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Chapter 3
Stress
Stress
Sources
Psychological
Moderators
Managing
Stress
• An event that exerts physical or psychological
force or pressure on a person. The demand
made on an organism to adjust.
Sources of Stress
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Daily Hassles
Life Changes
Acculturation
Pain and Discomfort
Frustration
Conflict
Irrational Beliefs
Type A Behavior Pattern
Environment
Daily Hassles
• Lazarus’ term for routine sources of
annoyance or aggravation that
have a negative impact on health.
Life Changes
• Major changes in life circumstances, such
as getting married, starting (or losing a
job), or losing a loved one.
• Life changes differ from daily hassles in
that life changes can be both positive
and negative whereas hassles are
negative. Also, while hassles occur on a
regular basis, life changes occur at
irregular intervals.
Acculturative Stress
• The feelings of tension and anxiety that
accompany efforts to adapt to or adopt
the orientation and values of the
dominant culture.
• Exposure to racism is connected with
feelings of being marginal and alienated,
role confusion and poorer psychological
health.
Pain and Discomfort
• Pain and Discomfort impair performance
and coping ability.
• Psychologists recommend that we space
aggravating tasks or chores, so that
discomfort does not build to the point
where it compounds stress and impairs
our performance.
• A Gallup poll (2000) found that 89% of
adults in the United States experience
pain at least once a month.
Pain Overview
• Pain usually originates at the point of contact,
but our bodies have an extensive nervous system
to communicate pain messages.
• The pain message is communicated to the brain
by the release of prostaglandins (analgesic
drugs such as aspirin work by inhibiting
prostaglandin activity).
• In response to pain, the brain triggers the release
of endorphins. Endorphins act by “locking into”
receptors in the nervous system for chemicals
that transmit pain messages to the brain. Once
the endorphin key is in the lock, pain causing
chemicals cannot transmit their message.
Pain Mechanisms
• Prostaglandins: Substances derived from
fatty acids that are involved in body
responses such as inflammation and
menstrual cramping.
• Analgesic: Not feeling pain, although fully
conscious.
• Endorphin: A neurotransmitter that is
composed of chains of amino acids and is
functionally similar to morphine.
Coping with Pain
• Accurate Information
• Distraction
• Hypnosis
• Relaxation and Biofeedback
• Coping with Irrational Beliefs
• Closing the “Gate” on Pain
• Acupuncture
Frustration and Conflict
• Frustration: The thwarting of a motive to
obtain a goal.
• Tolerance for frustration: Ability to delay
gratification, to maintain self-control
when a motive is thwarted.
• Conflict: A condition characterized by
opposing motives, in which gratification
of one motive prevents gratification of
another.
Types of Conflict
• Approach-approach: Conflict involving two
positive but mutually exclusive goals.
• Avoidance-avoidance: Conflict involving two
negative goals, with avoidance of one requiring
approach of the other.
• Approach-avoidance: Conflict involving a goal
with positive and negative features.
• Multiple approach-avoidance: Conflict
involving two or more goals, each of which has
positive and negative aspects.
Irrational Beliefs
• The ABC approach by Albert Ellis.
• Ellis believes that our response to
events (and our subsequent levels
of stress) are due to our beliefs
about these events.
• Irrational Beliefs can lead to
higher levels of stress.
Irrational Beliefs (ABC)
A
B
• A = Activating Event
• B = Beliefs
• C = Consequences.
C
Type A Behavior Pattern
• A pattern of stress-producing behavior,
characterized by aggressiveness,
perfectionism, unwillingness to
relinquish control, and a sense of time
urgency.
Environmental Stressors
• Natural Disasters
• Terrorism
• Noise
• Temperature
• Air Pollution
• Crowding
Disasters and Terrorism
• Not only are disasters dangerous in
and of themselves, but they also
contribute to a rise in suicides, a
feeling of lost control, and physical
and psychological side effects.
• Likewise, terrorist events (such as
9/11) cause lingering effects such as
posttraumatic stress disorders.
Talking to Children about Terrorist
Attacks
• Talk with children about how they are feeling
and listen without judgment.
• Don’t rush them.
• Assure children that you will be there for
them.
• Spend as much family time as possible.
• Give children some control such as choosing
dinner or what outfit to wear.
• Have them make plans for the future.
• Allow the to grieve losses.
Noise
• Loud noise is an environmental stressor
that can raise the blood pressure, foster
aggressive behavior, and interfere with
learning and performance.
Safeguarding your Hearing
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Use your fingers as earplugs!
Turn it down!
Avoid ear-splitting concerts.
Sound protect your home.
Temperature
• Higher temperatures lead to increased
outdoor activity and increased property
crime rates.
• Extremes of heat can impact our
circulatory system while cold increases
our metabolism.
• Psychologists suggest that hot
temperatures incite aggressive behavior
by arousing angry or hostile thoughts and
feelings.
Crowding and Big City Life
• Crowding is the feeling of being “too close for
comfort”.
• Big-city dwellers are more likely to experience
stimulus overload and to fear crime than folks in
suburbs and rural areas. Overwhelming crowd
stimulation can lead to a narrowing of
perceptions to a particular face, destination or
job.
• An adverse condition of crowding is the invasion
of personal space. You are likely to become
anxious when people invade your personal
space.
Psychological Moderators
• Self-Efficacy Expectations
• Psychological Hardiness
• Sense of Humor
• Predictability and Control
• Optimism
• Social Support
Self-Efficacy
• Beliefs to the effect that one can perform
a task successfully or manage a stressor.
• People with high self-efficacy are less
likely to be disturbed by adverse events
and more likely to lose weight and quit
smoking.
• People are also more likely to comply
with medical advice when they think it
will work.
Psychological Hardiness
• According to Kobasa, a cluster of traits that
buffer stress and are characterized by
commitment, challenge and control.
• Commitment: A tendency to be involved, rather
than alienated from, whatever you are doing.
• Challenge: A belief that change, rather than
stability is normal in life. Change is viewed as an
incentive to grow, not as a threat to security.
• Control: A perception that one is in control of
their life.
Humor
• The data isn’t conclusive, but doesn’t a
comedy sound like a great idea?
Predictability and Control
• The ability to predict a stressor moderates its
impact. Predictability allows us to brace for the
inevitable and, in many cases, plan ways of
coping with it.
• Control allows us to feel that we are not at the
mercy of fate.
• Predictability is of greater benefit to people who
wish to exercise control over their situations. For
example, people who want information about a
medical procedure will cope better after the
procedure.
Optimism
• Both humor and optimism can moderate the
effects of stress.
• Students who have a sense of humor and
produce humor in difficult situations are less
affected by negative life events than other
students.
• Higher levels of optimism have been linked with
lower rates of depression and fewer stress
related physical symptoms.
Social Support
• Humans are social beings…and social support
seems to act as a buffer for stress.
• Research has found that Introverts, people who
lack social skills and people who live by
themselves seem more prone to developing
infectious diseases such as colds when they’re
stressed.
• The major areas of social support are: Emotional
concern, Instrumental aid, Information,
Appraisal, and Socializing.
Managing Stress
• Defensive: Withdrawal, Denial,
procrastination, substance abuse,
aggression.
• Active: Engagement of problem,
active problem solving, positive
action.
Active Coping
• Develop time management techniques
• Keep stress at manageable levels
• Become more aware of your body’s response to
stress.
• Know what to expect.
• Reach out and be touched by someone.
• Work out
• Change irrational beliefs
• Express your feelings
• Try Humor
• Minimize daily hassles and do something you
enjoy each day.
• Practice Meditation