Stress

Stress is split up into:

Stress Notes

Nervous system	ANS – controls functions we have no conscious control over: sympathetic and parasympathetic
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis	nerve messages: adrenal medulla: adrenaline - 3Fs, ACTH adrenal cortex: steroids: liver releases glucose, inhibits immune response. Brady – monkeys died of ulcers caused by long-term digestion disruption, stress kills people with no adrenal glands without cortisol (steroid). ev: Mason – same stressors release different amounts of adrenaline; physio model does not consider people’s perceptions/interpretations
general adaptation syndrome	Selye – rat research; general reponse to all stressors, short-term = harmless, long term = damaging. alarm reaction (3Fs) > resistance (denial, arousal still high but not AS high, steroids interfere with immune system) > exhaustion (adrenal glands enlarge again but less adrenaline; rats die, humans get apathetic, failure of immune system, ulcers, CHD, headache, insomnia) ev: influential, simple, BUT unethical, only research on rats, doesn’t consider individualities or culture/gender/personality)
physical illness - CHD	Friedman + Rosenman – heart rate = CHD, 70% of subjects who developed CHD were type As ev: correlational, indirect? (smoking, drinking), didn’t specify which type (Taylor, cynical hostility = high heart rate)
physical illness - ulcers	Brady – executive monkeys; executives dies of ulcers ev: unethical, executives been chosen for ability to learn, sense of control, lack of warning, could have been bacterial infection Weiner et al – army recuits, 14% over-secretors developed ulcers
physical illness – immune system	Kiecolt-Glaser et al – blood samples from students; fewer natural killer cells on first day of exams. loneliness, life events and depression all associated with bad immune system ev: ecologically valid, natural experiment, focuses on long-term stress, only correlational. Cohen et al – participants who had high stress index were more probable to develop cold virus Visintainer – stressed animals less able to cope with injected cancerous cells
indirect effects	Cohen et al – stressed people smoke and drink more as well as take less exercise and sleep less (unlike type As)
causes of stress – life events	Holmes and Rahe – SRRS, LCUs in relation to given number for “marriage”. score of over 300 = 80% serious illness in following year. correlation of 0.118 found between LCUs and ill health, low but significant as big sample. (2500). ev: individual differences, ill health could cause life-events!, Martin – no correlation between positive life events and ill-health, does not consider other forms e.g. hassles, BUT influential
causes of stress – hassles and uplifts	Kanner et al – hassles = weight, overwork; uplifts = feeling health, completion of task. Delongis et al – scales and questionnaires; hassles correlated with illhealth but uplifts and life events weren’t. ev: no chronic stressors, no individual differences, only correlational, social desirability
causes of stress - occupational	Breslow and Buell – work overload = CHD, Glass et al – unpredictable LOUD noise subjects had high GSR, more mistakes Freedman et al – overcrowding = mental diseases. role ambiguity, role conflict, repetition, isolation. Johansson – assembly line workers: responsibility, pay linked to productivity, isolation, little control, skilled but repetitive work; MUCH higher stress levels than other workers
individual differences in stress response –	personality and behaviour Friedman & Rosenman – type As more likely to get CHD hardiness Kobasa -  people with high LCUs split up into often ill, rarely ill; personality differences were observed – perception of control, commitment and challenge ev: cause and effect, andocentric (white middle class males) sub-culturally biased gender – Hastrup – women have different responses to stress; when oestrogen high, least response BUT could also be traditional roles (social desirability), personality etc. culture – Weg – Georgian tribe, high life expectancy, lots of social support, good diet, no alcohol/tobacco, exercise, genes? Cooper et al – black American suffer lots of CHD – genetic selection? ev: social, such as racism, low incomes, stressful jobs

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