STRESS

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Stress

The Characteristics of Stress;

Stress as a physical response;

  • Selye did research on rats and found that that stress promotes the release of cortisol and adrenaline. Adrenaline produces the 'fight or flight' and cortisol produces glucose.
  • Can cause pain like headaches, backaches. Even heart disease.

Stress as a psychological response;

  • Lazarus and Folkman proposed a transactional model of stress.
  • It involves a primary appraisal which is whether the stressor is significant and a secondary appraisal which is whether the person believes they have the recourses to cope.
  • Weighing up the appraisals determines the stress response.

Different types of stress;

  • Acute stress - response to an immediate threat like an exam
  • Episodic acute stress - repeated instances of short-term stress like too much work.
  • Chronic stress - long periods of time such as poverty, unhappy relationships.

 

Biological Explanation 1 - Adrenaline and Acute Stress

The Sypathomedullary pathway (SAM)

  • The hypothalamus demands a response from the autonomic nervous system, in particular, the sympathetic branch.
  • This makes the adrenal medulla release adrenaline and noradrenaline which go to the organs and muscles to make them work faster.
  • Once the stressor has passed, the parasympathetic branch will be targeted.

Fight or flight response;

  • The changes caused by adrenaline prepare the body to fight or flight.
  • Eg, oxygen is moved to essential organs, sweat is produced to cool us down etc.

Link to evolution;

  • We may have faced the flight or fight response in the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA) like when facing a lion.
  • Now they are usually a sudden scare which triggers the response but doesn't use it.

Effects on the heart;

  • Can cause cardiovascular disorders.
  • Causes the growth of muscle around the heart which causes arteries and capillaries to deform.

Evaluation of biological explanation 1 

Supporting evidence;

  • Leor found that there was an increase in cardio related deaths on the day of the Californian earthquake, showing the effects of an acute stressor.

Stress may not be a causal factor of heart problems;

  • Other factors like age, weight and other health issues must be considered before.

Gender differences;

  • Taylor points out that it could be the 'tend and befriend' response for women. When looking at the EEA, mothers would have nurtured and looked after their young.
  • Maybe a difference in oxytocin and testosterone levels.

Challenge or a threat?

  • Research has shown that our body responds differently to the both
  • If it is a challenge, the heart beats more powerfully and vessells relax but if it's a threat the heart beats fast and the body produces negative effects.

Biological Explanation 2 - Cortisol and Chronic Stress

The HPA;

  • Signals from the hypothalamus cause the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotrophin hormone, this then simulates the secretion of cortisol.

Cortisol;

  • Lowers sensitivity to pain and allows us to deal with the stressor for longer.
  • Can affect cognitive performance like memory. People recall fewer things with high levels of the hormones, it's like going into an exam and your 'mind going blank'

Effects on health;

  • Immunosuppression - stress causes the immune…

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