Stress-Gender and Social Support Flashcards Preview

Psychology Y2 > Stress-Gender and Social Support > Flashcards

Flashcards in Stress-Gender and Social Support Deck (9)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

What did Taylor (2000) suggest about differences between men and women?

A
  • They have completely different stress responses
  • Consequence of evolutionary history, males respond to stress through aggression or denial; known as FoF- women produce calmer response
  • Females deal with stress by acknowledging and discussing with others ‘tend and befriend’
2
Q

What is released during ‘tend and befriend’?

A

Oxytocin

3
Q

What is oxytocin?

A

A ‘love and relationship’ hormone which counteracts the effects of stress and so women may be better protected from stress than men

4
Q

Why do males not go through ‘tend and befriend’?

A

In males testosterone rises which has a dampening effect on oxytocin hence men may not tend and befriend but become more aggressive

5
Q

What did Lazarus and Folkman (1984) suggest there was in terms of coping responses?

A
  • Emotion-focused; coping involves trying to reduce negative emotional responses associated with stress such as fear, anxiety, depression, embarrassment etc.
  • Problem-focused; coping targets the causes of stress in practical ways which tackles the problem or stressful situation that is causing stress, consequently directly reducing the stress
6
Q

What did Matud (2004) find supporting these coping responses?

A

-3000 males and females in Spain; men rated work, relationships and finance as most stressful requiring problem-focused approach whereas females found family and health stressful, requiring a more emotion-focused approach

7
Q

What has gender socialization led to?

A

Women engaging in fewer unhealthy behaviours and so more healthy behaviours, e.g. less risk-taking behaviour; women lead healthier lifestyles, as men are more likely to drink e.g. going to the pub increasing stress

8
Q

What did Waxler-Morrison find (2006) that shows social support helps reduce stress

A

Found women with strong social relationships were more likely to survive breast cancer

9
Q

Types of social support:

A

Emotional-expressions of empathy, love, trust and caring e.g. close friends and family members provide hope and a listening ear raising the person’s sense of self-esteem helping them cope with the situation

Instrumental-Tangible aid and service
e.g. her husband decides to work from home 2 days per week to babysit the children whilst she attends her chemotherapy or lending money to someone who has lost their job

Esteem/Appraisal-Information that is useful for self-evaluation
e.g. a support group or talking with others in a similar situation to remind someone of all of the qualities that equip them to ‘beat’ breast cancer