Chapter 11 Stress, Health and Disease: Theory Flashcards
name three ways to examine the concept ‘stress’
stimulus or event external to the individual
psychological event between stimulus event and the cognitive and emotional characteristics of individual
biological or physical reaction
what does the external stimulus or event for stress have to be, in case you want to examine it as such
objectively definable and measurable
- like catastrophic events
- or major life events
What did Holmes and Rahe state about life events
they don’t have unitary consequences but cumulative effects
they can be weighed against each other
what is this called: the duration and intensity of time that is needed to regulate yourself back to a normal state after a life event
social readjustment
this goes for both desirabe and undesirable events
limitations of life event measurement
many studies rely on retrospective assessment
items on scales not globally appropriate
events sometimes vague
items sometimes interrelated
assumes that people rank events in the same way
what are life hassles
frustrating, irritating, distressing demands that characterize every day life
cognitive transactional model of stress
stress is the result of an interaction between individual’s characteristics and appraisals, their internal and external resources and the external and internal (stressor) environment
3 kinds of stressors
those that pose harm
those that threaten
those that set a challenge
what did smith propose about primary appraisals
motivational relevance
motivaitonal congruence
stress likely in situation where relevance high and congruence low
ego involvement
appraisal of threat to one’s sense of self of social esteem would elicit anger
events violating one’s moral code elicit guilt
existential threat creates anxiety
secondary appraisal
internal/ external accountabiltiy
problem focused coping potential
emotion focused coping potential
future expectancy concernign situational change
criticism of LAzarus’ framework
unclear whether both primary and secondary appraisals are necessary - research has not found out
what factors influence appraisal?
imminent
unexpected time
unpredictable
ambiguous
no control
life change
Distinction between
acute physical stressors
chronic physical stressors
long-term physiological demands
psychological stressors
describe Hobfoll - conservation of resources model of stress
stress results if
-actual or threatened loss of resources
- resources are thought to be quanitfiable and mean the same to all people if they’re lost
- the more resources are lost the harder it becomes to replace them
-rapid and extensive depletion of resources
