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Summary PYC1502 exam notes
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
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1 STRESS-INVOLVES
-FOLLOWS
-EFFECTS
Stress can be DEFINED as:
.An emotional response to circumstances and events that threaten us and challenge our coping
abilities.
.It is a physiological response to physical and psychological demands
1. STRESS INVOLVES PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL
The psycho-physiology of stress
PP AROUSAL = physiological arousal (difference between our basic and actual tension in
a particular situation) +
Psychological arousal (difference between our feeling of no emotional tension and the
feeling of emotional tension that we experience in a situation)
a).PHYSICAL TENSION pg 339
.sympathetic nervous system (increase PT)
.parasympathetic nervous system (decrease PT)
.Have a dominate nervous system : eg: sympathetic dominant = more tension
.Express dominance in automatic nervous system as a ratio :
Characteristic level of PT:
-parasympathetic and sympathetic are equal ratio 1
- sympathetic higher higher than 1
-parasympathetic higher lower than 1
.tension in body higher when active
.level of tension in the body = level of physical arousal
.labile (easily altered) nervous system vs stable nervous system:
-labile more likely to react more Quincy and more intensely to incoming stimulate
because balance of nervous systems are out =
low degree of autonomic homeostasis (labile nervous system)
high degree of autonomic homeostasis (stable nervous system)
b).EMOTIONAL TENSION pg 340
.PT together with cognitive content of THREAT leads to conscious experience of feeling
tense
.feeling of tenseness = emotional tension
LD of homeostasis - feel tension more you’re unbalanced
2. STRESS FOLLOWS A CHARACTERISTIC PROCESS
a).GENERAL ADAPTION SYNDROME (3 phases) pg 333
-Hans Selye (GAS)
-There is a pattern in the way people react to stress, regardless of the nature of the
stressor
- the common pattern in which people react to stress
- The way the human body reacts to stressful situations
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,-more or less stress still follows the same pattern and process
(next page for 3 phases)
1. ALARM AND MOBILISATION PHASE . Awareness of presence of stress
.first reaction = alarm
. Shock
.Ability to cope drops below normal levels
of coping
. Release hormones to mobilise
Ability to cope increases above normal
level
If stress persists
2. RESISTANCE PHASE .Deal with the stressor
. Coping level remains higher than normal
If you fail to deal and cope with the stress
3. EXHAUSTION PHASE .Cope declines sharply and quickly below
normal levels of coping
.Continues = negative consequences of
stress show.
.Ill, can’t concentrate and irritability
.physically ill due to prolonged exposure to
the stressor
b) .CONTEXTUAL MODEL OF STRESS pg 334
-JORDAN: stress depends on our context and appraisal of situation
- Based on four ASSUMPTIONS: a: Event doesn’t have a universal meaning.
People perceive events differently
b: Communities: share beliefs and meaning
c: Assign positive or negative value to stress event
d: Events gain meaning through our perception
(perception is a key factor in the contextualisation event)
1: Encountering Potential Stressors UNIVERSAL EVENTS
- affect the majority of people
- Natural disaster, terrorism, coronavirus,
economy collapse
PERSONAL EVENTS
-specific to community/individual
-job, married, new shopping mall
MICRO EVENTS
-Affect individual on daily basis
-bills, repairs, children
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,2. Performing a primary appraisal Immediately experience
-Positive (challenge)
-Negative (threat)
-Neutral
-Ambiguous
Way we experience depends on
-psychobiology tension
(Continued on next page) -psychosocial circumstance
3. Experiencing stress -heightened Psycho-physiological arousal
(physical and emotional tension)
- negative feeling = feel threatened
4.Performing a secondary appraisal -outcomes depends on
.if event is experienced as a threat or
challenge
.feelings of ability to cope
5. Applying coping strategies PROBLEM SOLVING
-accept responsibility
-think things through
-deal, adapt, rational
AVOIDANCE
-don’t take responsibility
-excuses and blame external
-not rational
SOCIAL SUPPORT
-advice and encouragement
People experience stress differently. One person may see an event as stressful while the other
does not. How can this be explained?
1 People use different coping strategies
2 One views event as personal and one as micro event
3 Personality plays a role in where or not someone sees and event as threatening or challenging
3. STRESS EFFECTS PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH pg 330
a).STRESS AND PERFORMANCE pg 330
-YERKES-DODSON LAW : arousal and performance
As arousal increases, so does the performance up to a certain level
Performance increased as arousal increases
But is only true when stress increases to a MODERATE LEVEL of arousal, where
performance reaches an optimal level.
When arousal is increased above optimal level,
performance does not increase further it starts to DECREASE (person is overstimulated)
LOW LEVEL OF AROUSAL = Performance low (under stimulated - difficult to concentrate)
MODERATE LEVEL OF AROUSAL = optimal level of performance
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, HIGH LEVELS OF AROUSAL = performance drops (overstimulated) to same low levels
associated with low levels of arousal
1 Performance increase as arousal increases
2 Stress increases to a moderate level of arousal for optimal performance
3 Increasing levels of arousal overstimulate the person physically and psychologically
Two other factors in the relationship between arousal and performance:
-COMPLEX AND NOVEL TASKS (complexity and novelty)
. Curiosity value
.Help people to concentrate and focus despite low levels of arousal
.Best performance = JUST BELOW MODERATE LEVEL OF AROUSAL
.Simple tasks = no novelty therefore Moderate to high levels of arousal
b) .STRESS AND HEALTH pg 330
.Chronic and acute stress act as a catalyst for disease
.Prolonged stress = chronic stress
.Vulnerability to disease = stress triggered changes in immune system
hormones and nerves are triggered by stress
.PSYCHOSOMATIC prolonged emotional tension
Psychological factors contribute to physical damage
not imaginary
.RESPONSE SPECIFICITY - .people respond to stress in a specific way
.Develop weakness in specific systems
.Unique way individuals respond to stress that adversely
affects their health
.a condition whereby stressors lead to the development
of a certain physiological pattern of illness
.BURN OUT - .prolonged exposure to stress
.hard to identify
.emotionally drained
.alienation and inadequacy
.associated with decreased levels of performance
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