Stress 2 Flashcards
What is perceived control?
One factor that seems to influence how people
react to stress is feelings of personal control:
The extent to which people believe they can
control events that affect them, the extent to
which they believe that events in their lives are
the result of their own behaviours and actions.
What is locus of control?
The extent to which individuals feel
they have control over events in their lives.
What is the external locus of control?
the extent to which you believe that the
things that happen to you are controlled by external and
environmental factors (e.g. luck, fate, powerful others).
What is the internal locus of control?
the extent to which you believe that the
things that happen to you are controlled by internal factors (e.g.
determination, effort, intelligence)
What is Self-efficacy?
The belief that we
can succeed at a specific activity
we want to perform. Involves the
following components:
1. Expectations that engaging in a
certain behaviour will lead to
particular outcomes which you
think are favourable.
2. Believing that you can perform
that behaviour or whatever is
required to perform it.
People who have a high self-efficacy for performing something
usually show less stress.
What is Personality: hardiness?
Personality also appears to have a significant role to play in
explaining variations in response to stress
A ‘hardy personality’: includes three characteristics:
1. Commitment: sense of purpose or involvement in the
events, activities and people in one’s life;
2. Control: a sense of personal control (i.e. beliefs about
locus of control)
3. Challenge: the tendency to view changes as
incentives or opportunities for growth rather than
threats to security.
What are resilient people?
Resilience: high levels of self esteem, personal control and optimism.
Resilient people appraise negative events as less stressful; they seem
to use positive emotions in the face of stressful experiences and find
meaning in the experience.
What are optimistic people?
Optimists think that good things are likely to happen.
They experience life’s difficulties with less stress, have better health
habits, better mental and physical health and recover faster from illness
than pessimists.
What are the types of personality?
Two types of personality have been proposed:
* Type A – competitive, outgoing, ambitious, impatient /
aggressive. (Double risks of CHD).
* Type B – relaxed, patient, easy going.
What is a type A person?
Competitive achievement orientation: very self critical and strive
toward goals without feeling a sense of joy in their efforts or
accomplishments. (Covert) High achieving workaholics.
2. Time urgency: impatient with delays and unproductive time, schedule
commitments too tightly, and try to do more than one thing at a time.
3. They find it difficult to relax, often becoming over-involved with their
work. (Overt).
4. Anger / hostility: easily aroused to anger or hostility, which they may
or may not express overtly.
Type A men and women, especially white
collar workers, are at greater risk of
developing coronary heart disease.
What is a type B personality?
Type B people are those who do not exhibit the characteristics of the
type A person.
1. They can relax without feeling that they are wasting time or feeling
guilty that they are not doing something else.
2. They can plan and work effectively without feeling agitated.
3. They lack a sense of urgency, and impatience, and are not easily
aroused to anger.
4. They are able to view things more adaptively.
5. Tend to be less stress-prone.
What is the difference between stress and anxiety?
Stress is caused by an existing stress-causing factor or stressor.
Anxiety is stress that continues after that stressor is gone
What are the Psychological Symptoms of Anxiety?
inner tension.
* Agitation.
* Fear of losing control.
* Dread that something catastrophic is going to happen. (eg. Seizure,
heart attack, blackout, death).
* Irritability.
* Feelings of detachment – in a bubble from the world.
What are the physical symptoms of anxiety?
Racing heart beat (palpitations)
* Breathing changes (increase, short of breath, hard to get breath)
* Chest tightness
* Dry mouth, butterflies, feeling sick
* An urge to pass urine
* Tremor
* Sweating
What are the types of anxiety disorders?
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
* Panic disorder
* Phobic disorders
* Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
* Stress related disorders
