Stress

Question 1

Stress

Answer 1

Process of adjusting to circumstances that disrupt, or threaten to disrupt, a person’s equilibrium.

It involves a transaction between people and their environments

Question 2

Stressors

Answer 2

Events or situations to which people must adjust

Question 3

Psychological stressors

Answer 3

Any event that forces a person to change or adapt

Question 4

Process of stress

Answer 4

Stressors -> stress mediators -> stress responses

Question 5

Biological responses to distress

Answer 5

They exist.

Question 6

Psychological responses to stress

Answer 6

> Emotional
Cognitive - ruminative thinking and catastrophizing. Overarousal created by stressors impairs problem-solving and decision-making
Behavioural stress responses - escape and avoidance responses, aggression

Question 7

Holmes and Rahe’s ‘Social Readjustment Rating Scale’ (SRSS)

Answer 7

Scale based on assumption that all change, good or bad, is stressful.
> People who scored high on SRSS and other life-change scales more likely to suffer from physical or mental disorders
> Whether a person considers an event positive or negative is very important

Question 8

Selyes General Adaptation Syndrome

Answer 8

What happens when an organism is threatened.
1. Alarm - organism mobilises.
> Sympathetic nervous system activated/adrenal activity
> Biggest physiological response to stress
> Low level of resistance

2. Resistance - if stressor still present, organism must deal with it
   > Coping mechanisms
   > Resources diverted to defence
   > Higher level of resistance - can only do this for so long
3. Exhaustion
   > Can no longer resist or cope
   > Defence mechanisms break down
   > Lowest level of resistance =
4. Non-specific

Question 9

Eustress

Answer 9

Positive stress or stress that produces positive outcomes
Stress it not merely nervous tension
Stress can have positive outcomes
Stress is not something that can be avoided
Complete absence of stress is death

Question 10

Appraisal Process - Lazarus and Folkman

Answer 10

Primary appraisal - is it positive, negative or irrelevant

Secondary appraisal - what can be done to minimise harm or maximise gain

Question 11

Transactional models of stress (early work and modern theories)

Answer 11

Earlier work focussed on stress inducing factors - atheoretical

Most modern theories are transactional, however.
Complex relationship between environmental variables, individual cognitions and stressors in their relations with well being

Question 12

Predictability and control of stressors

Answer 12

Predictable stressors tend to have less impact than those that are unpredictable
Especially when the stressors are intense and occur for relatively brief periods

Perception of control can mediate the effects of stressors
Belief that a stressor is controllable can reduce the impact of the stressor

Question 13

Karasek, 1979 - job control model of stress

Answer 13

Job demands
Job decision latitude

While lots of demands and low control is generally bad, having too little demands can also lead to stress due to boredom.

High demands lead to arousal, and cannot be channelled into a coping response so there’s a larger and longer physiological reaction.
Positives - motivation and learning

Question 14

Coping with stress - problem focussed

Answer 14

Active
Planning
Seeking social support

Question 15

Coping with stress - emotional focussed

Answer 15

Acceptance
Denial
Re-structuring

Question 16

Developing coping strategies (4)

Answer 16

Cognitive - changing how people interpret stimuli and events (e.g. cognitive restructuring)
Emotional - seeking and obtaining social support
Behavioural - changing behaviour to minimize impact of stressors
Physical - alter physical responses before, during, or after stressors occur

Question 17

Stages of coping with stress

Answer 17

Assessment
Goal setting - what can/cannot be changed
Planning
Action
Evaluation
Adjustment

Question 18

Social support - stress

Answer 18

Definition - amount of helpfulness derived from social relationships

> Support perceived but not used better than support not perceived
Support used best - it also means you know it’s available next time

Question 19

Social support network - stress

Answer 19

Friends and social contacts on whom one can depend for help and support

Quality of social support can influence one’s ability to cope with stress - may also determine quality of social support one receives

Question 20

Stress-reducing techniques

Answer 20

Muscle relaxation
Biofeedback
Meditation
Cognitive restructuring - bad thoughts identified and replaced with rational and logical ones
Holistic wellness

Question 21

Stress and personality

Answer 21

Stress-related health problems are more common among people who:
Tend to be angry, anxious or depressed
Persist at mentally avoiding perceived stressors
Perceive stressors as long-term, catastrophic threats brought on by self
Are pessimistic about their ability to overcome stressors or other negative situations

People with ‘stress-hardy’ personalities tend to be more optimistic

Question 22

Hardy personality - attributes

Answer 22

1. Control
2. Commitment
3. Challenge

Question 23

Occupational burnout

Answer 23

> More strongly related to employees’ work demands than to the resources people receive at work
Removing personal stressors and job/organizational stressors is best way to reduce burnout

Question 24

Stress and gender

Answer 24

Males get more angry and/or avoid stressors (or both)
Fight or flight
Females more likely to help others and make use of social support network
Tend and befriend

Question 25

Psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 25

Field that examines interaction of psychological and physiological processes that affect the ability of the body to defend itself against disease

Question 26

Immune system and illness (and stress, obviously)

Answer 26

Stress can impair or suppress the immune system

Social support and other stress-mediating factors can help sustain one’s immune system
Social support may prevent illness by providing an outlet for the person under stress