Name: ____________________________________________________________ Class: ______
Notes for Chapter 15 – Stress
SECTION 1: SOURCES OF STRESS
Definition: Stress is the ___________ or threatening feeling resulting from our appraisal of a situation
and our ____________ to demands placed on us
I.
Components of Stress
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Stressor – stress-producing ________ or situation. A stressor for one person isn’t
always a stressor for another
Stress reduction – The body’s ________________ response to a _______________
Distress - ____________ (sort term) anxiety or pressure; _____________ stress; Can
take a toll on the body and mind
Eustress - ______________ and challenges; ____________ stress
Stress is _______________. We need to learn to manage it so we are not ___________
II.
Conflict situations
A. _________________ situations and make _______________ decisions.
B. Four broad categories:
1. Approach-Approach Conflict – Individual must choose between two ____________
options. (ex. Do I want to go to the movies or the concert?) Does not produce
much _____________.
2. Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict – Individual must choose between two ___________
options. (ex. Should I break my friend’s confidence by telling an adult something
that would keep her safe). _________ level of indecision and stress.
3. Approach-Avoidance conflict – Individual ______ to do something, but has ______
and doubts or is repulsed by it (ex. A man wants to ask for a raise, but is afraid of
being fired.)
4. Double Approach-Avoidance Conflict – Individual must choose between two or
more options, each with ______________ and ________________ aspects. (ex.
Should I go on a vacation to Cancun, which is great, but very expensive, OR visit my
family in Michigan, which is cheap and relaxing, but isn’t a beach!) This is the most
common.
III.
Environmental Stressors
A. Noise
1. Surveys have shown that Americans regard noise as one of the biggest
_____________ in their lives
2. Prolonged exposure to too much noise can cause hearing _____ and interfere
with ____
3. Blood ___________ and the stress hormone, ___________, can rise
4. headaches, _________, and _______________ can occur
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Class: ______
Notes for Chapter 15 – Stress
B.
Life Changes and Stress
1. Major life events causes stress because it ______________ a person from familiar
friends, family or colleagues (ex. ___________, serious illness, a new job, moving
away, a death in the family)
2. Even "____________" life events like marriage and getting a new job cause stress
because they require ________________
C. Hassles
1. ______________, day-to-day stressors
2. Examples: losing car keys, being ______ for school, doing __________ on a test.
3. Hassles weaken the body's __________ system and cause ________ problems
4. Uplifts are things that make a person feel _________. They are the __________
of hassles by combating stress and restoring health (ex. eating out with a friend,
doing well on a test, winning a game)
SECTION 2: REACTIONS TO STRESS

Many reactions to stress are _________________
I.
Fight-or-Flight Response
A. With any stressor, the body will become aroused and produce _____________ to
increase blood sugar and _________________.
B. Designed to prepare a person for ___________________.
II.
General Adaptation Syndrome
A. Hans Selye (1956, 1976) identified three stages in a body's reaction to stress
1) alarm - body goes into fight or flight; becomes _______ and sensitive to stimuli in the
________________
2) resistance - finds a way to ________ with the stressor; may develop ____________
symptoms of stress.
3) exhaustion - breaking point
III.
Emotional and Cognitive Responses
A. Emotional stress reactions are ______________ to minor irritations, getting no joy from
daily pleasures, and _____________ one's own abilities
B. Cognitive reactions include difficulty in ____________ or thinking clearly, recurring
thoughts, and poor _____________ making
C. burnout - a person feels that he or she is giving too much time or ______ to a project
and not receiving ample __________
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Class: ______
Notes for Chapter 15 – Stress
IV.
Behavioral Reactions
A. _____________ habits (trembling or pacing)
B. smoke, drink, or take drugs
C. feel ________ for no reason
D. risk their __________ to help save others (positive)
E. _________ (can be positive or negative)
V.
Physical Reactions
A. Some people develop _________________ symptoms (real, physical symptoms) to
stress, such as headaches, stomachaches, and muscle pain
B. Stress is a contributing cause of _____________
C. Can cause peptic ulcers, _____________, certain kinds of arthritis, asthma, and heart __
D. Can _________ cause an illness (migraine), or can lower the body's ___________ system
VI.
Factors Influencing Reactions to Stress
A. Personality differences - Type A personalities can get __________ in their 30's and 40's.
Type B personalities rarely get heart attacks until they are in their 70's; People that hold
back their emotions are more likely to get _________ than those who express emotions
B. Social Support - Having social support can _________ both the likelihood and severity of
stress-related ____________
SECTION 3: COPING WITH STRESS
An attempt to gain _________ over a part of one's life
Cognitive appraisal - how we see an _______ that helps determine the stress ___________
I.
II.
Defensive Coping Strategies
A. denial - a coping ____________ in which a person decides that the event is not really a
_____________
B. intellectualization - a coping mechanism in which the person analyzes a situation fro an
emotionally detached viewpoint
Active Coping Strategies
- Changing our ____________ or modifying a situation to remove stressors or reduce the
level of stress
A. Hardiness
1. The personality traits of ___________, commitment, and ______________ that help
us reduce the stress we feel
2. Control - we affect the _____________ of our situation
3. Commitment - establishing and pursuing our _____________
4. Challenge - actively ______________ and _____________ problems
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Class: ______
Notes for Chapter 15 – Stress
B. Explanatory Style
1. optimist - sees the _________ side of things
2. pessimist - sees the _________ side of things
3. pessimists are much more likely to die at a __________ age
C. Relaxation
1. Dr. Edmond Jacobson created _______________ relaxation - tense then relax each
major ____________ group in turn
2. meditation - clearing one's __________ and producing an inner ___________.
D. Biofeedback
1. Person is hooked up to an _____________ device that measures the process he or
she wants to ___________ and turns it into sounds or visual patterns.
2. People learn to control various body ________________
E. Other Stress Reduction techniques
1. Problem solving
2. ___________
3. ___________
4. Support groups and professional help
5. Training for new situations
6. Improving interpersonal skills
SECTION 4: STRESS IN YOUR LIFE
autonomy - the ability to take care of ________________
I.
Choosing college
A. Many students approach college with ___________ and _________________aspirations
B. Goals based on _______________ (ex. wants to be a doctor for humanitarian reasons,
but never thought he would work in a hospital or see someone die)
C. lack of _______________ to make________________ choices
D. lack of _____________ to evaluate their own ______________ and needs.
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Class: ______
Notes for Chapter 15 – Stress
II.
Sources of Change in College
A. College may challenge the ________________ of the student (no longer 'top of the
class' or 'class president')
B. Greater ______________ in student population
C. Developmental friendships - friends force one another to reexamine their basic
_______________ and perhaps _________ new ideas and beliefs
D. Students may use _______________ to cope with change - combining old ideas with
new ones and __________________ feelings in order to renew one's identity
III.
Working
A. Job satisfaction - the _______________ a worker has toward his or her job
1) Resources
2) ____________________
3) ____________________
4) Relations with coworkers
5) Comfort
B. People often have several different _______________ in their lifetime
C. Men still have the tendency to be in ___________ paying jobs and women have a
tendency to be in __________ paying jobs