PSYU2222 Lecture 6: Stress and Coping

What is stress?

A psychological and physiological response to perceived challenges or threats, arising when environmental demands exceed coping resources.

What are the three components of stress?

• Stressor – The trigger (e.g., exams, deadlines)

• Stress Response – Emotional/physiological reaction

• Coping – Strategies used to manage the demand

What are the types of stress?

• Acute – Short-term, immediate threat

• Intermittent – On/off, moderate stress

• Chronic – Long-term, can damage health

What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law (1908)?

Moderate stress improves performance, but too little or too much stress impairs it.

What is the core idea of the transactional model?

Stress arises from a person–environment interaction based on cognitive appraisal and available coping resources.

What are the two appraisal stages?

• Primary Appraisal – Is the situation a threat, challenge, or benign?

• Secondary Appraisal – Do I have the resources to cope?

What are the two types of coping strategies?

• Problem-focused: Dealing with the stressor

• Emotion-focused: Managing emotional response

What emotional responses are linked to stress?

• Guilt, sadness, fear, anger, anxiety

• Self-growth and creativity can also emerge

• Positive emotions can reduce physiological damage

What is the fight-flight-freeze-fawn response?

Automatic stress response; fawn = appeasing others to avoid harm.

What is General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye, 1951)?

• Alarm – Activation

• Resistance – Sustained effort

• Exhaustion – Resources depleted, risk of illness

What are health effects of chronic stress?

• Weakened immune system

• Increased risk of CHD, diabetes, cancer

• Aggravation of gut conditions (IBS, IBD)

What is compassion fatigue?

Emotional exhaustion from sustained caregiving or trauma exposure.

What is burnout?

Chronic occupational stress leading to emotional exhaustion and reduced efficacy.

What factors moderate the effects of stress?

• Social support

• Optimism

• Conscientiousness

• Age (older = better emotion regulation)

• Gender and minority stress (e.g., TGNC individuals)

What are the three coping styles?

• Problem-focused – Solve the issue

• Emotion-focused – Regulate emotion

• Avoidant – Ignore or withdraw (can be maladaptive)

How does humour help with stress?

• Buffers stress

• Increases resilience

• Builds social support

What is grit?

Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

What is resilience?

Ability to recover from adversity or stress.

What is mindset?

Beliefs about intelligence and adaptability; either fixed or growth.

What did the study find about grit and resilience?

Strong positive correlation; students with grit had better coping and persistence.

What did the study find about growth vs fixed mindset?

• Growth mindset = Higher resilience and academic persistence

• Fixed mindset = More stress and disengagement

What role do external factors play in student wellbeing?

Institutional support and peer collaboration help build resilience.

Why is understanding stress important in health professions?

• Prevents burnout

• Supports self-care and resilience

• Helps professionals support others effectively

What strategies should educators implement?

• Mentorship programs

• Growth mindset training

• Resilience development tools

What were the limitations of the Calo et al. (2016) study?

• Self-report bias

• Cross-sectional design

• Limited generalisability