Stress

Ch. 14

Stimulus-based definitions: stress is the stimulus

Response-based definitions: it’s our body’s reaction to stimulus/environmental conditions

Stress:

Primary appraisal: judgement about the degree of potential harm/threat to well-being that a stressor might entail.

  • Threat or Challenge

Threat: stressor that could lead to harm/loss/negative consequences.

Challenge: potential for gain or growth.

Secondary appraisal: judgment of the options available to cope with a stressor, as well as perceptions of how effective such options will be.

  • Potential options and how effective are they?

General Adaption Syndrome: Hans Selye’s three-stage model of the body’s physiological reactions to stress and the process of stress adaptation: alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and stage of exhaustion:

  1. Alarm Reaction: the body’s immediate reaction upon facing a threatening situation or emergency.

  •     - During an alarm reaction, you are alerted to a stressor, and your body alarms you with a     cascade of physiological reactions that provide you with the energy to manage the situation.     - A person who wakes up in the middle of the night to discover her house is on fire, for     example, is experiencing an alarm reaction.

  1. Stage of Resistance: the initial shock of alarm reaction has worn off and the body has adapted to the stressor.

  1. Stage of Exhaustion: the person is no longer able to adapt to the stressor: the body’s ability to resist becomes depleted as physical wear takes its toll on the body’s tissues and organs.

  •         As a result, illness, disease, and other permanent damage to the body—even death—    may occur.

Cortisol: stress hormone.

  • prolonged elevation of cortisol levels = weakened immune system

Daily hassles: minor irritations and annoyances part of our everyday lives.

  • negative and distressed moods

  • build up → stressed

Stress and Illness

Lymphocytes: white blood cells that circulate in the body’s fluids that are important in the immune response.

  • stress inhibits the production of these → more susceptible to illness.

Psychophysiological disorders: physical disorders/diseases whose symptoms are brought about or worsened by stress and emotional factors.

Immune System Errors

Autoimmune disease: immune system mistakes the body’s own healthy cells for invaders and repeatedly attacks them (affects almost any part of the body). :P

Immunosuppression: the decreased effectiveness of the immune system.

Stressors and Immune Function

Psychoneuroimmunology: field that studies how psychological factors influence the immune system and immune functioning.

Heart disease: cardiovascular disorder

Hypertension: high blood pressure.

Negative affectivity: tendency to experience distressed emotional states involving anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness.

Transactional Model of Hostility for Predicting Social Interactions:

I think hostile behavior → I do hostile behavior → target is defensive = behavior I want → reinforced behavior → repeat behavior

  • attention seeking behavior = defense mechanism of a personality disorder

  • Leah 😡

Asthma: chronic disease in which the airways become inflamed and narrowed, leading to difficulty breathing.

  • mucus clogging the airway too

  • negative emotions → anxiety; anxiety exacerbates it

Problem-focused coping: individuals attempt to manage or alter the problem that is causing them to experience stress.

  • identify the problem, consider possible solutions

  • try to control the situation/proactive about it

    • when the situation is controllable

Emotion-focused coping: efforts to change or reduce the negative emotions associated with stress.

  • avoiding the situation, minimizing, or distancing themselves from the problem.

  • treats the symptom not the cause.

Control & Stress

Perceived control: we feel we have control over the problem, we feel better.

Learned helplessness: an acquired belief that one is powerless to do anything about a situation.

  • even if they can

  • possible cause of depression

Social support: the soothing impact of friends, family, and acquaintances.

  • boosts immune system

  • reduces blood pressure

The Pursuit of Happiness

Happiness: enduring state of subjective well-being consisting of joy, contentment, and other positive emotions.

  • plus the sense that one’s life has meaning and value

Positive psychology: seeks to identify and promote the qualities that lead to greater fulfillment in our lives.

Seligman (1998): urged psychologists to focus more on understanding what makes someone satisfied and fulfilled in their life.

Positive affect: pleasurable engagement with the environment, such as happiness, joy, enthusiasm, alertness, and excitement.

Flow: “whatever happens happens“ mentality; not overthinking; just coasting