Measuring stress
GEER AND MAISEL
Physiological measurements of
stress.
Starter Q.
■ Based on what we’ve learnt, any other knowledge, common
sense: how can we measure stress?
■ In pairs come up with at least 3 ideas
Physiological Measures
■ Physiological measures of stress measure the body’s
response to stress by measuring levels of physiological
arousal. There are a number of indexes of arousal, e.g.
heart rate, GSR level (skin conductance), blood pressure,
and respiration rate. These four indexes of arousal are
measured by a Polygraph machine, for example:
Physiological Measures
■ Arousal can also be measured biochemically by analysing
the levels of stress hormone in saliva, urine or blood
samples. The adrenal gland secretes stress hormones
and levels of cortisol and adrenaline and noradrenaline
levels can be analysed in order to measure stress levels.
■ Task: What are the strengths and
weaknesses of physiological measures of
stress?
Measuring the effects of stress
Measuring the physiological effects
Advantages
■
Disadvantages
■
Repeat Study: Geer & Meisel
■ You should focus on the measurements in
particular
■ Two physical measures were used: the heart
rate and the GSR.
■ There were problems with the reliability of
both measures – results may be
inconsistent due to malfunctioning/tricky
machinery
Background:
■ Physiological measures of stress can overcome
the subjectivity of self-report measures.
■ They rely on hormones, chemicals, heart rates
and blood pressure.
■ The main issue is the validity as other issues
can cause physiological changes which can
mimic
stress
responsesdrugs/caffeine/alcohol.
Physiological measures of
stress:
■ Stress can be measured physiologically by any
device which measures arousal.
– E.g. Adrenaline can cause an increased heart rate and
increased blood pressure. (which can be measured).
Goldstein (1992) found that paramedics had higher
blood pressure during ambulance runs compared to at
home.
■ Galvanic skin response: Measures the electrical resistance of
the skin which is an indicator of the levels of arousal in the
nervous system.
■ Blood or urine tests: Can test the hormone levels of the body.
Lundenberg (1976) commuter on train secreted higher levels
of hormones than on a longer less crowded journey.
Geer and Maisel (1972)
Aim:
■ To see if perceived or actual control can
reduce stress reactions to adverse stimuli,
(car crash victims).
Methodology:
■ Laboratory experiment
■ 60 psychology undergraduates from New
York University.
■ Independent measures design.
■ Participants randomly assigned to one of
three conditions.
Procedure:
■ Each participant was seated in a sound-proof room and
wired up to the GSR and ECG machines.
■ The machines were calibrated for 5 minutes whilst the
participants relaxed and a baseline measurement was
taken.
■ Instructions were read over an intercom.
■ Each photo was preceded by a 10 second tone and the
image lasted for 35 seconds, only one group could
terminate the image.
■ The GSR was taken at the onset of the tone, during the
second half of the tone and in response to the image.
Procedure:
■ Group 1: Had full control over the length of time
they viewed each image for. They could press a
button to terminate each image and knew that
a tone would precede each image.
■ Group 2: Were warned that the images would
be 60 seconds apart and that they would see
the image for 35 seconds and a 10 second
tone would precede each image. No control but
knew what was happening.
■ Group 3: Were told that from time to time they
would see images and would hear a tone.
Procedure:
■ Pts were wired up to GSR and heart- rate
monitors.
■ Machine was calibrated for 5 minutes (baseline
measurement was taken)
■ This data was converted to a voltmeter and to a
printout.
■ The soundproof room was used so that sounds
from the projector would not interfere with
readings.
Results:
■ Group 2 were most stressed by the tone as
they knew what was coming and had no
control over the photograph.
■ Group 1 were the least stressed because
they had control.
Conclusions:
■ Participants showed less GSR reaction
when they had control over the length of
time they could view the image for.
■ Being able to terminate aversive stimuli
reduces the stressful impact of it.
Issues:
Debates:
HOLMES AND RAHE
Self-report measures:
Life events as stressors
Self Report
■ Holmes and Rahe’s (1967) SRRS is an example of a self-report measure of
stress (see background to Hassles and Life Events as causes of stress).
■ See text book
■ Task
■ 1. What type of data does the SRRS produce? Identify the strengths and
weaknesses of this kind of data.
■ 2.Examine the study. Identify challenges to the validity of the SRRS as a
measure of stress.
■ 3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of using self report measures to
assess stress levels?
Advantages
Disadvantages
Self-reports that measure life events as
trigger of stress
Life scales (there are many including Social Readjustment Rating Scale & Hassles
and Uplifts scale)
Advantages
■ Research has shown that life events do cause stress so based on sound
research
■ Cheaper than biological measures
■ Participants know their situation best so this gives first hand insight into their
situation (validity)
Disadvantages
■ Terms are often ambiguous, especially in the SRRS – interpretation lowers
reliability and validity
■ Stressors listed are very subjective and often not relevant for today (outdated)
■ Reductionist as only looks at events
■ Much disagreement between psychologists as to which scales are valid
Background
■ Self-report measures include questionnaires,
interviews and diary keeping.
■ Holmes and Rahe used self-report with the
Social Readjustment Rating Scale, (SRRS).
■ They looked at the life events which occur in a
persons life and rates them of their
importance.
■ The readjustments needed to cope with these
life events is what causes stress, so the more
events, the more stressed you will be.
Aim:
■ To create a method that estimates the
extent to which life events are stressors.
Methodology:
■ Correlation
■ Independent measures design
■ A questionnaire to see how much each life
event was considered a stressor.
Participants:
■ 394 participants, 179 males and 215
females
■ Range of educational abilities, religions and
races.
Procedure:
■ Examination of 5,000 medical records- all American service
men.
■ A list of 43 life events was put together of the events which
seemed to precede illness.
■ Each participant was asked to rate each life event based on
personal experience and the perceptions of other peoples
experiences.
■ The amount of readjustment needed and the time taken
were to be considered.
■ Marriage was given an arbitrary value of 50 and then
participants were asked to base their ratings on this idea.
■ Resulting values became the numerical data of each event.
Procedure:
■ The amount of life stress a person has
experienced in a given period, for example
12 months, is measures in Life Change
Units, LCU’s.
■ These are calculated by adding the mean
values associated with the events the
person has experienced during that time.
Results:
■ Death of a spouse was on average judged to require
twice as much readjustment as marriage.
■ Most life events were judged to be less stressful than
getting married.
■ 6, including death of a spouse, divorce and personal
injury or illness were rated as more stressful.
■ Holmes and Rahe found that people with high LCU
scores for the preceding year were likely to experience
some sort of physical illness the following year.
Results:
■ Correlations between groups were tested
and found to be high between all but one
group.
■ Males and females agreed on scores, as did
different ages, religions and educational
levels.
■ There was less correlation between black
and white participants.
Conclusions:
■ The events chosen were ordinary events, but do
lean towards a western way of life.
■ There are some socially desirable events which
reflect western values of materialism, success
and conformism.
■ Stress can be measured objectively as an LCU
score, predicting the persons chances of
becoming ill following the period of stress.
Issues:
Debates:
Describe the self-report method
of measuring stress. (10)
JOHANSSON
Combined approach:
Measurement of stress response
Combined Approach
■
Johansson’s (1978) study of work related stress used a combined
approach to measure stress, including
■
Physiological measures – urine samples were taken five times a day
to analyse for stress hormone levels
■
Self report measures - each participant had to say how much
caffeine and nicotine they had consumed since the last urine test.
They also had to report on a range of emotions and feelings as well
as sleepiness, well-being, calmness, irritation and efficiency etc.
They had to scale these feelings on a continuum from minimum to
maximum using a scale with millimetres. The score was how many
millimetres from the base point the participants had marked
themselves to be feeling.
■ What advantages are there in taking a COMBINED APPROACH to
measuring stress?
Repeat Study: Johansson
■ Work measures were collected through urine
tests, body temperature and self-ratings of
mood and alertness as well as consumption
of caffeine and tobacco on the first or second
day of the working week.
■ These measures were compared to a day
spent at home where the participants were
asked to stay up as if there were at work.
■ The same four times a day were used for the
tests in both conditions.
Background:
■ The
combined
approach
uses
both
physiological and self-report measures to give
the objectivity of physiological and the rick,
qualitative data from self-report.
Aim:
■ To measure the physiological and psychological stress
response in two categories of employees.
Methodology:
■ A quasi-experiment where workers were
defined as being at high-risk of stress or lowrisk, (control group).
■ Independent
participants.
measures
design
with
24
■ High risk were 14 participants and classified as
having repetitive, constrained and isolated jobs
with little or no control of pace or work routine.
Procedure:
■ Each participant was asked to give a daily urine sample
when they arrived at work and 4 other times throughout
the day, to measure adrenaline levels.
■ Body temperature was measures at the same time and
both gave a measure of how alert the participant was.
■ These measures were combined with a self-report
questionnaire where they had to say how much caffeine
and nicotine they had had since the last urine sample.
■ They also had to rate a list of emotions and feelings
such as sleepiness, well-being, calmness and irritation.
■ Baseline measurements were taken at the same time
when they were at home.
Results:
■ The high-risk group had adrenaline levels twice as
high as their baseline measurements which
continued to rise throughout the day.
■ The control group had a peak level of 1½ time
baseline level in the morning and this decreased
throughout the day.
■ In the self-report, the control group felt more
rushed and irritated than the control group and
rated their well-being as being lower.
Conclusions:
■ The repetitive and machine-paced work of the highrisk group contributed to the higher stress levels.
Issues:
Debates:
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Measuring Stress
PHYSIOLOGICAL
June 2010
Describe one physiological measure of stress. (10)
Assess the validity of different methods of measuring stress. (15)
SELF-REPORT
June 2012
Describe the self-report method of measuring stress. (10)
Compare the different measures of stress. (15)
COMBINED APPROACH
Example
a.Describe combined methods for measuring stress (10 marks)
b.Evaluate the reliability of methods of measuring stress.
Discuss problems of conducting research into the causes of stress. (15)
Introduction
P1
P2 (counterargument)
P3
P4 (counterargument)
P5
P6 (counterargument)
Conclusion
useful and appropriate?
Assess the validity of different methods of measuring stress(15)
Introduction
P1
P2 (counterargument)
P3
P4 (counterargument)
P5
P6 (counterargument)
Conclusion
useful and appropriate?
Is one method more valid than others?
a. Evaluate the reliability of methods of measuring stress. [15]
Introduction
P1
P2 (counterargument)
P3
P4 (counterargument)
P5
P6 (counterargument)
Conclusion
useful and appropriate?
Discuss problems of conducting research into the causes of stress. (15)
Introduction
P1
P2 (counterargument)
P3
P4 (counterargument)
P5
P6 (counterargument)
Conclusion
useful and appropriate?