5 2 2014 PSYC 2101 Notes Microsoft OneNote Web App Ch 13 Notes Saturday February 08 2014 11 02 PM Why is psychological stress so Stressful There are multiple feedback domains some of the time the brain measures the quantity of glucocorticoids in the bloodstream and sometimes the rate at which the level is changing The system is sensitive to the size of the stressor Physiological stress response can be modulated by psychological factors Psychological variables can also trigger the stress response The building blocks of psychological stressors Outlet for frustration help to modulate stress The outlet is effective if it distracts from the stressor Stress induced displacement of aggression minimizes stressfullness of a stressor Social support The level and amount of social support increases or decreases the amount of stress People with spouses or close friends have longer life expectancies Support exists at the community level as well If you are a minority and there are few members in your neighborhood the higher the risk of mental illness hospitalization and suicide Predictability Predictability makes stressors less stressful A loss of predictability increases the stress response Proper information lowers the stress response during main Control Having control over stress response lessens the stress Rat with level example lever stops the shocks lowers stress take awat the lever and shock the rat it develops massive stress response Exercise of control is not critical but the belief that you have control e Work related stress is increased in those who have high demand and low control Loss of control and lack of predictive information are closely related Perception of things worsening With the same degree of disruption of allostasis a perception that events are improving helps tremendously Not just the external reality of the stressor but the meaning attached to it https onedrive live com edit aspx resid 7AF35F2B369F2BE4 1552 cid 7af35f2b369f2be4 app OneNote wdo 2 1 2 5 2 2014 Caveats PSYC 2101 Notes Microsoft OneNote Web App If the change is sufficiently unexpected it can be stressful even if it is a good change If a situation is very awful even if it was predictable it does not make it less stressful The rights amounts of loss of control and predictability are termed stimulation Subtleties of Predictability Warnings are less effective for very rare stress and very frequent stressors Information either just before or long before the stressor does not alleviate the stress Some types of predictive information can increase the cumulative anticipatory stressor like if it is very terrible Predictive information can make stress worse if it is very vague Predictability does not always work to protect us from stress Works only in a midrange of frequencies and intensities of stressors If you believe you have control over stressors that are beyond your control you may consider it your fault that the inevitable occurred The effects of the sense of control on stress are highly dependent on context People with a strong internal sense of locus of control have greater stress responses than those with external loci of control when confronted with something uncontrollable Subtleties of Control https onedrive live com edit aspx resid 7AF35F2B369F2BE4 1552 cid 7af35f2b369f2be4 app OneNote wdo 2 2 2