Advanced Psychology
Ch. 15 Notes – Stress
Mr. Slocomb
Name:__________________________________
Period:_________
Section 1-Sources of Stress
__________________- a person’s ________________ to his or her inability to cope with a certain tense ______
or situation.

Components of Stress
_________________- a stress-________________ event or situation

Stress ____________________- the __________________ response to a stressor

____________________- stress that stems from acute anxiety or ________________

Eustress- __________________ stress, which results from _________________ strivings and challenges.

Conflict Situations
_________________ __________________- when a person must choose between two or more options that
tend to result from opposing motives

_____________________________ – choose between two attractive options
_____________________________ – choose between two bad options
_____________________________ – one option (yes or no) with good and bad either way
_____________________________ – multiple options with good and bad for all
Appraising a situation
_____________________Appraisal – immediate ______________ of a situation – irrelevant, positive, negative
_____________________ Appraisal – pick _____________ _______________
__________________________ stressors - an external form of a stressor that you are exposed to
Life changes and stress – see first graphic, study on stressful events in life
_____________________ - small annoyances that if isolated will not produce __________________ stress
Section 2- Reactions to Stress
Stress will be reacted to if __________________ and/or _________________
____________________ vs. _________________
Varies by _______________ and ________________
_____________________– the bodies default response to a perceived threat or danger
Autonomic Nervous System – controls this
Sympathetic (speeds up)
Parasympathetic – slows down
__________________________________________
1. _____________________ – first reaction to stressor. Resistance diminished
2. _____________________– if the body or individual adapts to the stressor(s), increased resistance
occurs. Alarm reactions disappear.
3. _____________________– Long-continued exposure wears down body’s resistance; adaptation energy
is exhausted. Alarm reaction signs reappear. Individual can eventually die.
Emotional and Cognitive responses
_____________________- a vague, generalized, apprehension or feelings of _____________________

_____________________- the irate reaction likely to result from _____________________

_____________________- the usual reaction when a stressor involves real or imagined danger

Behavioral Reactions
_____________________– behaviors such as using alcohol and drugs to _____________________ problems.
_____________________– involves _________ ____________of problems, realistic appraisals, recognizing
and modifying unhealthy responses
Physical Reactions
_____________________ - _____________________
Factors influencing reactions to stress
Personality differences
Type A vs. Type B personality

Emotional Expressiveness

Perceived Control over Stressors
_____________________ Stress better than _____________________
_____________________- employees need to believe they _____________________in what is going on
_____________________– What is perceived as real is real in its _____________________
Social Support
_____________________ – concerned listening/affection
_____________________– Interactive, sort out (Socratic Method)
_____________________ – stressed person responds/solutions
_____________________ – direct help (money, bed, car, etc…)
Sections 3-Coping with Stress
Psychological Coping Strategies
_____________________- the interpretation of an event that helps determine its ________________________.

_____________________ Coping Strategies
_____________________- a coping mechanism in which a person decides that the event is not really a _______
_____________________ - a coping mechanism in which the person analyzes a situation from an ___________
detached viewpoint.
_____________________ Coping Strategies
_____________________to fix, deal with or _____________________a stressful situation (Adaptive Coping if
positive, maladaptive coping if negative)
_____________________ – ability to not give up -- Traits  Control, Commitment, Challenge
Controlling Stressful Situations
_____________________ Controlling Exposure to Stressors
Problem solving
_____________________ situation head on/rational analysis
Leads to __________________________________________
_____________________ Style
_____________________ - people who see the circumstances they are in positively
_____________________ - people who see the circumstances they are in negatively
Seligman  Baseball Players - analyzed post game comments, coded them  optimists lived ______________
_____________________ - Control Physiological Responses to Stress
_____________________- lying down comfortably and tensing and releasing the tension in each major muscle
group in turn.

Meditation- a focusing of _____________________ with the goal of clearing one’s mind and producing an
‘inner peace”
_____________________- the process of learning to control bodily states by monitoring the states to be
controlled.

Humor/Exercise – helps regulate hormone release (______________ and ______________) – Fight or flight
Support Groups and Professional Help

_____________________ - Practicing speaking, playing golf, mock interviews
Improving _____________________ Skills
Section 4- Stress in Your Life
_____________________- ability to take care of oneself and make one’s own decisions

Choosing College - “_____________________” Peter Madison (1969)
College students  __________________________________________expectations initially
Sources of change

__________________________________________- friends force on another to _____________________
their basic assumptions and perhaps adopt new ideas and beliefs.

_____________________- Focusing on goals, work harder through doubt; going through ________________
_____________________- combining old ideas with new ones and reorganizing feelings in order to renew
one’s identity.

Working - Variety of Challenges, Rewards in Working
Work Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction
5 Major Sources of Work _____________________
1. Resources – tools to do the job _____________________
2. $$$ - includes income, benefits, _____________________
3. _____________________
4. Relations with _____________________
5. _____________________ (conditions, commute, physical aspects)
Changing _____________________
Retire then start new career
Good economy = __________________________________________= more change
Bad economy = __________________________________________= less change
Career- a _____________________ in which a person works at least a _____________________.

Comparable Worth
_____________________- the concept that women and men (and all people) should receive
_____________________for jobs calling for comparable skill and _____________________.
People (consciously or unconsciously) compare their career to others
Can be a source of great _____________________