CHAPTER 12

Stress= Negative emotional state occurring in response to events that are perceived as taxing or
exceeding a person’s resources or ability to cope

Richard Lazarus (1999)= events are not stressful in and of themselves.

Stress is determined by your subjective response to external events or circumstances --If you
believe you have the resources necessary to meet a challenge, you’ll experience little or no
stress.

We evaluate—and reevaluate—our coping responses as we deal with stressful circumstances --

Health psychology= The branch of psychology that studies how biological, behavioral, and social factors
influence -- health, illness, medical treatment

Biopsychosocial model= The belief that physical health and illness are determined by= the complex
interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors (what health psychologists’ study)

Main Foci= How to promote health-enhancing behaviors -- How people respond to being ill

Stressors= events or situations that are perceived as harmful, threatening, or challenging

Early stress researchers (Holmes & Rahe, 1967)= Believed any change that required you to adjust your
behavior and lifestyle would cause stress-- Developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Traumatic events: events or situations that are negative, severe, and far beyond our normal
expectations

When traumas are intense or repeated, some psychologically vulnerable people may develop
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

People who have had to cope with a moderate level of adversity develop Resilience.

Daily hassles: Everyday minor events that annoy and upset people might be an important source of
stress -- Number of daily hassles experienced is: a better predictor of physical illness and symptoms

Women= more with family – Men=school or work related

Burnout= unhealthy condition caused by chronic, prolonged work stress -- exhaustion, cynicism, and a
sense of failure or inadequacy

Sources= exhaustion, negative attitudes

Work stress= lack of control

Solution= changing demands of job, sense of community

Chronic stress= People who live under difficult or unpleasant conditions-- less privileged groups have
fewer resources with which to cope with stressors (poverty, crime)

--associated with lower socioeconomic status --Racism and discrimination (microaggressions)

Four possible patterns of acculturation Integration = low stress --Assimilation = moderate

Stress affects physical health through its effects on the endocrine system, the immune system, and
chromosomes (telomeres shorten with less sleep)

Stress can indirectly affect a person’s health= as not eating or sleeping properly

directly affect physical health= illness or disease

Fight-or-flight response

Rapidly occurring chain of internal physical reactions that prepare people either to fight or take flight
from an immediate threat-- Researched the effects of stress and trauma

Endocrine response= Threat perceived (amygdala), hypothalamus and lower brain structures
activate sympathetic nervous system-- Sympathetic nervous system stimulates adrenal medulla to
secrete hormones called catecholamines.

Catecholamines= Secreted by the adrenal medulla-- rapid physiological arousal --adrenaline

Hans Selye researched the effects of exposure to extreme stress in rats-- Adrenal glands became
enlarged--Stomach ulcers and loss of weight occurred--Thymus gland and lymph glands, two key
components of the immune system, shrank.

Stress causes the pituitary to release ACTH= causes adrenals to release corticosteroid (cortisol).

Corticosteroids: hormones released by the adrenal cortex

General adaptation syndrome: Hans Selye’s term for the three-stage progression of physical changes
that occur when an organism is exposed to intense and prolonged stress

Alarm= Intense arousal --Mobilization of physical resources (release of catecholamines) --

Resistance= Body actively tries to resist or adjust to the continuing stress.

Exhaustion= physical exhaustion and physical disorders-- Symptoms of the alarm stage
reappear, only now irreversibly-- Energy reserves depleted and adaptation begins to break
down, leading to death.

Telomeres: repeated, duplicate DNA sequences that are found at the very tips of chromosomes --
protect genetic data in the chromosomes from being broken during cell division--With each cell division,
the string of telomeres gets shorter.

Shorter telomeres= aging, age-related diseases, and mortality.

Immune system= Produces specialized white blood cells that protect body from viruses, bacteria

Lymphocytes= Specialized white blood cells that fight bacteria, viruses

Central nervous system and the immune system are directly linked via sympathetic nervous system.

Highly stressful events and common stresses are associated with reduced immune system functioning.
-- End or disruption of important interpersonal relationships --Caring for a family
member with Alzheimer’s disease

Cohen: Demonstrated that people experiencing high stress levels are more susceptible to the cold virus.

(Decreases do not always occur --Short-term stress may enhance immune system --Physical
health is influenced by multiple factors)

Placebo effect

Genuine painkilling drugs and placebos activate the same brain area—the anterior cingulate cortex.

(Placebo treatment activates opioid receptors in several brain regions associated with pain) --
Cognitive expectations, learned associations, and emotional responses can have a profound
effect on perception of pain.

Response to stress

Psychologists have identified several psychological factors that can modify an individual’s response to
stress and affect physical health.

Personal control= Control of stress-producing event often reduces psychological distress or physical
arousal-- perception of personal control must be realistic to be adaptive.

Nursing-home residents who had opportunities to make choices (high control) were more
active, alert, and healthier

Optimistic explanatory style= Use external, unstable, and specific explanations for negative events --
Predicts better health outcomes; strong immune system

Pessimistic explanatory style= Use internal, stable, and global explanations for negative events •--
Predicts worse health outcomes

Chronic negative emotions= People who are habitually anxious, depressed, angry, or hostile are more
likely to develop a chronic disease, such as arthritis or heart disease.

Positive emotions= Associated with increased resistance to infection, decreased illnesses, fewer
reports of illness symptoms, less pain, and increased longevity

Type A behavior pattern= Exaggerated sense of time urgency, trying to do more and more in less time --
General sense of hostility, displaying anger and irritation; associated with heart disease

Type B behavior pattern= More easygoing, relaxed, laid back-- Not associated with heart disease
Psychologists and other scientists are cautious about the connections between personality and
health (many studies are correlational--Personality factors might indirectly lead to disease via poor
health habits)
Social support= resources provided by other people in times of need

Effects of low social support= Socially isolated people were twice as likely to die as people with
good social relationships--Chronic loneliness predicts poorer physical and mental health

Positive Effect of Diverse Social Networks= Greater resistance to upper respiratory infections -- Lower
incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease -- lower dementia

Social Support Benefits Health= Can modify our appraisal of a stressor’s significance --Seems to
decrease the intensity of physical reactions to a stressor

Negative interactions can create psychological distress --Unwanted or inappropriate social

Men=Rely on close relationship with spouse or partner --Are particularly vulnerable to social
isolation.

Women= List close friends along with their spouse as confidants -- providers of support, which
can be stressful --Suffer from the stress contagion effect (get mad if bad things happen to
friends/family)

Effective Strategies= Listening well and showing concern -- Asking questions that encourage the stressed
person to express feelings and emotions

Unhelpful Strategies = Giving advice that the person under stress has not requested --Saying “I know
exactly how you feel.” --Talking about your own problems --Minimizing the importance

Coping= Behavioral and cognitive responses used to deal with stressors --Efforts to change
circumstances

Adaptive coping= Dynamic and complex process --Realistically evaluating situation and
determining what can be done to reduce stress

Problem-focused coping= Aimed at managing or changing the stressor --most effective when control
can be exercised

Planful problem solving= Analyzes situation rationally-- Identifies solutions-- Implements solutions

Confrontational coping= Uses aggressive or risky tactics -- Is ideal if direct and assertive, but not hostile

Emotion-focused coping= Occurs when people believe nothing can be done to alter a situation (denial)

(Men tend to withdraw from their families, wanting to be left alone--Women tend to seek out
interactions with their marital partners)

Individualistic cultures= Emphasize personal autonomy and personal responsibility in dealing with
problems--Emphasize importance and value of exerting control over circumstances—less likely to seek
out for help

Collectivistic cultures= oriented toward social group, family, or community, and toward seeking help
with problems --greater emphasis on controlling personal reactions