Stress (Paper 3)

Question 1

What is stress

Answer 1

• A state of physiological or psychological strain caused by things that tend to disturb functioning of the body
• A mismatch between demands made upon an individual and their ability to meet these demands

Question 2

Physiology of stress

Answer 2

-Stress defined as the body’s reaction to an event (known as a stressor) that requires physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response
-A little bit of pressure can be productive, give you motivation and help you to perform better at something. However, excessive pressure can be unhealthy for the mind and body, leading to long term illness
-Anxiety and depression caused by stress

Question 3

SAM pathway

Answer 3

-When the body perceives a situation as stressful the following chain of physiological chain of events is triggered in the bodies autonomic nervous system.
-The sympathomedullary (SAM) pathways generally deals with the short terms effects of stress
-Hypothalamus activates sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system, causing adrenal medulla to release adrenaline
-Prepare body for fight or flight leading to increase in heart beat, blood pressure, breathing rate and inhibit digestion

Question 4

PAS system

Answer 4

-In response to a stressful situation the hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland, which causes ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) to be released, which stimulates the adrenal cortex to release corticosteroids, such as cortisol.
-These stress hormones have a number of functions they cause the liver to increase the release of glucose and suppress the immune system and control swelling after injury.
-After a few minutes the parasympathetic branch of the ANS will start to work and the adrenal medulla will release noradrenaline. This will reduce the “flight or fight” response and bring the body back too normal

Question 5

Cortisol

Answer 5

-Hypothalamus and pituitary gland both located in brain, sense if blood contains right amount of cortisol
-If to low brain adjusts amount of hormones it makes, adrenal gland picks up on these and decides how much cortisol needs to be released

Question 6

Cortisol receptors

Answer 6

-Cells in body receive and use cortisol in different ways, needs differ day to day
-When body is on high alert cortisol can alter or shut down functions that get in the way
-Could include digestive or immune system
-Sometimes cortisol levels can get out of control

Question 7

Role of cortisol

Answer 7

-Cortisol constricts blood vessels and increases blood pressure to enhance the delivery of oxygenated blood
-This is an advantage for fight or flight situations but over time can lead to vessel damage which leads to cardiovascular disorders
-Cortisol helps regulate a persons stress levels
-When chronic stress is experienced cortisol remains high because threat of stressor stays
-Cushing’s syndrome is a disorder that occurs when your body makes too much of the hormone cortisol over a long period of time. Cortisol is sometimes called the “stress hormone” because it helps your body respond to stress
-If a person is constantly stressed then they are going to be releasing cortisol more often therefore affecting their cardiovascular system

Question 8

Newcomer et al (1999)

Answer 8

-Found Ps given levels of cortisol high enough to produce blood sugar levels similar to those experiencing major stress events, were poorer at recalling prose passages compared with Ps given smaller amount
-Suggests high levels do impact on cognitive functions
-Vgnotzas et al (2013) found chronic insomniacs had increased PAS system leading to high levels of ACTH and cortisol

Question 9

General adaption syndrome (GAS)

Answer 9

-One of the most influential pieces of research into physiology of stress ie how body responds to stressful situations was developed by Hans Selye
-Based on his work with rats, and later humans
-Rats in his research would become ill (stomach ulcers) even when given harmless injections
-Became ill from stress and humans would react same way

Question 10

Selye’s 3 stages of GAS

Answer 10

1. Alarm reaction
2. Resistance
3. Exhaustion

Question 11

1. Alarm reaction

Answer 11

-During initial alarm stage, perceived threats trigger hypothalamus to produce releasing hormone (CRF)
-Stimulate pituitary glands production of ACTH via bloodstream, then acts on adrenal cortex producing corticosteroids
-This happens paralel to adrenaline being released to prepare body for fight or flight

Question 12

2. Resistance

Answer 12

-During resistance stage, body’s resources fully mobilised to cope with the stressor

Question 13

3. Exhaustion

Answer 13

-If stressors persist and cannot be overcome, the resistance of the individual sooner or later gives way to exhaustion
-The physiological consequences include effects on adrenal glands (enlarged and depleted), endocrine system usually thrown into disarray
-Selye argued all body tissues and processes can be affected, and in extreme cases, become diseased

Question 14

Evaluation of Selyes GAS

Answer 14

Strengths
-Seyle research was experimental therefore objective measure is possible and is supported by a lot of scientific research

Limitations
-GAS ignores the individual differences that characterise humans, e.g. gender, personality, and differences in physiological reactivity: The GAS suggests a universal response to stress
-Certain bacteria have been found to be the cause of ulcers. It could still be the case that stress weakens the immune system making ulcers more likely. Therefore not a direct cause but correlation

Question 15

Stress and illness

Answer 15

Stress can have a serious affect on the immune system, thus leading to stress related illness

Question 16

Immunosuppression

Answer 16

-Although short term stress is not dangerous, the effects of long term stress on the immune system can leave the body vulnerable to infection and disease, such as infections
-Studies have shown that the immune system is not affected in the same way by all stressors
-Only chronic stressors (eg berievment, marital disharmony or serious problems at work etc) tend to result in immunosuppression

Question 17

Process of stress and immunosupression

Answer 17

-Stress leads to suppression of the immune system due to the action of the cortisol one of the corticosteroids (released as part of the stress response) as they suppress leukocyte activity and stops the production of the white blood cells, specifically T cells
-Sustained production of cortisol reduces immune function
-Interferes with activity of white blood cells (leukocytes) rescued ability to fight infection
-Stress linked to cardiovascular disorders (heart problems, high blood pressure), infections or cancer

Question 18

2 types of lymphocytes

Answer 18

B cells- Produce antibodies which are released into the fluid surrounding the body’s cells to destroy the invading viruses and bacteria

T cells- if the invader gets inside a cell, the T cells lock onto infected cell, multiply and destroy it

Question 19

Natural immunity

Answer 19

Body’s basic defence system made up of white blood cells, called leukocytes and natural killer cells. Help prevent illness by fighting and absorbing invading pathogens such as viruses and bacteria

Question 20

Specific immunity

Answer 20

-More complex system made up of cells called lymphocytes
-Recognise invading pathogens and produce specific antibodies to deal with them
-Divided into cellular and humoral immunity

Question 21

Celluar immunity

Answer 21

-Number of different lymphocyte T cells, natural killer, memory and helper T cells work together to attack intracellular (within cells) pathogens such as viruses

Question 22

Humoral immunity

Answer 22

-Use lymphocyte B cells
-B cells work together to attack extracellular (outside cells) oathogens such as bacteria and parasites
-Form in bone marrow

Question 23

Kiecolt glaser et al study on: slowing of wound healing due to immunosuppression

Answer 23

Aim: test hypothesis that psychological stress can cause damage to the immune system

Procedure:
-Natural exp, 26 participants recruited using advertisement
-Group 1, 13 women aged between 47-81 looking after relative with Alzheimer’s
-Group 2, control group 13 women matched with carer on basis of age and income
-Small wound made on each P and given stress scale to see how stressed they felt (self report)
-Chemical substance involved in stress also taken from each P
-Both tests indicated that the experimental group showed higher levels of stress than the control group
-Time taken for wound to heal was assessed by photographing wound regularly

Results:
-Found that time taken for wound to heal was significantly longer for carers in exp group (48.7 days) than control group (39.3 days)
-Carers also had a larger wound size

Conclusion:
-Results suggest stress does have an impact on immunosuppression
-Correlation not causation
-Only conducted on women, alpha bias

Question 24

2. Role of stress in illness, reference to cardiovascular disorders

Answer 24

-Cardiovascular= heart and blood vessels
-Blood pressure increases due to ‘fight or flight response’ of ANS
-Raised blood pressure and increase heart rate can damage blood vessels because blood is being pumped faster and so at a higher pressure through vessels
-Arteries become scarred, hardened and less elastic. My be unable to supply amount of blood organs need

Question 25

Acute stress and chronic stress leads to:

Answer 25

-High BP
-CHD
-Stroke
-Can also be linked to smoking and diet

Question 26

Arteriosclerosis

Answer 26

-Hardening of arteries with increased sugar production and the fact that stress response stops digestion speed up clogging of arteries
-If one vessel becomes completely closed off, the heart muscle is damaged. Heart attack occurs

Question 27

Williams et al: study on cardiovascular

Answer 27

Aim: see if anger was linked to heart disease

Method:
-Gave questionnaire to 13,000 ppl, whereby none of them had heart disease
-Questionnaire contained a 10 question anger scale, for example if they felt like hitting someone when they got angry

Results:
-After 6 years health status of participants was checked. 256 had developed heart attacks. Those who scored highly on anger scale were two and a half times more likely to have had a heart attack than those with low anger scores.
-Ppl who scored moderately were 35% more likely to experience some sort of heart problems

Conclusion:
-The physiological response in stress is closely associated with cardiovascular disorders. It’s correlational evidence so causation cannot be assumed

Question 28

Stress and cardiovascular: evaluation

Answer 28

-Stress increases risk of cardiovascular disease, not a direct causal factor
-Stress effects clearest with pre existing CHD, if you have CHD stress likely to make it worst
-

Question 29

Sources of stress and measuring stress: life changes and self report scales

Answer 29

-Throughout our lives, we all experienced life changing events, death of close on or getting married etc
-May cause stress and illness, can be positive or negative

Question 30

Social readjustment ratings scale: Holmes and Rahe (1967)

Answer 30

-From their work in hospitals found many patients with heart disease reported life events in last year
-Used records of 5000 patients and created list of 43 events and 400 ppl to rate them, rated the psychological impact that would be required
-Each event given impact value as LCU
-Death or spouse given 100 LCU whereas minor violation of law given 11 LCU
-All events experienced in last year added up

Question 31

SRRS: Results

Answer 31

-A score of under 150 increases chance of stress related illness by 30%
-Score of over 300 is a major crisis and increases the risk to 80%

Question 32

Rahe et al: Correlation between life events and susceptibility to stress related illness

Answer 32

Aim: Interested in seeing if stressors of life events correlated with illness

Procedure:
-Looked at 2500 males serving in US Navy over a period of 6 months
-Participants asked to complete self report questionnaire, contained 43 events and had to say what they experienced in last 6 months, added up LCU
-Over the following 6 months records were kept or there health records and was correlated with LCU

Findings:
-Positive correlation of 0.118 between life change units and illness scores
-Although correlation was small it was still significant and indicates relationship, as LCU increased so did frequency of illness

Conclusion:
-LCU are positively correlated with illness so experiencing life events increases the chances of stress related illness.
-It’s not a perfect correlation so other factors must also play a role.
-The study did not take into account individual differences, such as personality, in reactions to stress.
-The sample were restricted to males (androcentric and beta biased) and American (ethnocentric)

Question 33

Life changes and stress

Answer 33

-Life changes can be experienced differently, e.g. divorce may be negative for some but positive for others
-The relationship between LCU score and stress-related illness is correlational so cannot say life changes cause illness
-Individual differences (personality, gender etc) can mediate the effects of life events

Question 34

Life events and stress evaluation

Answer 34

-Retrospective study, ppl were already undergoing treatment for heart disease
-The study was carried out in the US so the events and how they were rated may have been culturally specific
-SRRS scale is used in many current studies and, if not those scales, adaptations of these scales are used.

Question 35

Sources of stress: daily hassle and uplifts, self report

Answer 35

-A daily hassle is a minor event arises in course of a normal day
-Usually short lived but may linger if left unresolved and after effects of unresolved issues may intensify over time

Question 36

Daily uplift

Answer 36

-A positive, desirable experience that makes a daily hassle more bearable

Question 37

How daily hassles lead to stress

Answer 37

1) Accumulation effect: Minor daily hassles (class test, falling out with friend) build up and multiply. Leads to severe stress reaction.
2) Amplification effect: Chronic stress (life changes) makes us more vulnerable to daily hassles, e.g. exam stress might lead to us being less able to cope with minor issues
3) Daily uplifts can counteract hassles

Question 38

Kanner et al

Answer 38

Aim: Interested in whether it is daily hassles rather than major life events that are most stressful. Developed 117 item hassles scale and 135 uplifts scale

Procedure:
-100 P’s (48 men and 52 women) aged 45-67
-Each participant completed hassle and uplift scale (HSUP) for events over previous month and once a month for next 9 months
-Participants also completed a life events scale for the six months preceding the beginning of the study and also for the two-yearly period after that. Finally, they completed it again at the end of the study
-Health and we’ll being also assessed

Results:
-The five most common hassles were: concerns about weight, health of family member, rising prices of goods, home maintenance, too many things to do
-Five most common uplifts were; relating well with spouse/lover, relating well with friends, completing a task, feeling healthy, getting enough sleep
-Significant negative correlation between frequency of hassles and psychological well-being; in other words, those participants with fewest hassles showed the highest levels of well-being
-Uplifts had a positive effect on the stress levels of women, but not men

Conclusion:
-Kanner concluded hassles were a better predictor of well-being than life events
-Hassles were also a better predictor of well-being than uplifts

Question 39

Daily hassles evaluation

Answer 39

-HSUP scale is a very long questionnaire containing over 250 items. This means that it is likely that respondents don’t maintain thoughtful, focused attention throughout completing the scale
-Participants scores therefore lack reliability
-Problems associated with self-report of social desirability which can weaken the reliability and validity of findings

Question 40

Measuring stress: psychological methods

Answer 40

Methods of measurement:
-Breathing rate: tubes around chest
-Voice stress analyser
-Blood pressure: armband
-Sweating: skin conductance response
-Hormones and steroids: blood or urine or saliva

Question 41

Psychological measures of stress

Answer 41

-Immediate stress linked to arousal or autonomic nervous system resulting in adrenaline and noradrenaline
-Causes increased heart rate, increase blood pressure, increase sweating
-Therefore can be measured through this

Question 42

SCR/GSR

Answer 42

-Skin is electrically active and electrical activity is conducted when skin is wet
-As sweat is produced, amount of electricity conducted increases
-Strongest effect in palms and soles
-To measure, two electrodes placed on persons index and middle finger
-Small voltage (0.5V) applied. Conductance can then be reported

Question 43

Individual differences in SCR

Answer 43

-Some ppl produce a lot of SCR’s when at rest and others whereas others do not
-Failure to take into consideration differences in participants threatens validity of exp

Question 44

Another physiological measure of stress

Answer 44

-Blood pressure
-Kamarck et al (1990) looked at the effect of social support on stress by measuring blood pressure and heart rate before doing a set of mental tasks and again afterwards.
Those participants who had a close same sex friend holding their wrist throughout the task were less stressed.

Question 45

Evaluation of physiological measures of stress

Answer 45

Strengths
-Avoids problems with self reports such as social desirability because P’s not asked to judge own stress

Limitations
-What is actually being measured is sympathetic arousal, which occurs in response to any emotion, it may not just be stress that causes the activity of the SNS
-Other issues can cause physiological changes which can mimic stress responses- drugs/caffeine/alcohol

Question 46

Individual differences: personality

Answer 46

-Personality is a set of characteristics, behaviours and attitudes that distinguish one another
-It makes us who we are

Question 47

Personality types

Answer 47

-Friedman and Rosenman conducted research on personality types. They found using surveys that:
TYPE A: P’s were competitive, hostile and ambitious. Demonstrated characteristics of impatience, workaholism- more vulnerable to stress related illness
TYPE B: P’s were non competitive, relaxed and easy going- less vulnerable to stress related illness
TYPE X: P’s a mixyure of A and B

Question 48

Key study: Friedman and Rosenman

Answer 48

Aim: Test hypothesis that Type A individuals more likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD) than Type B’s

Procedure:
-Self selected sample of nearly 3200 Californian men aged between 39 and 59 years was used
-Assessed over 8.5 years from 1960
-Part one of study= structured interview and observation, assessing personality type( determined by amount of impatience, competitiveness, and hostility reported) and health status
-Part two of the study was the follow-up 8 1⁄2 years later when incidence of CHD was recorded.
-A correlational analysis was carried out to test the association between Type A/B behaviour pattern and CHD

Results:
-Of original sample of 3200, 257 developed CHD, 70% of these were classified as Type A
-Nearly twice as much as Type B
-Compared to Type Bs, Type As were found to have higher levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline (both associated with stress) and cholesterol. A significant but moderate positive correlation was found between personality type and coronary heart disease

Conclusion:
-Research shows that Type A behaviour is correlated to CHD
-Type A increases stress and in turn increases vulnerability
-It’s correlational evidence so causation cannot be assumed

Question 49

Type C personality

Answer 49

-People pleasers, strive to be compliant, patient, passive and self sacrificing
-Wish to avoid conflict, characterised by suppression of negative emotions
-Incur risk of cancer due to some stressors activating ANS and chronic stress impacting on immune system

Question 50

Datore et al: Type C

Answer 50

-Studied 200ps from Vietnam war. 75 had cancer and remaining didn’t
-Completed self report questionnaire to measure repression of emotion and depression

Findings:
-Veterans diagnosed with cancer had scored much higher on the repression of emotions but lower on the depression scale, compared to the non-cancer group
-Findings support the idea that people who repress their emotions may be more vulnerable to illness, but psychological illness such as depression would not become evident as they have repressed acknowledging they feel depressed
-Supports correlation between Type C and illness

Question 51

Conclusion

Answer 51

-Individual differences modify effects of stressors. Means different ppl experience same stressor in different ways
-Biological body response to stress is fairly consistent across individuals. However, self perception and interpretation are not, and as these can trigger body’s response
-Stress is a unique experience specific to the individual and it may be influenced by personality

Question 52

Personality: Hardiness

Answer 52

-Kobasa used term Hardy to describe ppl who coped well in stressful situations:

Commitment: Hardy individuals show greater involvement in work and personal friendships. 100% into whatever they do and don’t give up easily

Challenge: Stressful situations perceived as a challenge and opportunity for personal growth and development

Control: Hardy individuals feel that they are in control of their lives and are less likely to blame others or experience learned helplessness. Very similar to having internal locus of control- do not feel that their level of stress is controlled by external factors

Question 53

Key study: Kobasa

Answer 53

-Studied 800 male American business executives assessing stress using Holmes and Rahe’s SRRS
-Approximately 150 of the participants were classified as having high stress according to their SRRS scores. Participants were also asked to list the number of illness episodes that they had experienced in this time.
-Of these, some had a high stress/low illness record (86 participants) whereas others had a high stress/high illness record (75 participants)
-Three months later, participants were asked to complete a series of personality tests, which included assessment of control, commitment and challenge

Findings:
-Individuals who are in the high-stress/low-illness group scored highly on all 3 of the hardiness characteristics, whereas the high-stress/high-illness group scored lower on these variables

Conclusion:
-Kobasa proposed the notion that a hardy personality type encourages resilience and therefore helps an individual to cope with stress.
-This suggests that hardy personality type is linked to stress levels and that a hardy personality provide defenses against the negative effects of stress

Question 54

Hardiness evaluation

Answer 54

-Hardiness is related to differences in physiological arousal. It’s believed that hardiness helps decrease the ability of stressful events to produce arousal in sympathetic nervous system
-There are several instrument developed to measure hardiness; the Personal Views Survey, the Dispositional Resilience Scale and the Cognitive Hardiness Scale

Question 55

Drug therapy

Answer 55

-Biological methods to manage negative effects of stress work by trying to control the body’s response by reducing physiological reactivity.
-Done through the use of prescribed drugs. These are two types of anti anxiety drugs:

Question 56

Benzodiazepines

Answer 56

-Example: Valium
- Increase activity of neurotransmitter GABA, which decreases serotonin activity.
-Serotonin linked to arousal, low serotonin activity reduces arousal, therefore reducing stress
-Affect the brain systems and chemicals related to stress

Question 57

Beta blockers

Answer 57

-Act directly on sympathetic nervous system and reduce the ‘fight or flight’ response of SAM, by acting on the CNS
-They reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure, which are symptoms associated with stress and act on the body not the brain
-Reduce responsiveness of sympathetic ganglia and nerves

Question 58

Stress response involves:

Answer 58

-Increase levels of certain neurotransmitters such as GABAS
-Increased activity in particular brain areas (e.g. limbic system which regulates ANS)
-Increased activity in sympathetic nervous system

Question 59

Drug therapy evaluation

Answer 59

Strengths
-Drugs are proven to be effective
-By comparing drugs to placebos you can see if drug has pharmacological or psychological effects, research shows BZ’s were superior to placebo
-Drugs are very simple and easy to use

Limitations
-BZ’s can be addictive and result in withdrawal symptoms= Ashton recommended taking them for no more than 4 weeks
-Side effects of BZs include aggressiveness and cognitive impairment (ability to store new knowledge in LTM reduced)
-Beta blockers linked to diabetes
-
-

Question 60

Stress management: biofeedback

Answer 60

-Neal Miller suggested ANS responses can be voluntary
-This led to creation of biofeedback
-Heart rate and blood pressure are not under our voluntary control as controlled by ANS.
-Biofeedback is a method whereby an individual learns to exert voluntary control over involuntary (automatic) behaviours by being made aware of what is happening in the ANS

Question 61

4 steps of biofeedback

Answer 61

1. Electro codes attached to skin. Person attached to machine that monitors and gives feedback on heart rate
2. They send information to monitor ping box which translates measurements into computer screen
3. Person taught relaxation techniques reducing activity of SNS and activate parasympathetic nervous system, slowing heart rate and making them feel relaxed
4. Relaxation acts like a reward and encourages ppl to repeat it involuntarily. If a behaviour has a pleasant consequence, it is likely to be repeated, and hence so are the relaxation techniques

Question 62

Research into biofeedback

Answer 62

-Lemaire et al found that doctors who were taught biofeedback techniques and used them over 28 days reported much reduced levels of stress than control group
-Also measured the physiological symptoms of stress, such as heart rate and blood pressure, in the same participants, and found no significant changes over the 28-day period

Question 63

Biofeedback evaluation

Answer 63

Strengths
-Effective for range of health problems
-No side effects
-It is effective in children as well; it can be effective with children who treat it as a game as they are less skeptical and so it has a greater chance of working

Limitations
-Requires specialist equipment
-Can be expensive and difficult to use at home
-Time consuming, need to be committed

Question 64

Stress inoculation training

Answer 64

-CBT was developed by Beck from two earlier types of psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, change ppl thoughts, beliefs etc and behavioural therapy, designed to change how ppl acted
-Combining both therapies to change the act of thinking and behaviour at the same time provided a more holistic approach to solving problems
-Believe it is not situation itself that makes ppl stressed, but how they think and react to it

Question 65

Positive and negative thinking

Answer 65

Positive- lead to more positive attitudes and feelings, reduce stress response (my boss will still be delighted by what I achieved)

Negative- lead to negative outcomes, anxiety and depression (I failed to hit a deadline people must think I’m hopeless)

Question 66

Miechenbaum (1985)

Answer 66

Proposed three main phases to stress inoculation process: ….

Question 67

1. Conceptualisation

Answer 67

-Client realised their stressed
-Client and therapist identify source of stress
-Could include keeping diary of when and where stressful experiences occurred

Question 68

2. Skills acquisition and rehearsal

Answer 68

-Allows client to learn specific skills and to practise them with therapist
-Skills taught and tailored to clinets problems
-Skills such as: positive thinking, relaxation, social skills, methods of diversion, time management

Question 69

3. Application phase

Answer 69

-Finally client will try out these skills in the real world
-Clients apply the skills to different and increasingly stressful situations
-Client will come together with therapist and consider how well these new skills worked
-Therapist and client continue to monitor success of therapy

Question 70

Meichenbaum study on SIT

Answer 70

-21 students aged 17-25 responded to advert about treatment or test anxiety
-Put ps in three groups
-SIT, systematic desensitisation and control group
-Ps tested using test anxiety questionnaire
-SIT and systematic desensitisation received 8 sessions and control group told they were on waiting list

Findings:
-Performance in tests in the SIT group improved the most although both therapy groups showed improvement over the control groups

Conclusions:
-SIT is effective way of reducing anxiety in students who are prone to anxiety test in situations and more effective than simply behavioural techniques when cognitive component added in

Question 71

Stress inoculation evaluation

Answer 71

Strengths
-Provides long term solution as techniques can be used throughout whole life
-The skills taught during SIT may be more beneficial than the whole training, e.g. Learning to think more positively

Limitations
-Relies on client being motivated and determined otherwise it won’t work
-SIT may take a while to make a difference and is also extremely expensive

Question 72

Gender differences in coping with stress

Answer 72

-Taylor suggested men and women have completely different stress responses
-Evolution has meant that men respond to stress through aggression or denial: fight or flight
-Women are more likely to respond in a protecting, nurturing, calming way to a stressor, known as the tend and befriend response
-These stereotypes may mean men are less open about their feelings and instead use more harmful methods of coping

Question 73

Biological differences

Answer 73

-OXYTOCIN: Released during ‘tend and befriend’ and is a love hormone. Produced in both sexes and promotes feelings of good will
-However, female hormone oestrogen seems to increase effect of oxytocin, male testosterone has a dampening effect on it
-As a result, the stress response is reduced in women, and oxytocin effects do not last as long as in men. So women may be better protected from stress than men

Question 74

Lazarus and Folkman

Answer 74

-Suggest there are two types of coping responses:

Emotion focused- coping involves trying to reduce negative emotional responses associated with stress like embarrassment, fear, anxiety, depression, frustration

Problem focused- coping targets the causes of stress in practical ways which tackles the problem or stressful situation that is causing stress, directly reducing stress

Question 75

Peterson

Answer 75

-Assessed coping strategies of men and women who had been diagnosed with infertility.
-Both used a variety of strategies, but the key difference was that men were more likely to plan and problem solve (problem-focused), whilst women were more likely to use avoidance tactics (emotion-focused)

Question 76

Gender differences evaluation

Answer 76

-A reason for gender differences may be due to different types of stressors men and women face
-Gender socialisation has led to women engaging in fewer unhealthy behaviours e.g. less risk-taking behaviour.
-Men are more likely to drink and smoke to excess.
-Men tend to socialise through involvement in aggressive or competitive sports and going to the pub which increase stress levels

Question 77

Social support

Answer 77

3 types of social support:

Instrumental support- practical support such as giving lift to hospital or lending money

Emotional support- Providing comfort through statements such as ‘I’m really sorry for what you’re going through’, ‘if there’s anything you need, I’m here for you’. It means expressing empathy and warmth for the person in order to make them feel better

Esteem support- Trying to raise the person’s self-confidence, so that they believe they can cope with the demands of the stressor. For example, saying things like ‘I know you can get through this’, or pointing out examples of times they have dealt with challenging situations in the past

Question 78

Cohen et al: see if HUGS protected against stress related health problems

Answer 78

-404 healthy adults contacted by phone for 14 days to measure amount of hugs they received each day
-Also completed questionnaire to assess perceived social support, stress measured by assessing daily personal conflict experienced
-Participants were exposed to the common cold virus and were monitored for signs of illness.
-Participants who experienced more interpersonal conflict were more likely to get ill, however those who reported more social support had a reduced risk of illness
-Participants who received hugs more frequently were less likely to get ill, and those who did get ill had less severe symptoms if they received more hugs.
-This suggests that social support does act as a protector against the effects of stress

Question 79

Gender and types of social support

Answer 79

-Males use instrumental social support more than emotional social support
-Females use emotional support more than instrumental social support
-More females than males use both forms of social support