Stress, Coping, and Emotion Midterm

System 1 (Kahneman)

Intuitive, fast, automatic, emotional, impulsive, glucose-conserving cognitive shortcuts. Exaggerated reliance on this mode under stress.

System 2 (Kahneman)

Deliberate, rational, effortful, “expensive,” extra glucose.

Transactional Model (Lazarus and Folkman)

Person and environment influence appraisal (primary and secondary), which determines coping, which affects the person (and their appraisals) and may alter the environment. It is a dynamic process.

Four main classes of reactions to stress (Lazarus)

Disturbed affect, motor behavioral reactions, change in cognitive function, and physiological changes.

Primary Appraisal

The initial evaluation of a stressor’s significance, determining whether it is perceived as a threat, challenge, or benign.

Secondary Appraisal

The evaluation of resources available to cope with a stressor after determining its significance in the primary appraisal.

Components of Appraisal

Severity, predictability, controllability, perception that things are worsening.

Preparatory response hypothesis

The theory anticipatory stress can serve as warning alerts for people iand help them prepare for and cope with potential stressors.

Safety signal hypothesis

If there is a warning alert that signifies stressor, then when there is a LACK of a warning alert, you know you are safe/can relax.

Problem-focused coping

Planful actions to change a stressful situation by acting on the environment or oneself.

Emotion-focused coping

Attempts to reduce the upset associated with stressful situation without actively trying to change the siuation itself.

James-Lange Theory

Stimulus —> arousal (physiological) —> emotion

Cannon-Bard Theory

Stimulus —> arousal (physiological) and emotion simultaneously

Schachter and Singer: Two Factor Theory

Stimulus —> arousal (physiological) and cognitive label —> emotion

Lazarus Cognitive Mediational Theory

Stimulus —> Cognitive label —> arousal (physiological) and emotion simultaneously

Discrete/Basic Theories/Materialist approach

Universal and discrete emotions are determined by distinctive physiology and signs. Emotions are bodily states.

Anti-materialist approach

Subjective experience, which brain data cannot capture.

Functionalist Approach

Essence of emotion is in the function that it serves which is to focus action.

Action tendencies

Behavioral inclinations (approach, avoidance, domination, submission) that arise in response to specific emotions, guiding individuals toward adaptive or goal-directed behaviors.

Social Constructivist Approach

An appraisal model that says a way a situation is appraised is dependent on interpersonal and cultural context.

Gross’s Modal Model of Emotion

An appraisal theory that says emotions make us feel and act and are a person-environment transaction. Emotion regulation: response modulation —> cognitive change —> attentional deployment —> situation modification —> situation selection.

Suppression

An emotional regulation outcome identified by Gross. Greater amygdala activation, worse memory, lower liking by interaction partners.

Reappraisal

An emotional regulation outcome identified by Gross. Increased positive emotion, lesser activation in amygdala, no impact or improved memory, closer friendships.

5 Factor Model

Traits can be understood as aspects of: Oppenness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Life Event Checklists

Stimulus-oriented stress measure. Has some predictive validity but also recall bias and confounding of events and outcomes.

Subjective Stress Ratings

Measures of individual perceived stress levels, often reported through surveys or questionnaires.

Interview Methodology

A qualitative research technique used to gather data through direct, structured conversations with individuals. Well validated.

STRAIN

New automated system for measuring physiological and psychological responses to stress.

Early Life Stress

Stress measure experienced during childhood, which can have lasting effects on mental and physical health.

Ecological Momentary Assessment

Experience sampling through daily assessments. Difficult to capture processes but helps identify risk factors.

Lab-based Paradigms

Research methods conducted in a controlled setting to study stress responses, allowing for manipulation of variables.

Trier Social Stress Test

A standardized laboratory procedure used to induce psychological stress in participants through social evaluation, typically involving public speaking and cognitive tasks.

Biological stress measures

Physiological indicators through HPA axis reactivity/dysregulation and allostatic load indices.

Ways to assess coping

Subjective reports and observational measures.

Problems with the trait approach

Generalized self-descriptors of coping styles do not necessarily translate reliably into actual behaviors in specific situations.

Working assumptions of transactional model

Ciping strategies shouldn’t be prejudged, effectiveness should be empirically determine, and efforts should not be confounded with outcome.

Methodological Issues

Correlational research designs, affect of third unmeasured variable, level of analysis, missing information about additional stressor, multiple meanings of coping behaviors, reliance on self-report for coping and outcomes, multiple criteria for assessing, and reciprocal determinism.

Autonomic Nervous System activation as emotion assessment

HPA axis releases cortisol, which increases cardiovascular blood pressure and sweating.

Brain states as emotion assessment

EEG: frontal asymetry, left hemisphere activation (approach) vs right hemisphere activation (avoidance).

Mediator

A variable that explains the relationship between independent and dependent variables, often clarifying how or why certain effects occur. A —> Mediator —> B.

Moderator

A variable that influences the strength or direction of the relationship between two variables—a third variable affecting the relationship. A —> B, but C—>A, and C—> B.

HPA Axis

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is interaction of hypothalamus sending CRH to anterior pituitary which sends ACTH to adrenal cortex, which releases cortisol. This cortisol provides negative feedback back to the hypothalamus.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Fight or flight response—mobilize resources.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Rest and digest response—calms system down through vagal nerve.

Cardiovascular Stress-Response

Heart has to pump harder to get more resources out to your body. Dramatic decrease in blood flow to unessential parts of your body.

How blood vessels wear out

Structure of bifurcation, slight lesions result in immune cells gathering, release of cytokines promotes chronic inflammation.

Atherosclerosis

The accumulation of plugs is called plaque.

LDL

A bad type of cholesterol that can lead to plaque buildup in the arteries.

HDL

A good type of cholesterol that helps carry bad cholesterol away from artery walls and back to liver.

CRP and IL-6

Indicators of inflammation.

Heart Rate Variability

Large variability means strong parasympathetic tone counteracting sympathetic activation. Minimal variability means para component has trouble putting its foot on the break.

Innate Immunity

Physical barriers, proinflammatory response.

Glucocorticoid Resistance/insensitivity

Negative feedback in HPA axis. So much cortisol that receptors become resistant and do not “hear’ the cortisol as well.

Gut-brain axis

Bidirectional communication between the gut and the central nervous system that plays an important role in maintaining neurol, hormonal, and immunological homeostasis.