PSYCH 1103 1st Edition Lecture 9Outline of Last Lecture I. Exam 1 Outline of Current Lecture II. Hurricane KatrinaIII. Stressor post-Katrinaa. Physical b. Psychological IV. Stressors pre-Katrinaa. Physical b. Psychological V. Definitionsa. Stressb. StressorVI. Types of Stressorsa. Life changesb. Catastrophic events c. Acute stressorsd. Daily hasslese. Chronic stressors VII. Measuring Stressa. Holmes & Rahe VIII. SRRSa. Life Event IX. Life Experiences SurveyX. Physical Stress Responses a. General Adaptation Syndrome XI. Stress MediatorsXII. Stress Mediators in Lab Current LectureI. Hurricane Katrina a. Forms in Gulf of Mexico in August, 2005b. Makes landfall on Gulf Coast, including New Orleans i. 80% of parishes flooded ii. Massive destruction1. 1500 people died II. Stressors post-Katrina?a. Physical i. Shelter is gone ii. Loss of family members iii. Physical injuries iv. Loss of food sources b. Psychological i. Loss of family member ii. New fears iii. Loss of jobiv. Uncertain future v. Change in social supports III. Stressors pre-Katrina?a. Physical i. Not manyb. Psychologicali. Uncertain future ii. Change in social supports1. People flee the cityiii. Change in daily structure 1. “We’re closed because of the hurricane coming” IV. Definitionsa. Stress i. Negative emotional, cognitive, behavioral & physiological process that occurs as one adjusts to stressors b. Stressor i. Any circumstance that disrupts (or potentially disrupts) a person’s daily functioning V. Types of Stressorsa. Life changes i. Ex: move from home to college ii. Divorce, illness, job loss b. Catastrophic eventsi. Physical trauma, natural disasters, accidents c. Acute stressorsi. High amplitude eventsii. Job interviews, performances d. Daily hasslesi. Commuting, work, family friction e. Chronic stressorsi. Long-term illness, poverty, noxious environmentVI. Measuring stressa. Holmes & Rahe (1967)i. Social Readjustment Scaleii. Asked people to compare many different life events to “getting married “ iii. “Life Change Units”VII. SRRS a. Life event (LCU)i. Death of spouseii. Divorce iii. Marital separation iv. Jail termv. Death of close family membervi. Personal injury or illnessvii. Marriageviii. Being firedix. Retirement x. Pregnancyxi. Change in financial stagexii. More arguments with spousexiii. Change in work responsibilitiesxiv. Child leaving homexv. Beginning/ending schoolb. Each of these life events has a LCU value i. Add LCU for each instance of event within a year c. Higher SRRS scores associated with negative outcomes:i. Poor academic/job performanceii. Healthiii. Etc. VIII. Life Experiences Surveya. SRRS doesn’t evaluate perceptions of eventsi. Positive effects ii. Negative effects b. Sarason et al. (1978) developed LESi. Asks for “impact”, +/-, of each event IX. Physical Stress Responsesa. General Adaptation Syndrome i. Alarm stage (flight or fight response)1. Increased respiration, heart rate and blood pressure2. Controlled by sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system ii. Resistance stage1. Increased production of steroids, shut down unnecessary processes iii. Exhaustion stages1. Final rallying of defenses, weakening of immune response, followed by death/breakdown iv. HPA Axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal)1. Occurs when stress is prolong 2. Corticotropin-releasing hormone 3. AdrenoCortico Tropic Hormone X. Stress Mediatorsa. Can change response to stress b. Stressor  stress mediators  stress response c. Perception of stressor d. Predictability and control i. Perception, not realitye. Coping resourcesi. Money, time f. Coping methodsi. Problem focused ii. Emotion focused g. Social support h. Personality XI. Stress Mediators in the Lab a. Lazarus et al. shoed students a film of bloody industrial accidents i. Foreman training workersb. 3 instruction conditions:i. Denial ii. Intellectualization iii. Control c. Measured skin conductance i. Measure of arousal ii. Degree to which skin is wet (due to perspiration) changes skin