PSYC 314 - Chapter 3: Stress

Stressors

Physically or psychologically challenging events or circumstances.

Strain

The psychological and physiological response to a stressor.

Transactions

Continuous interactions and adjustments with the person and environment each being affected by the other.

Stress

The circumstance in which transactions lead a person to perceive a discrepancy between the physical or psychological demands of a situation and the resources of one’s biological, psychological, or social systems.

Cognitive Appraisal

A mental process by which people assess two factors: (1) whether a demand threatens their physical or psychological well-being and (2) the resources available for meeting the demand.

Primary Appraisal

An assessment process that tries to assess the meaning of the situation we are in for our well-being.

Secondary Appraisal

Our assessment of the resources we have available for coping.

Reactivity

The physiological portion of the response to a stressor or strain.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A series of physiological reactions the body engages in when stress is ongoing. Consists of three stages: (1) alarm reaction, (2) stage of resistance, (3) stage of exhaustion.

Allostatic Load

The accumulated effects of one’s body adapting repeatedly to stressors over time.

Alarm Reaction

The first stage of GAS; fast-acting arousal resulting from the sympathetic nervous system, which activates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine and norepinephrine. Simultaneously the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated - the hypothalamus briefly triggers the pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which causes the adrenal gland to release cortisol. This further enhances the body’s mobilization and the ability to respond.

Stage of Resistance

The second stage of GAS; the body tries to adapt to the stressor. Physiological arousal remains higher than normal, and the body replenishes the hormones the adrenal glands released. However the ability to resist new stressors may become impaired, which may eventually lead to vulnerability to diseases of adaptation.

Stage of Exhaustion

The third stage of GAS; exhaustion produced by severe, long-term, or repeated stress that weakens the immune system and depletes the body’s energy reserves. If this stress continues, disease and damage to internal organs are likely and death may occur.

Temperaments

Personality dispositions that each baby has.

Polygraph

A device used to assess arousal that takes measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, or galvanic skin response.

Life Events

Major happenings that can occur in a person’s life that require some psychological adjustment.

Daily Hassles

Lesser events that serve as the sources of stress we experience in a typical week or month.