Psychology, Stress and the Immune System

Outline and Evaluate Research into the Relationship between Stress and the Immune System. (12 marks)

         et al investigated the role of general life stress on vunerabilty to illness using a              and exposure to the common cold virus. They found that the chance of developing a cold was significantly correlated with their stress index scores. They concluded that life stress and negative          reduce the effectiveness of the immune system, leaving people less able to resist viral infections.

The participants in their study were, however,               and only a certain type of person is likely to volunteer to take part in common cold research, so the findings may not be the same for all adults. This means that the findings cannot be              to toher groups od people. Althought the study suggested a relationship between life stress and illness, the evidence is            , which means that we cannot be sure the life events caused the vulnerabilty to illness. Also, the study does not tell us which element of the stress index is most             . Although it may seem          …