Stress Flashcards
Define stress
A mismatch between the demands of a situation and your ability to deal with it
Define ‘a stressor’
A stimulus from the environment which will trigger stress
What are 4 symptoms of stress
Sweating
Increased heart rate
Aggression
Dialated pupils
What part of the body triggers the fight or flight response
Hypothalamus
What are the two physiological stress responses
Pituatry adrenal system
Sympathomedullary pathway
Explain the pituitary adrenal system (HPA)
Hypothalamus releases CRH into blood stream
CRH causes pituitary gland to release ACTH
ACTH stimulates adrenal cortex
Stress hormones such as cortisol stress released
Explain the sympathomedullary pathway
Hypothalamus triggers sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system
This causes adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and noradrenaline into blood stream
Where is the adrenal medulla located
Above the kidneys
What changes to the body does the sympathomedullary pathway cause to the body.
Increase of energy
Increase of blood flow
Reduces digestion
Dilates pupils
What changes does the Hypo pituitary adrenal system cause to the body
Suppressed immune system
Maintains glucose supply
Reduces pain sensitivity
Why does Taylor et al criticise the physiological response to stress?
It’s gender bias as women are more likely to tend and befriend a threat as they have higher levels of oxytocin which brings about bonding and caring behaviour, it also lowers cortisol
Why did Lazarus 1999 criticise the physiological stress response
Lazarus claimed the body’s response is influenced by the way an individual perceives a stressor
What is the body’s long term stress response
Hypo-pituitary adrenal system
Hypothalamus secretes CRH to pituitary gland which releases ACTH which triggers adrenal cortex to release cortisol which suppresses the immune system
What is the body’s short term stress response
Sympothamedullary pathway
Hypothalamus triggers sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system which triggers adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and noradrenaline to increase heart rate, breathing rate, inhibit digestion.
Once threat passes parasympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system returns body to resting state
Who created GAS
Selye
What is GAS
When animals exposed to unpleasant stimulus they respond with a universal response
What are the three stages of GAS
Alarm
Resistance
Exhaustion
Explain the alarm stage of GAS
Threat is detected and body responds
Hypothalamus triggers SAM and HPA pathway
Explain the resistance stage of GAS
If stressor persists body enters second stage.
Attempts to cope with demands of persistent threat.
Activity in adrenal medulla reduced and adrenal cortex activated - immune system less effective
Explain the exhaustion stage of GAS
If stressor still present body can no longer cope.
Organisms defence system becomes exhausted.
Some initial symptoms of SAM re-appear such as increased heart rate. Adrenal glands may be damaged from over activity - individual now likely to suffer diseases
Evaluate general adaption syndrome
Supportive evidence - Selye exposed rats to harmful stimuli including extreme cold, surgical injury, excessive exercise. They all showed similar response no matter what the stressor was. Found similar results in human study
Weakness - doesn’t consider individual differences. Some may have cognitive coping strategies which enable effectively deal with stress without becoming ill
Weakness - illness that occurs in exhaustion may not be due to depletion of recourses. Research shows recourses do not become depleted after extreme stress. It is now believed the increased production of stress hormones such as cortisol lead to stress related illness
Practical applications - seyle first identified a link between stress and illness. Strength as could lead to development of stress reduction programmes designed to improve health of people who report to be stressed - benefit economy
What are two stress related illnesses
Cardiovascular disorders
Immunosuppression
What are cardiovascular disorders
Any disorder of the heart and circulatory system
Examples of cardiovascular disorders
Coronary heart disease
High blood pressure
Strokes
How can stress lead to cardiovascular diseases
High levels of adrenaline
- increase heart rate (it works harder)
- constriction of blood vessels increased blood pressure which puts tension on blood vessels causing wear and tear
- increased pressure can dislodge plaque on the walls of blood vessels (plaque is composed of fats, cholesterol, calcium) this can lead to blocked arteries and may cause a heart attack or stroke
Describe research into cardiovascular diseases
Wilbert-Lampen
Looked at frequency of heart attacks during football matches played in Germany during 1996 World Cup. Sudden emotional arousal was deemed to be an acute stressor.
On days when Germany played, cardiac emergencies increased by 2.6 times compared to others.
Acute stress of watching favourite football team more than doubled participants risk of suffering cardiovascular disorders
arousal of sympathetic branch of ANS linked to cardiovascular disorders
How can stress lead to immunosuppression
Direct - Cortisol reduces body’s immune system response.
Immune system less able to fight off potentially harmful viruses and bacteria
Indirect - stressed people engage in behaviours that have a negative effect on immune system such as smoking and drinking alcohol
Who conducted research into stress and immunosupression
Kiecolt- Glaser et al
Explain research into stress and immunosupression
Natural experiment took blood samples from 75 medical students a month before their exam and the dsy of their exam, they also completed questionnaire to measure other life stressors and completed a ‘loneliness scale’
Found immune system functioning was reduced following stressful exam, natural killer cell activity significantly reduced in high stress condition
Immune systems even weaker in those who experienced other stressful life events and were lonely
Immune system functioning also affected by psychological variables
Evaluate role of stress in illness
Challenging evidence - for claim all stressors impact immune system. Researcher conducted meta analysis of 300 studies found different stressors have different effect. Found stressors of limited duration lead to no overall effect on immune system. Chronic stress such as caring for dementia patient leads to decreased immune system functioning
Weakness - does not consider individual differences e.g gender differences. Research suggests women show more change in immune system than men. Those with higher blood pressure more at risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Weakness - difficult to show stress can cause illness. Health may be influenced by many factors such as genetics and lifestyle. Health is generally stable and slow to change. Would have to monitor individuals for long time to know if cause and efffecr which is impractical
What is meant by workload
The amount of effort or activity involved in a job
What is job control
The extent to which a person feels they can manage aspects of their work such as deadlines
What is workplace stress
Aspects of our working environment that we experience as stressful and causes stress response in our body
What is the job strain model
Model suggests workplace creates stress in two ways:
High workload
Low job control
What’s an example of high work load
Greater job demands
What’s an example of low job control
Overdue deadlines
Who researched into work place stress
Marmot
Johannson et al
Describe research into workload control in the work place on illness
Marmot
Studied over 10,000 male and female UK civil service employees in high grade (high work load and control) or low grade jobs (low level work load and control)
Participants answered questionnaire related to their role which assessed aspects such as level of job control, workload and social support. Tested for CHD and tested again five years later
No correlation found between CHD and workload
Negative correlation found between job control and illness, participants with low job control more likely to suffer CHD five years later even when other risk factors controlled
Describe research into workload and control in workplace
Johannson et al
Natural experiment comparing those with high workload and low control (sawyers) to those with low workload and high control (maintenance workers) Worked at same place
Participants matched in terms of education and job experience. Researchers recorded daily levels of adrenaline on work days and weekends to assess stress. Also obtained self reports of job satisfaction and illness.
Sawyers had high levels of adrenaline in urine on work days compared to rest days
Reported more illness
Felt greater sense of social isolation
Concluded low job control and high workload associated with stress and stress related illness
Evaluate work place stress as a source of stress
Weakness - focus on just few potential causes of workplace stress. focus on Marmots study just job control, potential reasons such as pay, conditions, job security not assessed. Weakness as can not be certain of reasons for higher rates of CHD
Weakness - most studies use questionnaires. Due to social desirability bias, questionnaires may distort importance of factors that cause stress in work place. One study found using interviews, stressors not usually covered in questionnaires where identified, whilst other stressors seen in interviews were rarely mentioned.
Weakness - individual differences account in way people react to job control and workload. Some people less stressed by having low control in workplace. Other research shows underloaded work can lead to stress related illness. Suggests job strain model oversimplified view
Weakness - lacks temporal validity - nature of work has changed with new technology and blurring of home/work environments. Current knowledge of workplace stress is out dated. Weakness as psychological research not keeping update with changing work practices, help given to manage workplace stress is in affective
What are 4 examples of life changes
Marriage
Having a baby
Going to university
Divorce
How can life changes lead to illness
Holmes and Rahe suggested experiencing life changed could lead to illness as significant amounts of readjustment can be stressful - both positive and negative life changes
Who researched into life changes and illness
Rahe et al
Explain research into life changed and illness
Rahe gave adapted form of SRRS known as Schedule of recent experiences to 2664 navy personnel.
Men asked to complete SRE for events they had experienced 6 months prior to their tour of duty. This produced their LCU score
A record was also kept of men visiting sick bay and what type and severity of illness this was. This produced an illness score
Rahe found positive correlation of 0.118 between LCU scores and illness score. Those who experienced stressful life 6 months prior to departure more illness on ship - more evident in married men
Evaluate life changes as a source of stress
Challenging evidence - Lazarus argued minor irritation (daily hassles) more important source of stress because the accumulative effect is stronger than impact of few life changes. One study looked at married couples and found correlation of 0.59 Between hassles and next day health problems. No correlation found between life changes and illness
Practical applications - awareness of link between life changes and stress means medics can advice people how to deal with life changes. Beneficial effect of reducing stress and stress related illness
SRRS used and do not consider individual differences for example something might take more adjustment for one person than another
What is a daily hassle
Kanner et al
Daily hassles are irritating, frustrating and distressing demands we face everyday.
Lazarus - accumulation of minor daily stressors create persistent irritation, frustration and overload which results in more serious stress reactions such as anxiety and depression
Who researched into daily hassles and stress
Bouteyre et al
Describe research into daily hassles
Bouteyre et al
233 first year students at French university complete hassles & becks depression inventory to measure depression.
Also completed self report scales
89% participants female
11% males
Average age 20
41% students showed depressive symptoms. Positive correlation of 0.33 found between scores on HSUP and likelihood of depressive symptoms
Daily hassles included where transport issues, lack of free time, physical appearance
Evaluate daily hassles as a source of stress
Supportive evidence - Bouteyre and Kanner found daily hassles more accurate predictor of stress related problems such as anxiety and depression than life changes.
Weakness - research mostly correlational. Although consistent correlations found. Cannot claim hassles cause illness. Intervening variable may tendency to report daily hassle and to report illness.
HSUP used which is time consuming so may not be accurate
What does SRRS stand for
Social readjustment rating scale
What does HSUP stand for
Hassles and uplifts scale
Who invented SRRS
Holmes and Rahe
What is in the SRRS
43 life events - with a score in life change units (LCU)
The higher the LCU the more adjustment needed
How was the SRRS developed
Holmes and Rahe examined 5000 med records and identified 43 life changes that cluster in months proceeding to illness.
Gathered 394 participants and asked them to score each life event in terms of how much readjustment would be required, compared to marriage.
If event would take more than marriage it was given a high score
How are SRRS used
Participants identify which life events they have experienced within a specific time frame, researcher then adds up all events giving a total LCU score to each participant
What did Rahe say about the conclusion of results on an SRRS and illness
Score less that 150 LCU - reasonably healthy in following 12 months
Score of 150-300 LCU - 50% chance experiencing illness in next 12 months
Score of 300+ - 80% getting illness in next 12 months
Who created the HSUP
Kanner et al
Why were HSUP developed
To see if there was a correlation between daily hassles and stress related illness
Also to see if ‘daily uplifts’ offset negative effect of daily hassles
How did the HSUP get developed
Kanner asked research staff to generate list of hassles and uplifts related to various aspects of everyday life
Led to 117 hassles and 135 uplifts
How is the HSUP used
Participants rate each hassle in terms of severity on a 3 point scale
Somewhat severe
Moderately severe
Extremely severe
Participants also complete well being questionnaire.
Correlation made between hassles and illness
Evaluate self report scales for measuring stress
Strength - both scales used extensively and can be flexible. Original SSRS and HSUP or adapted can be used.
Weakness - only conclude there is a correlation: when using SRRS could he stress causes illness or being ill leads to life changes. When using HSUP being ill could make individual experience more daily hassles
Weakness of SRRS - each life change has fixed value in terms, individual differences not considered. Same life event may require different levels of adjustment for different people e.g retirement
Weakness - HSUP time consuming for participants to complete. Scale consists of 252 items, participants may not maintain attention when completing it. Supported by low retest correlation of 0.48
3 ways we can measure stress
Skin conductance response
Blood pressure
Cortisol levels in saliva or urine
How is a skin conductance response done
Stressed = sweat
More electricity conducted when skin is wet, more we sweat, more electricity
Conductance measured by attaching electrodes to index and middle fingers, tiny current of 0.5 bolts applied between electrode.
Conductance reported by measuring current rhat flows
Conductance measured in microsiemens and displayed on screen
Evaluate skin conductance response for measuring stress
Strength - avoid problems from self report scales. e.g not influenced by social desirability bias, also useful if participants can not answer self report scale eg young children and animals
Weakness - stress is not the only stimulus to produce increase in activity in sympathetic branch of ANS. fear, anger, sexual arousal, temperature, medication can increase sweat and skin conduction response
Who came up with the personality types
Friedman and Rosenman
How does personality type lead to illness
Someone people have personality characteristics associated with stress related illness, notably coronary heart disease
What are characteristics of a Type A personality type (6)
Easily irritated
Easily angered
Always working to deadlines
Unhappy doing nothing
Multi - tasking
Play to win - competitive
Behaviours of a type B personality (3)
Relaxed
Calm
Easy going
Characteristics of a Type C personality
Cooperative
Conformist
Likeable people avoid conflict
Use denial, repression and self regression to cope
Rarely let guards down
Consequence of having type A personality
Increased blood pressure and stress hormones
More likely to develop coronary heart disease
Consequences of having type B personality
Less prone to develop stress related illness
Consequence of having type C personality
Avoiding expressing emotions leads to accumulation of stress which increases risk of cancer because of increased cortisol and immunosuppression
Who researched into personality types and stress related illness
Friedman and Rosenman
Morriss
Explain Friedman and Rosenman research into personality type and stress related illness
Longitudinal study involving 3454 middle class Californian men between 39 and 59 - no signed of CHD.
Labelled type A or B via structured interview where researchers frustrated participants and noted response
Followed up 8 and a half years later
13% type A suffered a heart attack, 3% suffered a fatal heart attack
6% type B suffered a heartattack 1% suffered fatal heart attack
Type A higher cholesterol and blood pressure + more likely to smoke
Suggests link in personality type A and illness
What was Morris research into personality type and stress related illness
Over two years, 71 women attending cancer clinic in London interviewed about how they expressed affection, unhappiness by crying or losing control when they are angry.
Independent interviewer not aware they had cancer
Women who’s breast lumps were cancerous were also found to have reported they experienced and expressed less anger than those with non cancerous lumps
Evaluate personality type and and stress related illness
Weakness - challenging evidence Ragland and Brand follow up study of Friedman and Rosenman study and found little evidence between type A and mortality. Meta analysis showed only 50% studies found link between type A and CHD
Weakness - type A is a concept that is too broad to be linked to CHD, further research identified link is because of hostility, prac app therapies for reducing hostility
Weakness - challenging evidence for link between type c and cancer. Researcher found no link between suppressing emotions and cancer but link between stressful life and cancer, environmental factors not just type C characteristics
Who initiated the concept of hardiness
Kobasa
What is hardiness
A set of personality characteristics that defend against the negative effects of stress
Control
Commitment
Challenge
Explain the 3 C’s of hardiness
Control - hardy people believe they have control of their lives and stressors, strive to influence the environment rather than respond in a powerless manner
Commitment - hardy people see world, people, careers as things to engage with rather than stand apart from, throw themselves wholeheartedly into life
Challenge - hardy people see life events and challenges as challenges to be overcome instead of threats or stressors. Hardy people are resilient, they recognise life as unpredictable but view this as exciting
Who researched into hardiness
Kobasa
Explain research into hardiness
Kobasa
Studied 800 male American middle and senior business managers. Used a modified version of SRRS to measure stress, participants record events experienced over 3 years as well as illness
150 men classified high stress, some had high illness score some had low.
Individuals in high stress low illness group scored high on 3 C’s
Evaluate research into hardiness
Weakness - difficult to measure. Early studies used lengthy awkwardly worded self report questionnaires, this could result in differences between what people report they do and what they actually do. Loss of confidence in accuracy of findings
Weakness - individual components of personality. Control, commitment and challenge do not seem equally important in contributing to hardiness. Cohen suggested ‘control’ most important contributor, as those who perceive themselves to have control less susceptible to negative effects of stress. Commitment and challenge may not contribute
Strength - practical applications. Hardiness increases resistance to stress. Those who are stressed can be taught to become hardy. Kobasa also identified exercise and social support can help those vulnerable to stress. Hardiness training can also help job satisfaction and decrease self report of illness
What is drug therapy
A biological method of managing and coping with stress, aim is not to cure stress but to reduce anxiety associated with it
Two examples of Benzodiazepines
Diazepam
Valium
How do benzodiazepines work
Enhance GABA
GABA natural inhibitory neurotransmitter, with calming effect of neurons in brain
During synaptic transmission GABA binds to GABA A receptor sites on post synaptic neuron, this opens a channel to allow a flow of negatively charged chloride ions into post synaptic neuron making it more difficult for the neuron to be stimulated by excitatory neurotransmitters (because membrane is hyper polarised)
Reduced neuron activity in brain
How do beta blockers work
Reduce activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline by binding to beta - adrenergic receptors.
These are found on heart and blood vessels and usually stimulated during fight or flight, leading to increase in heart rate.
When receptors blocked by beta blockers they can not stimulate adrenaline and noradrenaline - heart rate and blood pressure do not increase, individual feels less stressed
Evaluate drug therapy
Strength - research shows BZ’s and beta blockers effective. Kahn studied 250 patients and found BZ’s more effective than placebo, consistent with Baldwin who found the same. Lockwood also found beta blockers important
Weakness - only treats symptoms, does not target source of stress. May enable person to cope with a stressor in short term but not long term
Strength - quick and easy to manage stressS takes little effort and can act very quickly
Strength - beta blockers, not many side effects. Reduce feelings of stress without reducing alertness as do not operate directly on brain. Using them to manage stress does not usually cause problems for the individual. Serious side effects from taking BZ’s such as tiredness, agitation, impaired memory and addiction
What therapy helps people cope with stress
Stress inoculation therapy
What are the aims of SIT
A psychological method of managing and coping with stress, aims to target underlying problems and by doing so, physiological symptoms will disappear
Describe SIT
Stress inoculation therapy involves training a person to cope with stressful situations by learning skills to inoculate themselves against damaging effects of future stressors.
Meichenbaum suggested people should ‘inoculate’ themselves against the ‘disease’ of stress in the same way they would an infection.
It is a type of CBT that uses strategies to help people come stress ‘resistant’.
Person can change the way they feel about the stressor leading to more positive outcomes and reduced stress
What are the names of the three stages in stress inoculation therapy
Conceptualisation
Skills Acquisition and Rehearsel
Application and follow through
Explain each stage of SIT
Conceptualisation - client considers thoughts and how deals with stressful situations. Client and therapist discuss success of these strategies. Client taught about what stress does to the body and client is expert of own stress experiences. Client is taught to view perceived threats as problems to be broken down into components that can be coped with. Allows client to reconceptualise
Skills Acquisition and Rehearsal - therapist teaches new coping skills which are selected to clients preferred ways of coping and tailored to their problems. Cognitive and behavioural such as ‘more exercise and thinking I can develop a plan to deal with this’
Application and follow through - apply what they have been taught to different situations, therapy room and then real world. Clients given homework to deliberately seek out stressful situations to use coping skills
Therapist may support further training and support if necessary
Who researched into stress inoculation therapy
Sheehy and Horan
Explain research into stress inoculation therapy
Sheehy and Horan used volunteer sample of 29 law students to take part in SIT programme. 7 withdrew but rest met with counsellor for a series of 90 minute weekly sessions of SIT over four week period
Compared with control group, those who received SIT had lower anxiety levels due to stress and performed better accademicslly
Evaluate stress inoculation training
Strength - effective e.g managing academic stress, public speaking and extreme anxietyu and those experiencing moderate levels of stress , suggests stress related anxiety can be used with different types of stressors
Strength - long term benefits, skills learned protect against adverse future affects of stressors. Emphasises importance of prevention, major advantage over drug therapy
Weakness - takes motivation and commitment and is not a quick fix for those severely stressed. Some people may not what to spend this much time or investment - not suitable for everyone
What is biofeedback
If people aware what is going on in their body, they can gain control over their response.
Usually people are unaware of body responses - aims to provide individual with direct feedback
It is biological and psychological
Biological - involves paying attention to physical info eg blood
Psychological - based on behaviourist approach operant conditioning
What are the four processes in bio feedback
Relaxation
Feedback
Operant conditioning
Transfer
Explain the four processes of bio feedback
Relaxation - client taught relaxation techniques to reduce activity of sympathetic nervous system and activate parasympathetic nervous system
Feedback - client attached to various machines to provide info about activity of ANS e.g blood pressure, muscle tension, heartbeat, breathing patterns. When feedback indicates a change in undesirable direction client responds using relaxation techniques
Operant conditioning - when relaxation successful light or tones serve as reinforcement indicating their efforts are causing desired change - increase likelihood of repetition
Transfer - transfer skills to real life
Who researched into bio feedback
Lemaire et al
Describe research into biofeedback
Lemaire et al
Volunteer sample of 40 doctors.
Participants in experimental condition instructed to use bio feedback based tools three times daily.
Control and experimental group received twice weekly support visits from research team over 28 days. Stress measured with a scale adapted for doctors
At the end of study mean stress score declined significantly for participants in experimental group, but not for control group
Evaluate biofeedback
Strength - effective for range of disorders, stress, anxiety and PTSD. One study showed military participants had reduced arousal during combat simulation compared to control group
Strength - advantages over other techniques, it’s not invasive like drug therapy and can be used when drugs or SIT would be inappropriate for example with children. Also long term strengths
Weakness - some limitations compared to other techniques. Relatively time consuming typically lasts longer than a month and requires a lot of effort and uses expensive equipment which may need supervision
What did Lazarus and Folkman say about gender differences
Males use problem focused strategies which are practical
Women use emotional startergies such as crying and comfort eating
Describe Peterson research into gender difference and stress
1026 patients seeking fertility treatment at hospital complete several questionnaires - women used emotion focused coping and more likely to seek social support
Men engaged in more problem solving eg distancing themselves - some men used emotional strategies
Evaluate gender differences in managing and coping with stress
Challenging evidence - for claims females always tend and befriend, in situations where offspring is threatened she might fight
Weakness - research may be based on unreliable data from self report measures. Females may be willing to reveal their emotional extent whereas men may not due to social desirability, person may also suffer retrospective recall of how stressed they’re feeling at the moment
Alternative explanation - highly situation specific. Matud found females and males have same number of stressors but stressors are different females often reported family stressors (emotional) males where work (strategy focused)
What is social support
The help a person receives from other people at a time of stress
What is the role of social support in coping with stress
More social support more an individual can cope.
Lack of social support prevents individuals dealing with stress effectively and leads to feelings of isolation
Nabi found those with high numbers of friends had lower levels of stress
Dickinson found reduced social contact significantly deteriates mental health
What are types of emotional support
Instrumental
Emotional
Esteem
Describe each type of social support
Instrumental - practical help eg lending money or taking on responsibility for someone else
Emotional - involves expressing warmth love and concern - to make persons mood feel better
Esteem - involves increasing persons confidence - reminding someone of strengths they have
Overlap between types of support and similarity between all three
Who researched into social support helping stress
Kamarck
Describe research into social support
Kamarck
Psychology students recruited to perform mental health task whilst physiological reactions monitored, participants either alone or bought same sex friend
Friend was told to touch participants on wrist - participants who completed stressful task with friends lower heart rate than those alone
Evaluate research into role of social support in coping with stress
Supportive evidence - Karmack + Fawzy found cancer patients part of a support group had better NK cell functioning and more likely to be alive and cancer free - practical applications
Challenging evidence - Kobasa found social support not important in business terms and only sometimes helpful in marriage terms
Pets may be as good as humans - practical applications to help value pets. Allen reviewed research and found pets reduced blood pressure in children reading allowed
Cultural bias - Taylor found Asian Americans less likely to seek social support
