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stress as a psychobiological process Flashcards

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1
Q

define stress

A
  • a state of physiological and psychological arousal produced by internal or external stressors (stimuli that produce stress)
  • perceived as challenging or exceeding ability/resources to cope
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2
Q

why can two people evaluate their situations differently?

A
  • stress is subjective
  • depends on personal interpretation of the event + ability to cope
  • psych factors influence how we respond to stressors eg. prior experience, attitudes, motivation, personality
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3
Q

what is eustress?

A
  • positive psychological response to a stressor
    eg.
  • feeling enthusiastic, motivated, active, alert about getting new job
  • excited ab first date
    -short term
  • allows us to achieve peak performance
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4
Q

what is distress?

A
  • negative psychological response to a stressor
    eg.
  • feeling angry, nervous, irritable, tension ab getting a new job
  • anxious ab financial pressures
  • can be short term, can persist over time
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5
Q

what are the 5 sources of stress?

A
  • daily pressures
  • life events
  • acculturative stress
  • major stress
  • catastrophes that disrupt whole communities
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6
Q

what is daily pressures?

A
  • little problems of everyday living that annoy/bother us
    eg.
  • misplacing or losing things
  • not being able to fall asleep

small & not so significant

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7
Q

why does daily pressures cause distress?

A
  • can accumulate to become a more negative experience and a major source of stress
  • more hassles= contribute to ill-heath
    eg. physical: flu, sore throat, headaches; mental: mood disturbances
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8
Q

what is life events?

A
  • significant experiences that involve change which forces us to adapt to new circumstances
    eg.
  • Getting a divorce; lonelier, children: will either live with one parent, separately or move back and forth, financial difficulty
  • Getting married, less time, less privacy, expensive

can be positive or negative

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9
Q

why does life events cause stress?

A
  • brings about change
  • requires adjusting their lifestyle, and therefore their established ways of thinking, feeling and behaving
  • stress levels vary depending on the (stressor) and the level of readjustment required
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10
Q

what is acculturative stress?

A
  • Trying to adapt to a new culture when living in it for a considerable period of time
    eg.
  • escaping persecution, racial discrimination, language difficulties, lower socio-economic status, separation from family+friends
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11
Q

why does acculturative stress cause stress?

A
  • can alleviate stress
  • adjusting to new culture= stress-producing
  • belonging to cultural/ethnic minority increases risk of stress problems
  • reduced: new place embraces ethnic diversity, familiarity of language, social support
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12
Q

what is major stress?

A
  • Event that is extraordinarily stressful or disturbing for almost everyone experiencing it
    eg. victim of violence, serious accident, terminal illness
  • Tend to be life-threatening
  • Associated with high levels of distress
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13
Q

why does major stress cause stress?

A
  • Psychologically traumatic events that result in difficulty with coping/functioning as normal
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14
Q

what is catastrophes (that disrupt whole communities)

A
  • Unredictable event that causes widespread damage or suffering
    eg.
  • 2004 tsunami
  • Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

disrupts whole communities + uncontrollable

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15
Q

why does catastrophes cause stress?

A
  • uncontrollable intense= leaves victims in state of shock or fear
  • risk life or major injury
  • causes damage or suffering
  • amount of exposure risks future mental health problems
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16
Q

what does hans selye’s general adaptation syndrome propose?

A
  • stress= body’s physiological response to physical & psychological demands, regardless of stressor
  • stress is non-specific= physiological arousal patterns to stressors are generally the same (both physical & psychological demands)
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17
Q

what is stage 1 of GAS response?

A

ALARM REACTION: mobilise body when first becoming aware of stressor
- initial decrease followed by intense arousal

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18
Q

what is alarm reaction shock?

A
  • first encounter w stressor
  • ability to deal with stressor (arousal) falls below normal level
  • body reacts like its injured; blood pressure+temp drop
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19
Q

what is alarm reaction counter shock?

A
  • heightened physiological arousal
  • resistance to stressor starts to increase above normal level
  • sympathetic ns; fight-flight activated to prepare to respond to stressor
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20
Q

what is stage 2 of GAS response?

A

RESISTANCE: stressor not dealt with= body continues to respond to cope w stressor
- body’s resistance to stressors rises above normal
-unnecessary physio processes are shut down

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21
Q

why might you see early signs of illness during stage 2 of GAS model?

A
  • ability to deal w initial stressor increases= resistance to others decreases
  • prolonged release of cortisol to further energise body= weakens immune activity= interferes w ability to fight disease
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22
Q

what happens if the stressor is dealt with in stage 2?

A
  • effort is successful= organism adapts
  • body returns to normal functioning (homeostasis)
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23
Q

what is stage 3 of GAS response?

A

EXHAUSTION: stressor not dealt with= enter final stage
- body cannot sustain its resistance= resistance falls below normal levels

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24
Q

why are we prone to disease during stage 3 of GAS?

A
  • body’s resources are depleted from ongoing stress
  • impaired immune functioning= more vulnerable to range of physical and mental disorders
    eg.
  • high levels of anxiety and depression
  • hypertension & gastrointestinal problems
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25
Q

what are 3 strengths of GAS model?

A
  • suggested stress weakens abilty to fight infection
  • identifies bio processes in stress response
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26
Q

what are 4 weaknesses of GAS model?

A
  • doesnt take into acc individual differences
  • doesn’t take into acc psychological aspects
  • developed from animal research= difficult to generalise to human population
27
Q

what is the fight-flight-freeze response?

A
  • involuntary, physical response to a sudden and immediate threat
  • confront, escape or keep still from threat
28
Q

why is the flight fight response adaptive?

A
  • prepares body for survival in the face of perceived threat by enabling effective reactions:
  • energy is directed to systems that help outrun or outfight threat
    = help minimise harm
29
Q

what is the fight-flight reaction (SAS)?

A

SYMPATHETIC ADRENOMEDULLARY SYSTEM (SAS)
-threat is perceived
- hypothalamus
- sympathetic ns
- adrenal medulla activated
- adrenaline/noradrenaline released
= increased energy and heightened arousal

30
Q

what effect does adrenaline have?

A
  • excitatory effects
  • activates various organs= change bodily functions that characterise the fight-flight reaction
31
Q

what is the freeze response?

A
  • threats too overwhelming that there is little chance of fighting or escaping= unable to act
32
Q

why can the freeze reaction be considered adaptive?

A
  • less likely to be detected by predators
  • energy conserving (allow fight flight later)
33
Q

physiological responses during freeze reaction?

A
  • parasympathetic NS: heart rate slows, blood pressure drops, tense muscles collapse, still
  • high arousal of both systems= mobilised ready for action
34
Q

when is freeze reaction not adaptive?

A
  • immediate danger that needs fight flight response
35
Q

what is cortisol and its role?

A
  • long lasting stress hormone for dealing with prolonged stress
  • energises body by increasing energy supply (blood sugar)
  • persists for a longer time than fight-flight
36
Q

why is cortisol released?

A
  • stressor persists over time and additional resources are needed
  • body cant maintain fight flight reaction for extended time
37
Q

what is the HPA axis?

A

HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARYADRENAL AXIS:
- threat is perceived
- hypothalamus is activated
- pituitary gland is activated
- (hormone ACTH released, travels through bloodstream)
- adrenal cortex is activated
- cortisol is released

38
Q

what is the HPA axis feedback loop?

A
  • hypothalamus signalled to turn off stress response once cortisol reaches certain level
39
Q

what does lazarus & folkman’s transactional model of stress & coping propose?

A
  • stress involves an encounter b/w a person & their external environment
  • stress response depends on person’s interpretation of stressor & their ability to cope w it.
40
Q

when is stress experienced psychologically?

A
  • imbalance b/w a person’s appraisal of the situation & their estimation of their ability to cope
41
Q

what is primary appraisal and the steps?

A
  • assessment of the significance of the situation
  • deeming stressor irrelevant, benign positive, stressful eg. exam= stressful
  • deciding the kind of stress caused; harm/loss, threat, challenge eg. opportunity to do well= challenge
42
Q

what is harm/loss?

A
  • the past
  • how much damage has already occurred
43
Q

what is threat?

A
  • the future
  • what harm/loss could occur
44
Q

what is challenge?

A
  • positive
  • personal gain from a situation
45
Q

what is secondary appraisal?

A
  • evaluating coping options and resources or dealing with the stressor
    eg. upcoming exam
  • evaluating if coping strategies are adequate or inadequate
  • judgement of how many hours are needed to study
  • deciding whether these hours are enough to cope
46
Q

what is a problem-focused coping strategy?

A
  • efforts to manage the stressor which is the source of the stress
    eg. making a timetable, hw club, tutor, study groups, seeking info, advice, taking action
47
Q

what is an emotion-focused coping strategy?

A
  • efforts to deal with the emotional responses to a stressor
  • decrease negative feelings associated w the stressor
    eg. binge-eating, denial, accepting blame, meditation, exercise
48
Q

what are 4 strengths of the lazarus and folkman model?

A
  • provides different methods of coping
  • accounts for mental and cognitive processes, emotions involved in interpreting a situation
  • human participants used
  • acknowledges that a stressor and its demands may change overtime
49
Q

what are limitations to the lazarus and folkman model

A
  • difficult for experimentation bc of subjectivity, variability, complexity of individ. responses
  • tends to ignore physiological processes
  • primary & secondary appraisals can occur simultaneously= hard to study separately
50
Q

define coping strategy

A
  • specific behavioural or psychological method used to manage/reduce stress
51
Q

what are the 4 coping strategies?

A
  • context specific effectiveness
  • coping flexibility
  • exercise
  • approach & avoidance strategy
52
Q

what is context-specific effectiveness?

A
  • good match b/w strategy used & stressful situation
    eg. stressor: upcoming exams
    yes: planning time management and study schedules
    no: mental distancing, wishful thinking

elements: stressor, coping strategy, person

53
Q

how does context-specific effectiveness help cope with stress?

A
  • strategy will be more efficient in dealing with the stressor
    -strategies used more accurately target stressor
54
Q

what is coping flexibility?

A
  • ability to effectively modify one’s coping strategies according to the demands of different situations
    eg. planning for exams
  • waiting for release of results= mental distancing could be useful
55
Q

what are the steps in coping flexiblity?

A
  1. recognising whether the use of flexible coping approach is appropriate
  2. selecting strategy which suits circumstances
  3. recognising when strategy used is ineffective
  4. discontinuing the use of ineffective coping strategy
  5. producing and implementing alternative strategy
56
Q

how does coping flexibility help us cope with stress?

A
  • allows us to adjust thoughts, feelings, behaviours according to the situation
57
Q

whats the difference b/w high and low coping flexibility?

A

h: readily adjust their coping strategies if a strategy they are using is ineffective
l: consistently use the same type of strategy across dif situations and persist w them even if ineffective.

58
Q

what is exercise?

A
  • physical activity, usually planned and performed to improve/maintain physical condition
59
Q

how does exercise help cope with stress?

A

PHYSICAL: reduces risk of serious diseases linked to stress eg. cardiovascular disease
- regularly engage in aerobic exercise (higher cardiovascular fitness from sustained O2 consumption)= better able to reduce anxiety lvls + cope w stress
= increases strength, flexibility + stamina when dealing w future stressors
- uses up stress hormone in bloodstream= returns to normal faster
- helps work out built up muscle tension
- releases beta-endorphines= relieves pain, promotes wellbeing
PSYCHOLOGICAL: distraction from stressor, diverting attention away from stressor
SOCIAL: social support when exercising w others

60
Q

What is the approach coping strategy?

A
  • efforts to deal with the stressor directly
  • focused towards the stressor, its causes and a solution
    eg. lost your job= search for new one
  • Making a list of pros and cons
    • Seeking advice or counselling
    • Targeting the stressor
    • Making a plan and executing it
    • Making a list of ways to approach the stressful situation
61
Q

what is avoidance coping strategy?

A
  • efforts to evade a stressor and deal with it indirectly
  • focused away from stressors with no attempts to confront it or its causes
    eg. lose your job= don’t tell anyone and don’t think about it
  • Denial
    • Wishful thinking
    • Substance use
    • Venting emotions
    • Distraction
    • Sleeping and eating
    • Acceptance
62
Q

how can approach coping strategies reduce stress?

A
  • a solution that will address the underlying problem, minimise or eliminate its impact
63
Q

how can avoidance coping strategies help reduce stress?

A
  • reduce stress in short-term
  • when dealing with multiple stressors, selectively avoiding to deal with unchangeable parts of a stressor= allows for energy conservation= focus on other stressors that can be changed
64
Q

negative impacts of avoidance coping strategies

A
  • maladaptive
  • delay in dealing with source of stressor= prevents constructive responses

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