Stress and Coping Flashcards
Appraisals asociated with stress
Primary: Does this matter to me and is it potentially harmful?
Secondary: Can I handle this?
If the answer to the secondary is no, then stress can result
Canon’s model of stress response
Research-driven theory of “fight or flight” in response to stress
Taylor’s model of stress response
“Tend or befriend” - Involves nurturing others or seeking social affiliation in response to stress. In addition to fight or flight
Selye’s model of stress response
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) - Involves three stages:
1. Alarm
2. Resistance
3. Exhaustion
Problems with GAS theory
Little to no emphasis on physiological factors, not all stressors produce the same biological response, and the model does not show the fact that stress can occur (and have all of its negative impacts) without reaching exhaustion. Also, stress can linger during exhaustion
Social facilitation
Change in performance when one knows that others are watching. Generally, performance is improved up to a certain level of difficulty of task.
Zajonc’s cockroaches
Social facilitation experiment. Findings: cockroaches’ performance at a simple task with their peers present, cockroaches performed better at a simpe task and worse at a complex task, compared to when their peers were not present
Stress and Illness - Direct pathway
Stress causes biological adaptations that deplete one’s immunity like increased BP and heart rate variability. Repeated activation of sympathetic NS can cause dysregulation of said processes
Allostatic load
Cumulative effect of multiple stressors over time
What characteristics make an event stressful?
Ambiguity, unpredictability, uncontrollabilty, overloading quality (causing one to feel overwhelmed), centrality/importance
3 indirect pathways between stress and illness
Stress leads to illness…
- Due to increase in health compromising behaviors
- Through depletion of psychosocial resources
- By causing decreased use of health resources
When is adaptation to stress possible?
When stressors are moderate and predictable
What makes stress impossible/extremely difficult to adapt to?
When one is part of a vulnerable population (children, elderly, disabled). When one is already stressed. When the event is highly disruptive to normal physiologic/psychological conditions
Anticipatory stress
Stress due to the expectations of an event. May be even more stressful than the event itself
Aftereffects of stress
Include shortened attention span, physical/mental fatigue, psychological distress
Acute Stress Paradigm
Laboratory procedure in which an individual is put through moderately stressful events/tasks, then measurements are taken to assess their stress-related changes in emotion, phyisiological characteristics, and/or neuroendocrine processes
Acute stressors have been observed to affect _____ memory
working
Sources of chronic stress
Stress in early childhood, poor workplace environment, work and family roles
Significant stressors in early childhood that can cause chronic stress and emotional dysregulation
Childhood poverty, abuse or lack of warmth, lack of community resources
Role conflict
Discomfort due to having conflicting feedback or responsibilities
Social relationships in the workplace
Important to maintain low-stress or no-stress relationships with co-workers and ESPECIALLY supervisors in order to mitigate risk of chronic stress
Work and family role conflict for men vs women
Women: over half of mothers in the US also work
Men: experience higher stress when faced with financial hardships compared to women
Marital satisfaction predicts ______ for [men/women/both]
life-satisfaction; both men and women.
Predictors of being a “resilient child”
- At least one supportive relationship with an adult authority figure
- Higher IQ (linked with more problem-solving strategies)
- Education (more and better)
Name the four coping interventions we discussed in class
Mindfulness meditation, expressive writing, self-affirmations, relaxation training
Benefits of expressive writing
Helps one identify and understand emotions, provides opportunity to affirm values, improves mood and physical health
Benefits of self-affirmations
Reduces stress and improves coping, improves academic performance, increases healthy habits
Modes of self-affirmation
Writing, speaking, visualizing
Examples of relaxation training
Deep breathing, muscle relaxation, guided imagery, yoga, PMR
Define Social Support
The knowledge that one is cared for, loved, and supported; has one of the strongest impacts on deleterious outcomes of stress
Direct-effects hypothesis of social support and stress
Social support benefits us during both stressful and non-stressful times
Buffering hypothesis of social support and illness
Social support only helps people during stressful times (not during non-stressful times)
Coping
Thoughts and behaviors used to manage internal and external demands of stressful situations
External factors that affect coping abilities
Resources, social support, presence of other stressors
Internal factors that affect coping ability
Personality, preferred style of coping
Primary appraisal
Judgement about whether a stressor is relevant and harmful to you
Secondary appraisal
Judgement about whether you have the resources/are able to handle a potential stressor
Approach coping; pros and cons
Directly approaching stressors.
Pros: can prevent problems from snow-balling into larger ones
Cons: can increase stress if not handled with a problem-solving-oriented focus
Problem-focused coping
Centers around solutions and practical approaches to stressors
Avoidant coping
Withdrawal from stressors/stressful environment
Emotion-focused coping
Dealing with the negative emotions tied to stressors. May leave the root cause unaddressed. Includes seeking support/going towards others and emotional expression
When emotional-coping goes wrong, it can result in:
ruminating over the problem and/or catastrophizing
Proactive coping
Preparing in advance for future stressors. Includes time-management
Gender differences in coping
Men = problem-focused; Women = emotion-focused
Negative Affectivity
Personality trait similar to neuroticism, characterized by persistent negative mood, anxiety, depression, and hostility
Positivity
General positive demeanor and hopeful perspective on future. Correlated with higher self-rated health and fewer chronic illnesses
Psychological control
Belief that one can controle their environment and behavior and bring about favorable outcomes
Resilience
Capacity for individuals or systems to manage and rebound from a disruption
Examples of resilient children
Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, Michael Oher
