stress

Question 1

what is stress

Answer 1

the lack of balance between demands and your ability to cope

Question 2

acute stress

Answer 2

short term stress from environment

Question 3

chronic stress

Answer 3

long term stress that can lead to illness

Question 4

GAS model (general adaptation syndrome)

Answer 4

body tries to adapt to stress - protective response to acute stress - chronic can lead to stress related illness

Question 5

stage 1 GAS - alarm reaction

Answer 5

physiological response activated in prep for fight/flight - sympathetic NS

Question 6

stage 2 GAS - resistance

Answer 6

attempts to adapt by resisting stressor. physiological activity using more energy than normal causing resources in body to be consumed at unhealthy rate. parasympathetic NS activated to conserve energy. stress is becoming chronic

Question 7

stage 3 GAS - exhaustion

Answer 7

adaptation to chronic stressor is failing. resources have become drained. re-experiences alarm stage from sympathetic arousal. adrenal gland/ immune system becomes damaged causing stress related illness

Question 8

positive of GAS model

Answer 8

seyle supported model w research. subjective rats to various stressors and found same responses occurred regardless of stressor. measured through resistance/exhaustion. supports idea we all react in the same way to diff stressors and GAS can measure this. real world application

Question 9

hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system

Answer 9

controls how body responds to chronic stress. takes long to be activated

Question 10

cortisol

Answer 10

hormone involved in the HPAS that mobilises and restores energy supplies however can suppress immune system

Question 11

sympathomedullary pathway

Answer 11

activates the response to short term stress

Question 12

immunosuppression

Answer 12

when cortisol stops lymphocytes (antigens) from being produced meaning we get ill easily

Question 13

longitudinal study

Answer 13

a piece of research that is conducted over a long period of time usually many years and follows the same individuals

Question 14

life changes

Answer 14

stressful one off events that can cause stress.
e.g divorce, marriage, birth

Question 15

daily hassles

Answer 15

minor yet frequent annoyances of everyday life

Question 16

life change units (LCU)

Answer 16

how significant the change in their life was

Question 17

prospective study

Answer 17

a form of longitudinal study following 2 similar groups that differ in on certain factors

Question 18

retrospective study

Answer 18

longitudinal study of patients who have previously gone through something and collecting data from previous patients

Question 19

negative if GAS model

Answer 19

mason replicated seyles procedure w monkeys. mokeys react differently due to different stressors. contradicts Seyles ideas. mason measured the amount of cortisol in the mokeys urine

Question 20

overall evaluation of GAS

Answer 20

both pieces were t research include animals. this means the findings can not be generalised to the human population. also major ethical issues as animals cannot consent

Question 21

cardiovascular disorders

Answer 21

stress can have an effect on problems with the heart

Question 22

direct immunosupression

Answer 22

cortisol stops lymphocytes being produced

Question 23

indirect immunosupression

Answer 23

being stressed changes our actions e.g. smoking

Question 24

kiecolt Glaser 1991- caregiver study

Answer 24

health of immune system. 1. caregiver looking after relative, 2. matched group not caregivers.
over 14m caregivers had increased antibodies to EBV. caregiver become unwell more.
shows stress can = weaker immune system

Question 25

Kiercolt Glaser 1984 - students

Answer 25

effect of exam on medical students. gave blood 1 month before and day of the test. also completed questionnaires of stress etc. immune system repressed. NK and Killer T cells reduced. most apparent in those who felt lonely. can cause cells in our immune system to decline.

Question 26

Kiercolt Glaser evaluation

Answer 26

real like application. talk about exam study. one group having relaxation and hypnosis reported feeling less stressed. shows we need to put steps in place to decrease stress and prevent immunosupression

Question 27

Wilbert Lampens research on acute stress and illness

Answer 27

looked at heart attacks when germany were playing in world cup. found cardiac emergencies went up by 2.66 when they played compared to control.

Question 28

Yusuf 2004 research on chronic stress and illness

Answer 28

52 countries to find risk factor of CVD. compared 1500 who had heart attack to those who hadn’t. found chronic stressors including workplace/ life changes. stress was more than obesity and less then smoking. stress can cause HA but also make other illnesses worse.

Question 29

is acute stress a good thing

Answer 29

stress has an immunoenhansing effect. Phabhar 2008 put rats in mild stress and found immune cells in the blood did not decrease. suggests only chronic stress has immunosuppressants. however more research must be done. also can’t generalise

Question 30

negative of stress on illness - effects on CVD

Answer 30

direct/indirect effect on CVD. much stronger research for indirect. stress can increase chance of HA in someone who already has CVD. Gormer 2000 found marital problems in women who had CVD increased HA by 3x. shows stress does not cause CVD to develop in the first place.

Question 31

negative of stress in illness - ecological validity

Answer 31

much of the research has been done in labs where stressors can be manipulated. means many study’s don’t have ecological validity as there is no real world app. this is because we may act differently in real scenarios

Question 32

HPA process

Answer 32

hpa activates SNS which activates CRF. CRF is detected by pituitary gland causing the release of ACTH which is detected by the adrenal cortex which secretes cortisol and damages immune system

Question 33

SAM process

Answer 33

SNS triggers release of adrenaline and noradrenaline to communicate target organs