Stress and Learning

What famous set of experiments began in the late 1960s by Martin Seligman involved dogs receiving painful electric shocks?

Experiments that led to the concept of learned helplessness.

What is learned helplessness?

The perception of inescapability and its associated cognitive collapse, where an animal or person stops trying to escape even when escape is possible.

What three conditions must be happening simultaneously for a person to be stressed, according to Jeansok Kim and David Diamond?

A measurable physiological response, a desire to avoid the situation, and a loss of control.

What hormone is released by the adrenal glands as the first wave of our defensive reaction to stressors?

Adrenaline.

What hormone is the second wave of our defensive reaction to stressors, released by the adrenals?

Cortisol.

What were our stress responses primarily designed to solve problems that lasted not for years, but for what?

Seconds, primarily to get our muscles moving us as quickly as possible out of harm's way.

What happens over the long term with too much adrenaline in the cardiovascular system?

It produces scarring on the insides of blood vessels, creating plaques that can block vessels and cause heart attacks or strokes.

How does chronic stress affect the immune system over the long term?

It decreases white-blood-cell soldiers, strips them of weapons, kills them, and can coax the immune system to fire at your own body.

In a UCLA experiment with actors performing using happy vs sad memories, what happened to their immune systems on sad days?

Their immune cells were not plentiful, not as robust, and not as available to protect against infection.

What brain structure is studded with cortisol receptors like cloves in a ham?

The hippocampus.

If stress is not too severe, how does your brain perform?

Better than when not stressed, you can solve problems more effectively and retain information.

If stress is too severe or prolonged, what happens to learning?

Stress begins to harm learning: people don't do math well, don't process language efficiently, have poorer memories, can't concentrate, and don't generalize well.

In one study, how did adults with high levels of stress perform on tests of declarative memory and executive function compared to adults with low stress?

50% worse.

What can stress hormones do to cells in the hippocampus under extreme conditions?

They can stop the hippocampus from giving birth to new neurons and even kill hippocampal cells.

What is one of the most insidious effects of prolonged stress?

It pushes people into depression.

What is the hero molecule that acts like a peacekeeping force in the hippocampus against stress hormones?

BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).

What happens when too many stress hormones hang around in the brain too long, as in chronic stress?

They can overwhelm BDNF defenses and turn off the gene that makes BDNF in hippocampal cells.

What is one of the greatest predictors of performance in school?

The emotional stability of the home.

What did studies show about children living in emotionally unstable homes regarding grades and standardized tests?

They get lower grades and do worse on standardized tests of math and reading.

What did studies show is the stronger predictor of grade failure: presence of overt conflict or divorce itself?

The presence of overt conflict.

What does the American Stress Institute estimate American businesses lose every year because of work-related stress?

$300 billion.

What is the perfect storm of occupational stress?

A great deal is expected of you, and you have no control over whether you will perform well.

What can restoration of control do for groups in the workplace?

Return them to productivity.

What did Gottman's marriage intervention do to divorce rates in its most modest forms?

Dropped them by nearly 50%.

What did the Bringing Baby Home intervention find about babies raised in intervention households vs controls?

Their nervous systems developed differently, they cried less, had stronger attention-shifting behaviors, and showed healthy emotional regulation.