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Biological Psychology - Stress

In one hour

Specification

SPECIFICATION

Stressor The ANS

The Adrenal Medulla

Adrenaline and Noradrenaline

Activates

Cau

ses

To release…

Causes…

The Body’s Response to ACUTE Stress

BOOST OF OXYGEN TO BRAIN & MUSCLES

SUPPRESSION OF DIGESTION

The effects of noradrenaline and adrenaline

Noradrenaline Adrenaline

Acute Stress

SWEAT GLANDS

PRODUCE MORE SWEAT

BRONCHIAL TUBES IN THE LUNGS DILATE FOR GREATER

OXYGEN INTAKE

INCREASED PUPIL SIZE

ADRENAL MEDULLA RELEASES

ADRENALINE

GLYCOGEN IN THE LIVER IS

CONVERTED TO GLUCOSE

HEART RATE INCREASES

The Hypothalamus

Pituitary Gland

ACTH

Cortisol(cortisol causes stress effects on the body)

Releases CRF which activates

Cau

ses

the

rele

ase

of…

Which acts on…

Adrenal Cortex

To release…

The Body’s Response to CHRONIC Stress

Specification

SPECIFICATION

Stress-related illness & the immune system

Evaluation •Segestrom and Miller (2004) meta-analysis of 293 studies over 30 years, found:

1. Short-term stress boosts immune system

2. Long-term stress suppresses immune system

3. The longer the stress, the worse the effects

•Lazarus (1992) suggests reasons why the relationship between stress and illness is difficult to establish:

1. Health is affected by so many factors2. Health is generally stable and slow to

change3. It is expensive to carry out long term

research.

Can stress enhance the immune system?

Evans et al (1994)•Looked at the role of slgA – an antibody which coats the surface of mouth, lungs and stomach with mucous.•Students gave talks to other students (mild but acute stress); slgA increased.•Over a longer (exam) period of several weeks slgA decreased.•So maybe acute stress has ‘up-regulation’ effects on the immune system, while chronic stress causes ‘down-regulation’.

Chronic Stress: Kiecolt-Glaser et al. (2005)

• Tested the effects of interpersonal stress on wound healing.• She found that blister wounds on the arms of married couples healed more slowly after conflicting discussions than supportive.

Acute Stress: Kiecolt-Glaser et al. (1984)

• Natural experiment on the effects of short-term stress on the immune system of medical students.• Measured NK cells which are part of the immune response to target cancer and viruses.• Blood samples taken one month before exams (low stress) and during exam period (high stress).• Found NK cells were significantly reduced during exam period.• Concluded that acute stress reduces the immune system.









research.















research.





















research.

Stress and Cardiovascular Disease

Acute and chronic stress can lead to:High BPCHDStroke

The illnesses above are also linked to other lifestyle factors too, such as smoking, diet etc.

Below are reasons why stress has been implicated in the development of these illnesses:Stress activates the SNS leading to an

increase in heart rate and BP.An increase in heart rate wears the blood

vessels.Stress leads to increased glucose levels

which can clump the blood vessels (see image).

Stress and Cardiovascular Disorders - Research

Cardiovascular Disorders and Anger

Williams (2000)Aim: To see if anger was linked to heart disease.

Procedure: 13000 participants completed a 10-question anger scale. 0 had had heart attacks before the study.

Findings: 6 years later 256 had a heart attack. Those who were highest on the anger scale were 2.5 times more likely than those with lower ratings. Those

moderate on the scale were 35% more likely to have a coronary event.Conclusion: These individuals could benefit from anger management training.

Looked at heart disease in medical professionals.Procedure: One group were designated as high-stress (GPs and

anaesthetists). One group were designated as low-stress (pathologists and dermatologists).

Found: Heart disease was greatest in GPs (11.9%) and lowest in dermatologists (3.2%).

Conclusion: Stress is linked to heart disease.

First large-scale study of its kind; showed that stress can be fatal for those with an existing heart condition (ischemia).

Procedure: 173 men and women were given psychological tests, including a public speaking test.

Found: BP soared dramatically, and in half of them the section of the left ventricle (in the heart) began to beat erratically. Of all the participants, 44% of

those with erratic heartbeats died within 3-4 years; only 18% of the rest.Conclusion: Psychological stress dramatically increases risk of death.

Stress and Psychiatric Disorders

Depression• Brown and Harris (1978)• Women suffering from

chronic stress (having more than 3 children under 14 at home) were more likely to suffer from depression.

• Working class women are more prone to depression than middle-class due to having to return to work and leave children in care of others.

PTSD• Vietnam War (1975)• PTSD was ‘discovered’

after the Vietnam war as there was an increase in the incidence of psychiatric symptoms of war veterans.

• Rohlf and Bennett (2005) found ‘PITS’ symptoms (a form of PTSD) in those causing trauma to others (e.g. Vets).

Diathesis-Stress Model• Some have suggested

that in order to develop a psychiatric disorder you must be born with a genetic vulnerability (diathesis), e.g. The mother develops a virus while the baby is in the womb.

• Stress then has an impact on this vulnerability; it can trigger or worsen the course of the disorder.

Specification

SPECIFICATION

Rahe et al (1970)Used the SRRS to test whether stress was

positively correlated with illness.Rahe studies 2700 US male naval officers.They were given a military version of the

SRRS about the number of life events they had over the last six months.

An illness score was calculated (number, type, severity).

Found a positive correlation of +.118. This supports the hypothesis that stress is linked to illness.

Life Changes Holmes and Rahe (1967)

As two medical doctors they noticed that while treating patients stressful major life events often preceded an illness.

These changes could be positive or negative. Change is the stressor and Holmes and Rahe said it affected health.

Holmes and Rahe developed the SRRS (social readjustment rating scale) by using 5000 patient records and listing 43 positive and negative stressful life events.

400 participants then scored how much adjustment would be required by an average person. Marriage was the arbitrary baseline of 50. The higher the adjustment, the higher the score.

Scores were then averaged to find an LCU score.

Life Changes Evaluation

Research using the SRRS suggests

that any life-changing event has the potential to damage health.

Lazarus (1990) suggests that major life events are rare in people’s lives and that it is the minor daily hassles which are a more significant source of stress.

DeLongis et al (1988) studied 75 married couples, they were given a life events questionnaire and a Hassles and Uplifts Scale. There was no relationship between life events and health. But there was a significant positive correlation between daily hassles and next day illnesses (flu, colds etc).

The SRRS ignores that there are

individual differences in the significance of the live events (e.g. unexpected death vs. death after a long illness).

Most studies in this area of correlational, therefore not causal.

The problem with this explanation is that the reports are retrospective and will lack validity.

Daily Hassles

Evaluation Accumulation effect states that daily hassles are more

stressful than (rare) life events as they build up and cause stress reactions.

The amplification effect states that major life events make people more vulnerable to daily hassles. E.g. Someone going through a divorce (major life event) will become more stressed by squabbling children (hassles).

The same problems as the life change research...retrospective data collection and correlational data.

There are gender differences in daily hassles (men see pets as a hassle, women as an uplift) Miller et al (1992)

The Hassles and Uplifts Scale (HSUP) was developed by DeLongis et al (1982). It focuses more on daily situations instead of

highly stressful life events.

Bouteyre et al (2007) investigated the relationship between daily

hassles and mental health of French students in school-university

transition. Results showed that 41% of the students suffered depressive symptoms and there was a positive correlation between scores on the hassles scales and incidence of

depressive symptoms.

Gervais (2005) asked nurses to keep a diary for a month. They recorded hassles, uplifts and their own job

performance. It was found that daily hassles increase job strain and

decrease job performance. Uplifts counteracted hassles though, and

even improved performance.

Flett et al (1995) asked 320 men and women to rate support offered for major life events and daily hassles. Life events received more support, so hassles might require more psychological adjustment.

Specification

SPECIFICATION

Workplace Stress

Physical StressorsPsychosocial stressors

Workplace Stress

Marmot et al (1997) proposed the job-strain model – high workload and low job control

cause stress.7372 civil servants in London completed a questionnaire on workload, job control and amount of social support. Also assessed for CHD. Five years later they were reassessed.

Found no link between high workload and stress-related illness. However, those in higher

grades had lower levels of CHD and lower grades the most. Explained that this was due to social support available to higher grades.

Johansson et al (1978) found sawyers in a Swedish saw mill with jobs requiring

continuous attention, an unrelenting pace, high responsibility and repetitive tasks had higher

illness rates than low risk groups.

Kivimäki et al (2006) meta-analysis of 14 studies. Looked at rate of heart disease (CHD)

in association with workplace stress. 83000 employees from Europe, USA and Japan. Those with high job strain were 50% more

likely to develop CHD.

Russek (1962) studied CHD in medical professionals. Heart disease was greatest

among high-stress jobs (GPs) and lowest in dermatologists (low-stress).

Questionnaires are often used in the area of workplace stress and this is not always a valid

measure. Interviews have been found to be more beneficial as the participant can respond

more openly than in a questionnaire.

Pomaki et al (2007) showed role conflict (between work and home)was associated with depressive symptoms and somatic complaints.

Warr (1987) used ‘vitamins’ to explain how workplace can contribute to mental health. Low

levels of control, skill use and interpersonal contact lead to poor health.

AO1 AO2

Specification

SPECIFICATION

Personality FactorsType A

Friedman and Rosenman (1959)

Wants to do more and more in less time.

3 characteristics:Competitive and achievement

striving Impatient and time urgentHostile and aggressive

Believed to lead to high blood pressure and raised stress hormones. This can lead to CHD.

Type B is patient, relaxed and easy-going; therefore less vulnerable to stress-related illnesses.

HardyKobasa and Maddi (1977)

Some people have high stress but have low illness scores.

The Hardy personality has 3 characteristics: Control over their lives Committed to the world around them Challenges are problems to be overcome

Kobasa (1979) used 800 US business executives and assessed them using the SRRS. 150 had high stress-low illness scores.

Kobasa proposed that the Hardy personality encourages resilience as the high stress-low illness individuals scored high on all 3 characteristics.

Research: Western Collaborative Group Study (1960) 3000 men aged 39-59 California Structured interview about how they

responded to everyday pressures Questions were asked in a provocative

manner After 8½ years twice as many Type A died

of cardiovascular problems Over 12% of Type A had heart attacks,

only 6% Type B Type A had higher BP and cholesterol, also

more likely to smoke Ragland and Brand (1988) follow up to the

Western Collaborative Group Study. Found that 214 (15%) had died of CHD risk factors. But no relationship between personality and death.

Research: Lifton et al (2006) measured

hardiness at 5 US universities. Found those low on hardiness were more likely to drop-out. High hardiness led to greater chance of completing degree.

Most data on Hardy personality has used self-report questionnaires.

Recent efforts have used the Personal Views Survey. This addresses the problems in other questionnaires.

There are still some problems with the reliability of ‘challenge’ components on questionnaires.

Specification

SPECIFICATION

Some strategies such as seeking social support are problem- and emotion-focused.

The presence of social support can decrease the psychological distress associated with a stressor.

Gilbar (2005) examined coping strategies in those with breast cancer. Problem-focused coping was beneficial at getting rid of psychological distress.

Folkman and Lazarus (1985) found problem-focused coping was used before an exam.

Rukholm and Viverais (1993) found that in the presence of a stressor emotion-focused coping deals with anxiety. Only after this is dealt with can problem-focused coping be used.

Problem-Focused

Suppressing

competing activities

Evaluating the

pros and cons

Taking control

Emotion-Focused

Wishful thinking

Focusing on and venting

emotions

Denial and

distancing

Coping with Stress

Problem-focused coping Emotion-focused coping

Finding out as much as

possible (e.g. About a disease or debt)

Think about the best

way to deal with the situation

Avoid the temptation

to put things off

Go on as if nothing has happened, or just not thinking about it

Crying or getting

angry with others

Dwelling on what might have been

if this hadn’t happened

Some forms of emotion-focused coping are positive (reinterpreting event positively) while some are negative (repeatedly thinking about the problem).

Positive tends to be helpful. Negative is generally maladaptive (e.g. In denial about symptoms of an illness)

Gilbar (2005) found emotion-focused coping was associated with high psychological distress in breast cancer patients.

Folkman and Lazarus (1985) found emotion-focused coping was used when waiting for exam results (distancing).

Rukholm and Viverais (1993) found emotion-focused coping is often used when dealing with an anxiety provoking situation.

Coping with StressEvaluation

Stone et al (1991) argued that the Ways of Coping Questionnaire used to assess coping style is more appropriate for some stressors than others. Most of the scale is acceptable for relationship stressors but ¾ are inappropriate for health problems.

Mullis and Chapman (2000) used the research on coping styles to show how important it is for adolescents to cope effectively in life and how this is related to self-esteem. Those with high self-esteem were more likely to use problem-focused coping, those with lower self-esteem were more likely to use emotion-focused coping styles.

Brody and Hall (1993) found gender differences in coping; males use problem-focused more, and females are more likely to use emotion-focused.

Specification

SPECIFICATION

Stress Management-Psychological Methods-

Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)

Conceptualisation

•The therapist and client establish a relationship. The client is taught about the nature of stress.

Skills acquisition (and rehearsal)

•Coping skills are taught and practised in the clinic. Skills include relaxation, social skills, attention diversion, time management.

Application phase

•Clients apply the skills to different and increasingly stressful situations. Techniques like imagery, modelling and role play used. Client trains others.

Evaluation

Strengths SIT was found to be better than

systematic desensitisation for snake phobias, as SIT reduced a second phobia too.

SIT can inoculate against future phobias.

Sheehy and Horan (2004) used SIT with students. Four weekly sessions were given for 90 minutes. Found SIT reduced stress and anxiety and increased exam performance; students’ class rank significantly improved in half the participants.

Weaknesses SIT requires time, effort and

motivation.

The individual needs to be determined in order to learn the skills required.

The skills taught during SIT may be more beneficial than the whole training, e.g. Learning to think more positively.

Meichenbaum (1985) believed that you cannot control the cause of stress, but you can control the way you think about stressors. SIT is different from other stress management techniques; it works before the stressor is encountered and ‘inoculates’ the individual to cope better in future.

Stress Management-Psychological Methods-

Hardiness Training

Kobasa believed that individuals could be taught to be more ‘hardy’ so that they were resilient to the effects of stress.

Maddi founded the Hardiness Institute in California to increase self-confidence and give individuals a sense of control.

Kobasa and Maddi both suggested the following ways to train hardiness:

Evaluation

Strengths Hardiness training was used at Utah

State Valley college and helped at risk students to stay in and graduate from college.

It has been used effectively with Olympic swimmers to ensure that they are committed to the challenge of increased performance levels and to control aspects of their lives which could impair performance (Fletcher, 2005).

Weaknesses It must first address basic habits of

personality which are hard to modify.

It is not a rapid solution.

Focusing•Client taught to recognise physiological signs of stress (muscle tension and increased heart rate) and identify source of stress.

Reliving stressful encounters•Client relives stressful encounter and is helped to analyse own response. This tells them their current coping style.

Self-improvement•Insights gained from previous stage and new techniques to deal with stress are learned. Encouraged to see stressors as challenges to overcome and take control of.

Stress Management-Physiological Methods-

Most common drug to treat stress

and anxiety

Slows down the

CNS activity

GABA is the neurotransmitter responsible for

anxiety relief naturally in the body.

40% of neurons in

brain respond to

GABA

BZs enhance GABA

BZs also reduce the serotonin activity in the brain as this is the

neurotransmitter which causes the arousal; this also reduces anxiety.

• BZs slow the CNS• BZs increase GABA

• BZs decrease serotonin

• =LESS STRESS!

Benzodiazepines (BZs)


Stress

activates SNS

Increased heart rate

Raised BP

Elevated cortisol

leads to

leads toCHD and

lower immune system

take a...Beta Blocker (BB)

Reduce activity of noradrenaline and adrenaline (acute stress

response)

BBs...

Bind to receptors of

heart and other areas of the

body which are stimulated by

arousal.

By blocking these receptors it is

harder to stimulate them and so the heart will beat

slower, causing less BP and lower

heart rate


Evaluation

Strengths Drugs are effective. By comparing drugs to placebos you

can see if the drug has pharmacological or psychological effects.

Kahn et al (1986) used 250 participants over 8 weeks. Found that BZs were superior to a placebo.

BZs have been found to be better than other antidepressants.

Beta blockers are useful in real-life situations where accuracy is more important than stamina (e.g. golf and snooker).

Drugs are easy to use. Require little effort compared to

psychological methods (e.g. SIT).

Limitations BZs are addictive even in low doses. Using BZs results in withdrawal symptoms. Ashton (1997) recommends taking them

for no more than 4 weeks. Side-effects of BZs include aggressiveness

and cognitive impairment (e.g. the ability to store new knowledge in LTM is reduced).

Some studies have linked BBs to diabetes. The effects of drugs last only as long as

they are taken; the effectiveness stops when the drugs are stopped.

If the problem has not passed then the individual’s problem could return, along with addictive side-effects. A psychological method may be recommended at the same time.

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Health & Medicine

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