1. Daily Hassles and Uplifts
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

2. Learning objectives To define ‘daily hassles’ and ‘uplifts’
To understand the impact of these on mood, stress and illness
To find out why daily hassles are worse for your health than Life Changes
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

3. What are daily hassles and uplifts?
The relatively minor frustrations and annoyances of everyday life
Their emotional effects are fairly short lived
But if they accumulate over a period of time this could affect our well-being
– this could result in more serious stress reactions such as anxiety and depression
Positive events that occur in the course of the day
They could counteract the negative effects of hassles and help lower our stress levels and improve our performance
Think of some uplifts!
Think of some hassles!
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

4. Research with nurses (Gervais, 2005)
Nurses were asked to keep diaries for a month, recording daily hassles and uplifts connected with their job. They were also asked to rate their own performance over this period.
It was found that the nurses often found that the uplifts counteracted the negative effects of their daily hassles, and helped improve their performance and lower stress levels.
What type of research method was used in this study?
What type of data was collected?
How do you think the data was analysed?
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

5. Then again... everything is relative!
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

6. The ‘Hassles & Uplifts Scale’ (HSUP)
The HSUP measures respondents’ attitudes about daily situations defined as "hassles" and "uplifts."
Instead of focusing on highly charged life events, the HSUP provides a comfortable way to evaluate positive and negative events that occur in each person's daily life.
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award
Professor Richard Lazarus ( )
Appraisal
Coping
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

7. Hassles, uplifts, appraisal, and coping
Dr Gary Wood Psychology
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

8. Activity
Half the class: in a group, brainstorm a list of your top ten daily hassles.
Other half: in a group, brainstorm a list of your top ten daily uplifts.
Rank them in order (1 being the worst hassle or best uplift) .
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

9. Top 10 hassles and uplifts for an Undergraduate sample (2001)
Top 10 uplifts
1. Troubling thoughts about the
future
2. Not getting enough sleep
3. Wasting time
4. Inconsiderate smokers
5. Physical appearance
6. Too many things to do
7. Misplacing or losing things
8. Not enough time to do the things you need to do
9. Entertainment
10. Being lonely
1. Completing a task
2. Relating well with friends
3. Giving a present
4. Having fun
5. Getting love
6. Giving love
7. Being visited, phoned, or sent a letter (this was before Facebook)
8. Laughing
9. Concerns about meeting high standards
10. Music
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

10. Research
Scores on the HSUP scale correlate with anxiety, depression and health problems
For example, the HSUP score could be correlated with a score on the Depression Inventory Scale (used by doctors to diagnose depression)
Research with students starting university showed that they were more depressed during their first term and that this correlated with scores on the hassles scale
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

11. Trying out the HSUP questionnaire
Add up your scores for both hassles and uplifts.
Select a suitable type of graph to present this data in.
Now rate your psychological wellbeing and your school performance at the moment, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
Add this information underneath your graph.
What does the data suggest?
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019

12. HW: Why are daily hassles so stressful?
Use the textbook p. 148 to do the following:
What do these two terms mean:
Accumulation effect?
Amplification effect?
Give detailed examples of both, using the material in the textbook.
Explain why lack of social support is an issue.
K Christopher La Retraite School
16/05/2019