STRESS- CAUSES

Question 0

JOHANSSON- WORK

Sample?

Answer 0

Sample- 24 Swedish sawmill workers
•14 high risk - edged, cut the wood etc , responsible for wages as based on production rate.
•10 low risk- cleaners/ maintenance workers

Question 1

JOHANSSON - WORK AS A CAUSE

Aim? Design? Methodology?

Answer 1

Aim- to measure the psychological and physiological stress responses in two categories of employees.
Design- Independent Measures Design
Methodology- Quasi-experiment

Question 2

JOHANSSON- WORK

Procedure? Physiological and psychological measures?

Answer 2

Procedure-
• urine samples took when started work + 4 other times in the day, body temp also took at same time
•complete self report on mood, alertness, irritability
•caffeine and nicotine consumption taken
•all these measures took at home so could be used as a baseline

Question 3

JOHANSSON

Evaluation?

Answer 3

STRENGTHS-
•high ecological validity
•holistic as combined approach
•standardised- reliability

Question 4

KANNER - LIFE EVENTS

Aim?

Answer 4

Aim-to compare the daily hassles and uplifts scale with the Major life events scale to see if hassles were in fact the greater cause of stress

Question 5

KANNER

Sample?

Answer 5

Sample- 100 participants
•52 females
•48 males
•all white and all participated in a 12 month study in Canada

Question 6

KANNER

Procedure?

Answer 6

Procedure- each participant took both scales :
•the daily hassles and uplifts scale
•major life events scale
took these scales once a month for 9 months
Towards the end of the study also took:
•Bradburn morale scale of well being
•Hopkins symptom checklist

Question 7

KANNER- Result?

Answer 7

Results-
•hassles were a better predictor of stress
•top hassles - weight, money and health
•main uplifts- good relationships with partner and friends
•negative correlation between hassles and psychological symptoms of stress (suggests strong relationship)
•self report = men less likely to reveal stress as neg correlation between uplifts and negative mood
•whereas women showed more honest as positive correlation

Question 8

KANNER -

Evaluation

Answer 8

STRENGTHS
•concurrent validity as uses 4 methods of measuring stress

WEAKNESSES
•lacks ecological validity as fill out a questionnaire
•subjective measures- interpreted differently
•ethnocentric bias all white sample all from canada (Eurocentrism)

Question 9

GEER AND MAISEL- LACK OF CONTROL

Aim?

Answer 9

Aim- does lower stress result from being able to predict the occurrence of an unpleasant stimuli or is, the lower stress related to the controlling behaviour itself?

Question 10

GEER AND MAISEL

Sample?

Answer 10

Sample- 60 psychology undergraduates from New York University

Question 11

GEER AND MAISEL

Methodology?

Answer 11

Methodology- laboratory experiment,

•participants were shown dead car crash victims, their stress responses were measured by GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSES (GSR)

Question 12

GEER AND MAISEL-

What is the GSR?

Answer 12

GSR is the electrical current conducted by the skin, it varies according to skin moisture.
Anxiety (Stress) causes sweating, sweating increases the moisture on the skin which increases conductance

Question 13

GEER AND MAISEL

Design?

Answer 13

Design- Independent measures design
Only took part in one measure of the IV

• group 1 - had actual control over how long they saw the photo (10 victims, 60 sec intervals). By pressing a button could terminate the photo (max 35 secs). Told a 10 sec warning told would precede each picture.
• group 2- yoked to G1 (saw pic same time as G1) warned photos would be shown 60 secs apart and a 10 sec warning tone would precede each picture. Had no control over how long they saw the photo yet knew what was happening ( PREDICTABILITY)

•group 3- yoked to G1. Told they would see photos time to time & would hear tones from time to time.
⬇️had no predictability and no control

Question 14

GEER AND MAISEL

Procedure?

Answer 14

Procedure-
1)each participant seated in a soundproof room
2)wired up to GSR machine and heart monitor
3)machine was calibrated for 5 minutes (baseline measure took while ppt relaxed)
4)instructions read out over intercom
5) 1 minute break then stimuli presented
6) each photo was preceded by 10 sec warning tone then flashed up
7)when button pressed (group 1) or predetermined length of time (group 2 or group 3) photo disappeared
8) GSR analysis took -
•start of warning tone
•2nd half of tone
•response to picture

Question 15

GEER AND MAISEL

Results-

Answer 15

Results-
Group 2- showed more stress with tone as knew what was coming but had NO control over photo.
Group 1- experienced less stress in response to photograph than G2 and G3
Heart rate monitors proved ineffective so were discarded

Question 16

GEER AND MAISEL

Conclusions?

Answer 16

Conclusions-
Participants who displayed lower GSR reaction (less stress) when they had control over length of time they looked at the photo.
Likely that being able to terminate disturbing stimuli reduces stressful impact.