2. The Concept of Stress
 Stress – the physical and psychological response to
events, called stressors, that challenge a person’s
normal functioning (homeostasis); the strain that
results from demands or changes in the environment.
 Everyone has stress – it is a normal part of life.
Some stress can be good because it motivates us or
leads to something desirable (eustress), while other
stress can be maladaptive because it is overwhelming
or causes problems (distress).
 Stressor – Any physical or psychological challenge
that threatens homeostasis; stressors can be unique
to the individual.
• Physical stressors – injury, physical exertion,
noise, overcrowding, excessive heat or cold, etc.
• Psychological stressors – interpersonal conflict,
isolation, traumatic life events, time-pressured
tasks, peer pressure, expectations of others,
high standards for achievement, change in
routine, etc.

3. Categories of Stressors:
 Frustration – the process by
which we are blocked or hindered
from reaching goals.
 Anxiety – a vague generalized
apprehension or feeling that one
is in danger; results when
frustration builds too high or we
cannot resolve a conflict.
 Conflict – a problem that
demands a choice between
alternatives.

4. Types of Psychological Conflict:
1. Approach-approach – A person must choose between one of two
attractive goals.
example: you can either go out to a game or spend time with a
friend who is usually busy, but you cannot do both.
2. Avoidance-avoidance – A person must choose between two
unattractive options, or the “lesser of two evils.”
example: you need to make a choice between cleaning the
bathroom or studying for your psychology exam.
3. Approach-avoidance – A person must choose a goal that has both
attractive and unattractive alternatives.
example: you want to purchase a game system that is great fun to
have, but requires extra work hours to pay for; you want to go with
your friends to a particular movie, but you know that your parents
disapprove.

5. 4. Double approach-avoidance – a person must choose between two
alternatives, both of which have positive and negative features.
example: when you need to choose between two colleges that you
like, but both have negative features as well.
THIS IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF CONFLICT!

6. Appraisal of Stress
 All events are processed within the corticolimbic system, which is
responsible for the appraisal of threat and the processing of emotions.
 Primary appraisal – determining whether an event is a threat, and the
magnitude of that threat.
 Secondary appraisal – evaluating ways in which to cope with the
stressor.

7. Responses to Stress
Stress is associated with emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses.
Some responses do not affect functioning, while other can severely
disrupt normal functioning.
Emotional symptoms – crying, nervousness, irritability,
anger, sadness, anxiety, fear, feelings of dissatisfaction,
feeling overwhelmed and powerless, apathetic, or empty.
Cognitive symptoms – memory problems, distractibility,
obsessiveness, nightmares, or problems in concentration.
Behavioral reactions – problems in relationships,
alcohol and substance abuse, compulsive eating, teeth
grinding, lowered sex drive, or uncommunicativeness.

9. Physiological (Physical) Response to Stress
 Fight or Flight Reaction
-- the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic branch) kicks into
gear to prepare us for the threat at hand.
Adrenocorticotropic hormone
(ACTH): a hormone produced by
the anterior pituitary gland that
stimulates the adrenal cortex.
Part of the
limbic system
Master gland
of the
endocrine system
Adrenal
medulla
Adrenaline

10.  The hypothalamus communicates with the endocrine system, which
releases cortisol and adrenaline.
Cortisol increases sympathetic nervous system activity, releases
stored fats for energy, and suppresses immune system function.
Adrenaline (epinephrine) stimulates heart muscles and increases
heart rate and oxygen consumption so as to prepare the body to
respond.

11. • Identified the body’s response to stress and described the three
phases as follows.
• Alarm: recognize you are facing a change or challenge; the stress
response begins.
• Resistance: all resources are mobilized—attention, strength, and fuel; the
body is operating above homeostasis (until adaptation occurs—if it does).
• Exhaustion: adaptation does not occur; the body becomes exhausted,
resources are depleted. Person suffers fatigue, can become sick, or even
die.

12. • Chronic Stress
• Short-term stress can be helpful to us because it can give us the
energy we need to perform or meet our goals.
• Chronic stress, on the other hand, is not helpful. Chronic stress
involves prolonged activation of the stress response.
• Hormones released during the stress response have negative effects
when released continuously.
• Cortisol suppresses immune function and can disrupt sleep —thus
increasing susceptibility to illness.
• Chronic stress can also cause other symptoms in the body, such as
acne, muscle tension, stomach pain, weight gain, headaches, etc.
Chronic Stress (Movie Preview)

13. Stress and Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. today.
Early research has found a relationship between stress and heart
disease.
•Friedman & Rosenman (1959) monitored the cholesterol levels of tax
accountants just before and up to the tax deadline (April 15th).
•They found cholesterol levels increased dramatically before April 15th and
returned to normal by June. Research only included white men.
During stress, cortisol causes fat to be released into the
bloodstream. It serves to fuel the muscles, but it may not be used up
if no physical action occurs. The fat then collects along artery walls,
damaging them, while also causing the heart to work harder.
Adrenaline also causes the heart to beat faster and work harder.

15. Your Perception of
an Event
Threatening Non-Threatening
Acute (Short-
Term) Stress
No Stress
Stress Response
Stressor
Continues/Person Does
Not Adapt/Stress Is Not
Managed
Person Performs/Stressor
Ceases/Person
Adapts/Stress Is
Managed
Strength Gained Illness or
Disease
Chronic (Long-
Term) Stress
Coping
Devices/Defense
Mechanisms Used
Alarm
Resistance
Recovery Exhaustion
Stress can be
helpful
(Acute/Eustress)
Stress can be harmful
(Chronic/Distress)

16. • Many things impact how we
respond to stress, including our
personality type, the intensity and
duration of the stressor, history of
previous stressors, our individual
beliefs about ourselves and the
world, the relationships we have,
the culture we are raised in, and
even our gender.

17. Early research has revealed a relationship between Type A personality
and heart attacks (Friedman & Rosenman, 1974).
Type A – Hard-driving, operating at full-speed, impatient.
Type B – Laid-back personality, enjoy the moment, usually easy-going
and flexible.
Type A men are more likely to have heart attacks. The sympathetic
nervous system works overtime; the increases hormone secretion
increases plaques of cholesterol deposits.
Newer research has identified hostility as the key factor in Type A
personalities that contributes to heart disease.
There are, of course,
advantages to being a
type A personality. Type
A’s get work done, and
they don’t let obstacles
get in their way. However,
they should be aware the
dangers of being “under
the gun” too often and
learn to relax at least
some of the time.

18. • The negative effect of a stressor is
magnified if we look at the stressor
negatively and as something beyond our
control.
• Examples:
• Judith Rodin compared nursing home patients who
perceived little control over their activities with
similar patients who did control some of their daily
routines. Rodin found those perceiving less
control declined in health more rapidly and died
sooner than those who felt they had more control
of their daily routines.
• Other researchers found lowered immunity to
disease among rats exposed to uncontrolled
stress. When two rats simultaneously receive the
same amount of mild electric shock, the rat that
can turn off the shock stays just as healthy as a rat
receiving no shock. And these “empowered” rats
are healthier than shocked rats that have no
control over the shocking mechanism.

19. • Optimism--a tendency to expect the best possible outcome or
dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation--also seems
to offer some protection against the effects of stress.
• In one study, those students identified as optimists had
stronger immune systems and were less likely to become ill
or fatigued during the last month of the semester than
students identified as pessimists—those who expect the
worst or dwell on the negative.
• Optimists also recover more quickly from heart surgery than
pessimists do.
• A study of 2400 Finnish men revealed that those with a
hopeless, bleak outlook on life were twice as likely to die
during a 10 year span than were those labeled optimists.

20. • Why is this the case?
• The answer is the interplay between mind (your
perception or appraisals) and body (your physiology).
• Both pessimism and perceived loss of control lead to the
production and release of stress hormones. This
weakens and hinders your immune system.
• This brings us to…

21. Locus of Control
The study of locus of control dates back to the 1960s, with Julian
Rotter's investigation into how people's behaviors and attitudes
affected the outcomes of their lives. Locus of control refers to the
extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that
affect them.
Internal locus of control – belief that outcomes result from
one’s own behaviors
External locus of control – belief that luck, chance, and
powerful people determine outcomes

22. • Those with an internal locus of control tend to be
happier, less depressed, and less stressed.

23. • Yet another factor that seems to meditate stress
is how we view ourselves.
• Having a positive self-concept (the image we
have of ourselves) and high self-esteem (the
degree to which we think we are worthwhile) help
to maintain a sense of well-being.

24. • According to positive psychology, we have ultimate control
over how we respond to stress.
• Regressive coping: sleeping too much, avoiding or denying
problems, taking our anger out on others, or adopting destructive
habits.
• Transformational coping: creating something good out of something
bad—admitting our anger, addressing the problem logically, adjusting
priorities, and exploring solutions.

25. Defense Mechanisms
• When under stress, we all do our best to keep some kind
of balance. We often use defense mechanisms, or
mostly unconscious psychological distortions or “tricks”
designed to keep us stable.
• Defenses are normal, but they can be used too often.
When this happens, we are refusing to face reality, and
this is not adaptive.

26. • Ten common defense mechanisms:
• Repression—pushing painful material out of
consciousness.
• A traumatic experience is forgotten because it is too
painful.
• Denial—refusing to admit there is a problem.
• A drug addict says, “I don’t have a problem.”
• Displacement—venting our feelings on
something or someone other than the true or
original target.
• A child is angry at his friend so he yells at his mother.
• Reaction formation—expressing the opposite
of what we feel.
• A person who brags may actually feel very unsure of
himself.
• Intellectualization—removing our feelings
about an event and discussing it in a coolly
rational and unemotional way.
• A surgeon puts aside his emotions during surgery.

27. • Identification—process of taking
on characteristics of someone
who has mistreated us in order to
psychologically avoid the abuse.
• A prisoner begins to view the
guards as friendly.
• Brian starts to act like the bullies
that push him around.
• Regression—going backward in
behavior and thought to a period
when we were taken care of as a
child.
• A 20-year-old throws a temper
tantrum when under stress.
• Rationalization—the process of
explaining away a problem so we
don’t have to take the blame.
• A student who can’t find a date for
the prom says he “can’t afford to
go.”

28. • Projection—the process of attributing our thoughts to
someone else.
• An employee who cheats the company complains that the
company is cheating her.
• Sublimation—the process of channeling emotional
energy into constructive or creative activities.
• A sexually frustrated woman takes up kick-boxing.

29. • More on Transformational Coping
• See 70 Proven Stress Reducers to see how you can reduce
stress and cope with stress in healthy ways!