1

Stress Unit 2• Key Questions

• What is stress?

• How can stress be measured?

• What causes stress?

AS Psychology Unit 2

2

Stress as a Bodily Response

• Defining stress– “The nonspecific response of the body to any

demand” (Selye, 1950)

– Demands are called stressors

– A stress response is an innate, defensive, and adaptive reaction that promotes survival

KEY TERM

Stress as disposition or situation

• Dispositional

Friedman and Rosenman (1974) STAB approach -Study of Type A Personality

• Situational

Holmes and Rahe (1967) SRRS approach – study of Social Readjustment – life changes

3

4

Bodily Responses to Stress

The SAM system

The Acute immediate and response to stress

Sympathetic branch ANS

Adrenal Medulla

Adrenaline

The HPA system The chronic and long

term response to stress

Pituitary Gland

ACTH

Adrenal Cortex

Cortisol

Both systems start with the hypothalamus

5

6

General Adaptation Syndrome3 stages (Selye 1936, 1950)

KEY TERM

7

Sources of StressHolmes and Rahe (1967): 10 most stressful life events

1. Death of a spouse (100)

2. Divorce (73)

3. Marital separation (65)

4. Jail term (63)

5. Death of a close family member (63)

6. Personal injury/illness (53)

7. Marriage (50)

8. Lose job (47)

9. Marital reconciliation (45)

10. Retirement (43)

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)(life change units in brackets)

8

• Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)– Examined 5000 patient records and noted 43

life events that seemed to precede illness– 400 people then rated these events– Averaged each rating for each life change

– Used by asking participant to indicate which out of 43 life events has happened to them in the last 6 months, then add up the life change units for the events indicated

KEY TERM

9

Key Term: General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

• The body’s non-specific response to stress that consists of three stages: the alarm reaction, when the body responds with the heightened physiological reactivity of the “fight or flight” response to meet the demands of the stressor; resistance, when the body tries to cope with the stressor and outwardly appears to have returned to normal but inwardly is releasing high levels of stress hormones; and exhaustion, where resources are depleted and the body’s defence against disease and illness is decreased

10

Key Term: Life changes• Life changes require some degree of social

readjustment or alteration in the individual’s current life patterns (life change), which is the response to a significant life event. For example, death, divorce, a change of job, marriage, vacation, or Christmas. Each life event is assigned a life change unit (LCU) based on how much readjustment the change would necessitate. The adaptation needed to cope with the life change absorbs energy, and so depletes the body’s resources, and thus life changes are a source of stress

11

Key Term: Stress

• A state of psychological and physical tension produced, according to the transactional model, when there is a mismatch between the perceived demands of a situation (the stressor[s]) and the individual’s perceived ability to cope. The consequent state of tension can be adaptive (eustress) or maladaptive (distress)

12

Key Term: Stressor

• An event that triggers the stress response because it throws the body out of balance and forces it to respond. For example, life changes (e.g., divorce, bereavement), daily hassles (e.g., traffic, lost keys), workplace stressors (e.g., role strain, lack of control) and environmental stressors (e.g., noise, temperature, overcrowding). Stressors are not objective in that they do not produce the same response in all people, as this depends on the individual’s perception of the stressor. Thus, nothing is a stressor unless it is thought to be so!

13

Key Term: Workplace stressor

• Factors in the work environment or aspects of the job that cause stress. For example, overcrowding, noise, and temperature are factors in the environment. Lack of control, interpersonal relationships, role ambiguity, and work overload are all examples of work pressures that cause stress