Psychology Sixth Edition, Global Edition Chapter 11 Stress and Health PDF
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2021
Saundra K. Ciccarelli and J. Noland White
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This textbook chapter on stress and health provides a detailed overview of stress definitions, types, and effects on the individual and society . It also delves into cognitive coping methods and strategies.
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Psychology Sixth Edition, Global Edition Chapter 11 11 Stress and Health Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Learning Objectives (1 of 2) 11.1 Distin...
Psychology Sixth Edition, Global Edition Chapter 11 11 Stress and Health Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Learning Objectives (1 of 2) 11.1 Distinguish between distress and eustress. 11.2 Identify three types of external events that can cause stress. 11.3 Identify psychological factors in stress. 11.4 Describe the stages of the general adaptation syndrome. 11.5 Explain how the immune system is impacted by stress. 11.6 Describe the branch of psychology known as health psychology. 11.7 Summarize Lazarus’s cognitive appraisal approach to stress. 11.8 Explain how personality types and attitudes can influence people’s reaction to stress. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Learning Objectives (2 of 2) 11.9 Identify social and cultural factors that influence stress reactions. 11.10 Distinguish between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies to stress. 11.11 Explain how a social-support system influences a person’s ability to cope with stress. 11.12 Describe cultural differences in coping with stress. 11.13 Explain how religious beliefs can affect the ability to cope with stress. 11.14 Identify common sources of stress for college students, and describe healthy and effective strategies for coping with the effects. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.1–11.3 Stress and Stressors Life is about change Challenge and change require adaptation to events big and small Threats to well-being are also inevitable All changes require a response Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.1 The Relationship between Stress and Stressors (1 of 2) Learning Objective 11.1 Distinguish between distress and eustress. Stress: physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging Stressors: events that cause a stress reaction Distress: the effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressors Eustress: the effect of positive events, or the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.1 The Relationship between Stress and Stressors (2 of 2) Taking a test is just one of many possible stressors in a college student’s life. What aspects of college life have you found to be stressful? Do other students experience the same degree of stress in response to the same stressors? Source: Lisa F. Young/Alamy Stock Photo. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.2 Environmental Stressors: Life’s Ups and Downs (1 of 3) Learning Objective 11.2 Identify three types of external events that can cause stress. Catastrophe: an unpredictable, large-scale event that creates a tremendous need to adapt and adjust as well as overwhelming feelings of threat – Catastrophic events can affect the unborn children of mothers that are involved Premature birth Lower than normal intelligence Poor health behaviors Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.2 Environmental Stressors: Life’s Ups and Downs (2 of 3) Major life changes: cause stress by requiring adjustment – Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS): measures the amount of stress resulting from major life events in a person’s life over a one-year period – College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS): measures the amount of stress resulting from major life events in a college student’s life over a one-year period – Can have long term effects on a person’s chronic physical and mental health Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Table 11.1: Sample Items From the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) (1 of 2) Major Life Event Life Change Units Death of spouse 100 Divorce 75 Marital separation 65 Jail term 63 Death of a close family member 63 Personal injury or illness 53 Marriage 50 Dismissal from work 47 Marital reconciliation 45 Pregnancy 40 Death of a close friend 37 Change to a different line of work 36 Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Table 11.1: Sample Items From the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) (2 of 2) Major Life Event Life Change Units Change in number of arguments with spouse 36 Major mortgage 31 Foreclosure of mortgage or loan 30 Begin or end school 26 Change in living conditions 25 Change in work hours or conditions 20 Change in residence/schools/recreation 19 Change in social activities 18 Small mortgage or loan 17 Vacation 13 Christmas 12 Minor violations of the law 11 Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.2 Environmental Stressors: Life’s Ups and Downs (3 of 3) Hassles: the daily annoyances of everyday life – Associated with short-term illness – Hassles differ depending on age Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.3 Psychological Stressors: What, Me Worry? (1 of 4) Learning Objective 11.3 Identify psychological factors in stress. Pressure: the psychological experience produced by urgent demands or expectations for a person’s behavior that come from an outside source – Time pressure is most common – Impacts creativity Uncontrollability: the degree of control that the person has over a particular event or situation – The less control a person has, the greater the degree of stress Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.3 Psychological Stressors: What, Me Worry? (2 of 4) Frustration: the psychological experience produced by the blocking of a desired goal or fulfillment of a perceived need – External frustrations: conditions such as losses, rejections, failures, and delays – Internal frustrations or personal frustration: occur when the goal or need cannot be attained because of internal or personal characteristics. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.3 Psychological Stressors: What, Me Worry? (3 of 4) Possible reactions to frustration – Persistence: continuation of efforts to get around whatever is causing the frustration – Aggression: actions meant to harm or destroy ▪ Frustration-aggression hypothesis: the proposed connection between frustration and aggression ▪ Displaced aggression: taking out one’s frustrations on some less threatening or more available target – Escape or withdrawal: leaving the presence of a stressor Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.3 Psychological Stressors: What, Me Worry? (4 of 4) Conflict: psychological experience of being pulled toward or drawn to two or more desires or goals, only one of which may be attained – Approach–approach conflict – Avoidance–avoidance conflict – Approach–avoidance conflict – Multiple approach-avoidance – See Table 11.3 for descriptions and examples Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Table 11.3: Different Forms of Conflict Conflict Type Definition Example Approach- Must choose You would like to go to both Italy and England, approach between two but you can only choose to go to one. desirable goals. Avoidance- Must choose You dislike both cleaning the bathroom and avoidance between two cleaning the kitchen but must choose one or the undesirable goals. other. Approach– Must choose or not You want to have a pet for the companionship avoidance choose a goal that but don’t like the idea of cleaning up after it. has both desirable and undesirable aspects. Multiple Must choose from You have to decide on a college. One close to Approach- among two or more home would be less expensive and closer to avoidance goals, with each your friends but not as academically desirable. goal possessing The one in another state would be academically both desirable and challenging and would look much better when undesirable aspects. applying for jobs but is very expensive and far away from friends and family. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Concept Map: Stress and Stressors Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.4–11.9 Physiological Factors: Stress and Health Autonomic nervous system: part of the nervous system that is responsible for automatic, involuntary, and life-sustaining activities. –Sympathetic division reacts to stress ▪Increased heart rate ▪Slowed digestion ▪Surge of energy to the muscles –Parasympathetic division returns the body to a normal state at the end of the stress Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.4 The General Adaptation Syndrome Learning Objective 11.4 Describe the stages of the general adaptation syndrome. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS; Selye, 1956): the three stages of the body’s physiological adaptation to stress 1. Alarm – Activates the sympathetic nervous system 2. Resistance – Early symptoms of alarm lessen but persist until stressor is gone or the organism has used up all resources 3. Exhaustion – Resources have been depleted – Can lead to disease, weakened immune system or death – The parasympathetic division activates when the stressor ends, replenishing resources Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Figure 11.1: General Adaptation Syndrome The graph shows the relationship of each of the three stages to the individual’s ability to resist a stressor. In the alarm stage, resistance drops at first as the sympathetic system quickly activates. But resistance then rapidly increases as the body mobilizes its defense systems. In the resistance stage, the body is working at a much increased level of resistance, using resources until the stress ends or the resources run out. In the exhaustion stage, the body is no longer able to resist as resources have been depleted, and at this point disease and even death are possible. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.5 The Immune System and Stress (1 of 4) Learning Objective 11.5 Explain how the immune system is impacted by stress. Immune system: cells, organs, and chemicals of the body that respond to attacks from diseases, infections, and injuries – Affected by stress Psychoneuroimmunology: the study of the effects of psychological factors such as stress, emotions, thoughts, and behavior on the immune system. – Stress triggers the same response in the immune system that infection triggers Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a hormone, also helps the immune system fight the effects of stress Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.5 The Immune System and Stress (2 of 4) There are positive effects of stress on the immune system but only when the stress is not continual or chronic –Early stress reaction is designed for short- term –Long term leads to a breakdown of the immune system The inflammatory response and a decreased ability to regulate inflammation may be the way stress can have a negative impact on health Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Figure 11.2: Stress Duration and Illness In this graph, the risk of getting a cold virus increases greatly as the months of exposure to a stressor increase. Although a stress reaction can be useful in its early phase, prolonged stress has a negative impact on the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to illnesses such as a cold. Source: Based on Cohen, S., Frank, E., Doyle, B. J., Skoner, D. P., Rabin, B. S., & Gwaltney, J. M. (1998). Types of stressors that increase susceptibility to the common cold. Health Psychology, 17, 214–223. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.5 The Immune System and Stress (3 of 4) Allostasis: “maintaining stability through change” to meet both perceived and anticipated demands – A protection from internal and external stress – Accomplished by activation of sympathetic nervous system, the hypothalamic-pituitary (HPA) axis, and other bodily changes Allostatic load: prolonged exposure to elevated levels of hormones and other stress mediators over weeks, months, or years resulting in wear and tear on the brain and body Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.5 The Immune System and Stress (4 of 4) Heart disease: stress puts people at higher risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes is associated with excessive weight gain – Occurs when pancreas insulin levels become less efficient as body size increases – Increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease Cancer: stress increases malfunction of natural killer (NK) cells – NK cell: responsible for suppressing viruses and destroying tumor cells Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Figure 11.3: Stress and Coronary Heart Disease The blue box on the left represents various sources of stress (Type A personality refers to someone who is ambitious, always working, and usually hostile). In addition to the physical reactions that accompany the stress reaction, an individual under stress may be more likely to engage in unhealthy behavior such as overeating, drinking alcohol or taking other kinds of drugs, avoiding exercise, and acting out in anger or frustration. This kind of behavior also contributes to an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.6 Health Psychology Learning Objective 11.6 Describe the branch of psychology known as health psychology. Focuses on how our physical activities, psychological traits, and social relationships affect our overall health and rate of illness Health psychologists seek to understand how behavior can affect a person’s ability to fight off illnesses – or increase likelihood of getting sick Subfields of health psychology – Clinical health psychology – Behavioral psychology Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.7 Cognitive Factors of Stress (1 of 2) Learning Objective 11.7 Summarize Lazarus’s cognitive appraisal approach to stress. Cognitive meditational theory (Lazarus): how people think about a stressor determines, at least in part, how stressful that stressor will become – Primary appraisal: involves estimating the severity of a stressor and classifying it as either a threat or a challenge – Secondary appraisal: involves estimating the resources available to the person for coping with the stressor Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Figure 11.4: Responses to a Stressor According to Lazarus’s Cognitive Appraisal Approach. approach, there are two steps in cognitively determining the degree of stress created by a potential stressor. Primary appraisal involves determining if the potential stressor is a threat. If it is perceived as a threat, secondary appraisal occurs in addition to the bodily and emotional reactions. Secondary appraisal involves determining the resources one has to deal with the stress. Inadequate resources lead to increased feelings of stress and the possibility of developing new resources to deal with it. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.7 Cognitive Factors of Stress (2 of 2) Cognitive reappraisal approach (Jamieson et al.): instructing participants to reappraise their arousal while experiencing a stressor helped shift the negative effects of stress arousal to more positive effects Yerkes-Dodson Law: helps frame relationship between task performance and arousal – An individual’s performance on a task depends on task difficulty; simple tasks require a high-moderate level of arousal, whereas difficult tasks require a low-moderate level Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Figure 11.5: Arousal and Performance The optimal level of arousal for task performance depends on the difficulty of the task. We generally perform easy tasks well if we are at a high–moderate level of cognitive arousal, complete medium-complexity tasks at a moderate level of arousal, and accomplish complex tasks well if we are at a low–moderate level. Source: Noland White Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.8 Personality Factors in Stress (1 of 5) Learning Objective 11.8 Explain how personality types and attitudes can influence people’s reaction to stress. Personality: the stable ways in which people think, feel and interact with others – Different characteristics determine how one assesses a stressor Type A personality – Ambitious – Time conscious – Extremely hardworking – Tends to have high levels of hostility and anger – Easily annoyed – Hostility is the main factor in linking type A behavior to heart disease Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.8 Personality Factors in Stress (2 of 5) Type B Personality – Relaxed and laid-back – Less driven and competitive than type A – Slow to anger Type C Personality – Pleasant – Peace-keeper – Difficulty in expressing emotion – Internalize anger – Lonely – Linked to cancer Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.8 Personality Factors in Stress (3 of 5) Type D Personality – Distressed – Prone to chronic stress Hardy Personality – Thrive on stress – Commitment to values, beliefs – Feel in control of their lives – Challenge instead of avoid problems Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.8 Personality Factors in Stress (4 of 5) Explanatory styles – Optimists: expect positive outcomes – Pessimists: expect negative outcomes Why be an optimist? – According to Seligman (2002), optimists are: Less likely to develop learned helplessness More likely to take care of health Less likely to become depressed Have more effectively functioning immune systems Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.8 Personality Factors in Stress (5 of 5) Regular exercise—whether alone or in the company of family and friends—increases the functioning of the immune system and helps give people a sense of control over their health. Having a sense of control decreases feelings of stress, which also helps the immune system function well. Source: Jaren Jai Wicklund/Shutterstock Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.9 Social and Cultural Factors in Stress: People Who Need People (1 of 5) Learning Objective 11.9 Identify social and cultural factors that influence stress reactions. Social factors increase effects of stress – Economically based – Poverty – Job stress – Culturally based Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.9 Social and Cultural Factors in Stress: People Who Need People (2 of 5) Poverty – Lack of money equals a lack of necessities and results in stress ▪Overcrowding ▪Lack of medical care ▪Increase rates of disabilities ▪Poor prenatal care ▪Noisy environments ▪Increase illness ▪Psychological problems ▪Violence ▪Substance abuse Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.9 Social and Cultural Factors in Stress: People Who Need People (3 of 5) Poverty can lead to many conditions that increase the degree of stress experienced by both adults and children. Approximately 34 percent of the people in this New York neighborhood live in poverty, as compared to 20 percent in the city overall and 12.3 percent in the United States as a whole. What type of stressors might the people in this neighborhood be at an increased risk of experiencing? Source: Krblokhin/iStock Editorial/Getty Images. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.9 Social and Cultural Factors in Stress: People Who Need People (4 of 5) Job Stress – Workload – Lack of meaningfulness – Lack of control – Long hours – Poor conditions – Racism, sexism – Job security Burnout: negative changes in thoughts, emotions, and behavior as a result of prolonged stress or frustration, resulting in both mental and physical exhaustion Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.9 Social and Cultural Factors in Stress: People Who Need People (5 of 5) Culture Acculturative stress: results from the need to change and adapt to the majority culture – Four methods of acculturation: adapting to a new and different culture 1. Integration: maintaining a sense of original culture while forming positive relationship with majority culture 2. Assimilation: giving up original cultural identity and adopting majority culture 3. Separation: rejecting the majority culture’s ways 4. Marginalization: maintaining no ties with original or majority cultures Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Concept Map: Physiological Factors: Stress and Health (1 of 3) Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Concept Map: Physiological Factors: Stress and Health (2 of 3) Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Concept Map: Physiological Factors: Stress and Health (3 of 3) Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.10–11.13 Coping with Stress Dealing with stress involves – Awareness so changes can be made – Evaluating the levels of stress – Determining the methods to cope Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Survey Will This Survey Stress You Out? Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.10 Coping Strategies (1 of 3) Learning Objective 11.10 Distinguish between problem-focused and emotion- focused coping strategies to stress. Coping strategies: actions that people can take to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize the effects of stressors – Problem-focused coping: one tries to eliminate the source of a stress or reduce its impact through direct actions – Emotion-focused coping: one changes the impact of a stressor by changing the emotional reaction to the stressor Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.10 Coping Strategies (2 of 3) Meditation: mental series of exercises meant to refocus attention and achieve a trancelike state of consciousness – Concentrative meditation: form of meditation in which a person focuses the mind on some repetitive or unchanging stimulus so that the mind can be cleared of disturbing thoughts and the body can experience relaxation – Mindfulness meditation: a form of concentrative meditation in which the person purposefully pays attention to the present moment, without judgment or evaluation Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.10 Coping Strategies (3 of 3) These people are practicing meditation. Meditation increases relaxation and helps lower blood pressure and muscle tension. Source: Tyler Olson/Shutterstock. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.11 How Social Support Affects Coping (1 of 2) Learning Objective 11.11 Explain how a social-support system influences a person’s ability to cope with stress. Social-support system: the network of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others who can offer support, comfort, or aid to a person in need – Research shows a good social support system – Is critical in a helping an individual cope with stressors – Can promote physical health; individuals with strong support systems are less likely to die from illness or injury – May promote better thinking and greater cognitive health Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.11 How Social Support Affects Coping (2 of 2) Marriage as social support – Predicts healthy aging and longevity – Positively influences the immune system Gender as social support – Tend and befriend Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.12 How Culture Affects Coping (1 of 2) Learning Objective 11.12 Describe cultural differences in coping with stress. Different cultures perceive stressors differently Coping strategies will also vary from culture to culture Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.12 How Culture Affects Coping (2 of 2) These people visiting a Mexican cemetery are honoring their loved ones who have passed away. The Day of the Dead is not only a celebration of the lives of those who have passed on but also a celebration for the living, who use this holiday to gain a sense of control over one of life’s most uncontrollable events—death itself. What rituals or ceremonies do people of other cultures use to cope with death? Source: Judy Bellah/Alamy Stock Photo. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 11.13 How Religion Affects Coping Learning Objective 11.13 Explain how religious beliefs can affect the ability to cope with stress. People with strong religious beliefs have been found to cope better with stressful events – Creates a social support system Religious rites and rituals, such as confessions or prayer services, can improve people’s feelings of inadequacy – Increases healthy living habits – May increase longevity Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Concept Map: Coping with Stress Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Applying Psychology to Everyday Life: Coping with Stress in College Learning Objective 11.14 Identify common sources of stress for college students, and describe healthy and effective strategies for coping with the effects. What are all of the stressors in your life? Do you feed your own stress with more stress? What are the ineffective and effective ways to reduce stress? Which healthy coping strategies do you use? Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Copyright This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work and materials from it should never be made available to students except by instructors using the accompanying text in their classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials. Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd. All Rights Reserved.