Psychology Exam Chapter 14 Stress Lifestyle and Health A useful way to conceptualize stress is to view it as a process whereby an individual perceives and responds to events that he appraises as overwhelming or threatening to his well being Two kinds of appraisals of a stressor are especially important in this regard primary and secondary appraisals A primary appraisal involves judgment about the degree of potential harm or threat to well being that a stressor might entail The perception of a threat triggers a secondary appraisal judgment of the options available to cope with a stressor as well as perceptions of how effective such options will be Good stress Eustress a good kind of stress associated with positive feelings optimal health and good performance Distress a negative kind of stress associated with negative feelings poor health and poor performance Early Contributions Walter Cannon American physiologist first to identify the body s physiological reactions to stress Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon first articulated and named the fight or flight response the nervous system s sympathetic response to a significant stressor Cannon proposed that this reaction which he called the fight or flight response occurs when a person experiences very strong emotions especially those associated with a perceived threat Cannon 1932 During the fight or flight response the body is rapidly aroused by activation of both the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system This arousal helps prepare the person to either fight or flee from a perceived threat According to Cannon the fight or flight response is a built in mechanism that assists in maintaining homeostasis an internal environment in which physiological variables such as blood pressure respiration digestion and temperature are stabilized at levels optimal for survival General Adaptive Syndrome What Selye discovered was the general adaptation syndrome the body s nonspecific physiological response to stress practiced on rats The general adaptation syndrome shown in Figure 14 10 consists of three stages 1 alarm reaction 2 stage of resistance and 3 stage of exhaustion Selye 1936 1976 Alarm reaction describes the body s immediate reaction upon facing a threatening situation or emergency and it is roughly analogous to the fight or flight response described by Cannon If exposure to a stressor is prolonged the organism will enter the stage of resistance During this stage the initial shock of alarm reaction has worn off and the body has adapted to the stressor If exposure to a stressor continues over a longer period of time the stage of exhaustion ensues At this stage the person is no longer able to adapt to the stressor the body s ability to resist becomes depleted as physical wear takes its toll on the body s tissues and organs Physiological Basis of Stress The physiological mechanisms of stress are extremely complex but they generally involve the work of two systems the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal HPA axis Cortisol is commonly known as a stress hormone and helps provide that boost of energy when we first encounter a stressor preparing us to run away or fight This diagram shows the functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal HPA axis The hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland which in turn activates the adrenal glands increasing their secretion of cortisol Stressors Traumatic Events Some stressors involve traumatic events or situations in which a person is exposed to actual or threatened death or serious injury Stressors in this category include exposure to military combat threatened or actual physical assaults e g physical attacks sexual assault robbery childhood abuse terrorist attacks natural disasters e g earthquakes floods hurricanes and automobile accidents Men non Whites and individuals in lower socioeconomic status SES groups report experiencing a greater number of traumatic events than do women Whites and individuals in higher SES groups Hatch Dohrenwend 2007 Some individuals who are exposed to stressors of extreme magnitude develop post traumatic stress disorder PTSD a chronic stress reaction characterized by experiences and behaviors that may include intrusive and painful memories of the stressor event jumpiness persistent negative emotional states detachment from others angry outbursts and avoidance of reminders of the event Life Changes Hassles Some fairly typical life events such as moving can be significant stressors Even when the move is intentional and positive the amount of resulting change in daily life can cause stress In the 1960s psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe wanted to examine the link between life stressors and physical illness The Social Readjustment Rating Scale SRRS consisting of 43 life events that require varying degrees of personal readjustment Holmes Rahe 1967 Many life events that most people would consider pleasant e g holidays retirement marriage are among those listed on the SRRS these are examples of eustress Holmes and Rahe also proposed that life events can add up over time and that experiencing a cluster of stressful events increases one s risk of developing physical illnesses Potential stressors do not always involve major life events Daily hassles the minor irritations and annoyances that are part of our everyday lives e g rush hour traffic lost keys obnoxious coworkers inclement weather arguments with friends or family can build on one another and leave us just as stressed as life change events Stressors II Other Stressors Stressors can include situations in which one is frequently exposed to challenging and unpleasant events such as difficult demanding or unsafe working conditions Although most jobs and occupations can at times be demanding some are clearly more stressful than others Two common denominators heavy workload and uncertainty about and lack of control over certain aspects of a job Both of these factors contribute to job strain a work situation that combines excessive job demands and workload with little discretion in decision making or job control Job Burnout is when some people who are exposed to chronically stressful work conditions Which is a general sense of emotional exhaustion and cynicism in relation to one s job Job burnout consists of three dimensions The first dimension is exhaustion a sense that one s emotional resources are drained or that one is at the end of her rope and has nothing more to give at a