Topic 1 - Biological (Stressors In The Environment) Flashcards
What is a stressor?
Something that causes stress
What is a stress response?
How we react to stress
What is the key research in stressors in the environment?
Black and Black (2007)
What year was Black and Blacks research?
2007
What was the aim of Black and Blacks research?
To answer two core questions:
- Is health related quality of life worse in a community chronically exposed to aircraft noise than a community not exposed?
- Is long-term aircraft noise exposure associated with elevated blood pressure in adults via noise stress as a mediating factor?
Explain Black and Blacks sample:
Contains participants from two areas
1500 questionnaires sent out
796 responses received
704 were filled out completely
What was the age range of Black and Blacks sample?
15-87 years old
Describe the two areas participants were from in Black and Blacks research:
Area 1:
* Area close to Sydney Airport
* On an average day experienced 50 aircraft noise events with a volume above 70 decibels
Area 2:
* South Penrith - 55km away from the airport
* No aircraft noise
* Matched on socio-economic indices
What was the method of Black and Blacks research?
Every home address in area 1 and 2 was sent a questionnaire
Included a cover letter explaining the study was one of environmental noise (but didn’t specify airport noise)
The questionnaire contained multiple sections
Factors that could potentially confound the ability to establish a relationship were also asked about:
What were the sections in Black and Blacks questionnaire?
Health - measured in relation to physical functioning, general health, vitality and mental health
Hypertension - assessed through closed ended questions about participants medical histories with high blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Annoyance with noise - measured in two stages, firstly asked to identify noise sources while and home then rate these 0-10 on how annoying they find them (0 = not at all 10 = extremely)
What potential confounding variables were asked about in Black and Blacks research?
Employment status
Exercise activities
Smoking status
Alcohol consumption
Nutrition intake
Demographic characteristics
What were the results of Black and Black’s research and how did they answer the core questions?
Participants living in area 1 had a mean annoyance score of 6.27/10
This is significantly higher than areas 2 score of 1.03/10
Core questions answered:
1. Mean health score was lower for those in the aircraft noise exposure group than the control group
2. Long term aircraft noise exposure was significantly associated with chronic stress and high blood pressure
What was the conclusion of Black and Black’s research?
There are negative health impacts of exposure to aircraft noise
Explain Glass and Singers study:
Manipulated different features of noise to try to isolate aspects which cause most stress
Gave participants simple cognitive tasks and exposed them to recordings
Manipulated volume, predictability and perceived control
Unpredictability and perceived control had a greater effect on task performance than loudness
Explain Kenrick and MacFarlane’s study:
How drivers responded in different temperatures to being stuck behind a stationary car
Carried out in Arizona
Temp between 31-46 Celsius
Confederate positioned in front of traffic lights in their car and remained stationary for the 12 seconds the lights were green
Participants were the car directly behind them
Higher temperatures were positively correlated with increased likelihood of honking + amount of time leaning on the horn
Temperature can be an environmental stressor
