Chapter 3
Stress and Its Effects
The Nature of Stress, continued
•
Stress is “any circumstances perceived to
threaten one’s well-being and thereby tax
one’s coping abilities”.
1. Stress is a common, everyday event.
•
Both major and minor problems can be
stressful.
•
Daily “hassles” can have negative effects
on our well-being.
•
Stressful events have a cumulative
impact.
2. Stress is subjective.
Figure 3.2 Primary and secondary appraisal of stress. Primary appraisal is an initial evaluation of
whether an event is (1) irrelevant to you, (2) relevant, but not threatening, or (3) stressful. When you view
an event as stressful, you are likely to make a secondary appraisal, which is an evaluation of your coping
resources and options for dealing with the stress. (Based on Lazarus & Folkman, 1994)
The Nature of Stress, continued
3. Ambient stress – refers to chronic
negative conditions embedded in the
environment.
• Certain types have been associated with
elevated stress hormones (Figure 3.3).
4. Stress is influenced by culture.
• Culture affects which types of stress we
experience.
• Cultural change is a major source of
stress in most cultures.
Figure 3.3 Excessive noise and stress hormones. Evans, Hygge, and Bullinger (1995) compared
children from noisy areas near Munich International Airport with similar children from quiet neighborhoods in
Munich. They found elevated levels of two hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) associated with
stress reactions in the children exposed to the high noise of the airport.
Adapted from Evans, G.W., Hygge, S., & Bullinger, M. (1995). Chronic noise and psychological stress.
Psychological Science, 6, 333-338. Copyright © 1995 Blackwell Publishers. Adapted by permission.
Major Sources of Stress, continued
•
There are three basic categories
1. Acute stressors – “threatening events that
have a relatively short duration and a clear
endpoint”.
2. Chronic stressors – “threatening events
that have a relatively long duration and no
readily apparent time limit”.
3. Anticipatory stressors – “upcoming or
future events that are perceived to be
threatening”.
• This stressor is unique to humans
Major Sources of Stress, continued
•
Other categories of stressors
1. Frustration – “occurs in any situation in
which the pursuit of some goal is blocked”.
2. Internal conflict – “occurs when two or
more incompatible motivations or
behavioral impulses compete for
expression”.
Figure 3.4 Types of conflict. Psychologists
have identified three basic types of conflict. In
approach-approach and avoidance-avoidance
conflicts, the person is torn between two goals. In
an approach-avoidance conflict, only one goal is
under consideration, but it has both positive and
negative aspects.
Major Sources of Stress, continued
3. Life changes
– Holmes and Rahe (1967) believe both
positive and negative life changes are
associated with physical illness.
– They developed the Social Readjustment
Rating Scale (SRRS) to assess health risk
due to the accumulation of life changes (see
Figure 3.5).
Figure 3.5 Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). Devised by Holmes and Rahe (1967), this scale is designed to
measure the change-related stress in one’s life. The numbers on the right are supposed to reflect the average amount of stress
(readjustment) produced by each event. Respondents check off the events that have occurred to them recently and add up the
associated numbers to arrive at their stress scores.
Adapted from Holmes, T.H., & Rahe, R. (1967). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic
Research, 11, 213-218. Copyright © 1967 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co. Reprinted by permission.
Major Sources of Stress, continued
4. Pressure – “expectations or demands”.
– Associated with many psychological
symptoms and problems (see Fig. 3.6):
• Pressure to perform
• Pressure to conform
Responding to Stress
•
•
Stress responses occur at three levels:
1. Emotional responses
2. Physiological responses
3. Behavioral responses
Emotional responses are usually negative
and fall into three categories:
1. Annoyance, anger, and rage
2. Apprehension, anxiety, and fear
3. Dejection, sadness, and grief
Responding to Stress, continued
– Stress can prompt positive emotional
responses, which in turn
• Increase creativity, flexibility in problemsolving, and
• Enhance immune system functioning,
increase valuable social support, and
promote proactive coping.
Responding to Stress, continued
– Strong emotions may hamper or enhance
our ability to cope with stress, depending on
our level of arousal and the task complexity
(see Figure 3.9).
– The “inverted-U hypothesis” predicts that
• For low complexity tasks, a high level of
arousal is best;
• For medium complexity tasks, a medium
level of arousal is best; and
• For high complexity tasks, a low level of
arousal is best.
Figure 3.9 Arousal and performance. Graphs of the relationship between emotional arousal and task
performance tend to resemble an inverted U, as increased arousal is associated with improved
performance up to a point, after which higher arousal leads to poorer performance. The optimal level of
arousal for a task depends on the complexity of the task. On complex tasks, a relatively low level of arousal
tends to be optimal. On simple tasks, however, performance may peak at a much higher level of arousal.
Responding to Stress, continued
• Physiological responses.
– The fight-or-flight response - “a
physiological reaction to threat that
mobilizes an organism for attacking (fight)
or fleeing (flight) an enemy”.
– It occurs in the autonomic nervous
system (ANS), which “is made up of the
nerves that connect to the heart, blood
vessels, smooth muscles, and glands”.
Responding to Stress, continued
– The ANS is broken into two divisions (see
Fig. 3.10):
• Sympathetic division mobilizes energy
during emergencies, engages the fightor-flight response.
• Parasympathetic division conserves
energy, has calming effect on body.
–Unfortunately, the fight-flight
response is not well suited for coping
with modern threats.
Figure 3.10 The autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is composed of the nerves that connect to
the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands. The ANS is subdivided into the sympathetic division,
which mobilizes bodily resources in times of need, and the parasympathetic division, which conserves
bodily resources. Some of the key functions controlled by each division of the ANS are summarized in the
center of the diagram.
Responding to Stress, continued
– Hans Seyle’s general adaptation syndrome
is a “model of the body’s stress response,
consisting of three stages” (see Fig. 3.11).
1. Alarm phase – initial response to threat,
fight-or-flight response engages.
2. Resistance phase – if threat continues,
physiological changes stabilize, coping
begins.
3. Exhaustion phase – if the threat continues
too long, the body’s resources are
depleted, leading to physical exhaustion
and illness.
Figure 3.11 The general adaptation syndrome. According to Selye, the physiological response to stress
can be broken into three phases. During the first phase, the body mobilizes its resources for resistance
after a brief initial shock. In the second phase, resistance levels off and eventually begins to decline. If the
third phase of the general adaptation syndrome is reached, resistance is depleted, leading to health
problems and exhaustion.
Responding to Stress, continued
– Two brain-body pathways control our
physiological responses to stress (Fig. 3.13):
1.The Catecholamine Pathway –
hypothalamus activates sympathetic system;
adrenal glands release catecholamines (e.g.
epinephrine) that mobilize the body for action.
2.The Corticosteroid Pathway –
hypothalamus signals pituitary gland to
secrete ACTH; adrenal cortex to release
corticosteroids that increase energy.
Figure 3.13 Brain-body pathways in stress. In times of stress, the
brain sends signals along two pathways. The pathway through the
autonomic nervous system (shown in blue on the right) controls the
release of catecholamine hormones that help mobilize the body for
action. The pathway through the pituitary gland and the endocrine
system (shown in brown on the left) controls the release of
corticosteroid hormones that increase energy and ward off tissue
inflammation.
Responding to Stress, continued
• Behavioral/Coping responses -“active efforts
to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands
created by stress”.
– Coping response may be
• Healthy (e.g., actively trying to solve a
problem by asking for help or generating
solutions) or
• Unhealthy (e.g., ignoring problem,
indulging in alcohol, or excessive
eating).
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
• Impaired task performance
– Stress can cause people to “freeze up” or
“crack under pressure”.
– Elevated self-consciousness can disrupt
attention to task.
• Disruption of cognitive function
– Increased tendency to jump to conclusions.
– Decreased ability to carefully review options.
– Decreased memory function.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
• Burnout – “a syndrome involving physical and
emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lowered
sense of self-efficacy that is attributable to
work-related stress”.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) –
“involves enduring psychological disturbance
attributed to the experience of a major traumatic
event”.
– Symptoms include
• Re-experiencing trauma via nightmares,
flashbacks.
• Emotional numbing, alienation, problems in
social relations.
• Elevated arousal, anxiety, and guilt.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
• Psychological problems and disorders
– Chronic stress may also contribute to
• Poor academic performance;
• Insomnia and other sleep disturbances;
• Sexual difficulties; and
• Substance abuse.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
• Physical illness
– Psychosomatic diseases are “genuine
physical ailments thought to be caused in
part by stress and other psychological
factors”.
– Common psychosomatic diseases include
• High blood pressure
• Peptic ulcers
• Asthma
• Eczema and hives
• Migraine and tension headaches
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
•
Positive effects: Stress can have positive
effects in at least three ways.
1. It can promote positive psychological
change, or posttraumatic growth.
2. It can help satisfy a need for stimulation
and challenge.
3. It can inoculate us against future stress.
Factors in Stress Tolerance, continued
• Some people withstand stress better than
•
others.
There are many moderator variables that
may reduce the impact of stress on physical
and mental health:
– Social support – “aid and succor provided
by members of one’s social networks”.
– Hardiness – “a disposition marked by
commitment, challenge, and control that is
purportedly associated with strong stress
resistance”.
Factors in Stress Tolerance, continued
• Moderator variables, continued
– Optimism – “ a general tendency to expect
good outcomes”.
• Individuals with a “pessimistic explanatory
style” blame themselves for failures.
• Those with an “optimistic explanatory style”
attribute setbacks to temporary situational
factors.
–Optimists tend to stay healthier in times of
stress.