Medicine Notes Psychology Notes
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(a) What are the psychological reactions to stress? (b) Give one example where stress has
been found to be related to health and describe the likely mechanism for this relationship.
What are the effects of stress on behaviour? Include in your answer a brief description of the
underlying brain mechanisms involved in the stress response.
What psychological theories have been put forward to explain why some individuals are
more prone than others to experience events as stressful?
When and for whom are the psychological effects of stressors relatively more damaging?
When and for whom are the psychological effects of stressors relatively less damaging?
What psychological factors moderate the effects of stressors on health?
STRESS refers to experiencing events that are perceived as endangering one’s physical or psychological well-being.
These events are usually referred to as stressors, and people’s reactions to them are termed stress responses
Characteristics of stressful events
Events that are perceived as stressful usually fall into one or more of the following categories:
1 traumatic events outside the usual range of human experience
2 uncontrollable events
3 unpredictable events
4 events that challenge the limits of our capabilities and self-concept
5 internal conflicts
The most obvious sources of stress are traumatic events - situations of extreme danger that are outside the range of usual human experience. These include:
natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods
disasters caused by human activity, such as wars and nuclear accidents
catastrophic accidents, such as car or plane crashes
physical assaults, such as rape or attempted murder
The more uncontrollable en event seems, the more likely it is to be perceived as stressful. Major uncontrollable events include:
the death of a loved one
being laid off from work
serious illness
It appears that our perceptions of the controllability of events are as important to our assessment of their stressfulness as the actual controllability of those events.
Some strategies for coping with stress involve trying to think of ways that an aspect of the stressor can be controlled, even if this is only a minor aspect.
The belief that we can control events appears to reduce the impact of the events, even if we never exercise that control.
Being able to predict the occurrence of a stressful event - even if the individual cannot control it - usually reduces the severity of the stress. Possible reasons for this:
a warning signal before an aversive event allows the person or animal to initiate some sort of preparatory process that acts to reduce the effects of a noxious stimulus
with unpredictable shock, there is no safe period: with predictable shock, the organism can relax to some extent until the signal warns the shock is about to occur (Seligman & Biunik, 1977)
Some situations are largely controllable and predictable but are still experienced as stressful because they push us to the limits of our capabilities and challenge our views of ourselves. Final-exam week is a good example.
The Life Events Scale
Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes & Rahe, 1967)
Death of spouse 100 Divorce 73 Marital separation 65 Jail term 63 Death of close family member 63 Personal injury or illness 53 Marriage 50 Fired from job 47 Marital reconciliation 45 Retirement 45 Change in health of family member 44 Pregnancy 40 Sex difficulties 39 Gain of a new family member 39 Business readjustment 39 Change in financial state 38 Death of a close friend 37 Change to a different line of work 36 Foreclosure of mortgage 30 | Change in responsibilities at work 29 Son or daughter leaving home 29 Trouble with in-laws 29 Outstanding personal achievement 28 Wife begins or stops work 26 Begin or end school 26 Change in living conditions 25 Revision of personal habits 24 Trouble with boss 23 Change in residence 20 Change in school 20 Change in recreation 19 Change in church activities 19 Change in social activities 18 Change in sleeping habits 16 Vacation 13 Christmas 12 Minor legal violations 11 |
Stress can also be brought about by internal processes - unresolved conflicts that may be either conscious or unconscious. Conflict occurs when a person must choose between incompatible, or mutually exclusive, goals or courses of action. Many of the things people desire prove to be incompatible.
Conflict may also arise when two inner needs or motives are in opposition:
independence versus dependence (one of the main practical questions that arises from this is how much control parents should have over their children’s behaviour and how much freedom they should give them).
intimacy versus isolation
co-operation versus competition
expression of impulses versus moral standards
Psychological and physiological reactions to stress
There is a characteristic psychological response to a traumatic event:
At first, survivors are stunned and dazed, and appear to be unaware of their injuries or of the danger.
In the next stage, survivors are still passive and unable to initiate even simple tasks, but they may follow orders readily
In the third stage, survivors become anxious and apprehensive, have difficulty concentrating, and may repeat the story of the catastrophe over and over again.
Psychological reactions: anxiety, anger and aggression, apathy and depression, cognitive impairment
Physiological reactions: increased metabolic rate, increased heart rate, dilation of pupils, higher blood pressure, increased breathing rate, tensing of muscles, secretion of endorphins and ACTH, release of extra sugar from the liver
There is an argument that the psychological and physiological responses should be considered and studied in a more integrated, holistic way, as some people think there are precise relationships between the two.
Psychological:
1 Anxiety
The major symptoms of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) include
a) feelings of numbness...
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