Advanced Placement PsychologyChapter 13: Health, Stress, and Coping

Stress: Negative emotional and physiological process that occurs as individuals adjust to or deal with stressors.

Stressor: Environmental circumstances that disrupt or threaten to disrupt individuals’ daily functioning and cause people to make adjustments.

Health Psychology: the field of psychology that investigates the relationship between psychological, behavioral, and social processes and physical health. Goals: apply research to prevent illness and promote better health

The Process of Stress

Psychological StressorsCategories of Stressors: Things that stress us out

1. Life changes▫ Major shifts in one’s life

that have far reaching and long lasting effects

▫ Divorce▫ Illness in a family▫ Changing a career or

homes

2. Catastrophic events▫ Sudden, unexpected,

potentially life-threatening experiences or traumas

▫ War▫ Natural disaster▫ Physical assault

3. Daily hassles▫ Minor stress that one

encounters on a regular basis and can accumulate into something significant

▫ Traffic jams▫ Job deadlines▫ Homework

4. Chronic stressors▫ Stress that continues over

a long period of time▫ Living near a noisy airport▫ Working in a hostile

environment

Measuring StressorsPutting a number value to your stress1. Life Change Unit (LCU)

▫The amount of change and demand for adjustment represented by events.

▫Can be caused by both “positive” and “negative” things such as marriage, divorce, getting fired, retiring, and family vacations.

• Tests of Stress2. Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Stress Score = Sum of LCU’s3. Life Experiences Survey (LES)

Not just what life events have occurred, but also an appraisal of intensity. (positive or negative)

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) Stress Test

• What has happened to you in the past year and what will happen to you within this coming year? (2 year span)

• Things that occur once a year (like Christmas) should only be counted once.

Life Event LCU’s

Death of parent 119

Divorce of parents 98

Death of a close family member (other than parent) 92

Breakup with boyfriend/girlfriend 79

Expulsion from school 79

Major personal injury or illness 77

Death of a close friend 70

Pregnancy 66

Getting a job 62

Money troubles 61

Dating 57

Gain of a new family member 57

Change of finances 56

Major illness of family member or close friend 56

Failing grades at school 54

Change in number of arguments with peers 51

Marriage 50

Parent beginning or stopping work 46

Peer difficulties 45

Life Event LCU’s

Loss or death of loved pet 44

Change in responsibilities at home or school 43

Brother or sister leaving home 42

Moving away 41

School beginning or ending 38

Trouble with parent 38

Outstanding personal achievement 37

Change in schools 35

Christmas 30

Change in recreation 29

Trouble with teachers/principles 29

Change in personal appearance 27

Change in social activities (joining new group) 27

Change in eating habits 27

Change in sleeping habits 26

Change in number of get-togethers 26

Vacation 25

Change in church activities 22

Traffic tickets or other minor violations of the law 22

Scoring

•Over 200: Urgent need of intelligent stress management

•150 – 199: Careful stress management indicated

•100 – 149: Stressful life (be observant of your mental health)

•Under 100: No present cause for concern about stress.

Physical Responses: Stress & BodiesGeneral Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• Sequence of physical responses to stress that occurs in a consistent pattern

• Triggered by the effort to adapt to any stressor.

• Prepares the body to face or flee from an immediate threat.

• When the danger has passed, the responses subside.

Physical Response: GASStages of the General Adaptation Syndromea) Stage 1: Alarm Reaction

(fight or flight syndrome)▫ Mobilizes the body’s resources

for actioni. Sympatho-Adreno-Medullary

(SAM) Systemb) Stage 2: Resistance

▫ Body settles in for long term response to stressor

ii. Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (HPA) System

c) Stage 3: Exhaustion▫ Depletion of the body’s

adaptive energy and wear and tear on the body’s organ systems

▫ Diseases of Adaptation

Psychological Responses: Stress & Minds1. Emotional Response

▫Tend to dominate our experience of stress▫We remember things like “I was angry!” rather than

“My heart was racing and my blood pressure was high!”

2. Cognitive Responsea) Ruminative Thinking – Recurring intrusion of

thoughts about stressful events b) Catastrophizing – Dwelling on and

overemphasizing the potential consequences of negative events

3. Behavior Response▫Aggression – People get MAD ▫Avoidance – We avoid what stresses out

Linkages: Stress and Psychological Disorders

• Burnout a gradually intensifying pattern of physical, psychological, and behavioral dysfunction in response to continued flow of stressors▫Symptoms: indifferent, impulsive, accident-prone,

drug-abusing, suspicious, depressed, and withdrawn

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder a pattern of adverse reactions following a traumatic event▫Symptoms: anxiety, irritability, jumpiness, inability to

concentrate or work, sexual dysfunction, and difficulty in interpersonal relationships

Stress Mediator: Appraisal of StressorsStressfulness changes depending on how you perceive and think about it.

The Lazarus ExperimentThe Results

• Showed a scene portraying blood industrial accidents and measured stress through sweat-gland activity.▫ Group 1: Told to deny the

validity of the scenes▫ Group 2: Told to distance

themselves and be detached from the scenes

▫ Group 3: Were unprepared

Stress Mediator: Predictability & Control• When a stressor is predictable, then the effects of

the stress are less severe and shorter lasting.▫Rats that were given a “warning” before they were

shocked tended to experience less evidence of distress. (less disruption in eating/drinking patterns, and less physiological change)

• When an individual feels that he or she is more in control, the effects of the stressor is diminished.▫Surgery patients who were given explanations about

what was going to happen and suggestions to help post-surgery recovery were better adjusted and discharged from the hospital sooner.

Stress Mediator: Coping StrategyStressfulness changes depending on how you cope with it

Problem-Focused Coping Emotion-Focused Coping

• Efforts to alter or eliminate the source of stress

• Confronting• Painful Problem Solving

• Efforts to regulate the negative emotional consequences of the stressor.

• Self-Controlling• Distancing• Positive Reappraisal• Accepting Responsibility• Escape/Avoidance

Stress Mediator: Social SupportStressfulness changes based on who we have to lean on

1. Social Support Network▫ A group that offers

support for an individual undergoing a stressful situation

• Eliminates the stressor, buffering it’s impact▫ Companionship▫ Ideas for coping▫ Reassurance of being

cared for

Stress Mediator: PersonalityStressfulness changes based on personality

2. Type A Personality 3. Type B Personality

• Prefers to operate at a high level of activity

• Tends to be impatient• Tends to have higher

levels of stress

• Are more open to change and flexibility

• Tends to have lower levels of stress

1. Dispositional Optimism: A predisposition towards looking at events in a more positive and optimistic way.

Stress Mediator: Personality (cont.)Stressfulness changes based on personality

Internal Locus of Control External Locus of Control

• You believe that events are often within your control.

• You tend to attribute success or failure to yourself instead of luck or others.

• You think that success depends on your own efforts.

• You believe that events are often outside of your control.

• You believe there is little connection between your behavior and their outcomes.

• You think that success is largely dependent on luck.

1. Do you believe that most problems will solve themselves if you just don’t fool with them?

2. Do you believe that you can stop yourself from catching a cold?

3. Are some people just born lucky?

4. Most of the time do you feel that getting good grades means a great deal to you?

5. Are you often blamed for things that just aren’t your fault?

6. Do you believe that if somebody studies hard enough he or she can pass any subject?

7. Do you feel that most of the time it doesn’t pay to try hard because things never turn out right anyway?

8. Do you feel that if things start out well in the morning, it’s going to be a good day no matter what you do?

9. Do you feel that most of the time parents listen to what their children have to say?

10. Do you believe that wishing can make good things happen?

11. When you get punished, does it usually seem it’s for no good reason at all?

12. Most of the time, do you find it hard to change a friend’s mind?

13. Do you think that cheering more than luck helps a team to win?

14. Do you feel that it is nearly impossible to change your parent’s mind about anything?

15. Do you believe that parents should allow children to make most of the own decisions?

16. Do you feel that when you do something wrong there’s very little you can do to make it right?

17. Do you believe that most people are just born good at sports?

18. Are most of the other people your age stronger than you?

19. Do you feel that one of the best ways to handle most problems is just not to think about them?

20. Do you feel that you have a lot of choice in deciding who your friends are?

21. If you find a four-leaf clover, do you believe that it might bring you good luck?

22. Do you often feel that whether or not you did your homework has much to do with what kind of grades you get?

23. Do you feel that when a person your age is angry at you, there’s little you can do to stop hi or her?

24. Have you ever had a good-luck charm?

25. Do you believe that whether or not people like you depends on how you act?

26. Do your parents usually help you if you ask them to?

27. Have you felt that when people were angry with you, it was usually for no reason at all?

28. Most of the time, do you feel that you can change what might happen tomorrow by what you do today?

29. Do you believe that when bad things are going to happen, they just are going to happen no matter what you try to do to stop them?

30. Do you think that people can get their own way if they just keep trying?

31. Most of the time, do you find it useless to try to get your own way at home?

32. Do you feel that when good things happen, they happen because of hard work?

33. Do you feel that when somebody your age wants to be your enemy, there’s little you can do to change matters?

34. Do you feel that it’s easy to get friends to do what you want them to do?

35. Do you usually feel that you have little to say about what you get to eat at home?

36. Do you feel that when someone doesn’t like you, there’s little you can do about it?

37. Do you usually feel that it is almost useless to try in school because most other students are just plain smarter than you are?

38. Are you the kind of person who believes that planning ahead makes things turn out better?

39. Most of the time do you feel that you have little to say about what your family decides to do?

40. Do you think it’s better to be smart than to be lucky?

Scoring & Scale1. Yes2. No3. Yes4. No5. Yes6. No7. Yes8. Yes9. No10. Yes11. Yes12. Yes13. No

27. Yes28. No29. Yes30. No31. Yes32. No33. Yes34. No35. Yes36. Yes37. Yes38. No39. Yes40. No

14. Yes15. No16. Yes17. Yes18. Yes19. Yes20. No21. Yes22. No23. Yes24. Yes25. No26. No

External Score: 16 – 40 Intermediate Score: 7 – 15 Internal Score: 0 – 6

ExternalYou believe there is little connection between your behavior and their outcomes and that events are often outside of your control. You think that success is largely dependent on luck.

IntermediateYou believe that you do have control of your fate, but that you have little control in some areas.

InternalYou tend to attribute success or failure to yourself instead of luck or others.

Stress, the Immune System & IllnessThe Immune System and Illness

a) Leukocytes (White Blood Cells)

b) T-Cells▫ Matures in the thymus▫ Kills other cells

c) B-Cells▫ Matures in the bone marrow▫ Produces antibodies

(proteins that initiate the deactivation of foreign toxins and viruses)

d) Natural Killer Cells▫ Antitumor & antiviral

e) Macrophage▫ Engulfs foreign substances

Phagocytosis: Process of surrounding and engulfing other cells.

The Immune System and StressWe get more sickly when we’re stressed out

Changes Based on Stress Moderators of the Immune System

• Stress suppresses the functioning of the immune system

• Subjects exposed to a respiratory virus or a placebo, and results showed that those who scored lower on a stress test were less likely to contract the virus after exposure.

• Social support can improve the health of those undergoing stressful situations.

• Even anonymous disclosures can improve one’s health.

• Widows who did not have social support were more likely to develop a physical sickness within one year of their spouse’s death.

Health Endangering BehaviorsBehaviors that can be triggered by stress• Smoking

▫ Accounts for more deaths than all other drugs, car accidents, suicides, homicides, and fires combined.

▫ Currently on the decline (only about 26% of American adults now smoke)

▫ One of the most difficult habits to break (only about 35% long term success)

• Alcohol▫ Linked to heart disease, stroke, cancer, and liver disease▫ Causes damage to the brain and gastrointestinal system▫ 15% of the US healthcare costs are related to it and it costs the

economy approximately $70 billion per year.

• Unsafe Sex▫ AIDS & other STD’s are continuously on the rise

Health-Belief ModelYour decision about health-related behaviors are guided by…

1. A perception of personal threat

2. A perception of the seriousness of the illness and the consequences of having it

3. A belief that a particular practice will reduce the threat

4. Perception of the balance between the cost of enacting the health practice and the benefits expected.

1. Do you believe you develop a health problem from smoking?

2. How serious is lung cancer?

3. How likely would quitting smoking actually reduce my risk for lung cancer?

4. Is the health benefit worth the loss of the good feelings from smoking?

Prochaska’s Stages of ReadinessHow ready are you to change your health behavior?

1. Precontemplation▫ The person does not perceive the problem and has no

intention of changing.2. Contemplation

▫ The person is aware of the problem behavior and is seriously thinking about it.

3. Preparation▫ The person has a strong intention to change, has specific plans

to do so, and has begun the first steps4. Action

▫ The person is engaging successfully in behavior change and must remain in this stage for at least 6 months

5. Maintenance▫ The person uses skills learned along the way to continue the

healthy behavior and prevent relapse.

Planning to Cope: Stages of Coping with Stress

1. Assessment▫ Identify the sources and effects of stress

2. Goal Setting▫ Designate which stressors are and are not changeable

3. Planning▫ List the specific steps to be taken to cope with stress

4. Action▫ Implement coping plans

5. Evaluation▫ Determine the changes in stressors & stress responses

that have occurred as a result of the coping methods6. Adjustment

▫ Alter coping methods to improve results

Coping Strategies• Cognitive

▫ Thinking of stressors as challenges rather than as threats▫ Cognitive Restructuring – Replacing catastrophic

thinking with thoughts that are more positive.• Emotional

▫ Gaining social support from others• Behavioral

▫ Changing one’s behavior to minimize the effects of stressors

• Physical▫ Exercise & meditation ▫ Progressive Relaxation – Technique of repeatedly

tensing and relaxing the 16 major muscle groups