EXAM 3: 11/25/14chapter 14: stress, coping, and health-biopsychosocial model: physical illness is caused by a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors•shift in thinking resulted from changing patterns of illness!(contagious to chronic diseases)-health psychology: concerned with how psychosocial factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of health and with the causation, prevention, and treatment of illnessthe nature of stress -stress: any circumstances that threaten or are perceived the threaten one’s well-being and that thereby tax one’s coping abilities-Stress as an Everyday Event •studies conducted in the aftermath of natural disasters typically find elevated rates of psychological problems and physical illness int he communities affected•many everyday events are also stressful-waiting in line, having car troubles, misplacing your checkbook•Richard Lazarus developed a scale to measure everyday hassles-showed that routine hassles may have significant harmful effects on mental and physical health-predictive of impaired mental and physical health-result of the collective nature of stress?-Appraisal: Stress Lies in the Eyes of the Beholder•events that are stressful to one person may evoke no stress response from other•Lazarus distinguished between 2 different types of appraisal•primary appraisal: an initial evaluation of whether an event is-relevant to you-relevant but not threatening-stressful•secondary appraisal: an evaluation of your coping resources and options for dealing with stress1EXAM 3: 11/25/14-primary determine whether you view an upcoming job interview as stressful while secondary determine how stressful the interview appeared, in light of your assessment of your ability to deal with the event•people’s appraisals of stressful events are highly subjective-anxious, neurotic people and people who are unhappy report more stress than others-Major Types of Stress•acute stressors: threatening events that have a relatively short duration and a clear endpoint-encounter with a drunk, studying hard for a difficult exam, house flooded•chronic stressors: threatening events that have a relatively long duration and no readily apparent time limit-ongoing pressures from a hostile boss, financial issues from huge debts, demand from caring for a sick family member•Frustration: occurs in any situation in which the pursuit of some goal is thwarted-you want something you can’t have-brief and insignificant frustrations include sitting in traffic, getting to the dry cleaner and your clothes aren't ready-frustrations that cause significant stress include failures and losses•some people make failure inevitable by setting unrealistically high goals for themselves•Conflict: occurs when 2 or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression-Kurt Kewin labeled the 3 types conflicts come in-approach-approach conflict: a choice must be made between 2 attractive goals•least stressful type of conflict but may sometimes be troublesome (college majors, boyfriends)-avoidance-avoidance conflict: a choice must be made between 2 unattractive goals•most unpleasant and highly stressful (get surgery or live in pain)-approach-avoidance conflict: a choice must be made about whether to pursue a single goal that has both attractive and unattractive aspects•common and can be quite stressful (new job opportunity with huge pay increase but move to different city)2EXAM 3: 11/25/14•any time you have to take a risk to pursue some desirable outcome•vacillation: going back and forth, beset by indecision•Change: any significant alterations in one’s living circumstances that require readjustment-Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe demonstrated the importance of change•TB patients, events that had preceded the onset of the disease•positive events produce stress because they produce change•changes in personal relationships, work, finances, etc. can be stressful even when the changes are welcomed-Social Readjustment Rating Sale (SRRS) measures life changes as a form of stress•numerical values assigned to stressors are supposed to reflect the magnitude of readjustment required by each change•numbers associated with each of the 43 events are added; the total is an index of the amount of change-related stress the person has recently experienced-people with higher scores on the SRRS tend to be more vulnerable to many kids of physical illness and to many types of psychological problems-critics cite problems with the methods used and raise questions about the meaning of findings between life events and health•SRRS assesses a wide range of stressful experiences, not just life change•Pressure: involves expectations or demands that one behave in a certain way-under pressure to perform when you’re expected to execute tasks/responsibilities quickly, efficiently, and successfully-under pressure to conform to others expectations-Weiten devised a scale to measure pressure as a form of life stress•assesses self-imposed pressure, pressure from work/school, pressure from family/peer/intimate relations-pressure has turned out to be more strongly related to measures of mental health than the SRRS and other est. measures of stress•increased pressure at work was related to an increased risk of heart diseaseSummaryStress involves circumstances and experiences that are perceived as threatening. Stress is a common, everyday event, and even seemingly minor stressors, 3EXAM 3: 11/25/14such as daily hassles, can be problematic. To a large degree, stress is subjective and lies in the eye of the beholder. People’s appraisals of events determine what they find stressful.Acute stressors have a short duration and clear endpoint, whereas chronic stressors have a relatively long duration. Major types of stress include frustration, conflict, change, and pressure. Frustration occurs when an obstacle prevents one from attaining some goal.The three principle types on conflicts are approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, and approach-avoidance. The third is especially stressful. Vacillation is a common response to approach-avoidance conflict.A large number of studies with the SRRS suggest that life change is stressful. Although this may be true, it is now clear that the SRRS is a measure of general stress rather than just change-related stress. Two kinds of pressures (to perform and conform) also appear to be
View Full Document
Unlocking...