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CHAPTER 3
Stress & Health Psychology
PowerPoint Lecture Notes Presentation
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Lecture Overview Understanding Stress
Stress & Illness
Health Psychology in Action
Health & Stress Management
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Understanding Stress
What is stress?
– Nonspecific response of the body to any demand made on it;
– the arousal, both physical & mental, to situations or events that we perceive as threatening or challenging
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Life Changes:
life events that require some adjustment in behavior or lifestyle
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Chronic Stress: state of ongoing arousal in which the parasympathetic system cannot activate the relaxation response
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Job Stress: work related stress, including role conflict & burnout
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Job Stress Role conflict: forced choice
between two or more different & incompatible role demands
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Job Stress Burnout: state of psychological &
physical exhaustion resulting from chronic exposure to high levels of stress & little personal control
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Hassles: small, everyday problems that accumulate to become a major source of stress
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Pause & Reflect: Psychology at
Work
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Frustration: unpleasant tension resulting from a blocked goal
Conflict: forced choice between two or more incompatible goals or impulses
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Three Types of Conflict• Approach-Approach: forced choice
between two or more desirable alternatives• Avoidance-Avoidance: forced choice
between two or more undesirable alternatives• Approach-Avoidance: forced choice
between two or more alternatives both having desirable & undesirable results
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Pause & Reflect:
Assessment
Assuming this man is attracted to one of these three women, is he experiencing an approach-approach, approach-avoidance, or avoidance-avoidance conflict?
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Understanding Stress: Sources of Stress (Continued)
Cataclysmic Events: stressors that occur suddenly & generally affect many people simultaneously
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Understanding Stress: Effects of Stress (Continued)
SAM System (Sympatho-Adreno-Medullary): initial, fast-acting stress response
HPA Axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical): Body’s delayed stress response, which if extended may lead to impairment of the immune system and increased vulnerability to disease
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Understanding Stress: Effects of Stress
SAM System HPA Axis
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Understanding Stress: Effects of Stress (Continued)
Stress & Cognitive Functioning: Stress can interfere with retrieval of memories, laying down of new memories, & general information processing
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Understanding Stress: Effects of Stress (Continued)
Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
1. Alarm 2. Resistance 3. Exhaustion
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Understanding Stress: Effects of Stress (Continued)
Psychoneuro- immunology: interdisciplinary field that studies the effect of psychological & other factors on the immune system
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Stress & IllnessCancer: related to genetic predisposition & environmental factors
Cardiovascular Disorders: related to stress hormones, personality types, & certain behaviors
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): anxiety disorder following extraordinary stress
Gastric Ulcers: caused by bacteria or stress? Or both?
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Stress & Illness--PTSD (Continued)
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Table 3.5 PTSD (Continued)
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Pause & Reflect:
Assessment
1. Briefly describe Selye’s three stage General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
2. _____ is an anxiety disorder following extraordinary stress.
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Health Psychology in Action
Social Psychological
Biological
Health Psychology: studies how biological, psychological, & social factors interact in health & illness (the biopsychosocial model)
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Health Psychology in Action
Major Health Risks:1. Tobacco2. Alcohol & Binge Drinking3. Chronic Pain (lasting over
6 months)
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Pause & Reflect: Psychology at
Work
Smokers often overestimate their risk of dying from homicide & traffic accidents, while greatly underestimating their risk from smoking. Studying Chapter 3 helps overcome these faulty beliefs.
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Health & Stress Management
Two initial steps in coping with stress: Primary Appraisal & then Secondary Appraisal
Two choices after secondary appraisal:
1. Emotion-Focused (managing one’s emotional reactions to stress)
2. Problem-Focused (dealing directly with a stressor to decrease or eliminate it)
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Health & Stress Management— Cognitive Appraisal & Coping
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Resources for Healthy Living
1. Health & Exercise2. Positive Beliefs3. Social Skills4. Social Support5. Material Resources6. Control (Internal Locus of Control)7. Relaxation8. Sense of Humor
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Pause & Reflect:
Critical Thinking
Considering these eight resources for health & stress management, which resource do you most often use? Which one do you use least often? Why?
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End of CHAPTER 3
Stress & Health Psychology
PowerPoint Lecture Notes Presentation