A summary of all the literature present in the course Occupational Health and Safety in the organizational psychology specialization (International Bachelor of Psychology). Does not include lecture notes
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THEME 1 – Health At Work
BASICS OF STRESS
Ch 1 What is Stress – Sulsky
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
1. You should strive to eliminate all stress in your life
a. Eustress à when stress have positive implications e.g. stress of failing an exam makes you
study for it
2. Stress is just ‘in your head’. It cannot really harm you
a. Misconception that is less prevalent today
b. Stress is linked to mental and physical illness
3. Stress is really just anxiety or nervous tension. If you could calm down, then you would not be
stressed
a. Oversimplification. Anxiety and nervous tension are a response to stress
b. Stress is more than just tensions and anxiety – it also has physiological stress reactions
4. Stress only implies excess, such as too much work or stimulation
a. Stress is also the result of being bored and understimulation
b. E.g. flight radar controller stares at screen all day = bored = stress
DEFINITIONS OF STRESS
• Stress has many definitions and they focus on different aspects of it (i.e. stimulus, response,
interaction between stimulus and response)
• Stimulus definitions
o Stress = the event or situation in the environment that contributes or causes a disruptive
experience
§ Anuy characteristic of the job environment that poses a threat to the person
o Implications à the focus in on objective/external criteria and therefore can be targeted to
improve the condition
o Problems:
§ People don’t respond to the same stressor the same e.g. im not afraid of snakes
§ A person’s response to a stressor can change over time
• Response definitions
o Focus on the reaction of the organism (human/animal) to the stressor
o More emphasis on the stress response, the nature of the stressor is unimportant
§ Responses can vary (physiological, reflexive, health or behavior changes)
o Strains à Long term or chronic responses to stressor
o Response to stressor is always internal (physiological changes) but may have overt or covert
manifestations (e.g. shaking or diarrhea)
o Drawbacks:
§ Different responses are associated with different stressors and the responses can
change over time
§ The same response can be experienced when there is no stressor present e.g.
adrenaline drug can make the body experience the stress response
§ To intervene, you need knowledge of the stressor
• Stimulus-Response definitions
o Stress = stress results from an interaction between environmental stimuli (stressors) and
individual responses (sometimes in the form of strains)
§ Stress response is preceded by appraisal of the stressor as being threatening or
stressful
o Moderators = Differences in characteristics of the person, group or situation – influence the
appraisal and outcome
§ So moderators can be individual, group or situational
, § Whether the stressor is perceived as stressful can be a function of these moderators
e.g. the person’s anxiety level (individual) or previous encounters with the stressor
(situational)
• General Stress Model - Stress is a function of:
o Stressors:
§ Acute – when stressor is first
appraised
§ Chronic – when it persists over
time, it can lead to strains
o Psychological appraisal (perception of
stress)
§ Impacted by moderator
variables à individual
differences that impact the
perception of stress
§ E.g. do you have a propensity to
get stressed when there is a big crowd at spar?
§ Moderators can be at a personal, group and situational level e.g. of situational
variable – coffee machines keep malfunctioning = increase perception of work stress
§ As job tenure increases, its more likely that the effect of these moderators on stress
and stress outcomes will decrease
a. Short term stress outcomes à physiological, psychological or behavioral outcomes e.g.
headache – happen after first appraisal of stressor (acute)
a. These outcomes are influenced by moderators
b. Long term outcomes/strains à only if the stressor becomes chronic e.g. continuous fear of
being fired
• Key question: does the stimuli become a stressor ONLY when it’s interpreted as such?
o OR – when you see a tiger, is the stimulus (teeth, claws) cognitively processed before you
become physiologically aroused? à is the arousal hard-wired/automatic?
• Most environmental or physical stressors (loud noises, chemical fumes, dangerous animals) will
automatically elicit a response without the need to be cognitively processed – saves our lives
o Work related stimuli aren’t hard wired = they need to be processed
THE ROLE OF APPRAISAL – PSYCHOLOGY OF STRESS
• Example 1 – working outside on a hot day à if continuously exposed to heat = heat stroke = death
BUT we have adapting responses that prevent this (drinking water, moving to shade etc.)
• Example 2 – demanding job is disrupting your sleep + making you anxious = start drinking à if it
continuous it might lead to liver disease = fatal
• Difference between the 2 - Experience:
o The consequences of the environmental stressor of heat is understood and predictable by
all humans
o Job demands isn’t experienced by all human beings and is dependent on personal +
situational factors
§ E.g. Some ppl may see the job demands as a challenge, not a stressor
• Cognitive appraisal (Lazarus) à the psychological interpretation of stimuli in our surrounding. It
depends on:
o Number and strength of stressors encountered
o Conditions of the body (health) à determines the person’s ability to cope with the stressor
• For psychoSOCIAL stressors such as job demands, the situation needs to be appraised as stressful
for it to become a stressor (unlike extreme heat)
, • Lazarus believed that there are 2 types of appraisal:
o Primary appraisal à When situation is perceived as being stressful = is this situation
stressful?
o Secondary Appraisal à When the response to the stressor is consciously chosen = what can
I do about this stressful situation?
o Reappraisal à when the person has successfully coped with the situation and no longer
perceives it as stressful
o (above) Example of psychosocial stressor at work
PHYSIOLOGY OF STRESS
• Physiological reactions are generally similar regardless of the stimuli that provoked them
• Psychological and behavioral reactions are more variable and depend on many factors
Fight or Flight Response
• Result of evolution à helps us survive
1. Stressor is perceived
2. Message sent to hypothalamus
3. Hypothalamus activates (sympathetic) ANSà
arouses the body
4. Sympathetic nerve fibers release noradrenaline
(norepinephrine) = increases HR, brain alertness, BP
At the same time…
1. Sympathetic nervous system stimulates cells in the
adrenal glands
2. Medulla produces 2 hormones: catecholamines
a. Noradrenaline (norepinephrine)
b. Adrenaline (epinephrine) (80%)
• Sympathetic nervous system activation leads to
physiological and biochemical changes – these
changes are usually associated with experience of
stress
o Limit biological activities that aren’t needed
to deal with stressor (e.g. stop digestion)
• Activation of SNS = associated with acute threats or
stressors
• Yerkes-Dodson Law of Arousal à the quality of an organism’s performance increases as arousal
increases (anxiety), but only to a point
o If arousal increases beyond an optimum point, performance will also start to decrease
o E.g. stress before an exam helps you perform better BUT long term = bad for performance
, o Moderates amount of arousal = good for performance (eustress)
The General Adaptation Syndrome (seen in figure 1.2)
1. Hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland à produces:
a. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
b. Thyroxin – increases mental activity, BP, respiration etc.
2. ACTH activates adrenal glands to produce more stress hormones = glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisol)
Short term benefits Long term consequences (chronic stress)
Promote metabolic adapta1on to stressful Inhibits immune system, weakening muscle 1ssue
situa1ons e.g. convert blood glucose for energy Triggers lipid produc1on à Increases cholesterol
and healing = vascular blockage = cardiovascular disease
Reinforces effects of catecholamines
• Activation of pituitary gland is slower than fight or flight + takes longer to dissipate à therefore it’s
activation is more associated with enduring or chronic stress
• General Adaptation Syndrome – 3 stages:
1. Alarm stage à main function is to mobilize the body’s resources
i. HPA of stress response is activated – triggers pituitary gland to secrete ACTH which
triggers adrenal gland to release cortisol
ii. Sympathetic nervous system activates many organs like the adrenal glands = release
of catecholamines
2. Stage of Resistance à when the strong stressor continues or when we haven’t dealt
properly with it - body tries to adapt to the stressor
i. HPA activation predominates, sympathetic nervous system reaction becomes less
pronounced
ii. Physiological arousal remains high
iii. Ability to resist new stressors is impaired – they start to become vulnerable to health
problems (diseases of adaptation) e.g. ulcers, high BP etc.
3. Stage of exhaustion à associated with long term chronic strains – if stress continues
i. Feels similar to alarm stage
ii. Associated with development of chronic strains
• GAS isn’t a linear process - person can go through different stages simultaneously
• Evolutionary stress (survival) used the fight or flight response
o Modern day work stress cannot use fight or flight and is most likely to be long lasting
Stress, Adaptation, and Disease – Ewen
• Allostasis à stability through change – the adaptive responses (activation of HPA axis and ANS)
that the body activates when encountering a stressful stimulus
• Allostatic load à the price of adaptation – when the allostatic systems are either overworked or fail
to shut off even after the stressful event is over
• Glucocorticoid-cascade hypothesis of aging à the same systems that promote adaptation and
homeostasis when responding to challenges are the same ones that cause damage to our body
under extreme circumstances
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE
• How people respond to stressful situations depends on 2 factors:
a. How the person perceives and interprets the situation
§ Non-threatening = no response or benign response
§ Threatening = behaviors and physiological responses activated
b. Condition of the body itself
§ E.g. good physical condition = handle tough workouts more
§ Metabolic imbalances = more likely to become obese
HOMEOSTASIS, ALLOSTASIS, AND ALLOSTATIC LOAD
• Homeostasis à a state of balance among all the body systems needed for the body to survive and
function correctly
Allostasis (acute stress)
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