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Stress Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the general adaption syndrome?

A

When animals are exposed to unpleasant stimuli they display the universal response to all stressors.

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2
Q

What did selye study?

A

1956- in a lab animals and human patients the fight or flight response was only the first set of reactions.
-rats he was experimenting with showed physiological changes that were linked to the injections, but what was injected was less important than the fact they were getting an injection.

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3
Q

What statement did seyle suggest?

A

Stress is the non specific response of the body to any demand.

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4
Q

What are the three stages put toward by Selye?

A

Alarm reaction
Resistance
Exhaustion

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5
Q

What is an alarm reaction?

A

When we come across a stressor the flight or flight response is triggered, this stage deals with acute stressors, the sympathomeduallary pathway becomes activated. Which is controlled by electrical impulses through nerves making the response fast.

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6
Q

definition of stress?

A
  • a physical response to situations in which we feel threatened and a psychological reaction to situations in which we feel conflict or threatened beyond our capacity to cope or endure.
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7
Q

what is the resistance stage?

A

-body adapts to persisting stressor by the endocrine system through the HPA system.

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8
Q

what is the exhaustion phase?

A

-body can no longer maintain normal functioning and the bodies resources are depleted, caused by severe long term stress, adrenal glands no longer function properly and disorders may develop- hypertension CHD asthma and ulcers.

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9
Q

strengths of GAS?

A

-helped generate lots of research on the importance of stress, the immune system and cardiovascular disorders.
-people without adrenal glands die without substitute hormones which shows physiological explanation are relevant to aspects of human behaviour

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10
Q

limitations of GAS?

A

-selye argued that the GAS was a common response to all stressful situations, but there is evidence that response to stress can differ depending on the stessor.
-seyle thought that stress related illness was linked to exhaustion of the physiological response systems like HPA SMP and immune system. it is now thought that stress related illness is caused by over activity of the stress pathways and chronic high levels of circulating stress hormones.
-model doesn’t recognise the role of emotion and cognition in how a person perceives and evaluates the stressor.

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11
Q

what is the sympathomedullary pathway?

A

-an animal response with an immediate fight or flight response

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12
Q

SAM pathway steps?

A

1- signal sent down the sympathetic branch of our autonomic NS which stimulates the adrenal medulla
2- the adrenal medulla responses by releasing adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream.
3- adrenaline and noradrenaline circulate through our bodies and affect key organs such as the heart and muscles.

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13
Q

what is the hypothalamic pituitary- adrenal system?

A

responds to chronic stressors such as psychological stress due to work issues, family concerns and exams,

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14
Q

the HPA system steps?

A

1- hypothalamus is stimulated when a stressor appears.
2- a signal then sent to the pituitary gland in the brain which releases ACTH
3- ACTH travels through blood to adrenal cortex which stimulates to release corticosteroids like cortisol

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15
Q

What study did kiecolt and glaser do?

A

-1991
- 26 stressed carers of dementia patients and non carers, they filled in a self-report stress scale and were given a small cut under their elbow
- the wounds took 9 days longer on average for the carers.

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16
Q

What did delongis study?

A

-1988
-gave 75 married couples both a life changes and daily hassles questionnaire and found that a positive correlation of .59 between daily hassles and health issues like colds.

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17
Q

What did Johansson study?

A

-1978
-measured stress hormones in two different groups of workers at a Swedish sawmill, cleaners with more control and timber feeders with less control, And found those with little control were more stressed by testing their urine and measured the hormones in it

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18
Q

What did Saunders study?

A

-1996
-Used a meta-analysis of 37 studies to prove that stress training is effective and in reducing anxiety in performance situations e.g an exam or public speaking
-did not depend on how well the therapist was trained, had a positive effect on those who suffered extreme or moderate levels of anxiety.

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19
Q

What did Holmes and rahe study?

A

Saw many of their patients who were suffering from physical illness had life changes
Developed ssrs
2500 American sailors were given ssrs and only found 0.118 correlation

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20
Q

What did Raphael find?

A

That life events reports changed when asked immediately

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21
Q

What did Friedman study?

A

Longitudinal study of around 3k men for 8 years and found that twice as many type A than type B developed heart disease

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22
Q

What did myrtek find?

A

Meta analysis of 35 studies found no link between CHD and other behaviour

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23
Q

What did Kamarck study?

A

39 female students performed mental task either alone or with a partner who touched them on the wrist and found that the people with friends had lower HR

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24
Q

What did Lamarie study?

A

2011- gave biofeedback to 40 medical doctors 3 times daily for 28 days and then they were monitored for a further 28 days
- she also studied another group who didn’t and those who did had significantly lowered stress levels

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25
Q

what effect do corticosteroids have on the body?

A

-they release glucose from the liver to be used by the muscles as energy.
-they suppress the immune system to redirect energies to other areas of the body, which is immunosuppression.

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26
Q

what are the effects of cortisol?

A

-suppressing the immune system
-reducing the inflammation in the body
-breaking down fat in tissues
-preventing protein synthesis
-can shrink the thyroid gland which reduces the production of T cells.

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27
Q

strengths of the physiological response to stress?

A

-has empirical support through Baxter 1981 who found that people who did not have adrenal glands cannot produce enough cortisol and need to be given additional quantities if stressed to survive.
-object measure because levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline can be measured in the blood stream easily which suggests that quantitative methods can be used reliably.

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28
Q

weaknesses of the physiological response to stress?

A

-ignores individual differences between individuals even though they had been exposed to the same stressor doesn’t mean they will react the same way.
-it is reductionist. a persons response differs based on different factors for example type or stressor and interpretation of threat and suggests the approach may present oversimplified explanation.
-assures people are passive in stress response and ignores how a person can take an active role in how they choose to respond to a stressor.

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29
Q

what happens when we experience a stressor? and what is the effect?

A

-the immune system is suppressed shortly so the person can deal with fight or flight.
-if the stress is only short lived the effect is minimal.
-but prolonged stress can interfere with the functioning of the immune system and too much cortisol will interfere with the production of antibodies and inflammation.

30
Q

what did Kiecolt-Glaser study to show the effects on the immune system?

A

-75 medical students
-stress levels assessed using a questionnaire
-students had a blood test one month before a medical exam and then again immediately after the exam.
-the blood was tested for T-cell count which help us to fight infection, high levels mean a healthy immune system.
-found that there was a significant decrease in the number of T-cells found in the blood of participants during the exam period and was particularly low for those who reported feeling lonely or experiencing depression.

31
Q

what is CHD? and what causes it?

A

-the narrowing of the blood vessels that serve the heart.
-it is caused by a fat like substance which builds up on the walls of the arteries.
-hypertension also contributes

32
Q

what is a stroke?

A

-occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts.

33
Q

how does stress directly contribute towards cardiovascular disorders?

A

-leads to an increased production of adrenaline in preparation for fight or flight.
-adrenaline then increases blood pressure and heart rate which causes blood vessels to constrict which restricts blood flow to the heart and increases the demand for oxygen.

34
Q

how does stress indirectly cause cardiovascular disorders?

A

-through adopting maladaptive coping strategies e.g increased alcohol consumption that leads to disorders.

35
Q

what experiment supports the link between stress and cardiovascular disorder?

A

-Cobb and Rose 1973
-compared the medical records of air traffic controllers with those of other air traffic personnel and found that air traffic controllers had higher levels of hypertension which increased the chances of heart disease.

36
Q

evaluation of the role of stress in CHD?

A

-stress increases risk of heart disease but is not a direct causal factor
-effect is mediated by personality

37
Q

what are life events?

A

-they are occasional events resulting in adjustments to lifestyle.

38
Q

what did Holmes and Rahe do?

A

-noticed that several of their patients had experienced major life changes in the months leading up to their illness.
-they interviewed 5,000 patients and drew up a list of 43 life changes that preceded the patients illlness.
-they asked 400 people to rate these life events for how stressful they were and from these ratings they were able to give each life event a stress score.
-these life events were then ranked in the order of the stress score called the social readjustment scale
-someone who scored over 300 had an 80% chance of becoming ill.

39
Q

what experiment investigates wether SSRS were correlated with the subsequent onset of illness?

A

-Rahe 1970
-studied 2,500 male American sailors who were given the SSRS to assess how many life experienced they had in the previous 6 months.
-then over the next 6 months detailed records were kept of each sailors health status.
-there was a 0.118 correlation between life changes scores and illness scores, although it was small it still indicates between life changes and health.

40
Q

what are daily hassles?

A

-irritating frustrating distressing demands that characterise everyday transactions with the environment.

41
Q

why are daily hassles so stressful?

A

-minor stressors affect wellbeing by accumulating over several days to create persistent irritations, frustrations and overloads that result in more serious stress interactions like depression.
-hassles may arise from pre-exisiting chronic stressors and the amplify the effects of the existing stressor e.g coping with the loss of someone and then your computer wont turn on, the latter may bring a much greater reaction than when experienced without the pre-existing chronic stressor.

42
Q

what may cause stress at work?

A

-type of job
-high levels of responsibility
-lack of control by other people determining workload and hours.
-ambiguity of role

43
Q

what are the characteristics of a type A?

A

-time urgent: does several things at once, constantly sets deadlines.
-excessive competitiveness: achievement orientated, aggressive.
-generalised hostility: easily irritated, volatile, self-anger.

44
Q

what are the characteristics of type B?

A

-same degree of ambition as type A, but in a steady non-competitive manner and are much more self-confident and relaxed.

45
Q

what study looked into type A personality?

A

-Friedman and Rosenman 1976.
-longitudinal study which followed 3,154 men aged between 39 and 59 for 8 and a half years.
-participants were asked a questionnaire and from their answers were given type A or B.
-found that twice as many type A’s developed coronary heart disease and 70% of men who developed it in the study were Type A.

46
Q

characteristics of type C?

A

-nice, insudtrious, conventional and sociable.
-but tend to be repressed and react to stress or threat with a sense of helplessness.

47
Q

what is the link between type C and cancer?

A

-studied by Morris et Al who suggested that Type C’s tend to repress their emotions more and this might lead to cancer.
-they interviewed 50 women seeking treatment for breast cancer and they found that women who had a malignant lump did not express anger very much, shows they suppressed their anger.

48
Q

what are the characteristics of type D?

A

-like routine and not change, shun responsibility and are highly obedient and are prone to worry.
-upto 53% of cardiac patients are thought to be type D this was found by Denollet 1996.

49
Q

what characterises a hardy personality?

A

-control over what happens in their life.
-commitment to what is around them
-change are opportunities

50
Q

study to support hardy personality?

A

-Kobasa 1979
-to identify personality factors that affect an individuals response to stress.
-600 executives and managers were given two questionnaires a personality one and a list of stressful events and illnesses in the last 3 years.
-divided into two groups, the group who had scored above average on illnesses and those who had scored below.
-for both groups the scores for stressful events were high but in contrast to the high stress/high illness those in high stress/ low illness group were more likely to feel in control of their lives
-people that make up a hardy personality are better able to cope with stress and less likely to suffer from stress related illness.

51
Q

what two drugs are used to treat stress?

A

-benzodiazepines
-Beta-blockers

52
Q

what do benzodiazepines do?

A

-reduce central brain arousal, work directly on the ANS and slow down CNS activity.
-enhance GABA which slows down nerve cell activity by allowing chloride ions into neurons slowing neuron activity and causing relaxation.
-it also reduces serotonin activity, which usually has an arousing effect e.g by stimulating neurons, this lowered activity reduces activity.

53
Q

what does GABA do when its enhanced?

A

-enhance GABA which slows down nerve cell activity by allowing chloride ions into neurons slowing neuron activity and causing relaxation.
-it also reduces serotonin activity, which usually has an arousing effect e.g by stimulating neurons, this lowered activity reduces activity.

54
Q

what do beta blockers do?

A

-directly reduce activity in pathways of the sympathetic NS around the body.
-work by reducing the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline which circulate in the bloodstream and stimulate beta-adrenergic receptors, for example these cause an increase in the force and rate of heart beat.
-the beta blocker drug binds to beta-adrenergic receptors and blocks the receptor from being stimulated.
-this slows HR and lessens the force which the heart contracts and reduces blood vessel contraction. this results in a fall in BP and therefore produces less stress on the heart.

55
Q

what study supports the use of drugs?

A

-Davidson 1993
-gave 75 patients who had social anxiety either a placebo or benzodiazepines for 10 weeks.
-78% of drug patients improved compared to 20% of non-drug patients.
-2 year follow up found significant advantage in those who had BZs
-this suggests that they are effective in the short and long term.

56
Q

what study supports the use of drugs? bb

A

-Lockwood 1989
-studied over 2,000 musicians in major US symphony orchestras and found that 27% admitted to to taking beta blockers.
-they reported having felt better about their performance and critics judged their music to be better.

57
Q

strengths of benzodiazepines?

A

-quick and cheap.
-effective treatment for many anxiety problems
-low toxicity
-drugs can be prescribed immediately.

58
Q

weaknesses of benzodiazepines?

A

-may prevent normal coping strategies, so when people come off them they may be unable to cope and become dependent on the drug or need therapy.
-result in addiction or dependence.
-have been reported Davidson, that the drug can give you forgetfulness and loss of concentration.

59
Q

strengths of beta-blockers?

A

-very good for serious heart problems.
-Ral et Al found that the use of BB increased survival chances of those suffering with heart issues.
-drugs can be prescribed quickly.

60
Q

weaknesses of beta-blockers?

A

-side effects, dizziness, sleep problems and male sex issues.
-increase likelihood of diabetes.
-drugs treat the symptoms but not the cause stopping drug could have symptoms return easily.

61
Q

what is stress inoculation therapy and who developed it?

A

-Meichebaum 1977
-a form of cognitive behavioural therapy.

62
Q

that are the three stages of stress inoculation therapy?

A

-conceptualisation, client encouraged to relive the stressful experience and analyse it. why was it stressful? if there are lots of events the therapist may help to identify a common theme.
-skills acquisition and rehearsal, therapist teaches general relaxation techniques to help deal with the symptoms of stress. then move to the thing the client finds stressful e.g if they are shy the therapist may teach eye contact or conversational skills.
-real life application, the client tries the learnt skills in the real world setting and will see the therapist in follow up training if necessary.

63
Q

evaluation of SIT?

A

-it works, saunders supporting study.
-it is time consuming and high levels of motivation are needed only suits a small range of determined people.
-expensive
-can be difficult to change certain behaviours.
-complex, some may just need therapy to help them talk and relax more.

64
Q

what is biofeedback? and what is the process?

A

-aim to teach people how to reduce their own bodies response to stress so that they can practice the technique in real life when stressed.
-person is wired up to a monitor which records their HR and BP and breathing. the person is able to see this and the specialist helps them to bring HR down using techniques and they visibly see how their body is reacting.
-this is a behaviourist method which involves operant conditioning as relaxation is positively reinforced which will increase the behaviour of lowering it and will take place without conscious thought.

65
Q

evaluation of biofeedback?

A

-provides clients with strategies they can use in the future for different types of stress.
-not fully understood how it works and maybe that its success is just due to clients learning how to relax which leads to end of stress symptoms.
-expensive and not available for stress on the NHS if it helps just due to relaxation would be unnecessary.
-more expensive than drugs.
-humans dont have 100% control over stress and stress reponse may work better with drugs

66
Q

what is suggested as a gender difference in coping with stress?

A

-Taylor Et Al 2000
-suggest that women tend and befriend, whilst fight or flight would be displayed by both genders
-but because women have higher Oxytocin levels as male testosterone levels have a dampening effect on Oxytocin.

67
Q

what else is suggested as a gender difference in strategies of coping with stress?

A

-Lazarus and Folkman 1984
-distinguished 2 different coping styles: problem focused coping and emotion focused coping.
-this is supported by Peterson 2006 who looked at over 1000 men and women seeking fertility treatment at a hospital and asked to complete questionnaires.
-found clear gender differences and women used confrontive coping (emotion-focused coping) and men used problem solving.
-there were some emotion-focused in men so is not clear cut but mostly gender differenced.

68
Q

what are the 3 types of social support?

A

-instrumental
-emotional
-esteem

69
Q

what is instrumental social support?

A

-refers to offers of tangible assistance providing money or driving to the doctors.
-a problem solving approach to coping with stress
-informational support involves giving advice or feedback

70
Q

what is emotional social support?

A

-where another person is aware of the associated emotions that a stressed person is presenting will address those needs.
-for example listening to a friend giving them advice on how to reduce emotions.

71
Q

what is esteem support?

A

-someone else making you feel better about yourself.
-for example compliments etc.

72
Q

study which investigated social support?

A

-Kamarck et Al 1990
-39 female student volunteers were recruited to perform a difficult mental task while their physiological reactions were monitored.
-either were alone or had a friend to touch them on the wrist and was also given a task to complete at the same time.
-all participants filled in a questionnaire related to mood and personality.
-participants who were with their friend showed lower physiological reactions and shows that the presence of social support can help individuals deal more effectively with stress.

psych (12 decks)

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