Chapter 10 Overview
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Sources of stress
Responding to stress
Health and illness
Lifestyle and health
Sources of Stress
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Stress is the physiological and
psychological response to a condition that
threatens or challenges a person and
requires some sort of adaptation
Stress is associated with the fight or flight
response
– Response in which the nervous system and
endocrine glands prepare the body to fight or
flee
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Stressors
– Stimuli or events that can produce physical or
emotional stress
What was the Social Readjustment
Rating Scale designed to reveal?
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Developed by Holmes and Rahe to measure
stress
Life events that produce the greatest life
changes are considered the most stressful
– Whether the changes are positive or negative
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Scale assigns point values to 43 life events
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Death of a spouse: 100
Getting fired at work: 47
Beginning or ending school: 26
Vacation: 13
What was the Social Readjustment
Rating Scale designed to reveal?
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SRRS scores are correlated with a variety of
health indicators
– Scores over 300
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80% chance of major health problems within two years
– Scores of 150-300
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50% chance of major health problems within two years
Main criticism of SRRS
– It assigns point values to life events without
taking into account how an individual perceives
or copes with each stressor
What roles do hassles and uplifts
play in the stress of life, according
to Lazarus?
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According to Richard Lazarus, hassles
cause more stress than major life events
– Hassles are little stressors encountered in daily
life
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Research has found that hassles are
significantly related to health problems
– But uplifts may neutralize the effects of hassles
How do choice-related conflicts and
lack of control contribute to stress?
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Making choices can be stressful
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Three choice-related conflicts:
– Approach-approach conflict
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Having to choose between equally desirable
alternatives
– Avoidance-avoidance conflict
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Having to choose between undesirable alternatives
– Approach-avoidance conflict
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Conflict arising when the same choice has desirable
and undesirable features
How do choice-related conflicts and
lack of control contribute to stress?
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People feel less stress when a stressor is
predictable than when it is unpredictable
People also feel less stress when they have
a sense of control over a situation
– Langer & Rodin (1976): Nursing home residents
are healthier and happier when they feel they
have control over some aspects of their lives
– Glass & Singer (1972): Loud noises are less
stressful when participants can terminate the
noise, even if they don’t choose to do so
For people to function effectively and
find satisfaction on the job, what nine
variables should fall within their comfort
zone?
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According to Albrecht (1979), effective functioning
and job satisfaction depend on nine variables being
within one’s comfort zone
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Workload
Clarity of job description and evaluation criteria
Physical variables
Job status
Accountability
Task variety
Human contact
Physical challenge
Mental challenge
How do people typically react to
catastrophic events?
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Most people cope well with catastrophic
events
But some develop posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD)
– A prolonged, severe stress reaction, often
characterized by flashbacks or nightmares
– PTSD is associated with increased risk of suicide,
depression, and alcohol abuse
How do racism, socioeconomic
status, and unemployment affect
health?
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Some researchers believe that African
Americans have higher blood pressure than
other groups because of stress due to
historical racism
People with low socioeconomic status
have more stress-related health problems
than those with higher status
– Although perceived status may be more
predictive of health problems than actual status
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Unemployment is also associated with
increased incidence of health problems
Responding to Stress
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Psychologists have different views of
the ways in which people respond to
stressful experiences. Each approach
can help us gain insight into our own
experiences to deal more effectively
with stress.
What is the general adaptation
syndrome?
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Proposed by Hans Selye (1907-1982)
The general adaptation syndrome
(GAS) is a predictable sequence of
reactions that organisms show in response
to stressors
It consists of three stages
– Alarm stage
– Resistance stage
– Exhaustion stage
What is the general adaptation
syndrome?
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Alarm stage
– Adrenal cortex releases glucocorticoids
– Increased heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar
energize body for fight or flight
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Resistance stage
– Intense physiological efforts made to resist or adapt
to stressor
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Exhaustion stage
– Occurs if organism fails to resist or adapt to stressor
– Stores of energy are depleted, resulting in exhaustion
and eventually death
What are the roles of primary and
secondary appraisals when a person is
confronted with a potentially stressful
event?
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Primary appraisal
– Cognitive evaluation of a potentially stressful
situation to determine if its effect is positive,
negative, or irrelevant
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Secondary appraisal
– Cognitive evaluation of available resources and
options for dealing with a stressful situation
– Level of perceived stress is largely based on whether
one’s resources are perceived as adequate for
dealing with the stressor
What is the difference between
problem-focused and emotion focused coping?
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Problem-focused coping
– A direct response aimed at reducing, modifying,
or eliminating a source of stress
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Emotion-focused coping
– A response involving reappraisal of a stressor to
reduce its emotional impact
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A combination of these strategies is
probably the best stress-management
technique
– e.g., a heart-disease patient making lifestyle
changes such as diet and exercise (problemfocused) and maintaining an optimistic outlook
to deal with anxiety (emotion-focused)
Health and Illness
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Wellness is a term associated with a new
approach to thinking about health,
encompassing a growing emphasis on
lifestyle, preventive care, and the need to
maintain wellness rather than thinking of
health matters only when the body is sick.
How do the biomedical and
biopsychosocial models differ in their
approaches to health and illness?
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Biomedical model
– A perspective that explains illness solely in terms
of biological factors
– The predominant view in medicine for many
decades
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Biopsychosocial model
– A perspective that views health and illness as
determined by a combination of biological,
psychological, and social factors
– Growing acceptance of this model has given rise
to the field of health psychology
What are the Type A, Type B, and
Type D behavior patterns?
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Type A behavior pattern
– Time urgency, impatience, competitiveness, hostility, and
anger
– Associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease
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Type B behavior pattern
– Relaxed, easygoing approach to life, without time urgency,
competitiveness, and hostility
– Associated with lower risk of coronary heart disease
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Type D behavior pattern
– Emotional distress combined with tendency to suppress
negative emotions
– Associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease
How do psychological factors
influence cancer patients’ quality of
life?
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Research has identified several
psychological factors that can improve
quality of life and reduce distress in cancer
patients
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Maintaining an optimistic outlook
Accepting the reality of the situation
Keeping a sense of humor
Social support
Coping strategies that increase distress
include
– Denial
– Social withdrawal
What personal and social factors
are associated with health and
resistance to stress?
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Optimism
– Optimists are more stress-resistant than
pessimists, and had lower death rates in a longterm study in Finland
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Hardiness
– Combination of commitment, control, and
challenge
– Hardy individuals tend to remain healthy despite
high levels of stress
What personal and social factors
are associated with health and
resistance to stress?
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Religious faith
– Religious involvement is associated with lower
rates of cancer, heart disease, and stroke
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Social Support
– Tangible and/or emotional support provided by
family members, friends, and others
– People with high levels of social support
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Are less likely to catch colds
Have lower levels of depression when suffering from
chronic illnesses
Recover faster from illness
Have higher probability of surviving a heart attack
Lifestyle and Health
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Researchers have found that people are
more likely to adopt healthy behaviors if
they believe behavioral change will make
them look better or appear more youthful
than if they simply receive information
about the health benefits of the suggested
change.
Still, there are some health-threatening
behaviors that carry such grave risks that
everyone ought to take them seriously.
Why is smoking the most
dangerous health -threatening
behavior?
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Smoking is the #1 cause of preventable
diseases and deaths in the USA
– Directly related to over 400,000 deaths each
year
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Smoking is related to
– Heart disease, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis
– Low birth weight and retarded fetal development
in babies born of smoking mothers
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Passive smoking is related to
– Increased risk of heart attack
What are some health risks of
alcohol abuse?
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Excessive alcohol consumption can damage
virtually every organ in the body, including
the liver, stomach, heart, and brain
– CT scans show brain shrinkage in alcoholics
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Compared to nonalcoholics, alcoholics
– Are three times more likely to die in car accidents
– Are twice as likely to die of cancer
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Recent studies suggest that brain-imaging
techniques may someday be able to identify
individuals who have a genetic predisposition
for alcoholism