Stress and Coping

Question 1

Cannon (1932)

Answer 1

Fight or Flight model.

External threats illicit a “fight-flight” response. Increased activity and arousal rate.

Question 2

Seyle (1956)

Answer 2

General Adaption Syndrome (GAS) has 3 stages:
Alarm; immediate physiological response to stressor (fight or flight)
Resistance; body adjusts to the stressor, but is weakened and prone to illness/mental health problems.
Exhaustion; body’s resources depleted, health problems and even death can occur.

Question 3

Perceived stress Scales

Answer 3

Schedule of Recent Experiences (Holmes and Rahe, 1967)

Hassle Assessment Scales for college Students (Sarafino and Ewing, 1999)

Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1983)

Question 4

Holmes and Rahe (1967)

Answer 4

400 participants asked to rate disruptiveness of the events in their lives.

Question 5

Lazarus, (1970)

Answer 5

Stress arises because of an interaction between person and environment.

Stress arises because demands of a situation are perceived as not being met.

Appraisal determines whether stress occurs or not.

Question 6

The Stress Physiological Response

Answer 6

Voluntary Nervous System- responses over which you have conscious awareness and control.

Autonomic Nervous System- Responses that generally operate at an unconscious or pre-conscious level. it has 2 levels sympathetic and parasympathetic.

Question 7

sympathetic Activation

Answer 7

Release of adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Question 8

Hypothalamic-pituatary- adrenocorticol- activation

Answer 8

Release of cortisol.

Question 9

Coping Styles

Answer 9

Problem/Task- focused: problem solving and confronting.

Emotion- focused: Positive reappraisal, self-control, escape avoidance, accepting responsibility and distancing.

Seeking Social support.

Question 10

Measuring Coping

Answer 10

Ways of Coping Scale (Lazarus & Folkman)

COPE Scale (Carver, 1997)

Question 11

Problem Focused coping

Answer 11

Beneficial if the stressor requires action in order to deal with it. (e.g exams).
If the stressor is a chronic illness the use of problem focused coping may be beneficial in early stages.
could be useful after surgery, or a lifestyle change.

Question 12

Emotion-Focused Coping

Answer 12

avoidance of the emotional distress will distract the individual from the negative feelings associated with the stressor. it is suited for stressors that seem uncomfortable (e.g. loss of a loved one).

Question 13

Stress Reduction Techniques

Answer 13

Relaxation techniques: 
Muscle relaxation
Massage
Meditation
Yoga
Hypnosis

Behavioural techniques:
Systematic Desensitization
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)

Question 14

Rosengren et al (2004)

Answer 14

Interheart Study:

11,119 cases of first heart attacks and 13, 648 controls. the participants were asked to stress report stress at home, at work, financial stress and major life events during the previous year.
All measures of stress were significantly higher in the heart attack group than the controls.

Question 15

Jacobs et al., (1969)

Answer 15

University students experiencing life events involving personal failure and life changes suffered more upper respiratory infections

Question 16

Mohern et al., (2001)

Answer 16

took 5896 employees and found job stress to be related to the common cold. Using retrospective recordings of the cold occurrence.

Question 17

Stress Defintion

Answer 17

Physiological and psychological adaptive response to external stressors enabling the individual to manage a :”stressful” situation.