Order 1468793: Yiyun Li, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Chapter 3
Stress and Its Effects
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Describe the experience of stress in everyday life.
Distinguish between primary and secondary appraisals of stress.
Summarize the evidence on ambient stress, ethnicity-related stress, and acculturation stress.
The Nature of Stress
The ‘Nature of Personality’ material relates to APA goal 1.2: Knowledge Base in Psychology.
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Stress is “any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and thereby tax one’s coping abilities.”
Stress is a complex concept.
Stress is a common, everyday event.
Both major and minor problems can be stressful.
Even daily “hassles” can have negative effects on our well-being.
Stressful events can have a cumulative or additive impact.
The Nature of Stress, continued
Stress is subjective. Not everyone feels the same degree of stress from the same event.
The difference may depend on how we appraise events.
We first make a primary appraisal, or initial evaluation of the relevance, level of threat, and degree of stress the event brings.
If viewed as stressful, we make a secondary appraisal, or an evaluation of our ability to cope.
The Nature of Stress, continued
Figure 3.2 Primary and secondary appraisal of stress. Primary appraisal is an initial evaluation of whether an event is (1) irrelevant to you, (2) relevant, but not threatening, or (3) stressful. When you view an event as stressful, you are likely to make a secondary appraisal, which is an evaluation of your coping resources and options for dealing with the stress. (Based on Lazarus & Folkman, 1994)
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Stress may be embedded in the environment.
Ambient stress – refers to chronic negative conditions embedded in the environment.
Variety of types of environmental stress:
Excessive noise, traffic, pollution
Crowding
Poverty
Certain types (e.g., poverty) have been associated with elevated stress hormones.
The Nature of Stress, continued
Stress is influenced by culture.
Culture sets the context in which people experience and appraise stress.
Disparities in the stressors experienced by specific cultural groups.
Racial discrimination negatively affects the mental health and well-being for targets of racism.
For immigrants, acculturation, or changing to adapt to a new culture, is a major source of stress related to reduced well-being.
The Nature of Stress, continued
Stress can be caused by environmental circumstances such as pollution, excessive
noise, crowding, traffic jams, and urban decay.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Distinguish between acute, chronic, and anticipatory stressors.
Describe frustration and internal conflict in relation to stress.
Summarize the research on life changes and pressure as sources of stress in modern life.
Major Sources of Stress
There are three basic categories:
Acute stressors – “threatening events that have a relatively short duration and a clear endpoint.”
2. Chronic stressors – “threatening events that have a relatively long duration and no readily apparent time limit.”
Anticipatory stressors – “upcoming or future events that are perceived to be threatening.”
Can affect us psychologically and physically just as strongly as actual stressors do.
Major Sources of Stress, continued
Other categories of stressors:
Frustration – “occurs in any situation in which the pursuit of some goal is thwarted.”
Failures and losses are two common kinds.
Internal conflict – “occurs when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression.”
Major Sources of Stress, continued
Internal conflicts come in three types:
Approach – approach – must make a choice between two attractive goals.
Avoidance – avoidance – must make a choice between two unattractive goals.
Approach – avoidance – must choose whether or not to pursue ONE goal, which has both pros and cons.
Major Sources of Stress, continued
Figure 3.3 Types of conflict. Psychologists have identified three basic types of conflict. In approach-approach and avoidance-avoidance conflicts, the person is torn between two goals. In an approach-avoidance conflict, only one goal is under consideration, but it has both positive and negative aspects.
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Life changes – “any noticeable alterations in one’s living circumstances that require readjustment.”
Holmes and Rahe (1967) believe both positive and negative life changes can be stressful.
They developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) to measure life change as a form of stress.
Major Sources of Stress, continued
Source: Adapted from Holmes, T.H., & Rahe, R. (1967). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, (12), 213-218. Copyright © 1967 with permission from Elsevier Science Publishing Co.
Figure 3.4 Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). Devised by Holmes and Rahe (1967), this scale is designed to measure the change-related stress in one’s life. The numbers on the right are supposed to reflect the average amount of stress (readjustment) produced by each event. Respondents check off the events that have occurred to them recently and add up the associated numbers to arrive at their stress scores.
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Pressure – “involves expectations or demands that one behave in a certain way.”
Two basic types of pressure:
Pressure to perform by executing tasks and responsibilities quickly, efficiently, and successfully.
Pressure to conform to expectations.
Pressure is often self-imposed.
Major Sources of Stress, continued
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Summarize research on typical emotional responses (both positive and negative) to stress and discuss some effects of emotional arousal.
Describe some physiological responses to stress, including the fight-or-flight response and the general adaptation syndrome.
Describe the two major pathways along which the brain sends signals to the endocrine system.
Discuss the concept of coping.
Responding to Stress
Human response to stress is complex and multidimensional.
Stress responses occur at three levels:
Emotional responses
Physiological responses
Behavioral responses
Responding to Stress, continued
Emotional responses
Emotions “are powerful, largely uncontrollable feelings, accompanied by physiological changes.”
Common negative emotional responses to stress include:
1. Annoyance, anger, and rage
2. Apprehension, anxiety, and fear
3. Dejection, sadness, and grief
Responding to Stress, continued
Negative emotions are expected in response to stressful events.
May be one’s ability to talk about them that makes the difference in experiencing severe reactions to stress.
Responding to Stress, continued
The huge earthquake in Haiti in January of 2010 produced overwhelming trauma for countless people. Individuals experiencing severe stress have emotional, physiological, and behavioral reactions. Emotional responses to extreme stress (such as grief, anxiety, and fear) appear to transcend culture.
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Stress can also prompt positive emotional responses:
Gratitude
Renewed love for friends and family
Positive emotions:
Contribute to building social, intellectual, and physical resources that can be helpful in dealing with stress
Allow one to experience flourishing mental health
Responding to Stress, continued
Figure 3.6 Positive emotions and longevity. To look at the relation between positive emotions and longevity, Abel and Kruger (2010) used the intensity of baseball players’ smiles in photographs as a rough indicator of their characteristic emotional tone. All the photos in the Baseball Register for 1952 were reviewed and classified as showing no smile, a partial smile, or a big smile. Then the age of death was determined for the players (except the 46 who were still alive in 2009). As you can see, greater smile intensity was associated with living longer.
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Strong emotions may hamper or enhance our ability to cope with stress, depending on our level of arousal and the task complexity.
The “inverted-U hypothesis” predicts that:
For low complexity tasks, a high level of arousal is best.
For medium complexity tasks, a medium level of arousal is best.
For high complexity tasks, a low level of arousal is best.
Responding to Stress, continued
Figure 3.7 Arousal and performance. Graphs of the relationship between emotional arousal and task performance tend to resemble an inverted U, as increased arousal is associated with improved performance up to a point, after which higher arousal leads to poorer performance. The optimal level of arousal for a task depends on the complexity of the task. On complex tasks, a relatively low level of arousal tends to be optimal. On simple tasks, however, performance may peak at a much higher level of arousal.
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Physiological responses
The fight-or-flight response is “a physiological reaction to threat that mobilizes an organism for attacking (fight) or fleeing (flight) an enemy.”
It occurs in the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which “is made up of the nerves that connect to the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands.”
Responding to Stress, continued
The ANS is broken into two divisions:
Sympathetic division mobilizes energy during emergencies, engages the fight-or-flight response.
The fight-flight response is not well suited for coping with modern threats.
Parasympathetic division conserves energy, has calming effect on body.
A “tend and befriend” response to stress may also occur, and may be more common among females than males.
Responding to Stress, continued
Figure 3.8 The autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is composed of the nerves that connect to the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands. The ANS is subdivided into the sympathetic division, which mobilizes bodily resources in times of need, and the parasympathetic division, which conserves bodily resources. Some of the key functions controlled by each division of the ANS are summarized in the center of the diagram.
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Hans Seyle’s general adaptation syndrome is a “model of the body’s stress response, consisting of three stages.”
Alarm reaction – initial response to threat, fight-or-flight response engages.
Resistance – if threat continues, physiological changes stabilize, coping begins.
Exhaustion – if the threat continues too long, the body’s resources are depleted, leading to physical exhaustion and illness.
Responding to Stress, continued
Figure 3.9 The general adaptation syndrome. According to Seyle, the physiological response to stress can be broken into three phases. During the first phase, the body mobilizes its resources for resistance after a brief initial shock. In the second phase, resistance levels off and eventually begins to decline. If the third phase of the general adaptation syndrome is reached, resistance is depleted, leading to health problems and exhaustion.
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Endocrine system consists of glands that secrete chemicals called hormones into the bloodstream.
Two brain-body pathways control our physiological responses to stress via signals to the endocrine system.
Both pathways are activated by hypothalamus.
Responding to Stress, continued
Two brain-body pathways control our physiological responses to stress:
First pathway routed through ANS – involves activation of central adrenal glands (adrenal medulla) to release catecholamines that mobilize the body for action.
Second pathway from brain to endocrine system – involves pituitary gland, which stimulates outer adrenal glands (adrenal cortex) to release corticosteroids that increase energy.
Responding to Stress, continued
Figure 3.10 Brain-body pathways in stress. In times of stress, the brain sends signals along two pathways. The pathway through the autonomic nervous system (shown in blue on the right) controls the release of catecholamine hormones that help mobilize the body for action. The pathway through the pituitary gland and the endocrine system (shown in brown on the left) controls the release of corticosteroid hormones that increase energy and ward off tissue inflammation.
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Stress can suppress certain aspects of the immune response.
Stress can interfere with neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons, in the brain
Responding to Stress, continued
Behavioral responses to stress usually refer to coping, or “active efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stress.”
Coping responses may be:
Healthy (e.g., actively trying to solve a problem by asking for help or generating solutions)
Unhealthy (e.g., ignoring problem, indulging in alcohol, excessive eating)
Coping strategies help determine whether stress has any positive or negative effects on a person.
Responding to Stress, continued
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Explain the influence of stress on task performance, cognitive functioning, and burnout.
Assess the potential impact of stress on psychological and physical health.
Articulate two ways in which stress might lead to beneficial effects.
The Potential Effects of Stress
Impaired task performance:
Pressure to perform can impair performance by disrupting attention.
Many people tend to choke under pressure.
Disruption of cognitive function:
Increased tendency to jump to conclusions.
Increased tendency to do unsystematic, poorly organized review of options.
Decreased memory functioning.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
Burnout – “a syndrome involving physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lowered sense of self-efficacy that is attributable to work-related stress.”
The figure on the next slide shows the factors that promote burnout, its symptoms, and the consequences for employees.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
Figure 3.12 The antecedents, components, and consequences of burnout. Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter have developed a systematic model of burnout that specifies its antecedents, components, and consequences. The antecedents on the left in the diagram are the stressful features of the work environment that cause burnout. The burnout syndrome itself consists of the three components shown in the center of the diagram. Some of the unfortunate results of burnout are listed on the right. (Based on Leiter & Maslach, 2007).
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Stress may contribute to:
Poor academic performance
Insomnia and other sleep disturbances
Lowered relationship satisfaction
Sexual difficulties
Substance abuse
Stress may contribute to onset of psychological disorders (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders).
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – “involves enduring psychological disturbance attributed to the experience of a major traumatic event.”
Symptoms include:
Re-experiencing trauma via nightmares, flashbacks
Emotional numbing, alienation, problems in social relations
Elevated arousal, anxiety, and guilt
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
PTSD is also associated with elevated risk for:
Substance abuse
Depression, anxiety disorders
Several physical health problems
Most people who experience trauma do not develop PTSD.
A key predictor is the intensity of one’s reaction at the time of the traumatic event.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
Physical illness
Psychosomatic diseases are “genuine physical ailments thought to be caused in part by stress and other psychological factors, especially emotional distress.”
Common psychosomatic diseases include:
High blood pressure
Peptic ulcers
Asthma
Eczema and hives
Migraine and tension headaches
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
Stress can have positive effects.
It can promote positive psychological change, or posttraumatic growth.
It can inoculate and psychologically prepare people so that they are less affected by future stress.
The Potential Effects of Stress, continued
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Explain how social support, hardiness, and optimism moderate the impact of stress.
Describe the Spotlight on Research regarding the stress buffering effects of hugging.
Factors Influencing Stress Tolerance
Some people withstand stress better than others.
There are many moderator variables that may reduce the impact of stress on physical and mental health:
Social support – “aid and succor provided by members of one’s social networks.”
Hardiness – “a disposition marked by commitment, challenge, and control that is purportedly associated with strong stress resistance.”
Factors in Stress Tolerance, continued
Figure 3.13 Overview of the stress process. This diagram builds on Figure 3.7 (the multidimensional response to stress) to provide a more complete overview of the factors involved in stress. This diagram adds the potential effects of stress (seen on the far right) by listing some of the positive and negative adaptational outcomes that may result from stress. It also completes the pictures by showing moderating variables (seen at the top) that can influence the effects of stress (including some variables not covered in the chapter).
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Moderator variables, continued
Optimism – “a general tendency to expect good outcomes.”
Optimists engage in action-oriented, problem-focused, carefully planned coping, and are more willing to seek social support.
Pessimists deal with stress by avoiding it, giving up, or using denial.
Optimism is associated with better mental and physical health around the world.
Factors in Stress Tolerance, continued
Spotlight on Research: The role of hugs in social support
Cohen and colleagues’ (2015) study provides support for the stress-buffering effect of social support including receiving hugs.
Hugs reduced the negative effects of stress whether they were received in times of tension or not.
Factors in Stress Tolerance, continued
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Explain how behavior modification can be used to improve self-control.
Summarize the five steps in the process of self-modification.
Application: Reducing Stress through Self-Control
All of the material on the “Reducing Stress through Self-Control” section (slides 45-49) relates to APA Subgoal 1.3: Describe applications of psychology.
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Behavior modification – “is a systematic approach to changing behavior through the application of the principles of conditioning.”
The objective is to replace undesirable patterns of behaviors with desirable ones.
Behavior modification has been used successfully in many settings, with a variety of problem behaviors.
Application: Reducing Stress through Self-Control, continued
There are five steps, as outlined on the following slides:
Specify your target behavior
Gather baseline data
Design your program
Execute and evaluate your program
End your program
Application: Reducing Stress through Self-Control, continued
Figure 3.14 Steps in a self-modification program. This flowchart provides an overview of the steps necessary to execute a self-modification program.
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Figure 3.15 Example of recordkeeping in a self-modification program for losing weight. Graphic records are ideal for tracking progress in behavior modification efforts.
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