Chapter 11 - Stress And Health

what is life about

change

challenge and change require...

adaptation

what do all changes require

a response

what is stress

physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to events that are appraised as challenging or threatening

what are some of the physical problems caused by stress?

fatigue, sleep problems, frequent colds, chest pains, nausea

mental symptoms of stress

problems in concentration, memory, decision making, loss of sense of humor

what are stressors

events that cause a stress reaction

where can stressors come from?

within a person or from an external source

there are two kinds of stressors. what are they?

stressors that cause distress and stressors that cause eustress

what is distress?

the effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressors

what is eustress?

the effect of positive events, or the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being

why do we need eustress?

if we dont challenge ourselves our minds get bored

what is the arousal theory?

a certain level of stress or arousal is needed for people to feel content or function well

what is a catastrophe?

unpredictable large-scale event that creates a huge need to adapt and adjust as well as overwhelming feelings of threat

what can happen when a pregnant woman experiences catastrophic events?

in can affect the unborn child as well, and even lead to premature birth, lower than average intelligence, and poor health behaviors

what are environmental stressors?

external factors that can often lead to increased levels of discomfort, anxiety and aggression. can include loud noises, crowds, crime, war, weather, pollution, etc.

what do major life changes do?

cause stress by requiring adjustment

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

assessment that measures the amount of stress in a person's life over a one-year period resulting from major life events

what is the most stressful event in SSRS

the death of a spouse (100 life change units)

College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS)

assessment that measures the amount of stress in a college student's life over a one-year period resulting from major life events

do stress scales only measure negative major life events?

no, positive life events like marriage or vacation are also included

what are hassles?

the daily annoyances of everyday life

what are hassles associated with?

short-term illnesses

do hassles affect everyone the same?

no, they differ depending on age

what is pressure?

the psychological experience caused by urgent demands or expectation for someone's behavior that come from an outside source

what's the most common pressure

time pressure

what's one of the effects of time pressure?

can negatively impact creativity

what is uncontrollability?

the degree of control that the person has over a particular event or situation

the less control someone has over a situation...

the more stress they experience

what is frustration?

psychological experience resulting from the blocking of a desired goal or fulfillment of a perceived need

what are external frustrations?

losses, rejections, failures, delays

what are internal frustrations?

personal frustrations; they happen when the goal or need cannot be attained because of internal or personal characteristics; eg. wanting to be an NBA player but being too short

what are the three possible responses to frustration?

persistence, aggression, withdrawal

persistence

continuation of efforts to get around whatever is causing the frustration

aggression

actions meant to harm physically or psychologically

frustration-aggression hypothesis

proposed connection between frustration and aggression

displaced aggression

taking out one's frustrations on some less threatening or more available target

escape or withdrawal

leaving the presence of a stressor, either literally or by a psychological withdrawal into fantasy, drug abuse, or apathy

conflict

psychological experience of being pulled toward or drawn to two or more desires or goals, only one of which may be attained

approach-approach conflict

having to choose between two desirable options

Avoidance-Acoidance Conflict

must choose between two undesirable goals

approach-avoidance conflict

must choose or not choose a goal that has both positive and negative aspects

multiple approach-avoidance conflict

must choose between two or more things, each of which has both desirable and undesirable features

autonomic nervous system

part of the nervous system responsible for automatic, involuntary, and life-sustaining activities

two divisions of the autonomic nervous system

sympathetic and parasympathetic

sympathetic division

reacts to stress (increased heart rate, surge of energy to muscles)
fight or flight

parasympathetic division

returns body to normal state after stress

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases

three stages of general adaptation syndrome

1. Alarm
2. Resistance
3. Exhaustion

alarm

the body first reacts to stressor, sympathetic nervous system is activated

resistance

when the body tries to repair its damage from the stressful event and return to its normal state

exhaustion

resources have been depleted; can lead to disease, weakened immune system, or death; parasympathetic nervous system activates when stressor ends; replenishing resources

GAS stage during which the adrenal glands release hormones that increase heart rate, blood pressure, and the supply of blood sugar, resulting in a burst of energy. reactions such as fever, nausea, and headache are common.

alarm

GAS stage during which the body settles into sympathetic division activity, continuing to release the stress hormones that help the body fight off or resist the stressor

resistance

immune system

the system of cells, organs, and chemicals of the body that responds to attacks from diseases, infections, and injuries

the immune system is...

impacted by stress

Psychoneruoimmunology

the study of the effects of psychological factors such as stress, emotions, thoughts, and behavior on the immune system

stress triggers the same response in the immune system as

infection

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

hormone that also helps the immune system fight the effects of stress

there are positive effects of stress on the immune system but only when...

the stress is not continued or chronic

early stress reaction is designed for

short term

what does a long term, prolonged reaction to stress lead to?

a breakdown of the immune system

When does the inflammatory response occur?

when tissues are injured

what could be the way stress can have a negative impact on health?

the inflammatory response and a decreased ability to regulate inflammation may be the way stress can have a negative impact on health

allostasis

maintaining stability through change to meet both perceived and anticipated demands

what does the body achieve through allostasis?

protection from internal and external stress

how is protection achieved through allostasis?

it's accomplished by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, and other bodily changes

allostatic load

wear and tear on the body caused by prolonged or excessive stress responses

effects of stress on the heart

higher risk of coronary heart disease

coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle

what is type 2 diabetes associated with?

excessive weight gain

what does diabetes increase the risk of?

Alzheimer's

diabetes occurs when...

pancreas insulin levels become less efficient as body size increases

effects of stress on cancer

stress increases malfunction of natural killer cells, which are responsible for surprising viruses and destroying tumor cells

health psychology

how physical activities, psychological traits, stress reactions, and social relationships, affect overall health and rate of illness

What do health psychologists do?

seek to understand how behavior can affect a person's ability to fight off illnesses or increase likelihood of getting sick

what are the two subfields of health psychology?

clinical health psychology and behavioral psychology

Lazarus' Cognitive Mediational Theory

how people think about a stressor impacts how stressful it will become

According to Lazarus, there is a two-step process in assessing...

the degree of threat or harm of a stressor and how we should react to it

two steps of cognitive appraisal

primary appraisal and secondary appraisal

primary appraisal

estimating the severity of a stressor and classifying it as either a threat or a challenge

secondary appraisal

estimating the resources available to the person for coping with the stressor

cognitive reappraisal approach

reappraise their own arousal while experiencing a stressor helped the person to shift the negative effects of stress arousal to more positive effects

Yerkes-Dodson Law

relationship between performance and arousal .
higher leveles of arousal leads to better performance in simple tasks
lower levels of arousal lead to better performance in difficult tasks

personality

stable ways in which a person thinks, feels, and interacts with others

how does personality relate to stressors

different characteristics determine how one assesses a stressor

Type A personality

workaholics, ambitious, time conscious, super hardworking, easily annoyed, high levels of hostility and anger (more prone to coronary heart disease)

Type B personality

easygoing, relaxed, laid back, slow to anger, less driven and competitive, at peace

Type C personality

Pleasant, try to keep the peace, internalizes anger and anxiety, expressing emotions is difficult, linked to cancer

Type D personality

"distressed" personality type; person who experiences negative emotions such as anger, sadness, and fear and tends not to share these emotions in social situations out of fear of rejection or disapproval

hardy personality

a person who seems to thrive on stress but lacks the anger and hostility of the Type A personality; commitment to values and beliefs, feels in control

pessimists

expect negative outcomes

optimists

expect positive outcomes

reasons to be an optimist

less likely to develop learned helplessness
less likely to become depressed
more likely to take care of health
more effectively functioning immune systems

social factors in stress

economically and culturally based

economically based factors of stress

poverty and job stress

why is poverty stressful

lack of money equals a lack of necessities and results in stress

common stressors in workplace

heat, cold, noise, role stressors, workload, work pace, time pressure, work schedule, interpersonal demands and conflict, situational constraints, perceived control, emotional labor, traumatic job stressors

burnout

negative changes in thoughts, emotions, and behavior as a result of prolonged stress or frustration

name a way in which stress can be culturally related

acculturative stress