The Nature of Stress

Responding to Stress

Stress and Physical Health

Health Impairing Behavior

Reactions to Illness

Definition of Stress

• A negative emotional state in response to events that we perceive as taxing our resources or our ability to cope

• Stressors—events that are perceived as harmful, threatening, or challenging

• Daily hassles—everyday minor events that annoy and upset people

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Typhoid Fever

Tuberculosis

Pneumonia

and Influenza

Cancer

Stroke

Heart Disease

Measles,

Scarlet Fever,

Whooping Cough,

and Diphtheria

The Relationship

Between Stress and Disease

• Contagious diseases vs. chronic diseases

• Biopsychosocial model which holds that physical

illness is caused by a complex interaction of biological,

psychological, and sociocultural factors. Furthermore

stress responses are multidimensional including

emotional, psychological, and behavioral realms.

• Health psychology is the field of study that seeks to

determine the importance of psychological factors in

illness, as well as in prevention and health maintenance.

– Health psychology

• Health promotion and maintenance

• Discovery of causation, prevention, and treatment

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Typhoid Fever

Tuberculosis

Measles,

Scarlet Fever,

Whooping Cough,

and Diphtheria

Affected by Stress and Lifestyle Pneumonia

and Influenza

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Stress

Disaster

Bills

Shopping

Lost Wallet

Car Trouble

Moving

Stress as an Everyday Event

• Major stressors vs. routine hassles

(daily hassles)

– Cumulative nature of stress – daily hassles

can add up to a major traumatic event

– Cognitive appraisals – people’s appraisals

of events are very subjective and influence

the effect of the event. In other words, an

event will be as stressful as someone

perceives it to be!

Major Types of Stress

• Frustration: blocked goal

• Conflict: incompatible motivations – Approach-approach

– Avoidance-avoidance

– Approach-avoidance

• Change: having to adapt – Social Readjustment Rating Scale

– Life Change Units

• Pressure – Perform/conform

Stress

Life Events and Change

Daily Hassles Social and

Cultural Sources of Stress

Conflict

SOURCES OF STRESS

Spaghetti

Approach-Approach Conflict

Racquetball

Pizza

Tennis

+ +

+ +

?

OR

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Surgery

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

Degrading job

Painful backache

Unemployment

– –

– –

?

OR

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Loss of capital

Approach-Avoidance Conflict

Investment returns

Rejection

Date with an attractive person

?

OR

–

–

+

+

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Negative Emotions

Annoyance

Anger

Rage

Apprehension

Anxiety

Fear

Dejection

Sadness

Grief

Positive Emotions

Gratitude for safety

Counted blessings

Renewed love

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Responding to Stress Emotionally

• Emotional responses

– Annoyance, anger, rage

– Apprehension, anxiety, fear

– Dejection, sadness, grief

– Positive emotions

• Effects of emotional arousal

– The inverted-U-hypothesis – high

emotion can negatively influence highly

complex tasks & less for simpler ones

Figure 12.3 Overview of the stress process

Figure 12.4 Arousal and performance

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Hans Selye

Responding to Stress Physiologically

• Selye’s General Adaptation

Syndrome

– Alarm

– Resistance

– Exhaustion

• Brain-body pathways

– Adrenal gland and catecholamines

– Pituitary gland and corticosteroids

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Normal level of

resistance to stress

Phase 1

Alarm

reaction

Phase 2

Stage of

resistance

Phase 3

Stage of

exhaustion Time

Re

sis

tan

ce

to

str

ess

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Normal level of

resistance to stress

Phase 1

Alarm

reaction

Phase 2

Stage of

resistance

Phase 3

Stage of

exhaustion Time

Re

sis

tan

ce

to

str

ess

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Normal level of

resistance to stress

Phase 1

Alarm

reaction

Phase 2

Stage of

resistance

Phase 3

Stage of

exhaustion Time

Re

sis

tan

ce

to

str

ess

Figure 12.5 Brain-body pathways in stress

Hypothalamus

Initiates action

in response to stress

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Responding to Stress Behaviorally

• Coping

• Styles of coping

– Learned helplessness

– Frustration-aggression hypothesis

– Self-indulgence

– Defensive coping

– Constructive coping

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

ABC Video: Soothing the Savage Beast

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Appraisal-focused strategies

Detecting and disputing negative self-talk

Rational thinking

Using positive reinterpretation

Finding humor in the situation

Turning to religion

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Stress and Physical Health

• Psychosomatic diseases

• Heart disease

– Type A behavior—three elements • strong competitiveness

• impatience and time urgency

• anger and hostility

– Emotional reactions and depression

• Stress and immune functioning

– Reduced immune activity

Stress Disease

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Ris

k

Low Moderate High

Anger Level

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Figure 12.6 Anger and coronary risk

Table 12.3 Health Problems that may be Linked to Stress

Figure 12.7 The stress-illness correlation

Factors Moderating the Impact of Stress

• Social support

– Increased immune functioning

• Optimism

– More adaptive coping

– Pessimistic explanatory style

• Positive effects

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Health-Impairing Behaviors

• Smoking

• Poor nutrition

• Lack of exercise

• Transmission, misconceptions, and

prevention of AIDS

Figure 12.8 The prevalence of smoking in the United States

Death

Rate

Low Moderate High

Fitness Category

Men

Women

Low fitness

Group 1

Participants were divided into five categories based on their fitness,

ranging from least fit (group 1) to most fit (group 5).

Moderate fitness

Groups 2 and 3

High fitness

Groups 4 and 5

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Question: True or False?

The AIDS virus cannot be spread by kissing.

Answer: True

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

The Nature

of Stress

Responding

to Stress

Stress and

Physical Health

Health Impairing

Behavior

Reactions

to Illness

Reactions to Illness

• Seeking treatment

– Ignoring physical symptoms

• Communication with health care

providers

– Barriers to effective communication

• Following medical advice

– Noncompliance