Stress Flashcards
What is stress
stress occurs when there is an imbalance between perceived demands and perceived coping responses.
What is the body’s response to acute stress?
The sympathomedullary pathway
What is the body’s repossess to chronic stress?
The pituitary-adrenal system
Outline the SAM
- Acute stressors activate sympathetic branch of the ANS
- SNS prepares for fight or flight
- Pupils SalivaryGlands HeartBeat Bronchi Intestines Liver-glucogenesis Bladder Adrenal medulla
- Releases adrenaline or noradrenaline into bloodstream
What is an antigen
Foreign material that stimulates the production of antibodies.
Stress related illness and the immune system
Cohen’s Cold
Keicolt- Glaser exam stress
Cohen et al- Common cold
394 pps- stressful life events + how stressed they felt and experience of negative emotions. Scores combined into a stress index. Pps exposed to low doses of CCV
82% became infected: positive correlation with stress index scores.
Cohen CC evaluation
+ High ecological validity- we all have a chance of developing a cold
+ Sample size- Representative
- Subjectivity/ retrospective
Keicolt- Glaser Exam stress
75 1st year med students volunteers
49 m 26 fm
Blood samples from a month before and on 1st day of finals
Natural killer cells and T cells were measured
Questionnaire on psychiatric symptoms and life events
No. of killer cells and T cells dropped especially in those who indicated psychiatric symptoms an life events
Keicolt- exam stress evaluation
+ natural experiment, high ecological validity, can be generalised.
- natural experiment, no control over extraneous variables, negative correlation, not causal link.
- Sample not representative
Life changes as a source of stress
Rahe et al- 2,500 male american sailors
completes SRRS for precious 6 months.
Detailed records of health over the following six months
+correlation 0f +0.118 between SRRS and illness scores.
Rahe et al evaluation
- Correlation does not mean cause. Depression may not be caused by life events- depressed spouse may cause life events such as divorce or separation.
- Sample bias: ethnocentric and androcentric. Reduces validity, difficult to generalise.
SRRS- Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe
List of 43 major life events. Asked hundreds of men and women of varied ages and backgrounds to create the events in terms of psychological impact. Death of a spouse was on top with an LCU of 100. Other events were rated relative to this ranking. A score of 150 or more increased chances of stress-related illness by 30% and over 300 by 50%
SRRS evaluation
- 10-30% of papa have not experienced life events but still describe themselves as stressed. Daily Hassles scale may be more effective or both scales combined.
- correlation does not mean cause
- not all life events are negative- does not distinguish between positive and negative and therefore lacks validity.
What is a daily hassle?
117- A minor event that rises in the course of a normal day.
The are often short lived but may linger if left unresolved.
What is a daily uplift?
135- A positive, desirable experience that makes a daily hassle more bearable.
Daily hassles and Job performance
Gervais- Nurses kept diaries for a month. Daily hassles increase job strain but daily uplifts increase job performance.
Workplace stress
Johansson et al- 14 finishers and 10 cleaners
Levels of stress related hormones in their urine were measured on work days and rest days.
Records were kept of stress related illness and absenteeism.
Finishers secreted more stress hormones on work days and higher levels than the cleaners. They showed significantly higher levels of stress- related illness and absenteeism then the cleaners.
Johansson evaluation
- Individual differences: some people may be more susceptible to stress.
- does not identify which stressors are most stressful:
lack of control, repetitiveness, isolation, high responsibility
Marmot et al- Job control and stress-related illness
10, 308 civil servants aged 35-55
job control was measured at the beginning and 3 years later by a self-report questionnaire and an independent assessment by personnel manager.
stress related illnesses recorded
Low job control is associated with high stress.
Marmot evaluation
- correlational not causal- there factors
- self report not reliable- demand characteristics, biased
+ Real world applications
Sources of stress in the workplace
Physical environment: space, lighting, temperature
Work overload: one of the most stressful
Lack of control: Perceived lack of control increases the stress response and contributes to depression and illness
Personality types
Type A: competitive, hostile, perfectionist, hard working, impatient, high achievers
Type B: Relaxed, not easily angered, not competitive, can lack ambition.
Hardy:
Control, not controlled
Commitment- involved in the world, sense of purpose
Challenges- problem to overcome, not stressors
Stress and CV disorders
Friedman and Rosenman
3200 male healthy Californian volunteers 39-59 yrs assessed over 8.5 yrs
Personality type was assessed by interviewing
8 yrs later incidence of CHD was recorded
257 apps developed CHD, 70% classified as type A, nearly twice as type B. Didn’t change even when other fairs were considered. Higher cholesterol, (nor)adrenaline.
