Daily Hassles Lesson 9

Starter Complete the hassles and uplifts sheet on your desk.

Learning Objectives To understand the role that hassles and uplifts play on our daily lives. Success Criteria Label a sheet with hassles and uplifts. Make notes about hassles and uplifts on page 13. Create a model answer to a practice question.  Challenge Criteria Mark your own answer and give yourself feedback in order to improve.

Hassles and Uplifts Scale DeLongis et al (1982) Measures attitudes towards 53 daily situations. Instead of focussing on the stressful life events, the HSUP evaluated both positive and negative events in each person’s daily life. Hassles Uplifts

Daily Hassles Bouteyre et al (2007) Investigated the relationship between daily hassles and mental health of students going through the school-university transition. The students completed the HSUP and the Beck Depression Inventory. 41% of the students suffered from depressive symptoms and there was a positive correlation between the hassles scale and incidence of depression.

Daily Uplifts Gervais (2005) Nurses recorded their daily hassles and uplifts in a diary for one month. They were also asked to rate their own performance during this time. It was found that daily hassles increase job strain and decrease job performance. While some uplifts counteracted the negative daily hassles and improved job performance.

Daily hassles vs. Life changes Flett et al (1995) Daily hassles are a greater source of stress than life changes. Flett et al asked 320 students to read a scenario where a male or female experienced either a major life event or daily hassles. They then rated the amount of support they would get from others. Major life events were suspected to seek more and be given more support compared to daily hassles. So the effects of daily hassles may be more due to lack of social support.

Evaluation Use the textbook (page 143) to make some evaluation notes by answering the following questions: Miller et al (1992) studied pet owners and found a gender difference in response to keeping a pet. What were the findings? Why are daily hassles worse than life changes according to Lazarus (1999)? What is the amplification effect? What are some methodological problems with daily hassles research?

Practice Questions During the last few months, Paula has suffered from headaches and colds, and has been having difficulty sleeping. She decided to keep a diary and found that her headaches, colds and sleep problems were associated with experiences such as having too much homework, losing house keys and being stuck in traffic. What is the name for these sorts of stress-related experiences? [1] Use your knowledge of psychology to explain why Paula might be feeling unwell. [4]

Mark scheme