Download The History and Scope of Psychology Module 1

Stress
AP Key Concept: Discuss theories of stress and the effects of
stress on psychological and physical well-being.
• Stress and stressors
• Behavioral medicine
• Stress response system
Modified from the work of Sarah Saunders at Lindbergh High School in Missouri.
Stress
• Stress is an emotional
response to demands
that are perceived as
threatening or exceeding
a person’s resources or
ability to cope.
• A stressor is a trigger that
prompts a stressful
reaction.
• The physical and
emotional response is
called a stress reaction.
Stress and Stressors
Stress is a slippery concept. At times it is the stimulus
(missing an appointment) and at other times it is a
response (sweating while taking a test).
Stress Appraisal
• Stress arises less from the event itself than
from how we appraise it. (Lazarus, 1998)
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Stress and Illness
Stress can be adaptive
(motivates us in constructive
ways) – in a fearful, stresscausing situation we can run
away and save our lives.
Stress can be maladaptive
(causes health risks) – if it is
prolonged, chronic stress it
increases the risk of illness and
health problems.
Stress and Stressors
• When short-lived, or when perceived as challenges,
stressors can have positive effects. Hans Selye referred
to this as eustress, or positive stress. He said
individuals need some level of eustress in order to be
productive, happy, and inspired.
– Mobilizing the immune system to fend off infection and
heal wounds.
– Arousing and motivating us to conquer problems.
• Championship athletes, successful entertainers, and great teachers
and leaders all thrive and excel when aroused by a challenge.
– Having survived a life challenge, some people emerge with
stronger self-esteem and greater sense of purpose.
– Some stress early in life can lead to later emotional
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resilience.
Stress and Stressors
• Extreme or prolonged stress can harm us and
bring about health issues. Hans Selye referred to
this as distress, or negative stress. This involves
high levels of tension, resulting in impaired
decision making, negative physical consequences,
appetites or sleep disturbances, or negative
coping mechanisms.
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Abused children
Troops who survived heavy combat
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Loss of a job
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Stressors:
Things that Push Our Buttons
• Catastrophes
– Unpredictable large-scale events, such as wars, earthquakes,
floods, wildfires, and famines.
– Some respond to catastrophes by relocating which often
increases the stress.
• Significant Life Changes
– Graduating from high school, leaving home to go to college,
getting married, losing a job, having a loved one die.
– Studies show that people recently widowed, fired, or divorced
are more vulnerable to disease.
• Daily Hassles
– Traffic, fighting with siblings or friends, long lines, too many
things to do, frustration with family
– Money, work, and the economy (research from the 2008-2009
Recession)
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Stress: Age and Gender
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Stress: Age and Family
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The Stress Response System
There are two types of instinctive stress response that are
important to how we understand stress and stress
management: the short-term “Fight-or-Flight” response
and the long-term “General Adaptation Syndrome”.
The first is a basic survival instinct, while the second is a
long-term effect of exposure to stress.
Fight or Flight Response
Walter Canon proposed
that stress response (fast)
was a fight-or-flight
response marked by two
tiers.
First, the sympathetic nervous
system activates the release of
epinephrine and
norepinephrine from inner
adrenal glands increasing heart
and respiration rates,
mobilizing sugar and fat and
dulling pain.
The Stress Response System
Second, the
hypothalamus and the
pituitary gland also
respond to stress (slow)
by triggering outer
adrenal glands to secrete
glucocorticoids (cortisol –
the stress hormone).
General Adaptation Syndrome
(Selye )
• Hans Selye extended Cannon’s findings while
researching recurring responses to stress that he
called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
• He discovered various chemicals caused stress
reactions in animals
• He proposed that when a person undergoes
chronic or severe stress, the body will go through a
three-stage physical response.
– Alarm
– Resistance
– Exhaustion
General Adaptation Syndrome
• Alarm Reaction – nervous system activated in
response to stressor
• Resistance – body responds with physiological
reactions to cope with the stressor; excessive
amounts of epinephrine and other stress hormones
increase heart rate and blood pressure.
• Exhaustion – body’s resistance to stress is depleted
(physical deterioration)
– Diseases such as hypertension (high blood pressure)
and heart disease become likely.
– Long periods of stress can result in accelerated aging,
illness, permanent organ damage, even death.
General Adaptation Syndrome
General Adaptation Syndrome
General Adaptation Syndrome
High Stress Job
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Uplifts
• Opposed to daily hassles,
we experience uplifts
– Pleasant, satisfying
experiences
– May serve as buffers against
hassles
• According to Lazarus, Stress
neither resides in the person
nor the situation; it
depends on the transaction
between the two.
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Personality Types
The impact of stress is also related to dispositional factors
and individuals may react to stress in one of two broad
ways (Friedman and Rosenman, 1974)…
1.
Type A are competitive, harddriving, impatient, verbally
aggressive, and anger-prone
people. They usually rush and
respond to increased stress by
working more, competing harder,
or with aggression. Type A’s may
be intolerant of slowness.
2. Type B are easygoing, relaxed
people. They allow stress to “roll
off their backs” and are generally
less driven.
Personality Types
Type As are more severely affected by stress. They have
a higher incidence of heart attacks, ulcers, and other
stress-related diseases. Type A traits of anger and
hostility are the most significant risk factors of heart
disease.
Stress and health
• Stress and the heart
• Stress and the immune system
• Stress and the brain
Stress and the Heart
Stress that leads to elevated blood pressure results in
Coronary Heart Diseases clogging of the vessels that
nourish the heart muscle.
Plaque in
coronary artery
Artery
clogged
Pessimism and Heart Disease
A Harvard University study found that pessimistic
adult men are twice as likely to develop heart
disease over a 10 year period
(Kubzansky et al., 2001).
Stress and the Immune System
B lymphocytes fight bacterial infections,
T lymphocytes attack cancer cells, viruses, microphages
ingest foreign substances and NK cells (natural killer)
pursue diseased cells.
During stress energy is mobilized away from the immune
system making it vulnerable.
Lennart Nilsson/ Boehringer Ingelhein International GmbH
Stress & Susceptibility to Disease
Psychophysical illness is any stress-related physical
illness, such as hypertension or headaches.
Hypochondriasis – misinterpreting normal physical
sensations as symptoms of disease.
Stress and Colds
People with highest life stress scores were also most
vulnerable when experimentally exposed to a cold
virus.
Stress and AIDS
Stress and negative emotions may accelerate the
progression from human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) to acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(AIDS).
UNAIDS/ G. Pirozzi
Stress and Cancer
Stress does not create cancer cells. Researchers
disagree on whether stress influences cancer
progression. They do agree that avoiding stress and a
hopeful attitude cannot reverse advanced cancer.
Stress and the Brain
• Stress affects reward pathways (dopamine) and
the way we experience pleasure
• Stress also affects the limbic system, in particular
the hippocampus (memory)
– It can kill the neurons responsible for relaying
messages and building neural networks
– Your brain has difficulty encoding information during
periods of prolonged stress (Selye’s exhaustion phase)
– Why you shouldn’t cram the night before the AP
exam.
Health-Related Consequences
Kathleen Finlay/ Masterfile
Stress can have a variety of health-related
consequences.
Coping With Stress
• Types of coping
• Control and explanatory styles (Rotter, Seligman)
• Managing and relieving stress
Strategies For Alleviating Stress
Reducing stress by changing events that cause stress
or by changing how we react to stress is called
problem-focused coping.
When we cannot change a stressful situation, and
respond by attending to our own emotional needs
it is called emotion-focused coping.
Sense of Control (Rotter)
• The sense of control or influence one has over stressful
events in one’s life
• Most studies suggest the lower the perceived control the
larger the potential for health-related problems
• Lower perceived control leads to a lowered immunity to
disease.
Explanatory Style (Seligman)
People with optimistic (compared to pessimistic)
explanatory style tend to have more control over
stressors, cope better with stressful events, have
better moods and have a stronger immune system.
Social Support
Bob Daemmrich/ Stock, Boston
Supportive family members, marriage partners, and
close friends help people cope with stress. Their
immune functioning calms the cardiovascular system
and lowers blood pressure.
Managing Stress
Having a sense of control, optimistic explanatory
style, social support can reduce stress and improve
health.
Aerobic Exercise
Can aerobic exercise
boost the spirit? Many
studies suggest that
aerobic exercise can
elevate mood and wellbeing, because aerobic
exercise raises energy,
increases self-confidence,
lowers tension, depression
and anxiety.
Biofeedback, Relaxation and Meditation
Biofeedback system uses
electronic devices to inform
people about their
physiological responses, and
gives them the chance to
bring their response into a
healthier range. Relaxation
and meditation have similar
effects in reducing tension
and anxiety.
Life-Style
Ghislain and Marie David De Lossy/ Getty Images
Modifying Type A life-style can reduce recurrence
of heart attacks.
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Spirituality & Faith Communities
Regular religious attendance has been a reliable
predictor of a longer life span with a reduced risk of
dying.
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Intervening Factors
Investigators suggest three factors that intervene
between religious involvement and better health.
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Your turn…
• Stress in America survey results
• Methods for managing stress
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