stress 2 Flashcards
what are daily hassles?
stressors of everyday life as opposed to major life events
what are examples of daily hassles?
sixthform, getting up, makeup, tidying rooms etc.
what is a Life change?
a major life event eg death of a partner
what is the social readjustment scale? SRRS
a scale which assesses the impact of different life changing events. each stressful event has a life change unit (LCU) the higher the LCU, the more readjustment needed, hence the more stress it causes
what is the study into Life changes and illness by Rahe?
AIM to find a link between LCU’s and illness
2500 healthy male US navy personell filled in SRRS for the past 6 months
followed up for 7 months prior
recorded ant stress related illness & rated it on severity producing an overall illness score
Found a positive correlation (0.118) between LCU and illness scores (small but statistically significant)
so there is a correlation but other factors must be included.
Evaluation of Rahe (life changes and illness)
Retrospective data-relying on memory, not accurate, not true reflection, reducing the reliability of data
only correlational, cant establish cause and effect, reducing the validity
individual differences, cant generalise, dont have same feelings so cannot say they are a true reflection of illness and this could affect results
What is the study into workplace stress and illness? (marmot)
AIM investigate the effect of high control and low control of stress and illness
7327 civil servants, asked about sense of control, support, grade, etc.
had a health check of heart problems-reassessed 5 years later
FOUND no link with high workload and stress related illness (job demand=not significant factor)
LOW levels of job CONTROL were twice as likely to develop heart disease, NOT HIGH LEVELS
So, the level of control that a person has, the more likely they are to be affected by Coronary heart disease
workload/the degree of social support recieved were NOT associated
Evaluate workplace stress and illness study. (marmot)
Self report-questionnaires and interviews, unreliable as can lie and fear that any negative comments about work would be traced back to them
correlational-relationship, cannot establish cause and effect so could be other factors like, smoking or family history-therefore lacks validity
what are daily hassles?
everyday life stressors eg exam prep
what did Lazarus think uplifts were?
they were able to counteract the negative effects of daily hassles.
uplifts are everyday positive life events for example, if you tried hard on a piece of work and someone praises you for it
Research into daily hassles, stress and illness by Delongis
participants aged 45+ given a questionnaire, one on major life changes and a general health questionnaire
then assessed the uplifts of participants
FOUND a STRONG positive correlation between daily hassles and general health problems-the more daily hassles, the more health problems
NO correlation between life changes/uplifts on general health-uplifts=no effect, daily hassles=effect
Evaluation of daily hassles and stress related illness
delongis researched into daily hasssles and found similar to lazarus-strong correlation between daily hassles and stress related illness BUT didnt find uplifts had an effect
purely correlational
which factors contribute to workplace stress?
WORKLOAD (demand) too much=stress & too little=stress
JOB CONTROL (responsibility) HIGH control=LESS stress & LOW control=HIGH stress as they can pass down their workload
what type of job will make you more stressed?
High demanding job with low control
what type of job will make you have less stress?
high control in your job and low demand
what did Friedman and Rosenman find about personality factors and stress?
people who suffered from CHD had a particular pattern of behaviour
what is Type A behaviour?
Time Pressured-work to deadlines, unhappy doing nothing, multitasking
Competitive-play to win, wants to achieve something
Hostility-easily irritated, impatient, easily angered
how to type A personalities suffer the negative effects of stress?
their hearts are more sensitive to activity in the sympathetic nervous system
when they are stressed, their bodies are unable to cope with the physical changes and therefore stress related illnesses are more likely
What did Rosenman study into Type A behaviour and heart attacks?
AIM assess relationship between type a and stress related illnesses
3454 middle aged men in west coast of USA took part in a structured interview where type a behaviours were measured eg rapidly tapping fingers on table, restlessness, pace of talking
assessed for 8.5years
FOUND 69% of those with type a experienced heart attacks
he controlled certain lifestyle factors ie smoking and obesity to produce richer results to establish cause and effect
high type a=vulnerable to CHD and having a second heart attack
Evaluation of Rosenman
sample is culture and gender bias, made up with middle aged men from west coast of america, therefore cannot generalise results as isnt a true representation
correlational
not ethically sound, could cause harm to ppts as they would be anxious and stressed and cannot give a true representation
what does the hardiness scale indiate?
low hardiness=badly effected by stress
moderate hardiness=deal well with stress but could improve
high hardiness=very good at dealing with stress and have a low risk of stress related illness
what are the basic elements of hardiness?
Control-you can influence the events in your life, ie stressors
Commitment-the individuals sense of involvement and purpose in life
Challenge-changes in life should be seen as an opportunity not stressful
Research into hardiness carried out by Kabasa
She produced a questionnaire which measured hardiness, a personality defined by various traits
FOUND that managers of large companies are less likely to suffer from stress related illnesses
evaluation of Kabasa
correlational
questionnaires
individual differences
