Stressors Stressful events Relationships (33% of stress of college students) Interpersonal conflicts (80% of stress of married couples) Anything you perceive you have no control over What researchers originally focused on, but problem in that stressors aren’t the same for everyone.

Definition of stress The state of challenge or threat that disrupts the normal rhythm and balance of one’s life A negative emotional experience accompanied by physiological, biochemical, cognitive, and behavioral changes that are directed to either changing the stressor or dealing with it.

Lazarus & Folkman (1984) Stress is determined by a person- environment fit. How adequate are your resources to deal with the situation? Not adequate—lots of stress Sort of adequate—moderate stress Adequate—low or no stress

3 components of stress (Lazarus & Folkman) Appraising the event Assessing potential responses Responding to the stressor

Fight or flight (Cannon, 1932) Threat—sympathetic nervous system arousal—fight (attack) or flight (retreat) Adaptive on one hand because it enables one to respond quickly to the threat. Maladaptive on the other hand because it disrupts emotional & physiological functioning. Can cause medical problems.

Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Studied rats & found that all stressors, regardless of type, produced the same pattern of physiological responding: Enlarged adrenal cortex Shrinking of thymus and lymph glands Ulceration of stomach and duodenum

Response to stress--Selye Organism mobilizes self to action when confronted with stressor. GAS response is nonspecific—doesn’t matter what the stressor is; the organism will respond in the same manner physiologically. Repeated stress causes wear and tear on system; even positive stress can cause this

3 phases of GAS Alarm—getting mobilized to meet threat Resistance—trying to cope with threat Exhaustion—occurs if you fail to meet threat and deplete resources.

Critique of Selye’s model Good general framework; still in use today; posits a physiological mechanism for stress-illness relationship Doesn’t focus enough on psychological factors & individual coping mechanisms Evidence now in that not all stressors produce the same responses Assesses stress as an outcome, not as a process

Tend-and-befriend (Taylor et al., 2000) We don’t face stress in isolation; we affiliate under stress Especially prominent in females, who are characteristically caregivers. Hormone oxytocin may be involved. May have evolutionary significance—help in self-preservation and care of offspring

Lazarus: Psychological Appraisal and Experience of Stress Primary appraisal—when first confronted with stressors—determine meaning of event (could be positive, negative, or neutral) Harm—assessment of damage already done Threat—assessment of possible future damage Challenge—potential to overcome and even profit from the event.

Spiesman, Lazarus, Mordkoff, & Davidson (1964) Students randomly assigned to 4 conditions to view gruesome film about genital surgery in tribal initiation: 1: intellectual description of the rites 2: deemphasized pain of surgery; emphasized excitement of initiation into tribe 3: emphasized pain and trauma 4: no description given; film had no soundtrack 1 & 2 showed less stress than groups 3 & 4. Stress depends on appraisal of the event, not just the event itself.

Secondary appraisal (Lazarus) Initiated at the same time as primary appraisal Assessment of coping abilities and resources Stress experience is a a balance between primary and secondary appraisal Harm & threat high; coping ability low = lots of stress Coping ability high (regardless of threat) = less stress

Potential responses to stress Cognitive – specific beliefs about harm or threat posed by threat; involuntary stress responses and performance disruptions; coping activities initiated Emotional—fear, anxiety, excitement, denial, etc. Behavioral—limitless; fight/flight, relaxation, etc.

Physiological responses to stress See chart on handout Autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions) are responsible for stress response ANS triggers physiological reactions by the endocrine system, which releases hormones. Two interrelated systems in stress response— SAM (sympathetic-aderenomedullary) and HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis)