The Biological Approach

Question 1

What is the basic assumptions of the biological approach?

Answer 1

Human behaviour can be explained by looking at biological stuff such as hormones, genetics, evolution and the nervous system. So unwanted behaviour can be treated using biological treatments.

Question 2

Name 4 research methods that biological research uses

Answer 2

Experiments to try to establish cause and effect
Correlations describe the relationship between two variables
Case studies are used to investigate unusual things
Questionnaires and interviews are used to collect data directly

Question 3

Name two types of brain scanning

Answer 3

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

PET (Positron Emission Tomography)

Question 4

What is the advantages and disadvantages of brain scanning?

Answer 4

Expensive

Useful to see which parts of the brain are activated during activities

Question 5

What is brain lateralisation?

Answer 5

Whe a function (like speech) are localised more in one of the two hemispheres of the brain

Question 6

What are the strengths of the Biological Approach?

Answer 6

It can provide evidence to support or disprove a theory

If a biological cause can be found, then a biological treatment can be developed

Question 7

What are the weaknesses of the Biological Approach?

Answer 7

It doesn’t take into account environmental and social experiences

Using a biological explanation can lead to people not taking personal responsibility

Question 8

Define stress

Answer 8

The response that occurs when we can’t cope with the pressures in our environment

Question 9

Which part of the brain responds to stress

Answer 9

The Hypothalamus

Question 10

How does the Hypothalamus control the physiological activities involved in stress?

Answer 10

Activates the sympathomedullary pathway

And if the stress is long term (several hours or more) then it activates the pituitary-adrenal system

Question 11

What is the sympathomedullary pathway?

Answer 11

In the initial shock response, the hypothalamus triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system
which stimulates the adrenal medulla within the adrenal glands
which releases adrenaline and noradrenaline into the blood stream

Question 12

What does the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream do?

Answer 12

Increase blood pressure and heart rate
Decrease digestion so blood can be directed to the brain and muscles
Tenses muscles
Increases perspiration so the body can cool down and burn energy
Increases breathing so more oxygen available for muscles

Question 13

When is the pituitary-adrenal system activated?

Answer 13

If the stress is long term - several hours or more - this system produces a counter shock response, which supplies the body with more fuel

Question 14

Describe the effect of the activation of the pituitary-adrenal system to produce a counter-shock response in long term stress

Answer 14

The hypothalamus trigger release of CRH hormone
which stimulates the anterior pituitary gland
which releases a hormone called ACTH
which travels to the adrenal cortex, near the kidneys
and stimulates it to release corticosteroids
which stimulates the liver to release stored sugar (the immune system is suppressed while this happens)

Question 15

Describe Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) 1936

Answer 15

Seyle suggested that there is a 3-stage response to stress
1. The Alarm Stage: we increase body arousal levels so we are readied for flight-or-fight
2. The Resistance Stage: in long term stress the body appears to adapt to the situation, but arousal levels are still higher than normal
3. The Exhaustion Stage: long term exposure to stress and the body may develop what Seyle called ‘diseases of adaptation’ like ulcers or high blood pressure
SEE YOUTUBE “SEYLE’S GAS - PSYCHOLOGY”

Question 16

Are ulcers caused by stress?

Answer 16

Actually a bacterium has been found to be involved in the formation of ulcers. However it could still be the case that stress weakens the immune system.

Question 17

Can long term stress have an effect on the cardio-vascular system? Describe an experiment examining the effect of stress on the heart

Answer 17

Krantz et al(1991)
Method: laboratory experiment testing effects of stress-inducing tasks on participants - tested blood pressure and the extent to which the vessels around their heart contracted
Results: high blood pressure linked with high contraction of vessels around heart
Conclusion: stress may have a direct influence on aspects of body functioning, making cardiovascular disorders more likely
Evaluation: although the effects were linked to stress, causality cannot be proved. A control experiment wasn’t carried out (test when relaxed). Individual differences may have played a role. Low ecological validity because in a lab so not real life stress. However, findings were supported by other studies.

Question 18

Describe an experiment that links stress to weakening of the immune system

Answer 18

Brady et al (1958)
Method: two monkeys were given electric shocks every 20 seconds for 6 hour periods. One monkey - the executive- could push a lever to delay his shocks
Results: the executive monkey was more likely to develop ulcers and later die
Conclusion: the illness and death was not due to the shocks but to the stress the executive monkeys had in trying to avoid them. In the long term this stress reduced the immune systems ability to fight infection.
Evaluation: ethical issues obviously! Also we cannot generalise results from monkeys to humans. Also we know that people with little control over their lives can still experience high levels of stress.

Question 19

Describe an experiment linking stress to immune system suppression in Humans

Answer 19

Kiecolt-Glaser et al (1995)
Method: independent Measures design. A small wound was made on the arms of 13 women who cared for relatives with Alzheimer’s disease - a very stressful responsibility. A control group of 13 others also took part.
Results: wound healing took on average 9 days longer for the carers than the control group
Conclusion: long term stress impairs the effectiveness of the immune system to heal wounds
Evaluation: this has been backed up by other research. However correlation doesn’t prove causality - carers may also have poor diets, lack of sleep etc. The sample size was also small.

Question 20

Describe an experiment that links the stress of life change to illness

Answer 20

Holmes and Rahe (1967)
Method: studied 500 patient’s records and noted any major life events that occurred before the illness. They ranked life events (scored by LIfe Change Units) on the SRRS (Social Readjustment Rating Scale)
Result: patients are more likely to have experienced life changes before becoming ill and the more serious life changes seemed to be linked to stress and illness

Question 21

What is the SRRS?

Answer 21

Social Readjustment Rating Scale

The numbers that make up the score are called Life Change Units (LCUs)

Question 22

What life events are ranked highest on the SRRS.

Answer 22

Death of a spouse

Divorce

Question 23

What further correlational studies supported the findings that the stress of life changes is linked to illness?

Answer 23

Rahe et al (1970)
Method: correlational study. More than 2500 seamen were given a SRRS form to complete before they went to sea, to indicate all events that had happened to then for the last 6 months
Results: higher LCUS scores were found to be linked to a higher incidence of illness over the next seven months
Conclusion: stress involved in life changes is linked to increased risk of illness
Evaluation: results are not representative of the wide population (American navy). Results don’t explain individual differences. Limitations associated with correlational studies. You can’t assume a causal relationship between the variables. Problems with SRRS to rank stressful events

Question 24

What are the issues with SRRS?

Answer 24

The SRRS doesn’t separate positive and negative life events. Stress and illness might be more linked to negative life changes. For example a wedding might be stressful but positive overall.

Long term minor sources of stress are not considered

Question 25

What is the overall evaluation of the SRRS research?

Answer 25

Results are correlational only - there is certainly a relationship but stress may not be a direct result of life changes

Question 26

Describe Kanner et al (1981) research on stress and daily hassles

Answer 26

Method: adults asked to pick hassles they had experienced that month and rate how severe they felt they were - repeated for 9 months
Results: common daily hassles; high scores were more likely to have physical and psychological problems; positive life events reduced ill health
Conclusion: daily hassles linked to stress and health with a stronger correlation than those found with SRRS
evaluation: correlation doesn’t mean one causes the other
Using questionnaires provided qualitative data but doesn’t allow participants to explain why things are stressful. Participants may not be honest or recall may be faulty

Question 27

Where does stress in the workplace come from?

Answer 27

1. Relationships at work
2. Work pressures
3. Physical environment
4. Stresses linked to our role (job security, promotion problems)
5. Lack of control

Question 28

What did Marmot et al (1997) discover about lack of control and illness in the workplace

Answer 28

Method: civil service employees gave information about their employment, how much control they felt they had, how much support the felt they had
Results: follow up 5 years later - those who were on lowest grades wit least control were four times more likely to die of a heart attack
Conclusion: believing you have little control over your work has an influence on work stress and development of illness
Evaluation: the study only looked at office workers. Smoking was also found to be common to those who developed illnesses, as were other factors (diet and exercise) the research is correlational therefore doesn’t prove cause or effect. Data was obtained by questionnaires , so relied on truthfulness and perceptions.

Question 29

Frankenhaeuser (1975) also researched stress levels - this time in sawmill workers. Describe this research

Answer 29

Method: study on two groups of workers - one had a repetitive, noisy and lonely task feeding logs into a machine ( no control). The other group had more control and social interaction. Stress levels were measured by testing urine samples and blood pressure.
Results: first group had higher levels of stress hormones in their unite and more likely o suffer from high blood pressure and stomach ulcers.
Conclusion: lack of control and social isolation can lead to stress
Evaluation: field experiment so high ecological validity. Finding supported by Marmot’s study. However, it doesn’t take individual differences into account. Results could have been caused by other extraneous factors, such as ow much they were paid.

Question 30

Different personalities can lead to individual differences In how they react to stress. One theory of personality splits everyone into three groups - what are these?

Answer 30

Type A (competitive and ambitious)
Type B (relaxed and easy going)
Type X (a mixture of the two)

Later research identified
Type C (mild mannered and suppress their emotions)
Type D (pessimistic worriers with poor social skills)

Question 31

Friedman and Rosenman (1974) researched how different types of personality affects the likelihood of Coronary Heart Disease. Describe this research.

Answer 31

Method: middle aged American males were assessed to class heir personality types. None of hem had heart problems.
Results: 8 years later some of them had developed Coronary Heart Disease. 70% Type A
Conclusion: Type A personalities seem to have higher risk of stress related diseases
Evaluation: 3 types of personalities seems simplistic! The correlation in results doesn’t show if the personality traits caused the stress or the stress caused the personality traits. Sample was limited and am not generalise to wider population. Questions may been answered incorrectly (social desirability bias)

Question 32

Kobasa (1979) identified Hardiness as an important Individual Difference. What are the 3 main characteristics of Hardy personalities?

Answer 32

1. High levels of commitment, work hard
2. View change in a positive way, enjoying the challenge
3. Strong feeling of control over their lives - “internal locus of control”

Question 33

What is the biological explanation for stress being related to gender?

Answer 33

Males and females have evolved different physiological responses to stress.
Taylor et al (2000) suggested that women produce a calmer espouse to stress due to the hormone Oxytocin, the “tend and befriend” response. Men have a “flight or fight” response.

Question 34

What is the social explanation of stress being related to gender?

Answer 34

The Western stereotypical social role for men is to suppress their emotion. This may mean they use other harmful coping mechanisms like smoking and drinking.
Carroll (1992) found that women do generally make use of social support to deal with stress. however coronary heart disease has increased in women - this might be because it is more acceptable for women to smoke and drink

Question 35

What is the Cognitive explanation of stress being related to gender?

Answer 35

Vogele et al(1997) claim that women are better able to control anger. Men may feel anger is an acceptable way for them o respond and get stressed if they cannot get angry. These cognitive differences could be biological or social or both.

Question 36

Someone suffering with stress could be stressed for a variety of reasons - name some

Answer 36

Biological - hormones, genetics, evolution, nervous system
Environmental 
Life changes
Work - Lack of control, social isolation
Relationships
Personality
Gender
Culture

Question 37

What is the Biological Approach to stress management?

Answer 37

Drug treatments which
- slow down the central nervous system reducing anxiety (Valium)
- reduce activity in sympathetic nervous system (beta blockers)
Biofeedback
Exercise

Question 38

Are Biological treatments effective in stress?

Answer 38

Drugs are quick and effective but don’t deal with the cause of stress and may have side effects and be addictive
Biofeedback is effective and helps patients gain control. It also doesn’t treat the cause of stress.

Question 39

What is the Psychological Approach to stress management?

Answer 39

Learning to think differently about stressful situations.

Question 40

How does Meichenbaum’s Stress Inoculation Training help people to deal with stress?

Answer 40

1. Identify fears
2. Train to develop skills like positive thinking and relaxation
3. Practice

Question 41

Kobasa identified Hardiness as important

Describe Maddi’s Hardiness Training

Answer 41

1. Recognise physical symptoms of stress
2. Learn to analyse stressful encounters so as to develop coping strategies
3. Take on small challenges and build confidence thus gaining greater sense of control

Question 42

What are the weaknesses with the Psychological method of stress management?

Answer 42

These methods are proven to be effective but require commitment and determination on part of anticipates and can be lengthy and time consuming.

Question 43

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy aims to change though processes. Name two methods.

Answer 43

Rational-Emotive Therapy (Ellis)

Beck’s Cognitive Restructuring Therapy

Question 44

Describe the Rational-Emotive Therapy

Answer 44

Ellis (1962) suggested the ABC model (Activating event, Belief, Consequence)
(A:I failed my exam, B: because I am stupid, C: I will always fail exams)
This therapy tries to encourage people to change their Beliefs
SEE YOUTUBE “ALBERT ELLIS:A GUIDE TO RATIONAL LIVING-THINKING ALLOWED”

Question 45

Describe Beck’s Cognitive Restructuring Therapy

Answer 45

Beck (1963) identified the cognitive triad of negative thought about
a) Themselves (I am stupid)
b) The Future (I will always be stupid)
c) The World (People know I am stupid)
This therapy involves disproving the negativity of the person’s thinking.

Question 46

For revision of stress see YOUTUBE “AS PSYCHOLOGY REVISION: AN OVERVIEW OF STRESS”

Answer 46

DO IT!