Health - Stress - Causes of Stress

Aim: to measure psychological and physiological stress response in 2 categories of employees

Method: Quasi-experiment, workers defined at high risk of stress or in a control group. data collected through physiological measures of chemicals in urine & self-report of mood

Sample: 24 workers at Swedish sawmill high-risk group-14 workers, job complex & required great  knowledge of raw materials. responsible for rate finished objects completed - repsonsible for own & teams wages. control- 10 workers, cleaners or maintenance workers

Procedure: Daily urine sample - arrival of work and 4 other times throughout day. self-report of mood and alertness, plus caffeine and nicotine consumption

Key Results: First Urine Samples of the day, high-risk group had adrenaline levels twice as high as their baseline, continued to increase. control- 1.5 times baseline decreased throughout the day. self-report high-risk felt more rushed & irritated than control and lower well-being

Conclusions: Repetitive, machine-paced work, demanding in attention to detail and highly mechanised, contributed to higher stress levels in high-risk group

Cognitive/Behaviourist

Evaluation Points:

• reductionism vs. holism
• individual vs. situational

Method issues:

• socially desirable answers
• can't demonstrate casual relationships because IV can't be manipulated

helps us find explanations for why people are different. useful applications for doctors when diagnosing stress.

small sample, may not be reliable. ignores emotion and free will, ignores extraneous variables of homelife etc.

Aim: compare Hassles and Uplifts scale and Berkman Life Events scale as predictors of psychological symptoms of stress

Method: repeated design - each pps completed both scales

Sample: 100 people who previously completed the survey in 1965. from California mostly white, protestant, adequate or above income. 216 initially contacted, 109 agreed to take part, 9 dropped out

Procedure: All tests sent one month before study began. pps asked to complete Hassles every month for 9 months, life events after 10 months, the HSCH every month for 9 months

Key Results: Hassles consistent from month to month. LIfe events for men correlated positivelly with hassles and negatively with uplifts. women-more life events =more hassles & uplifts. Hassle frequency correlated with positively with psychological symptoms on HSCL

Conclusions: Hassles more powerful predictor of psychological symptoms than life events. Hassles contribute to psychological symptoms whatever life events have happened.

BEHAVIOURIST/ COGNITIVE

Evaluation issues:

• reductionism vs. holism
• individual vs. situational

Method issues:

• socially desirable answers
• may not be realistic or reliable

helps us find explanations for why people are different. useful applications for looking at different stressors in different people

small sample, may not be reliable. ignores emotion and free will, ignores extraneous variables of homelife etc.

Aim: to see if perceived control or actual control can reduce stress reactions to aversive stimuli                                                                                        

Method: Lab experiment, pps shown photos of dead car-crash victims. stress levels measured by galvanic skin response & heart electrodes

 Sample: 60 undergrads enrolled in a psychology course at New York University

Design: Independant design. Group 1-control over how long they saw each photo. Group 2-joined to group 1, warned photos would be 60 secs apart and how long they would see each-no control, knew what would happen. Group 3-joined to group 1, told time to time they would see photos and hear tones, no control, no predictability

Procedure: sound-shielded room wired up to GSR & HR machines. Calibrated for 5 minutes, pps relaxed- baseline measurements taken

Key Results: HR monitors proved inaccurate-data discarded. Group 2 showed most stress to noise. Group 1 experienced less stress to photos than group 2&3

Conclusions: pps showed less GSR reaction=less stress when had control. likely that being able to terminate stimuli reduces stressful impact

COGNITIVE/BEHAVIOURIST

Evaluation Points:

• reductionism vs. holism
• individual vs. situational

Method Issues:

• low ecological validity, pps may not feel the same in real situation
• sample bias

helps us find explanations for why people are different. useful applications for finding causes of stress and stress levels in specific situations

small sample, may not be reliable. ignores emotion and free will, ignores extraneous variables of homelife etc.