Stress: Causes and Measures

Aim: measure the psychological and physiological stress response in tw categories of employees 

Method: Quasi-experiment workers were defined as being at high-risk of stress or in control group. Data collected through physiological measures of chemicals in urine and slef-report of mood 

Participants: - 24 workers at a swedish sawmil; - The high risk group 14 workers who had to work at a rate governed by the production line, responsible for the rate at which finished objects were completed and is responsible for their own and their teams wages - The control group were 10 workers who were cleaners. 

Design: Independent measures with P's already in one of the two categories 

Procedure: each of the P's were asked to give daily sample when arrive at work and 4 times during the day - They also had a self-report of mood and alertness - Caffine + nicotine intake monitored 

Findings: In the first urine sample the day the adrenaline levels was twice as high in high-risk group compared to control - in self-report the high-risk felt ore rushed and irratable 

Conclusion: Reptitive, machine-paced work, demanding attention to detail contributed to higher levels of stress

Aim: Compare the hassles and uplifts scale and the Berkman Life events scale as predictors of psychological sympotoms of stress 

Method: repeated measures were P's completed both self-reports - then assessed their psychological symptoms of stress unsing Hopkins Symptom

Participants: - 100 people who previously completed a health survey in 1995 - From california (mostly white and moderate level of education

Procedure: all tests were sent out by post one month before the study began. The participants were asked to complete: - hassles rating every 9 months - life event after 10 months the Hopkins symptom checklist and bradbury Morale scale for 9 months 

Findings: - Hassles were consistent from month to month

- Life events for men correlated positively with hassles and negatively with uplifts

- For women, the more life events they reported the more hassles and uplifts they reported

Conclusions: hassles are more powerful predictor of psychological symptoms than life events. Hassles contribute to psychological sympotoms whatever life event happen.  

Aim: To see if percieve control or actual control can reduce stress reactions to mental stimuli 

Method: Lab experiment, in which participants were shown photos of dead car crash victims and their stress levels were measured unsing galvanic skin response and heart rate monitors 

Participants: 60 frm New York (uni students) 

Design: independent measures 3 groups; actual control, percieved control and control group

Procedure: Each participants was seated in a sound shielded room and wired up to GSR and HR monitor. The instructions were read over the intercom; each photo presented for after 10 second tone, when the button was pressed (group 1) or after the predetermined length of time (group 2 and 3) the photo disappeared. 

Findings: #HR monitor inaccurate # Predictablilty group showed most stress with the time aas they knew what was coming # The control group showed least stress response to the photo 

Conclusions: P's shpwed less GSR indicating less stress when they had np control over the length of time they looked at the disturbing photos. It is likely that being able to terminate averisve stimuli reducing thier stressful impact 

Aim: to create a method that estimates the extent to which life events are stressors 

Method: A questionnaire designed to as certain how much each life event was felt to be a stressor 

Participnats: 394 subjects

Procedure: - Each participant asked to rate a series of 43 life events - Marriage was given 50 and each event was to be judge to require more or less adjustment 

Findings: 

- Final (SRRS) was completed on mean scores 

- Correlations between groups were tested and found to be high APART from white and black participants 

Conclusions: The degree of similarity between different groupd is impressive and shows agreement