stress

Question 1

sympathomedullary pathway (SAM)

Answer 1

The stressor activates the hypothalamus which activates the adrenal medulla. The adrenal medulla is part of the autonomic nervous system and is the inner portion of the adrenal gland.
The adrenal medulla secretes the hormone adrenaline. This hormone gets the body ready for a fight or flight response. Physiological reaction includes increased heart rate.

Question 2

Pituitary adrenal system (HPA)

Answer 2

The stressor activates the Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis
The hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland
The pituitary gland secretes adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
ACTH stimulates the adrenal glands to produce the hormone corticosteroid
Cortisol enables the body to maintain steady supplies of blood sugar
Adequate and steady blood sugar levels help person to cope with prolonged stressor.

Question 3

Cohen (stress + the immune system)

Answer 3

Investigated whether there was a connection between stress and catching a cold. 394 participants-questionnaires on number of stressful life events, degree of stress, level of emotional stability. 82% of participants with high level stress had a cold-more chance of cold with stress-more stress= worse immune system. However there’s no cause and effect.

Question 4

Kiecolt Glaser (stress + the immune system)

Answer 4

This was a natural experiment. The researchers took blood samples from 75 first year medical students, all of whom were volunteers.
Blood samples were taken one month before their final examinations (relatively low stress), and during the examinations (high stress)Immune functioning was assessed by measuring T cell activity in the blood samples.The students were also given questionnaires to assess psychological variables such as life events and loneliness. The blood sample taken from the first group (before the exam) contained more t-cells compared with blood samples taken during the exams and those who were lonely and had many recent life events had even lower activity.

Question 5

Kiecolt Glaser evaluation

Answer 5

DISADVANTAGES: Only med students (lacks population validity), young, small sample, can’t control IV or extraneous variables- These can be drugs, , general health, diet, sleep patterns and age. No cause and effect- Does stress cause illness or does being ill make you more prone to stress
ADVANTAGES:No individual differences in a RMD. •This was a natural experiment which also used a real life stressful situation, so ecological validity is high.

Question 6

Holmes and Rahi (life changes)

Answer 6

The aim of this study was to investigate whether scores on the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) were correlated with illness.
2,500 male American sailors were given the SRRS to assess how many life events they had experienced in the previous 6 months. The total score on the SRRS was recorded for each participant.
Then over the following six-months records were kept of each sailor’s health status. The recorded number of Life Change Units were correlated with the sailors’ illness scores.
Results: There was a positive correlation of +0.0118 between Life Change scores and illness scores. Although the positive correlation was small (a perfect positive correlation would be +1.00), it did indicate that there was a relationship between Life Change Units and health.

Question 7

Holmes and Rahi disadvantages

Answer 7

Not perfect correlation(+1.0)-life events aren’t only illness factor. No cause and effect, androcentric and ethnocentric-lack of external validity. The research is unethical as stress is a sensitive topic and asking participants to think about their stress on a regular basis may provoke psychological harm and in fact cause more stress. The SRRS does not take individual difference into consideration. The scale assumes that each stressor affects people the same way. Social desirability

Question 8

Anita DeLongis et al (daily hassles)

Answer 8

Investigating whether there was a correlation between daily hassles and illness. 100 45-64 yr old participants, 4 questionnaires-Hassles scale, uplifts scale, life event, health status. Found hassles correlated with health more than life events and daily hassles had little effect.

Question 9

Anita DeLongis et al disadvantages

Answer 9

C+E, small samples and 45-65 lacks population validity. questionnaires- social desirability.

Question 10

Marmot et al (workplace stress-control)

Answer 10

workplace stress and illness correlation? 10,308 civil servants 35-55 (67%men33%women) three year longitude study. Amount of job control was measured through self-report survey- stress related illness records were kept longitude study of over 3 years. Low job control=more stress-more likely to die from heart attack. More likely to suffer from stress related illness such as strokes. Negative correlation between job control and illness.

Question 11

Marmot et al evaluation

Answer 11

ADVANTAGES: Supported by Johansson who found higher stress in lower control in Swedish workers.
DISADVANTAGES: Self-reports may have social desirability, misinterpretations misleading questions. Gender bias, extraneous variables, individual differences

Question 12

Johansson et al (workplace stress-workload)

Answer 12

14 finishers in a Swedish sawmill were studied. they had no control over the pace at which their work was carried out (machine paced). They were compared with a group of group of 10 low stress cleaners who had more control over their workload. The levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline in their urine was measured everyday, and their number of illnesses and absences from work were recorded.
Results: The finishers had higher levels of stress hormones of illness than the cleaners which shows.
Repetitiveness and lack of control were linked to higher levels of stress, which increased illness.

Question 13

Johansson et al evaluation

Answer 13

DISADVANTAGES: Individual differences not controlled, extraneous variables ethnocentric ADVANTAGES: Supported by Marmot, Measure of stress hormones in the urine is an objective measure of stress levels - reduces the chance of investigator effects and has higher validity than self report measures of stress levels.

Question 14

Friedman and roseman (personality factors)

Answer 14

type A=more likely to develop coronary heart disease. 3200 California men 39-59. Structured interviews assessed if they were type A,B, X(mix). Longitude study- 8 1/2 years. 257 had heart disease, 70% were type A. Type A behaviour increases vulnerability to heart disease

Question 15

Friedman and roseman disadvantages

Answer 15

Type A is too general, limits external and internal validity. We can’t argue type A causes heart diseases because of I.D, •Friedman & Rosenman did not specify what aspect of type A behaviour might be responsible for heart disease. Later researchers reviewed the original data and found that it was ‘the negative behaviours’ such as hostility that seemed to be responsible.
this is a natural experiment which uses correlational detail so cause and effect cannot be established.

Question 16

Hardiness- Kobasa (personality factors)

Answer 16

Kobasa- Eight hundred business executives of a large US company were tested using the SRRS. Those who scored highly were then examined and split into two groups; those who were frequently ill and those who were rarely ill. She found a difference in personality between the two with those reporting few illnesses being described as hardy. Kobasa argued there are differences in the way individuals deal with stress. People who deal the best have hardiness- they have the 3 c’s-control (over their life), commitment (don’t give up), challenge (see change as a challenge instead of a threat). This shows that those with a hardy personality deal with stress better and therefore are less ill

Question 17

Stress management- Anti anxiety drugs- Beta blockers

Answer 17

controls adrenaline (fight or flight) which increases heartbeat and blood pressure. Can be taken twice a day in order to maintain blood pressure levels. Taylor found them beneficial in reducing anxiety in musicians and public speakers and enhanced their performance.

Question 18

Stress management- Anti anxiety drugs- Beta blockers evaluation

Answer 18

ADVANTAGES: Effective- Kahn followed nearly 250 patients over 8 weeks and found BZ’s reduced their anxiety. Easy- require little effort from user. DISADVANTAGES: Addictive, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, doesn’t address underlying cause of stress.

Question 19

stress management- Anti Anxiety Drugs-benzodiazepines

Answer 19

most used AAD, most common in valium and labium. They send messages to other nerves and the body as a whole. Releases GABA which is the body’s natural form of anxiety relief.

Question 20

Stress management- Anti Anxiety Drugs-Benzodiazepines evaluation

Answer 20

ADVANTAGES: Effective, no side effects and doesn’t alter body, provides long term ways of managing stress, research like Dworkin & Dworkin (found it helps teens with scoliosis control spine muscles) backs it up. DISADVANTAGES: expensive, doesn’t treat cause, requires lots of practice, some argue it doesn’t have benefits and stems from patients drive.

Question 21

Stress management-biofeedback

Answer 21

physiological technique in which a person becomes in-tune with their body. Four processes- FEEDBACK- Connected to a machine, which provides feedback about body activity, RELAXATION- taught relaxation techniques to reduce stress, LEARNING-if they successfully decrease heart rate or blood pressure this is rewarding and you can learn it. TRANSFER- patient transfers these skills in stressful encounters through relaxation.

Question 22

Hardiness training

Answer 22

Kabasa argued that if we increase our hardiness, we decrease our sense of stress- focusing-The client is taught how to recognise the signs of stress like increased heart rate, and also to identify the source of stress.
relieving stress situations- The client relives what made them stressed and is helped to analyse the situation and the response they had to them. This gives the client an insight into their current coping strategies and how they might be more effective than they thought
self-improvement- The insights gained can now be used to move forward and learn new techniques of dealing with stress. In particular, they are taught to focus on seeing stressors as challenges rather than problems

Question 23

hardiness training evaluation

Answer 23

ADVANTAGES: Effective and deals with cause-teaches clients to deal with all stressors in their lives. DISADVANTAGES: Limited to business executives- concerns white middle class business men and women and some people argue hardiness is being in control and it doesn’t exist.

Question 24

Stress inoculation training

Answer 24

prevents stress in 1st place, Developed by Meichembaum-3 phases-
Conceptualisation - The therapist helps the individual to identify their stressors and how they respond to these and how successful these responses have been.
Skill acquisition and rehearsal - The therapist teaches the client coping skills that may be general or event focused.
Application and follow through - The client applies what they have learned to real life situations.

Question 25

Stress inoculation training evaluation

Answer 25

ADVANTAGES: •SIT addresses the root cause of the problem - why the client is stressed – rather than just removing the symptoms of stress, SIT does not have any undesirable side effects that might be encountered with drug treatments DISADVANTAGES: Time consuming and complex-range of activities could be reduced without losing effectiveness. •SIT requires clients to be motivated and driven.

Question 26

kobasa evaluation

Answer 26

The research was based upon self-report questionnaires which are not always reliable and are often completed retrospectively.
cause and effect-we can’t be sure that it was hardiness that had the beneficial effects on the managers’ health?Perhaps as (Alfred & Smith 1989) have suggested, hardy people are more likely to look after their health.