Syllabus Review 28/11/15 3:00 PM

STRESS

1. Causes/Sources of Stress a. Physiology of stress and effects on healthb. The GAS Model (Selye, 1936)c. Causes of stress:

i. lack of control (e.g. Geer and Maisel, 1972)ii. work (e.g. Johansson, 1978)iii. life events (Holmes and Rahe, 1967)iv. personality (e.g. Friedman and Rosenman, 1974)v. daily hassles (e.g. Lazarus, 1981).

2. Measures of Stress a. Physiological Measures:

i. Recording devices and sample tests Geer and Maisel, 1972 Johansson, 1978

b. Self Report questionnaires i. Holmes and Rahe, 1967ii. Friedman and Rosenman, 1974iii. Lazarus, 1981

3. Management of Stress Medical Techniques a. Chemicalb. Psychological techniques:

i. biofeedback (e.g. Budzynski et al., 1973) ii. and imagery (e.g. Bridge, 1988)

c. Preventing stress (e.g. Meichenbaum, 1985).

Causes/Sources of Stress 28/11/15 3:00 PM

DEFINITIONA circumstance(s) in which transactions lead a person to perceive a discrepancy between the physical and psychological demands of a situation and the resources of his and her biological, psychological or social systems.

PHYSIOLOGY OF STRESS AND EFFECTS ON HEALTH: (Note: Remind yourself of Schachter and Singer from last year. Key: Adrenaline Hormone)

Heart beats faster Pupils dilate Pain in the veins Increases the movement of the gut- nervous poopers

The mobilization of stress: The Hypothalamus sends a signal to the pituitary gland (the master gland). It however itself does not deal with stress hormones, so with the help of ACTH (a messenger) contacts the adrenal gland near the kidney which then releases adrenaline. Either a fight or flight response can then help deal with the stress.

What happens once adrenaline is released in the body: (Selye)THE GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS) MODEL (SELYE 1936):Hans Selye, a pioneer in the field of stress research, proposed that stressors of many different kinds result in a nonspecific bodily response. He said the body’s stress response consists of a general adaptation syndrome.

Selye proved this by conducting a research in which he took a sample of rat (lab animals) to a variety of stressors (very high or low temperatures, X-rays, insulin injections, exercise over a long period of time).

What he found through that was that the body reacts to stress in 3 different stages:

Alarm stage: The body starts getting ready for the fight or flight response and hence releases stress. an organism recognizes a threatening situation. The sympathetic nervous system activates, giving rise to the fight-or-flight response. Digestive processes slow down, blood pressure and heart rate increase, adrenal hormones are released, and blood is drawn away from the skin to the skeletal muscles.

Resistance Stage: More and more adrenaline is released until the body is continuously at a all time high adrenaline. However there isn’t a limitless supply to the adrenaline. occurs when stress continues. Physiological arousal stabilizes at a point that is higher than normal.

Exhaustion Stage: When the body passes out and cant deal with stress anymore. All the supply of adrenaline has ended. At certain times this can lead to heart attacks, nervous breakdown, anxiety attack, cardiac arrest and even death. If stress is prolonged, organisms reach the exhaustion stage. The body’s resources run out, and physiological arousal decreases. In this stage, organisms become more susceptible to disease.

EvaluationUsefulness: High

You can actually see the impact of stress upon the body and the causes of anxiety attacks, heart attacks, nervous breakdowns, throwing up.

Thanks to Selye, the connection between extreme, prolonged stress and certain diseases is now widely accepted by medical experts

Generalizability: Low The study is being done on rats we can’t tell for sure if humans

would have the same impacts. Humans have superior more complex structure of thoughts.

Ethics: Even subjecting animals to stress does not abide by ethical

concerns

Reductionist: Only looks at nature. Only looks at biological factors. Only looks at quantative data. Largely looks at physiological

factors. Does not look at how emotions play a role. For example, some

stressors lead to an increase in three hormones, while others with lower emotional responses only increase two hormones.

This theory does not provide for a psychological component – how a person perceives and evaluates a stressor.

Does not take into account cognitive appraisal processes.

CAUSES OF STRESS: Remember: Keywords in the definition of stress: 1. Perceived, 2. Discrepancy, 3. Demands, 4. Resources

Lack of Control (Geer and Maisel, 1972)Aim: To see if perceived control or actual control can reduce stress reactions to aversive stimuli (photos of crash victims)

Sample: 60 undergrad psychology students from New York University (NYU) and divide them into 3 groups of 20 each

Task: Grusome pictures of car crash with mangled bodies were shown to each participant.

Lab experiment: Each participant seated in sound shielded room and wired up to

galvanic skin response and heart rate monitors. Psychophysiological reactions collected by polygraph Data converted from voltmeter to printout Each recording collected from a sound and electrically shielded

room to ensure that no audio or visual input from projector would interfere with data collection

Heart monitors attached in standard positions GSR electrodes placed between palm and forearms of the

participants non preferred hand.

Independent measures design Group 1: High Control:

Were given a warning tone before the photo, they were also able to control how long they saw the photo for. Each subject saw their photo individually. (+control +predictability)

Group 2: PredicationWere given a warning tone before the photo and told how long (60 seconds) they will have to see it however they did not have control to change it like group 1. Each picture was shown for the same amount of time. (-control +predictability)

Group 3: No ControlThis was connected to group 1, as , if one participant saw the picture for 20 seconds the linked participant in group 3 would see it for the same amount of time. They were not given a warning nor could they change their photo. (-control –predictability)

Results:

Note: Heart Rate monitors provided inaccurate data so their results were disregarded. The predication group felt most stressed. They knew they were about to phase something, they knew for how long but they couldn’t do a thing about it. Based on this result we can say that people with internal locus of control (thinks that things happened because of them) feel less stressed than people with an external locus of control (thinks that something happened to destiny, environment etc.)

Evaluation: Generalizability: Low:

Roughly same age. Same University. All psychology. Restricted location. Small sample size- 60

Demand Characteristics: All psychology students: They would try to figure the cause of the

study. Maybe hamper the study to please the experimenter or otherwise

Ecological Validity: Low

Artificial. Lab experiment- see the controls mentioned above.

Reductionist: Quantative Data only as it was collected from only physiological

measures. Snapshot study, all their behavior is demeaned to that certain

time.

Holistic: Divides into 3 groups to formulate independent groups design to

see different levels and types of behavior.

Validity/ Reliability: High

see the controls mentioned under lab experiment. standardization of groups.

Ethics: Psychological Harm, exposed to stress.

Control Definitions to take into account: Behavioral Control: ability to take concrete action to reduce the

impact of a stressor.

Cognitive Control: ability to use thought processes of strategies to modify the impact of the stressor, such as by thinking of the event differently

Internal versus External Locus of Control: people with an internal locus of control believe that they have certain control over their lives. They see themselves as responsible.

Work (Johansson, 1978)Common sense already says that work tends to cause stress. However different variables in work can contribute to stress. These include overload and under load:

Giving staff too much work can make them stressed because they become frustrated (when they can’t complete it). This is known as work overload. This can be quantitative, where people feel that they have too much to do or are expected to do it too quickly, or qualitative, when they find their work too difficult.

Giving staff too little work can make them stressed because they become bored. This is known as under load

Another factor that contributes to stress at work is control (overlaps with lack of control theory above)

Research has shown that lack of control at work can lead to stress. For example, no control over deadlines. People may not no control over their pace of work – e.g. if working on a production line.

Having no control over your work rate or content; not being able to set your own priorities leads to poor physical health.

Aim: To measure the psychological and physiological stress response in two categories of employees.

Method: A quasi experiment when workers were defined as being at high risk (of stress) or in control group.

Participants:24 workers at a Swedish sawmill.

Procedure:14 employees in a Swedish sawmill were studied. Their work was highly repetitive and they had no control over the pace at which their work was carried out (machine paced). They were compared with a group of group of 10 low stress workers who had more control over their workload. The levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline (stress hormones) in their urine was measured both at work and in their free time, and their number of illnesses and absences from work were recorded.

Results: The people in the high stress group had higher levels of stress hormones whilst at work than those in the low stress group and their levels of illness and absenteeism were also higher.

Conclusion:Repetitiveness, high demand/workload and lack of control were linked to higher levels of stress, which increased illness.

EvaluationValidity/ Reliability

Physiological Measures: Measure of stress hormones in the urine is an objective measure of stress levels - reduces the chance of investigator effects and has higher validity than self report measures of stress levels.

Test Retest Reliability: High Each participant was asked to give a urine sample when they

arrived at work and four times during the day. The initial one is a baseline measurement. This would show the adrenaline levels, showing the levels of stress.

Concurrent Validity: High Same reason as to what is given for holistic

Holistic- Multiple ways to measure stress: They also gave self reports of mood and alertness (How irritated

are they? How efficient do they feel? How sleepy are they?) plus caffeine and nicotine consumption (One tends to take more coffee and smoke more cigarette when they are under stress).

Body temperature Number of cigarettes

Reductionist: Each of the multiple ways to measure stress gave quantitative

data. Sample very small

Generalizability: Small sample of only 24. From the same area. From the same

factory The sample was culturally biased / ethnocentric as the study only

used Swedish people who might find machine based work more stressful than other cultures.

Usefulness: LowStress can result from other aspects of jobs:

The physical environment of the job: Extreme levels of noise, temperature, humidity, or illumination cause stress

Perceived insufficient control: People experience stress when they have little influence over work procedures or the pace of the work

Poor interpersonal relationship: Stress increases when an employee's boss or colleague is socially abrasive, being insensitive to the needs of others or condescending, and overly critical of the work other individuals do

Perceived inadequate recognition or advancement: Workers feel stress when they do not get the recognition or promotions they believe they deserve

Job loss: The sense of job insecurity is stressful, particularly if the employee has little prospect of finding another job Unemployment is associated with stress, such as in people's loss of self-esteem and heightened blood pressure

High The results of the study were useful to real life - the researchers

made practical suggestions to lower absenteeism and reduce workload - they suggested job rotation and allowing workers a higher level of control.

Life Events (Holmes and Rahe, 1967)Things that happen rarely and mark major things in your life. Example: Getting married (it’s a freaking circus- takes a village to put it together in our culture), getting divorced, break up, switching schools, losing a friend.

Big One- CIE loves this study

Aim: To create a method that investigates the extent to which life events are stressors.

Sample: 394 adults (179 males and 215 females)

Procedure:

They looked at what events and experiences affect our level of stress, and they developed a scale to measure this. The scale looks at the stress caused by major life events (the sort of events that we experience as difficult to deal with- not all life events have the same amount of impact) and is based on previous research which found that some social events that required a change in lifestyle were associated with the onset of illness. They developed the scale by gathering responses from their sample about 43 different life events (empirically derived from clinical experience on average degree of re-adjustment) for the amount of adjustment needed to deal with them. Social Readjustment Rating Scale which is shown in Table 4.1

Social Readjustment includes amount of change in one’s accustomed pattern of life resulting from various life events. It measures intensity and length of time necessary to accommodate life event regardless of its intensity.

The researchers compared the responses of the different groups of people within their sample and found a startling degree of agreement. They compared the responses of different age groups, men and women, Catholics and Protestants, and in all cases found very high correlations in their ratings of stressful events. The one exception was the correlation of the responses of black participants with white participants which, although still quite high, was much lower than the other correlations.

How the scale works:

To measure your personal stress score with the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, tick off the events that have occurred to you in a given time, usually 12 months or 24 months, and add up the readjustment values. According to Holmes and Rahe, the higher the number you end up with, the more chance you have of developing an illness. A number of studies, by Holmes and Rahe in particular, have shown a connection between high ratings and subsequent illness and accident.

Evaluation:Generalizability: High

Large sample of 394 participants. Wide array of participants: Catholics/Protestants, White/Black,

Men/Women, Different Age Groups, Ethnic Groups, Occupations, Education.

Usefulness: Low: Mainly for adults. Mainly people who are literate. The correlation between illness and Social Readjustment Rating

Scale has not been established stronglyHigh:

Has been revised over a period of time to adjust to the new times.

It can be completed quickly and easily. Results can also be obtained immediately

Reductionist: Does not cater to individual differences. There are large

individual differences in ability to cope with stress. Subjective. Events may feel different at different ages of life (e.g. parents

deaths are much difficult to cope up with at younger ages than older ones).

Some events may also increase with education. No difference has been highlighted between positive and

negative events.

Scale does not consider the meaning or impact of an event for the individual (e.g., mortgage of $50,000 will be stressful for one person but non-stressful for another).

Does not take subjective appraisal into account (e.g., death of spouse – was there dependency, close relationships, happiness in marriage, etc.).

Does not distinguish between desirable and undesirable states (e.g., finances).

The SRRS does not take individual difference into consideration. The scale assumes that each stressor affects people the same way. Not necessarily true e.g. for some people divorce is extremely stressful while for others it can be amicable or even a relief.

Holistic: Looks at multiple aspects and gives them different decrees as a

level of stressor.

Cultural Relativism: High: Some of the items in the list would have greater value for some

groups in the society compared to others. We also saw a slight difference between black and white responses for this reason.

There are large cultural and subcultural differences in our experiences of events.

The value of events changes through time and social customs, may not be applicable anymore- this may not be applicable as it has been revised several times.

Ethics: Low Protection: The research is unethical as stress is a sensitive topic

and asking participants to think about their stress on a regular basis may provoke psychological harm and in fact cause more stress.

Validity/ Reliability:

The data is correlational and does not prove that stress causes illness, therefore we cannot say that life changes cause illness, but only there appears to be a relationship between life changes and illness.

Most people experience major life events very infrequently. Therefore a better measure of stress might look at the stresses and strains of daily life. These are called “daily hassles", e.g. such as losing your keys.

The study may lack validity due to social desirability. A with most questionnaire studies, people may lie to appear as if they are coping with their stress, or conversely, may lie to appear more stressed than they actually are to gain sympathy and attention.

Personality (Friedman and Rosenman, 1974)BackgroundType A: Always on the goal trying to multitask. Achievement Oriented. Time Urgency. Competitive. Anger/ Hostility. Vigorous Vocal Style. Research and common sense dictates that they are more prone to stress as they always see the demand more than their resources. Weirdly enough this contradicts with the control theory as type A people have an internal locus of control. The fact that these contradict each other is why we look at them as separate causes.

Type B: Laid back. Easy going and philosophical about life. Low levels of time urgency and competitiveness. Give and take in conversations.

Aim: To research links between personality factors, stress and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).

Sample: 3000 healthy men between the ages of 39-59

Structured interview: Close ended questions with quantifiable results. Rosenmann classified them after this into type A and type B. He followed them after 8.5 years.

Results: After 8 and a half years, 257 men (from the original 3000+) had developed heart disease. 70% of the people these were type A. He discovered that the ones who he classified as type A were more likely to have either already died of coronary heart diseases or prone to it.

Conclusion: Type A is more susceptible to stress due to personality type and behavioral traits hence is more likely to develop and die of CHD.

Evaluation: Reductionist:

He never checked on these between 8.5 years. Reasons might be very different for their coronary heart disease. Got knows what has happened in those 8.5 years and been confounding or extraneous variables. We don’t even know if the personality type changed over a period of time as it is not a fixed factor.

Individual differences can not be grouped into two such general groups.

Holistic: It was a longitudinal study which does give us a good idea of the

long term effect of personality factors on stress related illness.

Generalizability: Low Androcentric: Only men

High Very large sample of 3000

Validity: Low Questionable because he only assumed that it was because of

stress and not other factors. Once again this is a natural experiment which uses correlational

detail so cause and effect cannot be established.

Usefulness: Low (though increased through later studies)

Friedman & Rosenman did not specify what aspect of type A behaviour might be responsible for heart disease. However, Later researchers reviewed the original data and found that it was ‘the negative behaviours’ such as hostility that seemed to be responsible.

Daily Hassles (Lazarus, 1981)Everyday annoying thing that create stress in our lives. Example: Classes, the weather, electricity going here and there, traffic jams.

Aim: To compare Hassles and Uplift scale to Berkman Life Events Scale as predictors of psychological symptoms of stress

Sample: 100 people who had previously completed a survey on health in 1965, Californians, mostly white, Protestants, middle class, education up to 9th grade.

Method: How do you measure how much stress someone feeling due to a

daily hassle? Lazarus came up with a hassles scale (quantative). He listed 117

of these events that range from minor annoyances to major problems or difficulties.

Respondents indicate which hassles occurred in the past month and rate each event through 3 levels. 1. Somewhat, 2. Moderately, 3. Extremely.

Similarly also developed of uplifts scale to see which aspects bring peace and happiness. The lists 135 events.

Self Report All tests were sent out post one month the study before began. Participants were asked to do the hassles scale for every month

for the next 9 months. Then life events scale after 10 months The Hopkins symptoms checklist and the Bradburn Moral Scale

every month for 9 months

Results: Hassles consistent from month to month For men hassles increased due to stressful life events while

uplifts negatively correlated to life events Incase of women, hassles and uplifts positively correlated to life

events. Hassle frequency correlated to psychological symptoms of HSCL

Conclusion: Hassles are more powerful predictors of psychological symptoms

than life events. Hassles contribute to psychological symptoms of stress no

matter what happens. The Hassles scale was found to be a better predictor of

psychological problems than life event scores, both at the time and later. Scores on the Uplift scale, however, only seemed to relate to symptoms in women. The men in the study seemed relatively unaffected by uplifts.

Evaluation:Ethics: Low

Protection: The research is unethical as stress is a sensitive topic and asking participants to think about their stress on a regular basis may provoke psychological harm and in fact cause more stress.

Validity: Low The data is correlational and does not prove that stress causes

illness, therefore we cannot say that hassles cause illness, but only there appears to be a relationship between hassles and illness.

The study may lack validity due to social desirability. As with most questionnaire studies, people may lie to appear as if they are coping with their stress, or conversely, may lie to appear more stressed than they actually are to gain sympathy and attention.

Generalizability: Low The sample is culturally bias / ethnocentric as it is based on 100

Americans who may have different ways of dealing with stress and their stressors may be different than other cultures. This means we cannot generalize the results to other cultures.

Measuring Stress 28/11/15 3:00 PM

PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURESThere are two physiological measures of stress; recording devices and sample tests.

Using electrical/mechanical equipment Measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, or

galvanic skin response (GSR). Each of the above can be measured separately or simultaneously

by a polygraph

Miniature versions of recording units are available that can measure blood pressure, heart rate. These can fit in a person’s pocket and assessments can be made throughout the day or in a stressful situation.

Biochemical analysis of blood, urine, or saliva samples to assess the level of hormones that adrenal glands secrete during stress. Two classes of hormones – cortisol and epinephrine/norepinephrine.

Advantages: Reasonably direct and objective Quite reliable Easily quantified

Disadvantages: Can be expensive The measurement technique may itself be stressful for some

people Effected by a person’s gender, body weight, activity prior to, or

during measurement and consumption of various substances, such as caffeine.

RECORDING DEVICES AND SAMPLE TESTSGeer and Maisel, 1972See lack of control in first bullet point

Johansson, 1978See work in first bullet point

SELF REPORT QUESTIONNARES Holmes and Rahe, 1967See life events in first bullet point

Friedman and Rosenman, 1974See personality in first bullet point

Lazarus, 1981See daily hassles in first bullet point

Management of Stress and Medical Techniques 28/11/15 3:14PM

Schachter and Singers 2 factor theory says that emotions only exist if both cognition and arousal are there. Even if one is taken away you will not feel an emotion (including stress)- DO QUOTE AS STUFF IN YOUR ANSWER CIE LOVES IT.

MEDICAL CHEMICAL- BIOLOGICAL THERAPY- DRUGSDrugs can be used to combat stress by reducing or eliminating the symptoms of the stress such as fast heart rate. Today there are two main categories:

Benzodiazepia(Lithium and Valium): These drugs slow the activity of central nervous system (e.g. brain and spinal cord) and enhance activity of GABA causing relaxation.

Beta Blockers  These slow down activity in the sympathetic branch of the ANS by reducing levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. This reduces blood pressure, heart rate etc. and produces a feeling of calm.

Usage of drugs has both advantages and disadvantages, as listed below:Advantages:

Quick acting in comparison to some other treatments (e.g. cognitive behavior therapy).

Disadvantages: Drug therapies treat the symptoms and not the problem itself.

Therefore, symptoms may reappear when treatment is stopped. Some drugs may have side effects, for example the serotonin

reducing effect of BZ's can cause depression. Aggression, short term memory loss and mental confusion are also possible.

Long-term use can result in tolerance (higher doses are eventually needed to produce the same effect) and dependence.

PHYSIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUESBiofeedback- Budzynski et al., 1973(Cognitive Behavioral Method)Biofeedback: The principle behind biofeedback is that we gain control over bodily functions and actions if we are aware of what is happening. However with most bodily reactions, such as our blood pressure, we are relatively unaware of what is happening and so are unable to control them.

Biofeedback aims to give an individual some direct feedback about bodily responses and so encourage them to take control of that response. Biofeedback concentrates on biological systems that are not under conscious control but are having an adverse affect on the person. In this technique in which an electro-mechanical device monitors the status of a person’s physiological processes such as heart rate or muscle tension and immediately report that information back to the individual. The information enables the person to gain voluntary control over these processes through operant conditioning.

The sort of information that can be given to a person includes the pattern of their brain activity (using an electroencephalogram), their heart rate, their skin conductance (using a galvanic skin response), and their temperature.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of biofeedback in reducing tension headaches.

Sample: 18 volunteers who had responded to an ad asking for people with tension headaches.

Procedure:It was a field experiment. Participants were divided into 3 groups:

Group 1: Biofeedback + Relaxation: They gave their patients biofeedback of the muscle tension in their foreheads. They were taught deep muscle relaxation techniques during two weekly sessions for eight weeks, during which they had their muscle tension measured by an EMG machine. They were informed about the biofeedback in terms of clicks, (more clicks = more tension) and encouraged to relax. They were also given biofeedback on muscle tension in their foreheads using EMG.

Group 2: Relaxation Techniques only: They had the same relaxation training but didn't know about the biofeedback and were given a false soundtrack of clicks.

Group 3: Waitlist Control: They were not trained in the relaxation techniques nor taught about the biofeedback and so acted as a control group.

Results: The study showed that Group 1 had the lowest muscle tension, lowest levels of hysteria and depression and the fewest tension headaches by the end of the study, concluding that biofeedback combined with relaxation techniques help to significantly reduce stress-related illness.

Evaluation:Usefulness: High

Has been used successfully in treating stress-related health problems.

Biofeedback and progressive muscle relaxation techniques can help reduce stress.

Biofeedback proved to be an effective technique for stress management, relaxation techniques work better than just monitoring.

Research has shown that biofeedback works well with children. Able to provide relief for people with a long history of chronic

headaches. This seems to be a simple solution to the problem of headaches

Low The causes of headaches are far from clear, and there are

numerous other factors apart from muscle tension that affect the onset and development of headache

Ethics: Debriefing Overcame ethical concerns for not giving all patients best

possible treatment by offering therapy later to all

CognitiveImagery- Bridge, 1988

Aim: To investigate the efficacy in reducing the unpleasant emotional consequences in radiotherapy for women with breast cancer.

Procedure: Women were allocated to one of the following three groups:

Group 1: Physical Relaxation Training: Particularly control of muscle tension and breathing

Group 2: Physical Relaxation + Mental Imagery: Control of muscle tension and breathing as well as asking each person to concentrate on peaceful scene of their own choice.

Group 3: Control Group: Encourages to meet and simply talk about themselves for the same amount of time as therapy groups.

Assessed these methods using standard psychometric tests.

Results: Women in treatment groups were significantly less disturbed than control group. Group 2 was more relaxed than group 1.

Evaluation: Usefulness: High

Techniques for training people to use mental imagery have proved helpful in stress reduction. Bridge et al. (1988) described how imagery was used to help to reduce the unpleasant emotional consequences of radiotherapy for women with breast cancer.

Since group 2 was more relaxed than group 1, it appears to show the benefits of imagery, although it is not at all clear why or how imagery is effective.

Cognitive RestructuringCognitive restructuring: a process by which stress-provoking thoughts or beliefs are replaced with more constructive or realistic ones that reduce the person’s appraisal of threat or harm.

Beck (1976) described these beliefs as Arbitrary inference – drawing a conclusion from insufficient,

ambiguous, or contrary evidence. For example, “She didn’t say hi to me this morning which means she’s mad at me or doesn’t like me.”

Magnification – greatly exaggerating the meaning or impact of an event. For example, “I didn’t get one answer right – I am going to fail the exam.”

A widely used cognitive restructuring approach is cognitive therapy (Beck, 1976). It attempts to help clients see that the negative events they experience are not catastrophes and their maladaptive beliefs are not logically valid.

Copingthe process by which people try to manage the perceived discrepancy between the demands and resources they appraise in a stressful situation. This is an ongoing process where we keep appraising the situation and look at ways to see what can be done.

Lazarus (1999) stating that coping can serve two main functions:

Emotion-focused coping: Aimed at controlling the emotional response to a stressful situation. People tend to use this approach when they believe they can do little to change the situation.People can regulate their emotional responses through behavioral or cognitive approaches. For example, behavioral approaches, such as seeking emotional support, using alcohol/drugs or engaging in activities that distract attention from the problem; cognitive approaches such as redefining the situation (things could be worse), denial, avoidance.

Problem-focused coping: Aimed at reducing the demands of the stressful situation or expanding the resources to deal with it. Used when people believe that they have the resources to change the situation. For example, quitting a stressful job, devising a new study schedule, seeking medical, or psychological treatment.

PREVENTING STRESSMeichenbaum, 1985Aim: To compare Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) with behavioral Systematic Desensitization.

Samples: 42 students in experimental group. Waitlist control group in addition.

Procedure:21 students were allocated to each therapy group, SIT and systematic desensitization. Blind assessed via self report anxiety, adjective checklist and grade averages. Stress Inoculation Therapy (SIT) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. The aim is to replace irrational and negative thoughts with more positive ways of thinking about a problem. It has been developed to help people develop skills to cope with stress. There are three stages to the therapy:

Conceptualization - The therapist helps the individual to identify their stressors and how they respond to these and how successful these responses have been. They learn to express feelings and fears. Patterns of self-defeating internal dialogue (i.e. negative thoughts) are identified. Patient is also educated in lay terms about stress and the effect it can have.

Skill acquisition and rehearsal - The therapist teaches the client behavioral and cognitive coping skills that may be general or event focused (stressful situations). For example replace negative thoughts with positive ones, like relaxing and using self regulatory skills. Practice under supervision.

Application and follow through – The therapist guides patient through progressively more threatening situations. Patient is given a wide range of possible stressors to prepare for real life. The client applies what they have learned to real life situations.

Systematic Desensitization: Systematic Desensitization: based on the view that fears are

learned by classical conditioning; i.e., by associating a situation or object with an unpleasant event.

Joseph Wolpe (1958) stated that reversal comes about by counterconditioning whereby the ‘calm’ response gradually replaces the ‘fear’ response.

The person is gradually brought into contact with the source of fear in about 10-15 steps.

Results: Both therapy groups showed improvement, but SIT performed better on tests.

Evaluation: Usefulness: High- Systematic Desensitization:

The method has been useful in reducing children’s and adults’ fears, such as fear of animals, public speaking, and taking tests.

Advantages and Disadvantages of SIT:Advantages:

SIT does not have any undesirable side effects that might be encountered with drug treatments. Unlike drugs there is also no problems with risk of addiction or withdrawal symptoms.

SIT addresses the root cause of the problem - why the client is stressed – rather than just removing the symptoms of stress. This means it should have a longer lasting effect than other therapies which just deal with the physical effects of stress (e.g. drug therapy).

Disadvantages:

Compared to using drugs it is expensive and time consuming. While drugs work immediately SIT could take weeks and months to follow the three stages and change a client’s behavior.

SIT requires clients to be motivated and driven. They have to be prepared to practice new skills and apply them in the real world.

Behavioral Ways on Managing Stress: You change someone behavior and then you help them. If you get stressed in a certain behavior you train yourself not to be stressed.

Progressive Muscle RelaxationYou teach people how to relax their muscles. It sounds like common sense stuff, however there are so many people feel muscle pain in stress. A lot of people don’t even realize what their body is going through until they feel pain. If you get muscle spasms due to excretion this method will probably not work. Ms Nida says that she has seen it work a 100% of the time. In a therapeutic setting it is one on one, outside sound is controlled, its usually for an entire hour. Our muscles gets stressed under stress. And often we cant do anything about it usually. How this works is by making people realize the difference between a tensed muscle state and a relaxed muscle states. You then make them tense and relax their muscles so many times that they are able to do it themselves and hence change a tensed muscle state into a calm muscle state. You make them clench and then unclench their muscle so many times that you learn it.

The approach has to parts to it. (Feets, Hands, Stomach and Head, Shoulder Region)

It usually follows a sequence that may begin with a person relaxing the hands, then the forehead, followed by the lower face, the neck, the stomach, and finally the legs.

Advantages Validates itself by working Can work on everyone, including children and the illiterate Research has shown that it is highly effective in reducing stress

Disadvantages

Not really targeting your emotions. Only focusing on body parts.

FocusingUses the same concept of body awareness. How is stress being carried inside your body. Every time you are stress its more about the anxiety of being anxious, the stress of being stressed. Ms. Nida also promised that this works a 100% of time if done under ideal conditions.

Description Answer 28/11/15 3:14 PM

Evaluation 28/11/15 3:14 PM

SECTION BOCTOBER 2012/32(b) “But what about how I feel?” Evaluate what psychologists have learned about stress and include a discussion about the physiological approach to stress. [12]

MAY 2013/31(b) “Oh no, my blood pressure is too high!” Evaluate what psychologists have learned about stress, and include a discussion about the use of scientific equipment to measure stress. [12]

MAY 2014/32(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about stress and include a discussion about self report measures. [12]

Section C 28/11/15 3:14 PM

SECTION COCTOBER 2012/31One of your friends is stressed and you decide to measure both the level and cause of his stress.(a) Describe one study which has measured stress physiologically. [6](b) Physiological measures determine the level of stress. Suggest a measure to find out the cause of stress. [8]

MAY 2013/32“To be or not to be” wrote Shakespeare. “Type A or not type B” wrote Friedman and Rosenman in relation to stress. (a) Suggest how you would measure whether personality type causes stress. [8] (b) Describe the personality explanation as a cause or source of stress. [6]

MAY 2013/33Stress can be measured physiologically using recording devices and sample tests.(a) Suggest how you would test the reliability and validity of any physiological recording device. (b) Describe one study which has measured stress physiologically using a recording device. [6]

MAY 2014/31When I was young I had a fear of swimming because I jumped into deep water and nearly drowned. When learning to swim at school my anxiety was so bad that on the mornings of swimming lessons I was so ill I avoided going to school.(a) Suggest how you could use a behavioural technique to reduce anxiety and avoidance behaviour of a school activity. [8](b) Describe an underlying theory which could explain the anxiety and avoidance behaviour. [6]

MAY 2015/31Some students experience stress, but not all.(a) Suggest how you would investigate why some students experience stress. [8](b) Describe ‘daily hassles’ as a cause of stress. [6]

OCTOBER 2015/33Some people argue that it is possible to prevent stress, to ‘inoculate’ against it.(a) Suggest how you could design and conduct an experiment to investigate the effectiveness of a stress inoculation programme. [8](b) Describe one piece of research which claims stress can be prevented. [6]