Stress, Lifestyle, and Health: Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Stress, Lifestyle, and Health

Reminders

  • Quizzes:

    • Chapter 13 Quiz available until Thursday 11/20, 1:59 pm

    • Chapter 14 Quiz available until Tuesday 11/25, 1:59 pm

  • Research Activities:

    • Completion required by 12/8 (5.0 credits)

  • Meta-cognition Log:

    • Last log (part 3) is due by 12/8

  • Extra Credit Assignments:

    • Due by 12/8

  • Exam #4:

    • Scheduled for 12/4, covering chapters 13, 14, and 15 (I/O Psychology, Stress and Health, Psychological Disorders)

Agenda

  • Overview of stress including:

    • Psychological and physiological dimensions

    • Causes and consequences

    • Stress management techniques

What Is Stress?

  • Definition:

    • Stress is a broad term describing various unpleasant feelings such as frustration, anger, conflict, overwhelm, and fatigue.

  • Stimulus-based definitions:

    • Focus on stress as a demanding/threatening event, e.g., a high-stress job.

    • Characterizes stress primarily as a stimulus leading to certain reactions.

    • This view neglects individual differences in perceiving/reacting to stressors.

  • Response-based definitions:

    • Emphasize physiological reactions to demanding/threatening situations.

    • Treats stress as a response to environmental conditions.

    • Both definitions are limited; neither fully encapsulates stress.

Cognitive Appraisals

  • Definition of Stress:

    • A process where an individual perceives/responds to events they assess as overwhelming or threatening to their well-being.

    • Highlights the role of appraisals of stressors in determining reactions.

  • Primary appraisal:

    • Judgment of the potential harm/threat a stressor poses to well-being.

    • Threat: Stressor that could cause harm/loss.

    • Challenge: Stressor that may lead to personal growth.

    • Example: Graduating may be perceived as a threat (loss of support) or a challenge (independence).

  • Secondary appraisal:

    • Assessment of coping options and their perceived effectiveness.

    • A perceived threat is less stressful if one believes coping options are available.

Result of Cognitive Appraisals

  • Stress is likely if a stressor is perceived as extremely threatening and coping options seem ineffective.

Is there Good Stress?

  • Eustress:

    • Positive stress that motivates individuals towards beneficial actions.

    • Associated with positive feelings, optimal health, and performance.

  • Distress:

    • Negative stress causing burnout and decreased performance.

The Prevalence of Stress

  • Impact of Stress:

    • Stress is ubiquitous and affects individuals across all walks of life, eliciting various physiological, cognitive, and behavioral responses:

    • Physiological responses: Accelerated heart rate, headaches, gastrointestinal issues.

    • Cognitive responses: Difficulty in concentration or decision-making.

    • Behavioral responses: Increased alcohol consumption, smoking, and actions aimed at eliminating stress causes.

Concept Check

  • Question: Which appraisal type involves judgment about potential harm/threat of a stressor?

    • Options: Alpha, Beta, Primary, Secondary

Health Psychology

  • Definition:

    • A subfield exploring psychological influences on health, illness, and responses to illness.

  • Areas of Investigation:

    • Connection between stress and illness.

    • Influences on personal life choices.

    • Identification of groups at risk for negative health outcomes influenced by psychological/behavioral factors.

Stress Among Demographic Groups

  • Key Findings from National Surveys:

    • Women report higher stress than men.

    • Unemployment, lower education, and lower income correlate with higher stress.

    • Retired individuals report the least stress.

  • Trends from 2006-2009:

    • Increases in stress were noted among men, Whites, ages 45-64, college graduates, and those employed full-time, possibly due to the 2008-2009 economic downturn.

Mean Stress Scores (1983, 2006, 2009)

  • Sex:

    • Men and women experienced variations in stress levels over these years.

  • Education:

    • Stress levels varied from those with less than high school education to advanced degrees.

  • Age:

    • Stress scores shifted across age groups over the years.

  • Income:

    • Variations in stress levels correlated with different income brackets.

Early Contributions to the Study of Stress

  • Walter Cannon (Early 20th Century):

    • Identified physiological stress reactions.

    • Fight-or-Flight Response:

    • Defined as physiological reactions allowing for survival against perceived threats, produced by activation of the sympathetic nervous and endocrine systems.

    • Prepares individuals to either confront or avoid a threat.

The Stress Response System

  • Cannon’s view: The stress response is a unified mind-body system facilitating fight-or-flight behavior.

Concept Check

  • Question: What kind of stress exceeds the optimal level and becomes debilitating?

    • Options: Distress, Eustress, Mega-stress, Over-stress

Long-term Exposure to Stress

  • Prolonged exposure to stressors leads to physical changes and illnesses.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

  • Definition:

    • The body's non-specific physiological response to stress formulated by Hans Selye.

  • Stages:

    • Alarm Reaction: Immediate response to a threatening situation; energy mobilization.

    • Stage of Resistance: Body adapts to stressors but remains alert; physiological reactions decrease.

    • Stage of Exhaustion: Inability to adapt to stressor, leading to physical wear and potential illness or death.

Stressors

  • Types:

    • Chronic Stressors: Persistent stressors like long-term unemployment.

    • Acute Stressors: Brief but overwhelming events, e.g., injuries.

  • Traumatic Events: Situations causing potential death or serious injury, such as military combat or natural disasters, leading to PTSD in severe cases.

  • Life Changes: Significant life events, whether positive or negative, require personal adjustment.

    • Holmes and Rahe (1960s): Proposed that life changes are typically stressful regardless of their desirability.

    • Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS): Measures life events that require varying degrees of personal adjustment, ranking their inherent stress levels.

    • Top stressors include the death of a spouse (100) and divorce (73).

Daily Hassles

  • Description: Small irritations and annoyances that accumulate over time leading to distress, e.g., daily commuting.

Other Stressors

  • High-Stress Occupations:

    • Jobs with high demands, lack of control, and unsafe conditions lead to job strain and burnout, especially in sectors like education and emergency services.

  • Close Relationships: Conflicts and lack of emotional support in personal relationships can be significant stressors.

Stress and Illness

  • Psychophysiological Disorders:

    • Physical disorders influenced by emotion and stress, leading to conditions like hypertension and IBS.

  • Stress & The Immune System:

    • Psychoneuroimmunology studies how psychological factors affect immune response. Increased stress hormones inhibit lymphocyte production, weakening the immune system.

  • Autoimmune Issues:

    • Immune system errors where the body attacks its healthy cells. Immunosuppression increases susceptibility to illnesses.

Study on Stress and Immune Function

  • Cohen (1998) study: Chronic stress correlates with increased vulnerability to colds post virus exposure.

Stress and Aging

  • Stress is linked to shorter telomeres, affecting cell division and accelerating aging processes.

Cardiovascular Disorders

  • Relationship with Stress:

    • Stress can lead to cardiovascular diseases, with hypertension being a major risk factor.

  • Type A and B Personalities:

    • Friedman and Rosenman (1974) found Type A individuals are more prone to heart disease, often due to hostility and anger in their response patterns.

  • Transactional Model of Hostility: Proposes that hostility promotes negative social interactions leading to adverse health outcomes.

Depression and Heart Health

  • Childhood depression correlates with unhealthy lifestyle choices, increasing heart disease risk.

Asthma and Stress

  • Asthma can be exacerbated by stress, where emotional states have a direct impact on symptoms and attacks.

Coping Styles

  • Problem-Focused Coping:

    • Managing the stressor directly by identifying and addressing the problem.

  • Emotion-Focused Coping:

    • Changing emotional responses to stress rather than the stressor itself.

Control and Stress

  • Perceived control influences stress reactions, with greater control correlating with better health and lower stress response.

  • Learned Helplessness:

    • A condition where individuals perceive themselves as powerless in stressful situations, demonstrated through Seligman's experiments with dogs.

Social Support

  • Social support includes emotional and tangible assistance from friends and family, enhancing health outcomes and reducing stress.

Stress Reduction Techniques

  • Techniques for managing stress include:

    • Exercise, which boosts resilience to stress.

    • Meditation and relaxation methods.

    • Biofeedback for voluntary control over physiological processes.

The Pursuit of Happiness

  • Definition of Happiness:

    • A lasting state of well-being characterized by joy and meaning.

  • Factors Influencing Happiness:

    • Age, marital status, social relationships, income, religiosity, and cultural values all play roles.

  • Life Events:

    • Adaptation to emotional highs and lows often results in less impact from dramatic life events over time.

Positive Psychology

  • Focus:

    • Aims to enhance human strengths contributing to well-being such as love, courage, optimism, and creativity.

  • Positive Affect and Optimism:

    • Linked with social connectedness and positive health outcomes, emphasizing the role of positive attitudes in life satisfaction.

Flow

  • Definition:

    • A deeply engaging experience characterized by concentration, often connected with enjoyment in tasks present in creative or leisure activities.