Week 5: Stress

Question 1

What is stress?

Answer 1

A NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE

Accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological, cognitive and behavioural CHANGES

Directed at ALTERING stressful event

Or ACCOMMODATING to its effects

Question 2

How does stress arise?

Answer 2

Primary appraisal > Labelling: What is this event? > Harm, threat, challenge?
+
Secondary appraisal > Can I respond to it? > Available and sufficient resources?

Question 3

What are the models of stress?

Answer 3

• Fight-or-flight
• Selye’s general adaptation syndrome
• Tend-and-befriend
• Challenge vs. threat

Question 4

What is fight-or-flight?

Answer 4

Walter Cannon (1932):

• When threat is perceived, body experiences AROUSAL via the activation of the SNS and endocrine system
• Which mobilises the organism to action

Question 5

What is fight? What is flight?

Answer 5

Fight = aggressive response, flight = withdrawal

Question 6

Is fight-or-flight good for us?

Answer 6

Adaptive b/c it helps org. to respond quickly

But repeated or unabated activation & arousal = health problems

Question 7

What is Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 7

Hans Selye (1956):

• All stressors elicit the same pattern of physiological changes.
• REPEATED or PROLONGED EXP. of these changes will exert wear and tear on system

Question 8

What are the 3 stages of stress based on Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 8

1) Alarm: Mobilised to meet the threat
2) Resistance: Tries to confront and/or cope with threat
3) Exhaustion: Depletion of physio. resources when efforts to overcome threat fail/succeeed

Question 9

What are the criticisms of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 9

1) Assumes all stress lead to the SAME LEVEL of physio response; does not consider the role of appraisals (ignores indiv. diffs. in stress reactivity)
2) Assumes all stressors produce the SAME KINDS of biological responses; does not consider role of personality, emotions and biological constitutions (e.g. emotions - positive emotions also produce same kind of bio. response)
3) Unclear about what is most implicated in exp. of stress - exhaustion or chronic activation (resistance)?
4) Stress can occur before and persist after the duration of the stressor; it is not limited to the three phases – A) Stress may peak at another stage, B) Some ppl’s stress response do not decrease, actually remain sustained/persist after stressor

Question 10

What is tend-and-befriend?

Answer 10

Taylor et al. (2000):
- Ppl and animals can respond to stress with SOCIAL AFFLIATION and NURTURANT BEHAVIOUR toward offspring, particularly for females

Question 11

What is the concept behind tend-and-befriend?

Answer 11

Arises due to gender diffs. in adaptive challenges

Men = Hunting & protection roles = Fight/flight response
Women = Foraging & child care roles = Tend & befriend

Question 12

What is the key underlying biological mechanism of the tend-and-befriend model?

Answer 12

Oxytocin (stress hormone)

• Increases affiliative behaviours and calmness
• Particularly infl. by estrogen (–> females)

Question 13

What is the limitation of the tend-and-befriend model?

Answer 13

Assumes that it is a female-exclusive response

Question 14

What is the challenge vs. threat model?

Answer 14

Secondary appraisals of stressors can alter the experience and response to stressors

Question 15

How does one determine whether a situation is a challenge or a threat?

Answer 15

Blascovich & Tomaka (1996):

• Secondary appraisals depend on the assessment or situational demands vs. personal resources
• PR > Sit. demands = Challenge, approach
• PR < Sit. demands = Threat, withdraw

Question 16

How does challenge/threat appraisals affect cardiovascular profiles?

Answer 16

Challenge states: Short PEP, high CO, low TPR

Threat states: Short/long PEP, low CO, high TPR

Question 17

What are the pathways to poor health due to stress?

Answer 17

1) Direct physiological effects
- E.g. elevated BP

2) Health behaviour changes
- E.g. increased smoking

3) Psychosocial resources
- E.g. threatened social support

4) Healthcare
- E.g. decreased adherence to treatment

Question 18

What is the physiology of stress?

Answer 18

Sympathetic-Adreno-Medullary (SAM) system

• SNS
• Endocrine system

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis

• CNS
• Endocrine system

Primary & secondary appraisals of stressors are first performed by the cerebral cortex which then set off these responses

Question 19

What is the process of activation of SAM system?

Answer 19

• Event appraised as stressful -> Brain sends info to HYPOTHALAMUS to activate SNS
• SNS activation -> Stimulates ADRENAL MEDULLA -> Secrete catecholamines

Question 20

What are the effects of activation of SAM system on chronically stressed individuals?

Answer 20

• Suppressed immune system due to excessive release of EP and NE
• Higher risk of CVD due to overactive SNS

Question 21

What is the process of activation of HPA axis?

Answer 21

• Event appraised as stressful -> HYPOTHALAMUS stimulates PITUITARY GLAND -> Secrete ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH)
• ACTH -> Stimulates ADRENAL CORTEX -> Release glucocorticoids, esp. CORTISOL

Question 22

What are the effects of activation of HPA on chronically stressed individuals?

Answer 22

• Generally heightened cortisol levels (esp. awakening cortisol)
• Exaggerated cortisol reactivity, and slow recovery

Question 23

What are the other considerations for the physiology of stress?

Answer 23

1) Reactivity
2) Recovery
3) Allostatic load

Question 24

What is reactivity?

Answer 24

Degree of change (from baseline or average) that occurs in autonomic, neuroendocrine, and/or immune responses due to stress

Affected by genetic make-up, personality or early life exp

Question 25

What is recovery?

Answer 25

How quickly an individual returns to baseline or average after a stress response Affected by genes, personality or past exps too

Question 26

What is allostatic load?

Answer 26

Physiological costs of chronic exposure and exp. of stress, i.e. "wear and tear" of the system

Question 27

**Dimensions of stress: The obvious | What makes an event stressful?

Answer 27

- Negative events - Uncontrollable and/or unpredictable events - Ambiguous events - Overload

Question 28

**What is a factor that can mitigate the effects of uncontrollable and/or unpredictable events?

Answer 28

Feelings of control - Can mitigate subjective experience of stress, biochemical reactions to it (i.e. higher catecholamine levels and lower immune responses)

Question 29

**What are the less obvious dimensions of stress?

Answer 29

- Perceived stress vs. objective stress - Adaptation to a permanent stressor - Pre-stress vs. ongoing stress vs. post stress

Question 30

How does perceived stress and objective stress differ?

Answer 30

Perceived stress and objective stress independently predicted negative moods and health complaints of air traffic controllers Air traffic controllers who reported they were not stressed under objectively stressful conditions still showed behavioural patterns of stress

Question 31

How does adaptation to a permanent stressor work?

Answer 31

Most ppl can adapt to moderate and predictable stressors But vulnerable or at-risk groups (e,g, children, elderly, low SES) may find it difficult to adapt given their inherent lack of resources (e.g. cognitive, material) and perceived control

Question 32

How does pre-stress vs. ongoing stress vs. post-stress differ?

Answer 32

Pre-stress and post-stress can be as stressful as ongoing stress

Question 33

What are some types of acute stress inductions used in the study of stress?

Answer 33

- Trier Social Stress Task (TSST) | - Cold Pressor Test (CPT)

Question 34

What is the Trier Social Stress Task?

Answer 34

- Two tasks: Speech and mental arithmetic tasks performed in front of an evaluative audience - Cardiovascular responses (e.g. HR, cardiac efficiency, BP) and endocrine responses (e.g. salivary cortisol) are measured continuously throughout the tasks

Question 35

What is the usefulness of the TSST?

Answer 35

Highly reliable in inducing stress in the lab for the average indiv. Also for identifying indivs. who are highly reactive to stress

Question 36

What is the Cold Pressor Test?

Answer 36

- Immerse hand or foot in a cold water bath, maintained at a temperature of 1 to 5 degrees Celsius - Specifically activates the sympathetic and parasympathetic response - Cardiovascular responses (e.g. HR, cardiac efficiency, BP) measured during CPT

Question 37

How does the TSST and the CPT differ in inducing stress?

Answer 37

TSST - Induces social evaluative stress vs. CPT - Induces orthostatic stress (i.e. physical stress)

Question 38

How does inducing disease work in the study of stress?

Answer 38

Effects of stress can be studied by exposing ppl to viruses and then assessing whether they get ill

Question 39

What is the Common Cold Project?

Answer 39

- Measured stress levels in adult Ps - Infected the with viruses linked to the flu/common cold, and had them quarantined - Onset of flu or the common cold are typically associated with higher stress - This association can also differ by other factors, such as social support, sleep quality

Question 40

How are stressful life events involved in the study of stress?

Answer 40

- A person's life course involves responding and adjusting to the changing environment, which is often accompanied by increase in stress levels

Question 41

What is the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)? What are its limitations?

Answer 41

An inventory of 43 stressful life events Only predicts health and illness modestly - Vague items - Preassigned scores do not take into acc. indiv. diffs. - Some events are positive and controllable - Does not assess whether the stress events were successfully resolved

Question 42

What is the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)?

Answer 42

Developed to address the problem of variability and subjectivity in the experience and reports of stress Predicts general health and illness better than SRRS

Question 43

How does daily stress relate to the study of stress?

Answer 43

Cumulative minor stressors can wear a person down, or aggravate/worsen experiences of ongoing chronic or major stressors - Measure of daily hassles - Experience sampling - - Tracking moment to moment or daily events (and sometimes physiology)

Question 44

What are the effects of workplace stress (chronic stress)?

Answer 44

Can lead to burnout or karoshi (death from overwork)

Question 45

What are the sources of workplace stress?

Answer 45

- Desk-bound jobs - Jobs that require extreme physical exertion or sleep deprivation - Overload - Ambiguity and role conflict - Lack of control at work - Job uncertainty; threat of unemployment

Question 46

What is caregiver stress?

Answer 46

With people living longer and a higher incidence of chronic illnesses, indivs. tasked with caring for family members with chronic illnesses are becoming depressed

Question 47

What are the problems associated with caregiver stress?

Answer 47

- Caregivers may not realise they're stressed, or ignore their stress b/c they believe it is their duty to care for their family member - When driven to desperation, caregivers may act out on their family members - May also extend to professional caregivers (eg. nurses) --> high job turnover rate