Chapter 14

Distress

"Bad" stress, causing people to feel burned out, (fatigued and exhausted), and performance to decline.

Eustress

Stress can be positive and motivate us to do things in our best interests. -Associated with positive feelings, optimal health, and performance.

Study on Stress and Immune Function

-276 healthy volunteers were interviewed about recent stressful experiences. -After the interview, they were given nasal drops containing the cold virus. -This graph shows the percentages of participants who developed colds after receiving the cold virus) after reporting having experienced chronic stressors lasting at least one month, three months, and six months. -Participants who reported experiencing chronic stressors for more than one month were more likely to develop colds that those who respond no chronic stressors.

Factors Connected to Happiness

-Age: life satisfaction usually increases with age. -Family and social relationships: married people report being happier than those that are not. High-quality social relationships and strong social support networks come late with increases happiness. -Money: A nations gross domestic product is associated with happiness levels. Wealthy individuals tend to be happier than poor individuals. Happiness increases with income only up to $75,000. -Religion: nations with difficult living conditions, religirosity is associated with greater well-being but does not make a difference in nations with favorable living conditions. -Culture: People that possess characteristics values in their culture tend to be happier.

High Stress Occupations

-Difficult, demanding, or unsafe working conditions. -Occupations containing unpleasant elements- exposure to loud noise, harassment, threats of physical violence, consent frustration.

Friedman and Roseman (1974)

-Discovered that people who are prone to heart disease tend to think, feel, and act differently than those who are not. -Found that heart disease is over seven times more frequent among type As.

Stress Reduction Techniques

-Exercise: reduces stress and increases resistance to adverse effects of stress. -Meditation and relaxation -Relaxation response techniques- reduces sympathetic arousal, reduces blood pressure. -Biofeedback- uses electronic equipment to measure a person's involuntary (neuromuscular and autonomic) activity and provide feedback to help the person gain a new level of voluntary control over these processes.

Walter Cannon (Early 20th Century)

-First to identify the body's physiological reactions to stress. -First articulated and named the fight-or-flight response, which he suggested is a built in mechanism that stabilizes physiological variables at levels optimal for survival.

Stress and Aging

-Research suggests that stress can shorten telomeres (segments of DNA that protect the ends of chromosomes). -Shortened telomeres can inhibit/block cell division, which includes growth and proliferation of new cells, leading to more rapid aging.

Stress

A process whereby an individual perceives and responds to the events he appraises as overwhelming or threatening to his well-being. -This definition places importance on how we appraise (judge) demanding/threatening events (stressors) which then influence our reaction.

3 Stages

1. Alarm Reaction- the body's immediate reaction upon facing a threatening situation or emergency. -Physiological reactions that provide energy to manage the situation. 2. Stage of Resistance- the body has adapted (readjusted) to the stressor but remains alert and prepared to respond (with less intensity). -Physiological reactions diminish. 3. Stage of Exhaustion- person can no longer adapt to the stressor (depletion of physical resources). Physical wear takes its toll on the body's tissues and organs. -May result in illness, disease, or death.

Heart Disease

A cardiovascular disorder. -A major risk factor for heart disease is hypertension.

Social Support

A fundamental human motive is the need to form and maintain strong, stable relationships. -The soothing impact of friends, family, and acquaintances. -Can include advice, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, emotional comfort, and tangible assistance. -Provides comfort when faced with life stressors. -A psychosocial factor affecting health outcomes- individuals with stronger social relationships have a 50% greater likelihood of survival compared to those with weak social relationships. -Research suggests social support boosts the immune system and reduces blood pressure.

Job Burnout

A general sense of emotional exhaustion ad cynicism in relation to one's job. -Occurs frequently among people in human service jobs (ex. social workers, teachers, police officers).

Flow

A particular experience that is so engaging and engrossing that is becomes worth doing for its own sake. -Feeling of losing oneself in an activity -State of effortless concentration and focus -Feels like time passes more quickly than usual -Usually related to creative endeavors and leisure activities -Experienced by people who like their job or students who love studying -Typically occurs when people engage in challenging activities that require skills and knowledge they know they possess. -Thought to play a key role in happiness.

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

A scale consisting of 43 life events that require varying degrees of personal readjustment. -Developed by asking 394 participants to provide a numerical estimate corresponding to how much readjustment they felt each event would require. -Each life event has a score/life change unit (LCU) from 11 to 100, representing perceived magnitude of life change they involve. -Death of a spouse was ranked highest (100), and divorce was ranked second highest (73). -Research demonstrates that accumulating a high number of LCUs within a brief time period is related to a range of physical illness/symptoms and mental health problems. -Used to assess amount of stress in people's lives.

Cortisol

A stress hormone that helps provide a boost of energy when we first encounter a stressor, preparing us to fight or flee. -Continuous elevated levels of cortisol (chronic stress) weaken immune system. -In moments of stress, this process can provide energy, improve immune system functioning temporarily, and decrease pain sensitivity.

Physiological

Accelerated heart rate, headaches, or gastrointestinal problems.

Learned Helplessness

An acquired belief that one is powerless to do anything about a situation -In Seligman's experiment, dogs were placed in a chamber where they received electric shocks from which they could not escape. -When hey were later given the opportunity to escape the shocks most seemed to give up and did not even try. They had acquired learned helplessness. -Seligman believed learned helplessness to be a possible cause of depression.

Acute Stressors

Brief events that sometimes continue t be experienced as overwhelming well after the event has ended, (ex. falling and breaking a leg).

Asthma

Chronic disease in which the airways become inflamed and narrowed, leading to difficulty breathing. Psychological factors play an important role in asthma. -Studies show that some people with asthma will experience asthma-like symptoms if they expect to experience symptoms. -People with asthma report and display a high level of negative emotions (ex. anxiety). -Asthma attacks have been linked to periods of high emotionality. -Exposure to stressful experiences has been linked to the development of asthma throughout the lifespan.

Psychophysiological Disorders

Chronic stress and its sustained physiological reactions can lead to wear and tear on the body. -Sustained high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack or heart failure. -Continuous exposure to cortisol can weaken the immune system putting a person at risk for infection or disease. Psychophysiological disorders- physical disorders/illness whose symptoms are brought about or worsened by stress and emotional factors. Common examples: -Tension headaches -Asthma -Acne -Eczema -Hypertension -Irritable bowl syndrome -Coronary heart disease.

Hassles

Daily Hassles- Minor irritations and annoyances that are part of our everyday lives. -Often lead to negative and distressed mood states. -Can build up and leave us feeling stressed. -Frequency of daily hassles is a better predictor of physical and psychological health that life change units. Ex. Daily commutes, whether a) on the road or b) via public transportation, can be hassles that contribute to our feelings of everyday stress.

Cognitive

Difficulty concentrating or making decisions.

Behavioral

Drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking actions directed at eliminating the cause of stress.

Emotion-Focused Coping

Efforts to change or reduce the negative emotions associated with stress. -Can include avoiding, minimizing, or distancing oneself from the problem, or positive comparisons with others, or seeking something positive in a negative event. -Treats the symptoms of stress, not the cause. -More often used for stressors we feel powerless to change. Ex. you are stressed because you are failing a class. Problem-focused approach- study more, contact professor for help, find a tutor. Emotion-focused approach- watch a movie or play games to distract yourself from the problem.

Response-based Definitions

Emphasize physiological responses that occur in response to demanding or threatening situations. -Characterizes stress as a response to environmental conditions. Neither provide a complete definition of stress.

Chronic Stressors

Events that persist over an extended period of time (ex. long term unemployment).

Psychoneuroimmunology

Field that studies how psychological factors influence the immune system and immune functioning. -Studies have shown that the immune system can be classically conditioned leading to the idea that if classical conditioning can alter immunity then so can other psychological factors. How does stress weaken the immune system?: -One way that the immune system is weakened is through the hormones released during stress. These hormones inhabit the production of lymphocytes (white blood cells important in the immune response).

General Adaptation Syndrome Hans Selye

Hans Selye specialized in research about stress. -Noticed that prolonged exposure to stressors caused rats to show signs of adrenal enlargement, thymus and lymph node shrinkage, and stomach ulceration. -The same pattern of physiological reactions occurred regardless of the stressor. -Selye had discovered the general adaptation syndrome. -The body's non specific physiological response to stress.

Heath Psychology

Health psychology is a subfield devoted to understanding the importance of psychological influences on health, illness, and how people respond when they become ill. It investigates: -The connection between stress and illness. -Why people make certain life choices. -The effectiveness of interventions aimed at changing unhealthy behaviors. -Which groups of people are especially at risk for negative health outcomes, based on psychological or behavioral factors.

Hypertension

High blood pressure. -Can be caused by stressors including job strain, martial conflict, and natural disasters. -Forces the heart to pump harder, thus putting increases physical strain on the heart. -Has no symptoms. -Can lead to heart attack, stroke, or heart failure and blindness. Both heart disease and hypertension have also been linked to negative affectivity.

Holmes and Rahe (1960s)

Hypothesized that life events requiring significant change are stressful, whether they are desirable or undesirable.

Autoimmune Disease

Immune system mistakes the body's own healthy cells for invaders and repeatedly attacks them (can affect almost any part of the body)

Fight-or-Flight Response

In response to a threatening stressor, the adrenal glands release epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) which causes physiological changes in the body like: -Pupils dilate -Heart rate increases -Muscles tens and may tremble -Perspiration begins. -Respiration quickens.

Problem-Focused Coping

Individual attempts manage or alter the problem that is causing them to experience stress. -Involves identifying the problem, considering possible solutions, weight the costs and benefits of these solutions, and then selecting an alternative. -Proactively addresses the problem. -More likely to be used when the stressor is perceived as controllable.

Primary Appraisal

Judgement about the degree of potential harm/threat to well-being that a stressors might entail.

Secondary Appraisal

Judgement of the options available to cope with a stressor, as well as perceptions of how effective such options will be. -A threat is less stressful if we believe something can be done about it.

Stress Among Demographic Groups

National Surveys Found: -Higher stress in women than in men. -Higher levels of stress in those that were unemployed, had less education, and less income. -Retired persons reported the lowest levels of stress. 2006-2009: -Greatest increase in stress levels occurred among men, whites, people aged 45-64, college graduates, and those with full-time employment. -Change potentially due tot the 2008-2009 economic turn down.

Traumatic Events

One category of stressors are traumatic events: situations involving exposure to actual or threatened death or serious injury. -Exposure to military combat. -Threatened/actual physical attacks, sexual assault, childhood abuse, robber, etc. -Terrorist attacks -Natural disasters -Car accidents Stressors of this type can cause people to develop post-traumatic stress disorder: a chronic stress reaction including intrusive and painful memories, jumpiness and persistent negative emotional states among other symptoms.

Perceived Control

Our beliefs about our personal capacity to exert influence over and shape outcomes. -Has major implications for health and happiness. Greater personal control is associated with: -Better physical and mental health. -Greater psychological well-being. -Lower reactivity to stressors in daily life.

Positive Affect

Pleasurable engagement with the environment, such as happiness, joy, enthusiasm, alertness, and excitement. Associated with: -Greater social connectedness -Emotional and practical support -Adaptive coping efforts -Lower depression -Longevity and favorable physiological functioning

Close Relationships

Relationships with friends and family can be a source of stress. Negative aspects that can cause stress include: -Adverse exchanges and conflicts. -Lack of emotional support or confiding. -Lack of reciprocity.

Depression and the Heart

Research suggests that a relationship exists between depression and heart disease. One reason for this seems to be that people diagnosed with depression as children have been found to be more likely to be obese, smoke, and physically inactive. Depression may increase the likelihood of living an unhealthy lifestyle and therefore the chances of heart disease.

Positive Psychology

Seeks to identify and promote those qualities that lead to greater fulfillment in our lives. -Well-being -Satisfaction -Hope and optimism -Happiness -Capacity for love -Courage -Interpersonal skill -Aesthetic sensibility -Perseverance -Forgiveness and compassion -Originality -Future mindedness -Spirituality

Fight-or-Flight

Set of physiological reactions that occur when an individual encounters a perceived threat; produced by activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system. -This arousal prepares a person to either fight or flee from a perceived threat. -An adaptive response, helpful in species survival.

Life Changes

Some fairly typical life events, such as moving, can be significant stressors. Even when the move is intentional and positive, the amount of resulting change in daily life can cause stress.

Stimulus-based Definitions

Stress is a demanding or threatening event/situation (ex. high stress job) -Characterizes stress as a stimulus that causes certain reactions. -Fails to recognize that people differ in how they view and react to challenging situations.

Prevalence of Stress

Stress is everywhere and plays a role in all of our lives to some extent. Stress can evoke a variety of responses including:

Cognitive Appraisals

Stress is likely to result if a stressor is perceived as extremely threatening or threatening with few or no effective coping options available.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) Axis

Stress- hypothalamus releases corticotropnin releasing factor (hormone)- pituitary gland releases ACTH- ACTH activates adrenal glands- adrenal glands release hormones including cortisol.

Challenge

Stressor that carries the potential for gain/personal growth. -Ex. graduating from college and entering the workforce can be viewed as either a threat (loss of financial support) or a challenge (opportunity for independence and growth).

Threat

Stressor that could lead to ham/loss/negative consequences.

Type A

Tend to be extremely competitive, intensely driven, impatient, rushed, and hostile towards others.

Type B

Tend to be relaxed and laid back. Further research suggested that the one of the most important factors in the development of heart disease is the anger/hostility dimension of Type A behavior pattern. -Individuals that indicated they responded to pressure with anger were over 6 times more likely than those who indicated less anger to have had a heart attack by age 55.

Negative Affectivity

Tendency to experience distressed emotional states involving anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness.

Control and Stress

The ability to enact control in our lives is a basic tenet of human behavior. Our reaction to potential stressors depends largely on how much control we feel we have.

Cardiovascular Disorders

The cardiovascular system plays a central role in the stress response making it a key focus in studies of psycho physiological disorders.

Immunosuppression

The decreased effectiveness of the immune system. -Causes people to become susceptible to infections, illness, and disease.

Optimism

The general tendency to look on the bright side of things. -Tendency to expect that good things will happen -Tendency to view life's stressors and difficulties as temporary and external to oneself -Significant predictor of positive heath outcomes

General Adaptation Syndrome

The three stages of Selye's general adaptation syndrome are shown in this graph. Prolonged stress ultimately results in exhaustion.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Triggers arousal in response to a stressor via the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands.

Seligman (1998)

Urged psychologists to focus more on understanding how to build human strength and psychological well-being.

Job Strain

Work situation that combines excessive job demands and workload with little discretion in decision making or job control. -Associated with increased risk of physical problems.