Health Psychology Exam 2 Study Guide
Chapter 6- stress
Stress: negative emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical,
physiological, cognitive and behavioural changes that are directed either toward altering the
the stressful events or accommodating its side effects.
Selye’s definition of stress: is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed upon it.
Stressor: stressful events, these events can’t always determine the experience of stress
Person-environment fit: stress is determined by this. Whether resources are sufficient
enough to meet the demands of the environment. It is determined by person's perceived resource
being adequate to meet the difficult situation
Stress Oars
Many different ways of classifying the stress oars; 4 nesting cups, classifying stress from
simple to complex, all stressors one way or another are biological. They affect our biology
by affecting our psychology as well. Some are also interpersonal (something happens
between people) which effects your psychological hence effecting your biological stressors.
Biological
Psychological
Interpersonal
Socio-cultural
Every time we change a relationship in society, we got to do a lot of adjusting in all those levels,
1) When you change in relation to society
2) When there is a change out there ( new policy, just decided to switch from pc products to mac)
Ulcers in “Executive Monkeys”
8 pairs of rhesus monkeys in restraining chairs (1 st stressor)
Both given a mild electric shock on an irregular basis(2 nd)
1 monket has a box with a lever that if he presses it immediately after getting a
shock, both avoid the shock
After 3 days, one dies from bleeding ulcers (one with the lever dies)
The shock isn’t what killed the monkey, instead its the anticipation = stress = overreaction
The responsibility with insufficient control is the reason for the monkeys death
More stresses in life are due to over-adaptation
Positive Effects Can Come from Stress
Positive emotions
• Can be rewarding for those who need stimulation/challenge
• Create feelings of gratitude—counting blessings
• Often creates positive bonds between people
• Reduce levels of stress hormones and their harmful effects
• Enhances immune response, emotional well-being, mental
health Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions
• Broadens scope of attention increasing creativity and flexibility in problem solving
• Undo negative effects of lingering effects of negative emotions
• Promote rewarding social interactions
Some Individual Patterns of Stress Reaction
(Howard et al. 1978)
, • Old study done by Howard at the University of Western Ontario. Looked at 2000
white collard workers.
• Looked at what kind of stress they were under and symptoms they experienced 5 patterns that
appeared.
1. Emotional distress
Insomnia, fatigue, change of appetite, moodiness, depression
found it younger people, females, and southern European descent. These groups being more
expressive of their emotions and they themselves can see.
2. Medication use
pills (pain, sleeping, diet pills, tranquilizers) recreational drugs, food
3. Cardiovascular symptoms
high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, rapid heart beat
the people who had these were older, white males. These guys are told always to hold back
their emotions and etc and this results in this type of problem. The culture are given them on
how to take out their emotions. Stress hormones are still there, but they’re not being expressed
on the outside but the inside
4. Gastrointestinal symptoms
Ulcers, colitis, digestive problems, nausea, diarrhea
5. Allergy respiratory symptoms
Allergies, skin problems (eczema, psoriasis), respiratory problems
Theories that study the study stress
1. Fight or Flight
When an organism perceived threat, the body is rapidly aroused and motivated via the
sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system.
This allows the individual to stay and fight or flee the situation.
Fight: aggressive response to stress
Flight: social withdrawal r withdrawal through substance use (alcohol & drugs)
2. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Selye- when an organism confronts a stressor, it mobilizes itself for action. Response is non-specific to
the stressor.
Consists of 3 stage;
Alarm: organism becomes mobilized to meet the threat. defensive forces are mobilized
Resistance: organism makes effort to cope with the threat, through confrontation.
body adapts to stressors
Exhaustion: occurs when the organism, fails to overcome the threat and depletes
its physiological recourses in the process of trying. stressors negates body’s coping
mechanisms.
- It has been criticised because it does not pay attention to psychological factors and appraisal of
events
,Selye- exhaustion lays the groundwork of disease.
Criticism: 1) assigns a very limited role to psychological factors 2)assumption that responses to
stress are uniform 3) asses stress as an outcome
3. Tend-and-Befriend
In addition to fight or flight, humans respond to stress with social and nurturing behaviours. (May be
especially true for women)
Befriending- affiliation with others and seeking social contact during stress
Oxycotocin (stress hormone, rapidly released in response to at least some stressful events)
may have effect (females) in response to stress
4. Psychological Appraisal and the Experience of Stress
When people are confronted with a new or changing environment, they engage in primary
appraisal to determine the meaning of the event.
- View by Lazarus that psychological appraisal determines the meaning of the stressful events
Harm: the assessment of the damage that has already been done by an event.
Threat: assessment of possible future damage that may be brought about by the event.
Challenge: potential to overcome and even profit from the event. Challenges are an
opportunity to try something new.
5. Secondary Appraisal Processes
- Assessment of one’s coping abilities and recourses and whether they will be sufficient to
meet the harm threat and challenge of the event.
- People’s evaluation of their resources and options for coping
From Vulnerability Awareness to Coping (Lecture)
(Solomon, 2006)- divides primary and secondary appraisal into 5 parts, which could take 7 seconds.
1. Awareness of stressor. “Here comes trouble.”
2. Shock, startle, disbelief “Oh Shit!”
3. “Automatic?” or unplanned behaviour?
(e.g. momentary freeze or dominant response as a result of past conditioning).
4. Survival control. “I got to do something.”
, acknowledge reality of danger focus moves from internal to
external. No way am I going to let that happen to me.
5. Think tactically so feel more balanced and in control. “Here goes.”
6. The physiology of Stress
- stress causes changes in the body that may lead to short &long term consequences in health
- SAM (sympathetic- adrenomedulary system) and HPA (hypothalamatic-pituatary-
adrenocortial axis) Sam is responsible for increased blood pressure, heart rate and feelings
of alertness., secretion of catecholamine. Not responsible for elevation of growth hormones
Sympathetic Activation
Harmful and threatening events are labelled by the cerebral cortex
Info is transmitted from cortex to hypothalamus – initiates 1 of the earliest responses
to stress (sympathetic nervous system or fight-flight)
SNS stimulates medulla of adrenal glands- ecrete cathecholamines,
epinephrine and norephinephrine.
Leads to increased blood pressure, heart rate. Sweating and constriction of
peripheral blood vessel
HPA Activation
Hypothalamus releases corticotrophin-releasing castor (CRF)- stimulates pituitary
gland to secrete adrenocorticptropic hormones. – stimulates adrenal cortex to release
glucocorticids. (acts to conserve stores of carbohydrates and helps reduce
inflammation in the case of injury, helps return body to steady state after injury)
If HPA axis is released recurrently it can compromise its functioning.
(Daily cortisol patterns may be altered- usually high in the morning, decreases
throughout the day
Excessive discharge of epinephrine and norepinephrine can lead to suppression of
cellular immune functions – increased blood pressure, heart rat, produce
neurochemical imbalances may continue to develop.
Catecholamines may also effect lipid levels and free fatty acids- important in
development of atherosclerosis
Problems in verbal functioning, memory and concentration
One of the mechanisms of which senility occurs
Common in depression
Storage of fat in the central visceral areas, rather than to the hips- high waist to hip ratio
Childhood cancer- stressed parent, production of IL-6 was diminished among them
Individual Differences in Stress Activity
People vary in their reactivity to stress (Reactivity: degree of change that occurs in
autonomic, neuroendocrine and immune responses as a result of stress
In part, a genetic predisposition to rspin physiologically to environment threats or
challenges Reactivity to stress can affect vulnerability to illness
Low immune responses- vulnerable to respiratory infections
Physiological Recovery Processes
