the prediction that the human body goes through the same physiological response to all stressors?

Answer 23

Rats in his research would become ill even when they were given injections
Concluded that rats would become ill from the stressors of the injection, instead of the substance that was injected

Question 24

How many stages does the response to a stressor (GAS model) consist of?

Answer 24

3

Question 25

Three stages of the response to a stressor (Selye)

Answer 25

1. Alarm reaction: perceived threats set off the fight or flight response
2. Resistance: body’s resources become fully mobilised (active) to cope with the stress
3. Exhaustion: if the stressors cannot be overcome, your resistance gives way to exhaustion (endocrine system no longer under homeostasis and your parasympathetic NS fails)

Question 26

There is a correlation between chronic stress and…

Answer 26

Immune functioning

Question 27

Positive evaluation for Selye’s research (GAS)

Answer 27

Most of what we know about stress originates from Selye’s research

Question 28

Negative evaluation for Selye’s research: the body responds to all stressors in the same way

Answer 28

This is wrong because different stressors have different responses, meaning there isn’t a single universal response to a stressor.
Different people react to the same stressor in different ways

Question 29

Negative evaluation for Selye’s research: individual differences

Answer 29

Individual differences (such as gender differences, or ethnic differences) are ignored

Question 30

Negative evaluation for Selye’s research: research on animals

Answer 30

Humans can minimise the effects of stress (E.g. by attending therapy) but rats cannot. They were helpless to their threat/exposure in this piece of research