Chapter 3 Stress and Its Effects. The Nature of Stress Stress is “any circumstances that threaten...

Chapter 3

Stress and Its Effects

The Nature of Stress

• Stress is “any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and thereby tax one’s coping abilities”.

• Stress has several characteristics.

1. Stress is a common, everyday event.

• Both major and minor problems can be stressful.

• Even daily “hassles” can have negative effects on our well-being.

• Stressful events have a cumulative impact.

The Nature of Stress, continued

2. Stress is subjective. Not everyone feels the same degree of stress from the same event.

• The difference may depend on how we appraise events (see Figure 3.2).

• We first make a primary appraisal, or initial evaluation of the relevance, level of threat, and degree of stress the event brings.

• If viewed as stressful, we make a secondary appraisal, or an evaluation of our ability to cope.

Figure 3.2 Primary and secondary appraisal of stress. Primary appraisal is an initial evaluation of whether an event is (1) irrelevant to you, (2) relevant, but not threatening, or (3) stressful. When you view an event as stressful, you are likely to make a secondary appraisal, which is an evaluation of your coping resources and options for dealing with the stress. (Based on Lazarus & Folkman, 1994)

The Nature of Stress, continued

3. Ambient stress – refers to chronic negative conditions embedded in the environment.

• Certain types have been associated with elevated stress hormones (see Figure 3.3).

4. Stress is influenced by culture.

• Culture affects which types of stress we experience.

• Cultural change is a major source of stress in most cultures.

Figure 3.3 Excessive noise and stress hormones. Evans, Hygge, and Bullinger (1995) compared children from noisy areas near Munich International Airport with similar children from quiet neighborhoods in Munich. They hound elevated levels of two hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) associated with stress reactions in the children exposed to the high noise of the airport.

Adapted from Evans, G.W., Hygge, S., & Bullinger, M. (1995). Chronic noise and psychological stress. Psychological Science, 6, 333-338. Copyright © 1995 Blackwell Publishers. Adapted by permission.

Major Sources of Stress, continued

• There are three basic categories

1. Acute stressors – “threatening events that have a relatively short duration and a clear endpoint”.

2. Chronic stressors – “threatening events that have a relatively long duration and no readily apparent time limit”.

3. Anticipatory stressors – “upcoming or future events that are perceived to be threatening”.

• This stressor is unique to humans


• Other categories of stressors

1. Frustration – “occurs in any situation in which the pursuit of some goal is thwarted”.

2. Internal conflict – “occurs when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression”.


– Internal conflicts come in three types (see Fig. 3.4)

• Approach – approach – must make a choice between two attractive goals.

• Avoidance – avoidance – must make a choice between two unattractive goals.

• Approach – avoidance – must choose whether or not to pursue ONE goal, which has both pros and cons.

– This conflict causes the greatest stress.

Figure 3.4 Types of conflict. Psychologists have identified three basic types of conflict. In approach-approach and avoidance-avoidance conflicts, the person is torn between two goals. In an approach-avoidance conflict, only one goal is under consideration, but it has both positive and negative aspects.


3.Life changes – “any noticeable alterations in one’s living circumstances that require readjustment”.

– Holmes and Rahe (1967) believe both positive and negative life changes are associated with physical illness.

– They developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) to assess health risk due to the accumulation of life changes (see Figure 3.5).

Figure 3.5 Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). Devised by Holmes and Rahe (1967), this scale is designed to measure the change-related stress in one’s life. The numbers on the right are supposed to reflect the average amount of stress (readjustment) produced by each event. Respondents check off the events that have occurred to them recently and add up the associated numbers to arrive at their stress scores.

Adapted from Holmes, T.H., & Rahe, R. (1967). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213-218. Copyright © 1967 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co. Reprinted by permission.


4.Pressure – “involves expectations or demands that one behave in a certain way”.

– The two types of pressure below are important and both are associated with many psychological symptoms and problems (see Fig. 3.6):

• Pressure to perform

• Pressure to conform

Figure 3.6 Pressure and psychological symptoms. A comparison of pressure and life change as sources of stress suggests that pressure may be more strongly related to mental health than change is. In one study, Weiten (1988) found a correlation of .59 between scores on the Pressure Inventory (PI) and symptoms of psychological distress. In the same sample, the correlation between SRRS scores and psychological symptoms was only .28.

Responding to Stress

• Stress responses occur at three levels:

1. Emotional responses

2. Physiological responses

3. Behavioral responses

• Emotional responses are usually negative and fall into three categories:

1. Annoyance, anger, and rage

2. Apprehension, anxiety, and fear

3. Dejection, sadness, and grief

Responding to Stress, continued

– However, stress can prompt positive emotional responses, which in turn

• Increase creativity, flexibility in problem-solving, and

• Enhance immune system functioning, increase valuable social support, and promote proactive coping.


– Strong emotions may hamper or enhance our ability to cope with stress, depending on our level of arousal and the task complexity (see Figure 3.9).

– The “inverted-U hypothesis” predicts that

• For low complexity tasks, a high level of arousal is best;

• For medium complexity tasks, a medium level of arousal is best; and

• For high complexity tasks, a low level of arousal is best.

Figure 3.9 Arousal and performance. Graphs of the relationship between emotional arousal and task performance tend to resemble an inverted U, as increased arousal is associated with improved performance up to a point, after which higher arousal leads to poorer performance. The optimal level of arousal for a task depends on the complexity of the task. On complex tasks, a relatively low level of arousal tends to be optimal. On simple tasks, however, performance may peak at a much higher level of arousal.


• Physiological responses.

– The fight-or-flight response - “a physiological reaction to threat that mobilizes an organism for attacking (fight) or fleeing (flight) an enemy”.

– It occurs in the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which “is made up of the nerves that connect to the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands”.


– The ANS is broken into two divisions (see Fig. 3.10):

• Sympathetic division mobilizes energy during emergencies, engages the fight-or-flight response.

• Parasympathetic division conserves energy, has calming effect on body.

–Unfortunately, the fight-flight response is not well suited for coping with modern threats.

Figure 3.10 The autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is composed of the nerves that connect to the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands. The ANS is subdivided into the sympathetic division, which mobilizes bodily resources in times of need, and the parasympathetic division, which conserves bodily resources. Some of the key functions controlled by each division of the ANS are summarized in the center of the diagram.


– Hans Seyle’s general adaptation syndrome is a “model of the body’s stress response, consisting of three stages” (see Fig. 3.11).

1.Alarm phase – initial response to threat, fight-or-flight response engages.

2.Resistance phase – if threat continues, physiological changes stabilize, coping begins.

3.Exhaustion phase – if the threat continues too long, the body’s resources are depleted, leading to physical exhaustion and illness.

Figure 3.11 The general adaptation syndrome. According to Selye, the physiological response to stress can be broken into three phases. During the first phase, the body mobilizes its resources for resistance after a brief initial shock. In the second phase, resistance levels off and eventually begins to decline. If the third phase of the general adaptation syndrome is reached, resistance is depleted, leading to health problems and exhaustion.


– Two brain-body pathways control our physiological responses to stress (see Fig. 3.13):

1.The Catecholamine Pathway – hypothalamus activates sympathetic system; adrenal glands release catecholamines that mobilize the body for action.

2.The Corticosteroid Pathway – hypothalamus signals pituitary gland to secrete ACTH; adrenal cortex to release corticosteroids that increase energy.

Figure 3.13 Brain-body pathways in stress. In times of stress, the brain sends signals along two pathways. The pathway through the autonomic nervous system (shown in blue on the right) controls the release of catecholamine hormones that help mobilize the body for action. The pathway through the pituitary gland and the endocrine system (shown in brown on the left) controls the release of corticosteroid hormones that increase energy and ward off tissue inflammation.


• Behavioral responses to stress usually refer to coping, or “active efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stress”.

– Coping response may be

• Healthy (e.g., actively trying to solve a problem by asking for help or generating solutions) or

• Unhealthy (e.g., ignoring problem, indulging in alcohol, or excessive eating).

The Potential Effects of Stress, continued

• Impaired task performance

– Stress can cause people to “freeze up” or “crack under pressure”.

– Elevated self-consciousness can disrupt attention to task.

• Disruption of cognitive function

– Increased tendency to jump to conclusions.

– Decreased ability to carefully review options.

– Decreased memory function.


• Burnout – “a syndrome involving physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lowered sense of self-efficacy that is attributable to work-related stress”.

– See Figure 3.15 for the factors that promote burnout, its symptoms, and the consequences for employees.

Figure 3.15 The antecedents, components, and consequences of burnout. Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter have developed a systematic model of burnout that specifies its antecedents, components, and consequences. The antecedents on the left in the diagram are the stressful features of the work environment that cause burnout. The burnout syndrome itself consists of the three components shown in the center of the diagram. Some of the unfortunate results of burnout are listed on the right. (Based on Leiter & Maslach, 2007).


• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – “involves enduring psychological disturbance attributed to the experience of a major traumatic event”.

– Symptoms include

• Re-experiencing trauma via nightmares, flashbacks.

• Emotional numbing, alienation, problems in social relations.

• Elevated arousal, anxiety, and guilt.


• Psychological problems and disorders

– Chronic stress may also contribute to

• Poor academic performance;

• Insomnia and other sleep disturbances;

• Sexual difficulties; and

• Substance abuse.


• Physical illness

– Psychosomatic diseases are “genuine physical ailments thought to be caused in part by stress and other psychological factors”.

– Common psychosomatic diseases include

• High blood pressure

• Peptic ulcers

• Asthma

• Eczema and hives

• Migraine and tension headaches

“Health and Stress”


• Positive effects: Stress can have positive effects in at least three ways.

1. It can promote positive psychological change, or posttraumatic growth.

2. It can help satisfy a need for stimulation and challenge.

3. It can inoculate us against future stress.

Factors in Stress Tolerance, continued

• Some people withstand stress better than others.

• There are many moderator variables that may reduce the impact of stress on physical and mental health:

– Social support – “aid and succor provided by members of one’s social networks”.

– Hardiness – “a disposition marked by commitment, challenge, and control that is purportedly associated with strong stress resistance”.

Factors in Stress Tolerance, continued

• Moderator variables, continued

– Optimism – “ a general tendency to expect good outcomes”.

• Individuals with a “pessimistic explanatory style” blame themselves for failures.

• Those with an “optimistic explanatory style” attribute setbacks to temporary situational factors.

–Optimists tend to stay healthier in times of stress.

Application: Reducing Stress through Self-Control, continued

• Behavior modification – “is a systematic approach to changing behavior through the application of the principles of conditioning”.

– The objective is to replace undesirable patterns of behaviors with desirable ones.

– Behavior modification has been used successfully in many settings, with a variety of problem behaviors.

Application: Reducing Stress through Self-Control, continued

• There are five steps, as outlined in Figure 3.19

1. Specify your target behavior.

2. Gather baseline data.

3. Design your program.

4. Execute and evaluate your program.

5. End your program.

Figure 3.19 Steps in a self-modification program. This flowchart provides an overview of the steps necessary to execute a self-modification program.

Chapter 3 Stress and Its Effects. The Nature of Stress Stress is “any circumstances that threaten...

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