Psychology Revision
Chapter 1 ­ Stress

Stress is something that most individuals endure everyday of their lives; it can affect some
people more than others. It is believed to account for depression and high anxiety levels can
also increase the chances of getting minor or major illnesses. The term `stress'…

The Sympathomedullary pathway- The control of the Medulla is very different.
The Autonomic Nervous system (ANS- network of nerve pathways running from
centres into the lower part of the brain out to organs and glands) the role of the SNS
is to maintain balance in the bodily system in response…

The General Adaptation Syndrome
Seyle's experiments on rats prompted him to develop `The General Adaptation Syndrome' in
1956. This explained the short term effects of exposure to stressors and the long term
stress related illnesses. It has three different stages;




The Immune System
This is our main defence against infection…

Life Changes
The `Social Readjustment Scale' measures the relationship between life changes and
wellbeing. It was developed by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967. It has been widely
used for the assessment of stress in individuals, and in recent years there have been lots of
variations.

During changes in…

Era Dependent ­ the Scale is now dated and brief. Things were very different in the 1970's to what
they are today




Daily Hassles
Daily hassles are relatively minor events that arise in the course throughout the day. They
include for example; concerns about work, concerns over a dispute. They…

serious stress reactions. The other idea is that the daily hassles arise from pre-existing
stressors and so amplify the effects of the existing stressor.



Evaluation of Research into Daily Hassles
Causality ­ What does the research tell us? Most of it is correlational so we can only assume
there are…

another, or ones that are contradictory. It can also contribute to relationship
problem.

Stress can lead to physical and psychological consequences, which in turn affect productivity
through not being motivated to work, and the time that they take off work.




Personality Factors: Type A behaviour
In the early 1960's Friedman…

Evaluation of Type A behaviour
Lack of Consistent Research- since the original work by Friedman and Rosenman there has
been other research, both retrospective and prospective, but the correlation scores are
never very high.
The Role of Hostility - Type a behaviour has been more closely analysed , a critical…

Coping Strategy's to Stress
A coping Strategy is an attempt to manage stress effectively as well as moderating the
emotional impact that it might have on an individual. Different Strategies are used at
different times, depending on the personal preference of the individual.

Problem focused and Emotion focused
From Folkman's…

arousal and enhancing GABA, which tells neurones to slow down, letting the individual feel
relaxed. Examples of these drugs can be Librium or Valium.
Beta Blockers such as Inderal don't enter the brain but directly reduce pathways of the SNS
around the body, which is a key feature of stressful…