Stress Incbioret

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

1/31

Stress

YouTube - stress

monsters

Causes (3)

Measurements (3)

Management (3)

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

2/31

Stress is a biological response

to an external stressor/s Biological response to the fight or flight

mechanism:

The bodies stress response causes anincrease in blood pressure, reduction inblood flow to the peripheral bloodvessels (hand and feet) and anincrease in adrenaline, noradrenalinand corticosteroids to be released into

the blood stream. Over a long period oftime this stress response causes thebodys immune systems to eventuallybreak down.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

3/31

Why is understanding stress

useful: 1. Causes psychological problems

like anxiety and depression.

2. Causes everyday physical illnesslike cough and colds by lowering

the effectiveness of the immunesystem.

3. Can cause heart disease andstroke by increasing build up ofcholesterol.

4. May lead to illnesses like cancer 5. Causes millions of lost sick days

from work

6. Causes accidents and injuries atwork due to loss of concentration

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

4/31

Evidence to show different

factors which cause stress:

Life event scales were devised to demonstrate how

major life events such as death, divorce,

unemployment and severe illness can be used to

calculate levels of stress and consequently to predictillness (Holmes and Rahe 1967). However even

when we do not have extreme stressors like these

we still end up feeling stressed!

Kanner 1981 - Minor stressors can combine to

become large stressors:

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

5/31

Psychological Measures (psychometric

tests)

(i) Holmes and Rahe (1967) Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS).

H&R defined stress in terms of the change caused to a persons life(change can be positive, negative or neutral but would still be stressful by

their definition). H&R argued that whenever an individual had to make asubstantial adjustment to the environment, the likelihood of stress is high.

Holmes & Rahe first examined the medical records of around 5000 people.They found that, in many cases, significant life changes occurred in themonths preceding the onset of illness. They selected 43 of these life eventsand asked a sample of 394 people to rate the degree of socialreadjustment required for each event (death of spouse was given the

arbitrary value of 100 and marriage the arbitrary value of 50). Based onthese results, they constructed the SRRS.

Each life event was ranked and assigned a number oflife change units(LCUs) from 100 to 11. A persons stress score is the sum of all the lifechange units for events they have experienced within a period of 12months.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

6/31

Examples of top rank events:

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

RANK

1. Death of spouse

2. Divorce

3. Marital separation 4. Jail term

5. Death of close family member

6. Personal injury or illness

7. Fired at work

8. Retirement

9. Change in health of family member 10. Pregnancy

11. Sex difficulties

12. Gain of new family member

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

7/31

Kanner Hassles and Uplifts

Kanner used hassles as a predictor of stress and illness. The standard lifeevents (SRRS) which had been popular previously to predict stress, wascompared with relatively minor events, namely, the hassles and uplifts ofeveryday life. Hassles and Uplifts Scales were administered once a month for10 consecutive months to a community sample of 100 middle-aged adults inCalifornia.

A longitudinal study with repeated measures design was used as participantsfilled out both the Life Events Scale as well as the Hassles and Uplifts Scale.They then had their psychological symptoms of stress assessed using theHopkins Symptom checklist and the Bradburn Morale scale. (Nine subjectsdropped out)

It was found that the Hassles Scale was a better predictor of psychological andphysiological symptoms than were the life events scores. Hassles also seemedto be consistent month on month. Hassles and symptoms of stress were

significantly correlated. The more hassles the participant reported the moresymptoms they reported. Uplifts were positively related to reduced symptomsfor women but not for men.

It was concluded that the assessment of daily hassles and uplifts may be abetter approach to the prediction of stress and ill health than the life eventsapproach.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

8/31

Hassles and Uplifts - Kanner

Daily Hassles Daily Uplifts

1 Concerns about weight 1 Relating well to spouse or partner

2 Health of a family member 2 Relating well to friends

3 Rising price of common goods 3 Completing a task

4 Home maintenance 4 Feeling healthy

5 Too many things to do 5 Getting enough sleep

6 Misplacing or losing things 6 Eating out

7 Outside home maintenance 7 Meeting your responsibilities

8 Property, investment or taxes 8 Visiting, phoning or writing to someone

9 Crime 9 Spending time with the family

10 Physical appearance 10 Finding your home a pleasant environment

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

9/31

Work has also been shown to

produce stress!

What jobs or types of

work would you think

might be the most

stressful?

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

10/31

Johansson Swedish Saw Mill

Aim: to investigate whether work stressors such as repetitiveness, machine-regulated pace ofwork and high levels of responsibility increase stress-related physiological arousal and stressrelated illness

Procedures: The researchers identified a high-risk group of 14 finishers in a Swedish sawmill.Their job was to finish off the wood at the last stage of processing timber. The work was machine-paced, isolated, very repetitive yet highly skilled, and the finishers productivity determined thewage rates for the entire factory

The 14 finishers were compared with a low-risk group of 10 cleaners, whose work was morevaried, largely self-paced, and allowed more socialising with other workers

Levels of stress-related hormones (adrenaline and noradrenaline) in the urine were measured onwork days and rest days

Records were kept of stress-related illness and absenteeism

Findings: The high-risk group of 14 finishers secreted more stress hormones (adrenaline andnoradrenaline) on work days than on rest days, and higher levels than the control group. Thehigh-risk group of finishers also showed significantly higher levels of stress-related illness such asheadaches and higher levels of absenteeism than the low-risk group of cleaners.

Conclusions: A combination of work stressors- especially repetitiveness, machine-pacing ofwork and high levels of responsibility lead to chronic (long-term) physiological arousal. This inturn leads to stress-related illness and absenteeism.

If employers want to reduce illness and absenteeism in their workforce, they need to find ways ofreducing these work stressors, for example by introducing variety into employees work and byallowing them to experience some sense of control over the pace of their work.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

11/31

Johansson Swedish Saw Mill

measures:

Each participant had to give a urine sample four times a day sothat their adrenal levels could be measured.

Their body temperature was recorded at the same time as thiscan give an indication of how alert a person is.

These two physiological measures were combined with selfreport where each participant had to say how much caffeineand nicotine they had consumed since the last urine test. Theyalso had to report on a range of emotions and feelings as wellas sleepiness, well-being, calmness, irritation and efficiencyetc. They had to scale these feelings on a continuum fromminimum to maximum using a scale with millimetres. The

score was how many millimetres from the base point theparticipants had marked themselves to be feeling.

This combined approach gave both qualitative and quantitativemeasurements enabling Johannson to compare the two groupsof workers and understand the impact of higher stress levels onthe participants.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

12/31

Stress on the job:

Numerous studies show that job stress is far and awaythe major source of stress for American adults and that ithas escalated progressively over the past few decades.Increased levels of job stress as assessed by the

perception of having little control but lots of demandshave been demonstrated to be associated with increasedrates of heart attack, hypertension and other disorders. InNew York, Los Angeles and other municipalities, therelationship between job stress and heart attacks is sowell acknowledged, that any police officer who suffers a

coronary event on or off the job is assumed to have awork related injury and is compensated accordingly(including a heart attack sustained while fishing onvacation or gambling in Las Vegas).

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

13/31

Geer and Meisel: Stress and control:

Aim: To see if perceived control or actual control can reduce stress reactions to averse stimuli. Method: Laboratory experiment in which participants were shown photographs of dead car crash

victims and their stress levels were measured by GSR (Galvanic skin response) and heart rate throughECG monitoring.

Participants: 60 undergraduates enrolled in a psychology course at a New York university. Design: Independent measures with participants randomly assigned to three conditions.

Group 1: were given control over how long they looked at the images for. They could press a button toterminate the image and were told a tone would precede each new image. Group 2: Were warned the photos would be 60 seconds apart they would see the picture for 35

seconds and a 10 second warning tone would precede each photo. The group had no control but didknow what was happening.

Group 3: were told that from time to time they would see photos and hear tones but were not giventimings or any control.

Procedure: each participant was seated in a sound proofed room and wired up to the GSR and ECGmachines. The machine was calibrated for 5 minutes while the participant relaxed and a baselinemeasurement was then taken. Instructions were read over an intercom. Each photo was precede witha 10 second tone and then flashed up for 35 seconds (only the one group could terminate the photoand move on). The GSR was taken at the onset of the tone and during the second half of the tone andin response to the picture.

Results: ECG recordings were discarded as they appeared inaccurate. Group 2 showed most stress. Group 1 showed least stress. Conclusions: that having control over your environment can reduce stress responses.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

14/31

Causes of stress and supporting

evidence:

Work as a cause of stress: Johansson1978 Swedish Sawmill, repetitiveness,machine pacing and responsibility.

Hassles and Life Events as a cause ofstress: Kanner 1981.

Lack of control as a cause of stress:

Geer and Meilsel 1973 lab experimentwith car crash victims

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

15/31

How can we measure stress

levels?

Physiological

Blood pressure

Steroid levels in urineand saliva (Reicher

and Haslam).

Galvanic skin

response and heart

rate (Geer and

Meisel).

Advantages scientific

Disadvantages

quantitative

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

16/31

Self Report:

We have already considered how stress can bemeasured when looking at causes of stress -by looking at Holmes and Rahe and Kanner

with their Life Events and Hassles and UpliftsScales.

Advantages: qualitative and quantitative,

detailed, personal. Disadvantages: time consuming, difficulty in

analysing, experimenter bias

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

17/31

Combined Approach to

measuring stress:

Johansson measured stressusing biological measuresand self report.

This is a useful conclusionsection when describingmeasurements as it involvedboth qualitative andquantitative data in the samemeasurements and reliabilityof the self report can bechecked against thebiological tests.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

18/31

Methods of measuring stress

and supporting evidence:

1. Geer and Meisel 1973 physiological -GSR

(galvanic skins response) and heart rate, body

temperature.YouTube - Stress Monitor 2. Kanner self report of hassles and uplifts.

Holmes and Rahe self report of major life

events.

3. Johansson 1978 combined approach

using physiological - urine tests and self report.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

19/31

Validity and measurements

It is possible that a question could arise which is entirely about validity

the most common way in which this is usually addressed is when the

area specifically looks at measurements as validity obviously means

are we measuring what we say we are measuring!

Discuss the validity of measurements of

stress (15)

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

20/31

Techniques of stress

management

Learning Objectives:

Understand and evaluate behavioural

and cognitive techniques to stressmanagement.

Explain the use of stress management

techniques

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

21/31

What techniques can be used to

manage stress:

Cognitive techniques (SIT)Stress Inoculation Therapy:

can be used to help people learn to

identify when they will becomestressed and use positive thoughts

to try and reduce future stress

responses during sessions of

cognitive therapy. Michenbaum (1975)YouTube -

Stress Reduction 1 of 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGaRyLN9gb8

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

22/31

RET: Rational emotive therapy

Page: 162

Developed by Ellis 1962.

Ellis believed that faulty or irrational ways of thinking

affect stress appraisal processes & increase the

appraisal of threat or harm. RET A-B-C-D-E framework whereby the therapist

bluntly/aggressively challenges the client to examine

their belief systems to realise how irrational and

damaging they are. Copy table 2 into your notes!

Once completed summarise the evaluation in your own

words.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

23/31

Meichenbaum Stress

Inoculation Therapy - Cognitive

Standard behavioural measures have tried to help people become desensitised tostress. Meichenbaum compared these standard behavioural methods with cognitiveones. Cognitive therapy sessions aimed at enabling people to identify their stressorsand change their mental processes when under stress rather than just theirbehaviours.

21 students ages 17 25 responded to an advert about treatment of test anxiety. It was

a field experiment with participants put into three groups, SIT, standarddesensitisation and a control group. Each participant was tested using a test anxietyquestionnaire.

The SIT group received 8 therapy sessions giving them insight into their thoughtsbefore tests. They were then given some positive statements to say and relaxationtechniques to use in test situations.

The systematic desensitisation groups were also given 8 therapy sessions with onlyprogressive relaxation training whilst imaging stressful situations.

The control group were told they were on a waiting list for treatment. Findings: performance in tests in the SIT group improved the most although both

therapy groups showed improvement over the control groups. Conclusions: that SIT is an effective way of reducing anxiety in students who are

prone to anxiety in test situations and more effective than simply behaviouraltechniques when a cognitive component is added in.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

24/31

Past Exam Question:

Discuss the cognitive approach to

managing stress. Refer to one other

approach in your answer. 12 marks

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

25/31

Behavioural techniques

biofeedback:

Allowing people to monitor theirown health and gain feedbackabout the effects of certainbehaviours allows them to modify

behaviour through positivereinforcement.

Budzynski (1973)YouTube - StressManagement and Temperature BioFeedbackhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBY1YdwEfNQ

YouTube - How to UseBiofeedback for Stresshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn1RHEcmrNI

YouTube - breathing techniques forstress, anxiety and panic

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

26/31

Behavioural techniques

Biofeedback - Budzinski

Aim: to see if biofeedback techniques work and help reduce tension headaches or whether theeffect is due to the placebo effect. The placebo effect is a positive psychological effect that canoccur even when there is no actual treatment.

Method: Experimental method with patients trained in the laboratory. Data was collected usingmuscle tension measurements (EMG) with an electromyography, a machine which givesfeedback by a graph by applying electrodes to the muscles. Patients were also given apsychometric test for depression (MMPI) and asked to complete questionnaires on theirheadaches. It was an independent measures design with participants randomly assigned to oneof three groups.

Participants: 18 replied to a newspaper advert in the USA. They were screened by telephoneand then had psychiatric and medical examinations to ensure there were no other reasons fortheir headaches. There were 2 males and 16 females aged 22-44 with a mean age of 36.

Group A had real biofeedback training with relaxation using the EMG

Group B had biofeedback training but with false (pseudo) feedback

Group C were used as a control group

Procedure: all groups kept a diary of their headaches for two weeks, rating them from 0 mild to 5

severe. Groups A and B were told to practice relaxation after the training for 15 20 mins eachday.

Results: After 3 months group As muscle tension was significantly lower than the other twogroups. Reporting of headaches in group A also fell significantly compared to their base linewhich it did not in the other two groups.

Conclusions: biofeedback is an effective way to reduce stress levels by reducing tension.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

27/31

Social approaches:

Many researchers havefound out that socialsupport helps reduce

stress. Loneliness andisolation increase stress.

Waxler- Morrison (2006)found women with strong

social relationships weremore likely to survivebreast cancer!

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

28/31

Waxler-Morrison Social

Support

Aim:to look at how a womans social relationships influence her response tobreast cancer and survival.

Method: a quasi experiment with woman who were diagnosed with breastcancer. The information was gathered using questionnaires and 18 interviewsplus examination of medical records. Women were fitted into categories basedon their social support network.

Participants: 133 women under 55 yrs (pre-menopausal) who had beenreferred with breast cancer in Canada.

Design: Independent measures design with women of different pre existinglevels of social support.

Procedure: women were sent a questionnaire to fill in about their socialsupport including questions on education and family responsibilities, friends,their perception of their support from others, marital status and church

memberships etc. Their diagnoses were taken from medical records whichwere again checked 4 years later. Findings and conclusions : qualitative data from questionnaires showed that

practical help given by others for cleaning, child care, cooking etc was essentialfor support. Jobs were seen as important for support and most survivorsreported supportive husbands although problems were often reported withchildren who may also need support. There was a significant relationshipbetween the amount of support reported and survival rates.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

29/31

Techniques for managing stress

and supporting research:

1. Cognitive techniques Michenbaum 1975

2. Behavioural techniques biofeedback

Budzynski 1973

3. Social support Waxler-Morrison 2006

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

30/31

Problems and usefulness

Due to the high rate of illness and days off work sick combinedwith an increasingly stressful society it is really useful to learnhow to manage our stress and avoid long term ill health. Wehave already seen how lack of control causes stress (Geer andMeisel) so by giving back control through cognitive or

behavioural measures it can only help reduce stress However stress management needs trained counsellors,

resources, commitment, time, money, and possibly a level ofunderstanding that not everyone will be able to show. Somestrategies are also more appropriate for long term stress ratherthan short term. For example if bereavement causes stress

then cognitive therapy is not the answer social support mightbe most appropriate if there is a longer term problem socialsupport may be a good first option followed by cognitive orbehaviour therapy etc.

7/29/2019 Stress Incbioret

31/31

Exam questions:

For Home Work!!Due 24/11/10

Outline one technique for managing

stress (10)

Describe and evaluate the role of social

support in mediating responses to

stress. Refer to evidence in youranswer.(12)