Stress
YouTube - stress
monsters
Causes (3)
Measurements (3)
Management (3)
Stress is a biological response
to an external stressor/s
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Biological response to the fight or flight
mechanism:
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The bodies stress response causes an
increase in blood pressure, reduction in
blood flow to the peripheral blood
vessels (hand and feet) and an
increase in adrenaline, noradrenalin
and corticosteroids to be released into
the blood stream. Over a long period of
time this stress response causes the
body’s immune systems to eventually
break down.
Why is understanding stress
useful:
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1. Causes psychological problems
like anxiety and depression.
2. Causes everyday physical illness
like cough and colds by lowering
the effectiveness of the immune
system.
3. Can cause heart disease and
stroke by increasing build up of
cholesterol.
4. May lead to illnesses like cancer
5. Causes millions of lost sick days
from work
6. Causes accidents and injuries at
work due to loss of concentration
Evidence to show different
factors which cause stress:
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Life event scales were devised to demonstrate how
major life events such as death, divorce,
unemployment and severe illness can be used to
calculate levels of stress and consequently to predict
illness (Holmes and Rahe 1967). However even
when we do not have extreme stressors like these
we still end up feeling stressed!
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Kanner 1981 - Minor stressors can combine to
become large stressors:
Psychological Measures (psychometric
tests)
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(i) Holmes and Rahe (1967) Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS).
H&R defined stress in terms of the change caused to a person’s life
(change can be positive, negative or neutral but would still be stressful by
their definition). H&R argued that whenever an individual had to make “a
substantial adjustment to the environment, the likelihood of stress is high”.
Holmes & Rahe first examined the medical records of around 5000 people.
They found that, in many cases, significant life changes occurred in the
months preceding the onset of illness. They selected 43 of these life events
and asked a sample of 394 people to rate the degree of ‘social
readjustment’ required for each event (death of spouse was given the
arbitrary value of 100 and marriage the arbitrary value of 50). Based on
these results, they constructed the SRRS.
Each life event was ranked and assigned a number of life change units
(LCUs) from 100 to 11. A person’s stress score is the sum of all the life
change units for events they have experienced within a period of 12
months.
Examples of top rank events:
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The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
RANK
1.
Death of spouse
2.
Divorce
3.
Marital separation
4.
Jail term
5.
Death of close family member
6.
Personal injury or illness
7.
Fired at work
8.
Retirement
9.
Change in health of family member
10. Pregnancy
11. Sex difficulties
12. Gain of new family member
Kanner Hassles and Uplifts
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Kanner used hassles as a predictor of stress and illness. The standard life
events (SRRS) which had been popular previously to predict stress, was
compared with relatively minor events, namely, the hassles and uplifts of
everyday life. Hassles and Uplifts Scales were administered once a month for
10 consecutive months to a community sample of 100 middle-aged adults in
California.
A longitudinal study with repeated measures design was used as participants
filled out both the Life Events Scale as well as the Hassles and Uplifts Scale.
They then had their psychological symptoms of stress assessed using the
Hopkins Symptom checklist and the Bradburn Morale scale. (Nine subjects
dropped out)
It was found that the Hassles Scale was a better predictor of psychological and
physiological symptoms than were the life events scores. Hassles also seemed
to be consistent month on month. Hassles and symptoms of stress were
significantly correlated. The more hassles the participant reported the more
symptoms they reported. Uplifts were positively related to reduced symptoms
for women but not for men.
It was concluded that the assessment of daily hassles and uplifts may be a
better approach to the prediction of stress and ill health than the life events
approach.
Hassles and Uplifts - Kanner
Daily Hassles
Daily Uplifts
1
Concerns about weight
1
Relating well to spouse or partner
2
Health of a family member
2
Relating well to friends
3
Rising price of common goods
3
Completing a task
4
Home maintenance
4
Feeling healthy
5
Too many things to do
5
Getting enough sleep
6
Misplacing or losing things
6
Eating out
7
Outside home maintenance
7
Meeting your responsibilities
8
Property, investment or taxes
8
Visiting, phoning or writing to someone
9
Crime
9
Spending time with the family
10
Physical appearance
10
Finding your home a pleasant environment
Work has also been shown to
produce stress!
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What jobs or types of
work would you think
might be the most
stressful?
Johansson – Swedish Saw Mill
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Aim: to investigate whether work stressors such as repetitiveness, machine-regulated pace of
work and high levels of responsibility increase stress-related physiological arousal and stress
related illness
Procedures: The researchers identified a high-risk group of 14 “finishers” in a Swedish sawmill.
Their job was to finish off the wood at the last stage of processing timber. The work was machinepaced, isolated, very repetitive yet highly skilled, and the finishers’ productivity determined the
wage rates for the entire factory
The 14 “finishers” were compared with a low-risk group of 10 cleaners, whose work was more
varied, largely self-paced, and allowed more socialising with other workers
Levels of stress-related hormones (adrenaline and noradrenaline) in the urine were measured on
work days and rest days
Records were kept of stress-related illness and absenteeism
Findings: The high-risk group of 14 finishers secreted more stress hormones (adrenaline and
noradrenaline) on work days than on rest days, and higher levels than the control group. The
high-risk group of finishers also showed significantly higher levels of stress-related illness such as
headaches and higher levels of absenteeism than the low-risk group of cleaners.
Conclusions: A combination of work stressors- especially repetitiveness, machine-pacing of
work and high levels of responsibility – lead to chronic (long-term) physiological arousal. This in
turn leads to stress-related illness and absenteeism.
If employers want to reduce illness and absenteeism in their workforce, they need to find ways of
reducing these work stressors, for example by introducing variety into employees’ work and by
allowing them to experience some sense of control over the pace of their work.
Johansson – Swedish Saw Mill –
measures:
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Each participant had to give a urine sample four times a day so
that their adrenal levels could be measured.
Their body temperature was recorded at the same time as this
can give an indication of how alert a person is.
These two physiological measures were combined with self
report where 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.
This combined approach gave both qualitative and quantitative
measurements enabling Johannson to compare the two groups
of workers and understand the impact of higher stress levels on
the participants.
Stress on the job:
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Numerous studies show that job stress is far and away
the major source of stress for American adults and that it
has escalated progressively over the past few decades.
Increased levels of job stress as assessed by the
perception of having little control but lots of demands
have been demonstrated to be associated with increased
rates of heart attack, hypertension and other disorders. In
New York, Los Angeles and other municipalities, the
relationship between job stress and heart attacks is so
well acknowledged, that any police officer who suffers a
coronary event on or off the job is assumed to have a
work related injury and is compensated accordingly
(including a heart attack sustained while fishing on
vacation or gambling in Las Vegas).
Geer and Meisel: Stress and control:
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Aim: To see if perceived control or actual control can reduce stress reactions to averse stimuli.
Method: Laboratory experiment in which participants were shown photographs of dead car crash
victims and their stress levels were measured by GSR (Galvanic skin response) and heart rate through
ECG monitoring.
Participants: 60 undergraduates enrolled in a psychology course at a New York university.
Design: Independent measures with participants randomly assigned to three conditions.
Group 1: were given control over how long they looked at the images for. They could press a button to
terminate the image and were told a tone would precede each new image.
Group 2: Were warned the photos would be 60 seconds apart they would see the picture for 35
seconds and a 10 second warning tone would precede each photo. The group had no control but did
know what was happening.
Group 3: were told that from time to time they would see photos and hear tones but were not given
timings or any control.
Procedure: each participant was seated in a sound proofed room and wired up to the GSR and ECG
machines. The machine was calibrated for 5 minutes while the participant relaxed and a baseline
measurement was then taken. Instructions were read over an intercom. Each photo was precede with
a 10 second tone and then flashed up for 35 seconds (only the one group could terminate the photo
and move on). The GSR was taken at the onset of the tone and during the second half of the tone and
in response to the picture.
Results: ECG recordings were discarded as they appeared inaccurate.
Group 2 showed most stress. Group 1 showed least stress.
Conclusions: that having control over your environment can reduce stress responses.
Causes of stress and supporting
evidence:
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Work as a cause of stress: Johansson
1978 Swedish Sawmill, repetitiveness,
machine pacing and responsibility.
Hassles and Life Events as a cause of
stress: Kanner 1981.
Lack of control as a cause of stress:
Geer and Meilsel 1973 lab experiment
with car crash victims
How can we measure stress
levels?
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Physiological
Blood pressure
Steroid levels in urine
and saliva (Reicher
and Haslam).
Galvanic skin
response and heart
rate (Geer and
Meisel).
Advantages scientific
Disadvantages
quantitative
Self Report:
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We have already considered how stress can be
measured – when looking at causes of stress by looking at Holmes and Rahe and Kanner
with their Life Events and Hassles and Uplifts
Scales.
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Advantages: qualitative and quantitative,
detailed, personal.
Disadvantages: time consuming, difficulty in
analysing, experimenter bias
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Combined Approach to
measuring stress:
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Johansson measured stress
using biological measures
and self report.
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This is a useful conclusion
section when describing
measurements as it involved
both qualitative and
quantitative data in the same
measurements and reliability
of the self report can be
checked against the
biological tests.
Methods of measuring stress
and supporting evidence:
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1. Geer and Meisel 1973 – physiological -GSR
(galvanic skins response) and heart rate, body
temperature.YouTube - Stress Monitor
2. Kanner – self report of hassles and uplifts.
Holmes and Rahe – self report of major life
events.
3. Johansson 1978 – combined approach
using physiological - urine tests and self report.
Validity and measurements
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It is possible that a question could arise which is entirely about validity
– the most common way in which this is usually addressed is when the
area specifically looks at measurements – as validity obviously means
are we measuring what we say we are measuring!
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Discuss the validity of measurements of
stress (15)
Techniques of stress
management
Learning Objectives:
 Understand and evaluate behavioural
and cognitive techniques to stress
management.
 Explain the use of stress management
techniques
What techniques can be used to
manage stress:
Cognitive techniques
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(SIT) – Stress Inoculation Therapy:
can be used to help people learn to
identify when they will become
stressed and use positive thoughts
to try and reduce future stress
responses during sessions of
cognitive therapy.
Michenbaum (1975)YouTube Stress Reduction 1 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGaRyLN9gb8
RET: Rational emotive therapy
Page: 162
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Developed by Ellis 1962.
Ellis believed that faulty or irrational ways of thinking
affect stress appraisal processes & increase the
appraisal of threat or harm.
RET A-B-C-D-E framework whereby the therapist
bluntly/aggressively challenges the client to examine
their belief systems to realise how irrational and
damaging they are.
Copy table 2 into your notes!
Once completed summarise the evaluation in your own
words.
Meichenbaum Stress
Inoculation Therapy - Cognitive
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Standard behavioural measures have tried to help people become desensitised to
stress. Meichenbaum compared these standard behavioural methods with cognitive
ones. Cognitive therapy sessions aimed at enabling people to identify their stressors
and change their mental processes when under stress rather than just their
behaviours.
21 students ages 17 – 25 responded to an advert about treatment of test anxiety. It was
a field experiment with participants put into three groups, SIT, standard
desensitisation and a control group. Each participant was tested using a test anxiety
questionnaire.
The SIT group received 8 therapy sessions giving them insight into their thoughts
before tests. They were then given some positive statements to say and relaxation
techniques to use in test situations.
The systematic desensitisation groups were also given 8 therapy sessions with only
progressive relaxation training whilst imaging stressful situations.
The control group were told they were on a waiting list for treatment.
Findings: performance in tests in the SIT group improved the most although both
therapy groups showed improvement over the control groups.
Conclusions: that SIT is an effective way of reducing anxiety in students who are
prone to anxiety in test situations and more effective than simply behavioural
techniques when a cognitive component is added in.
Past Exam Question:
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Discuss the cognitive approach to
managing stress. Refer to one other
approach in your answer. 12 marks
Behavioural techniques –
biofeedback:
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Allowing people to monitor their
own health and gain feedback
about the effects of certain
behaviours allows them to modify
behaviour through positive
reinforcement.
Budzynski (1973)YouTube - Stress
Management and Temperature Bio
Feedback http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBY1YdwEfNQ
YouTube - How to Use
Biofeedback for Stress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn1RHEcmrNI
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YouTube - breathing techniques for
stress, anxiety and panic
Behavioural techniques –
Biofeedback - Budzinski
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Aim: to see if biofeedback techniques work and help reduce tension headaches or whether the
effect is due to the placebo effect. The placebo effect is a positive psychological effect that can
occur even when there is no actual treatment.
Method: Experimental method with patients trained in the laboratory. Data was collected using
muscle tension measurements (EMG) with an electromyography, a machine which gives
feedback by a graph by applying electrodes to the muscles. Patients were also given a
psychometric test for depression (MMPI) and asked to complete questionnaires on their
headaches. It was an independent measures design with participants randomly assigned to one
of three groups.
Participants: 18 replied to a newspaper advert in the USA. They were screened by telephone
and then had psychiatric and medical examinations to ensure there were no other reasons for
their headaches. There were 2 males and 16 females aged 22-44 with a mean age of 36.
Group A had real biofeedback training with relaxation using the EMG
Group B had biofeedback training but with false (pseudo) feedback
Group C were used as a control group
Procedure: all groups kept a diary of their headaches for two weeks, rating them from 0 mild to 5
severe. Groups A and B were told to practice relaxation after the training for 15 – 20 mins each
day.
Results : After 3 months group A’s muscle tension was significantly lower than the other two
groups. Reporting of headaches in group A also fell significantly compared to their base line
which it did not in the other two groups.
Conclusions: biofeedback is an effective way to reduce stress levels by reducing tension.
Social approaches:
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Many researchers have
found out that social
support helps reduce
stress. Loneliness and
isolation increase stress.
Waxler- Morrison (2006)
found women with strong
social relationships were
more likely to survive
breast cancer!
Waxler-Morrison – Social
Support
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Aim: to look at how a woman’s social relationships influence her response to
breast cancer and survival.
Method: a quasi experiment with woman who were diagnosed with breast
cancer. The information was gathered using questionnaires and 18 interviews
plus examination of medical records. Women were fitted into categories based
on their social support network.
Participants: 133 women under 55 yrs (pre-menopausal) who had been
referred with breast cancer in Canada.
Design: Independent measures design with women of different pre existing
levels of social support.
Procedure: women were sent a questionnaire to fill in about their social
support including questions on education and family responsibilities, friends,
their perception of their support from others, marital status and church
memberships etc. Their diagnoses were taken from medical records which
were again checked 4 years later.
Findings and conclusions : qualitative data from questionnaires showed that
practical help given by others for cleaning, child care, cooking etc was essential
for support. Jobs were seen as important for support and most survivors
reported supportive husbands although problems were often reported with
children who may also need support. There was a significant relationship
between the amount of support reported and survival rates.
Techniques for managing stress
and supporting research:
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1. Cognitive techniques – Michenbaum 1975
2. Behavioural techniques – biofeedback –
Budzynski 1973
3. Social support – Waxler-Morrison 2006
Problems and usefulness
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Due to the high rate of illness and days off work sick combined
with an increasingly stressful society it is really useful to learn
how to manage our stress and avoid long term ill health. We
have already seen how lack of control causes stress (Geer and
Meisel) – so by giving back control through cognitive or
behavioural measures it can only help reduce stress
However – stress management needs trained counsellors,
resources, commitment, time, money, and possibly a level of
understanding that not everyone will be able to show. Some
strategies are also more appropriate for long term stress rather
than short term. For example if bereavement causes stress
then cognitive therapy is not the answer – social support might
be most appropriate – if there is a longer term problem social
support may be a good first option followed by cognitive or
behaviour therapy etc.
Exam questions:
For Home Work!!Due 24/11/10
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Outline one technique for managing
stress (10)
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Describe and evaluate the role of social
support in mediating responses to
stress. Refer to evidence in your
answer.(12)