PSYCHOLOGY ASSIGNMENT

- Lisa Anne Desouza

Q1. Define Stress

Ans 1. Defined from the Latin word ‘strictus’ meaning tight or
narrow and ‘stringere’ meaning to tighten, these words reflect
the internal feelings of tightness and constriction of the
muscles and breathing as reported by many people under
stress.

Stress is the patter of responses an organism makes to

stimulus event that disturbs the equilibrium and exceeds a
person’s ability to cope.

Q2. What is Eustress

Ans 2. Eustress refers to the level of stress that is good for you
and is one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak
performance and managing a minor crisis.

Q3. What is distress

Ans 3. Distress is the manifestation of stress that causes our
body’s wear and tear. Eustress has the potential for turning
into distress.

Q4. How does stress effect performance?

Ans 4. If handled properly stress can increase the probability of
one’s survival. It can give us energy, increase human arousal
and affect our performance. However high stress can produce
unpleasant effects and cause our performance to deteriorate.
Conversely, too little stress may cause one to feel somewhat
listless and low on motivation which may lead to us performing
slowing and less efficiently.

Q5. Can stress be useful for Performance

Yes, some amount of stress can be useful for performance.
Eustress refers to the level of stress that is good for you and is
one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak performance
and managing a minor crisis.

Q6. What are stressors

Ans 6. Stressors are events that cause our body to give the
stress response. For egg- noise, crowding etc.
Q7. What is strain?
Strain is the reaction to external stressors.

Hans Selye is the father of modern stress research and defined

it as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand” i.e.
regardless of the cause of the threat the individual will respond
with the same physiological pattern of reaction
Q8. Explain the 2 appraisals given by Lazarus.
According to Lazarus and his colleagues, a person’s reaction to
stress depends on his/her perception of events and how they
choose to interpret/appraise it. Lazarus distinguished between
2 types of appraisals-
1. Primary Appraisals- it refers to the perception of a new
or changing environment as positive, negative or neutral
in its consequences.
(a) Negative events are appraised for they possible-
I. Harm- the assessment of the damage that has
already been done by the event
II. Threat- the assessment of possible future damage
may be brought by the event.
III. Challenge appraisals- are confident expectations
of the ability to cope with the stressful event and
the potential to overcome and even profit from the
event.
2. Secondary Appraisals- the assessment of one’s coping
abilities and resources and whether they will be sufficient
to meet the harm, threat or challenge of the event. These
resources may be mental, physical, personal or social.

Q9. Factors influencing appraisals.

Ans. These appraisals are very subjective in nature and depend
on many factors.
1. Past experiences of dealing with such a stressful
condition. If one has handled similar situations very
 successfully in the past then they would be less
threatening to him/her.
2. Perception of controllable- A person who believes that
she/he can control the onset of a negative situation will
experience less stress than those who have no such sense
of personal control. the experience and outcome of stress
differs from people and situations. Stress include all the
environmental and personal events.
3. Stressors can be external like
(a) the environment (noise, air pollution)
(b) social (a breakup, loneliness)
(c) or psychological (conflict and frustration) within the
individual.
Effect of Stressors
1. Physiological level- arousal plays a key role in stress-
related behaviours. The hypothalamus initiates action
along two pathways-
(a) The first pathway involves autonomic nervous
system. The adrenal gland releases large amounts of
catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine) into
the blood stream. This leads to physiological changes
seen in fight or flight response.
(b) The second pathway involves the pituitary gland
which secretes the corticosteroid (cortisol) which
provides energy.
2. The emotional reactions to experience stress include
negative emotions like fear, anxiety, embarrassment,
anger, depression or even denial.
3. The Behavioural level—responses are virtually limitless,
depending on the nature of the stressful event.
Confrontative action against the stressor (fight) or
withdrawal from the threatening event (flight) are two
general categories of behavioural responses.
4. Cognitive responses believe in the beliefs about the harm
or threat an event poses and beliefs about the causes or
controllability. These include responses like inability to
concentrate, having intrusive, repetitive and morbid
thoughts.
Dimensions of stress
1. The stresses which people experience also varies in
(a) Intensity (low vs high)
(b) Duration (short-term vs long-term)
(c) Complexity (less complex vs highly complex)
(d) Predictability (unpredictable vs predictable)
The outcome of stress depends on its position of a
particular stressful event along these dimensions. Usually
the more intense one for long duration which are highly
complex and unpredictable have the most negative
consequences.
2. The physiological strength of that person. Thus,
individuals with poor physical health and weak
constitution would be more vulnerable than would be
those who enjoy good health and strong constitution.
3. Psychological characteristics like mental health,
temperament and self-concept are relevant to the
experience of stress.
4. The cultural context in which we live, determines the
meaning of any new event and defines the nature of
responses that are expected under various conditions.
 5. The resources available to the person such as money,
social skills, coping style etc.

Types of Stress-
1. Physical and Environmental stress-
Physical stresses demand a change in the state of our
body. We feel strained physically, suffer injury or fail to
get enough sleep. Environmental stresses are aspects of
our surroundings that are often unavoidable like noise, air
pollution. Other environmental stress group is the
catastrophic events like tsunamis, earthquakes etc.
2. Psychological stress
These are stresses we generate within our minds. These
are personal and unique and internal stresses to the
individual. Imp sources of psychological stress is-
i. Frustration- When our needs or motives are
blocked by something or someone and prevents us
from achieving our desired goal. Then we feel
frustrated.
ii. Conflicts- We feel conflicted when we have 2 or
more incompatible needs or motives. Egg- whether to
study History or psychology
iii. Internal pressures- these come from beliefs based
upon expectations from inside us to ourselves like “I
must do everything perfectly”. Such expectations
only bring disappointment.
iv. Social pressures- these may be brought about from
people who make excessive demands on us. This can
cause even greater pressure when we have to work
with them. These are the people whom we face
interpersonal difficulties.
3. Social Stress
These are externally induced and result from our interaction
with others. Social events like death or illness in the family
are examples of causes of social stress. These vary widely
from people to people. (egg- going out to parties may be
stressful for one who likes to stay inside.)
SOURCES OF STRESS
1. Life Events- Changes both big and small, sudden or
gradual affect us from the moment we are born. Major life
events can be stressful because they disturb our routine
and cause upheaval. If several of these life events are
unplanned or unpredicted and occur within a short period,
we find it difficult to cope and are prone to stress.
2. Hassles- These are personal stresses we endure as
individuals due to our daily like noise, traffic, commuting
etc. Attending to various emergencies are daily hassles
experienced by a housewife. Some jobs have frequent
daily hassles. These sometimes cause devastating
consequences for the individuals who are copying with
these alone as others may not be aware of them. The
more hassles reported by people the poorer is their
psychological state.
3. Traumatic events- This include extreme events like a
fire, train accident etc. The effects of these may occur
after some time and sometimes persist as symptoms of
anxiety, flashbacks, recurrent dreams etc. Severe trauma
puts strains on relationships. Professions help will be
needed to copy if these symptoms persist for many
months after the event.
EFFECTS OF STRESS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING AND
HEALTH
A. Emotional Effects- People who suffer with stress are
likely to experience mood swings, erratic behaviour that
alienated them from friends and family. Some cases lead
to a vicious circle of decreasing confidence to more
serious emotional problems. Egg- anxiety, depression,
physical tension, mood swings etc.
B. Physiological Effects- Under stress the body produces
hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These produces
changes in heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism and
physical activity. Although this helps us to function more
effectively under pressure, it can cause damaging long-
term effects on our body. Egg- release of epinephrine and
norepinephrine, slowing down of digestive system etc.
 C. Cognitive Effects- One may suffer a mental overload due
to stress. From high levels of stress, this causes
individuals to lose their ability to make sound judgements.
They make faulty decisions at work, at home, with careers
etc. Egg- poor concentration and reduced short-term
memory capacity.
D. Behavioural Effects- This occurs in the form of eating
less nutritional food, increasing intake of stimulants like
caffeine, alcohol, use of drugs like tranquillisers etc.
Tranquilisers can be addictive and have side effects like
loss of concentration, poor coordination and dizziness.
Egg- disrupted sleep patterns, increased absenteeism and
reduced work performances.
Stress and Health- Chronic daily stress can divert an
individual’s attention from caring for themselves. When stress
is prolonged it affects physical health and impairs psychological
functioning. People experience exhaustion and attitudinal
problems when the stress due to demands from the
environment are too high and little support is available from
friends and family. (definition of burnout)
Burnout- The mental exhaustion appears in the form of
irritability, anxiety, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
(HIAH) This state of physical, emotional and psychological
exhaustion is known as a burnout.
General Adaptive Syndrome (GAS) Model
Selye studied this issue by subjecting animals to varies
stressors like high temperature, X-rays and insulin injections in
the lab over a long period of time. He also observed patients
with various injuries and illnesses at hospitals.
Selye noticed a similar set of patters of bodily responses in all
of them. He called this pattern the General Adaptive Syndrome
(GAS). GAS involves 3 stages –
1. Alarm Reaction- The presence of a noxious stimulus or
stressor leads to activation of the adrenal-pituitary-cortex
system. This triggers the release of hormones producing
the stress response. Now the individual is ready for flight
or fight.
 2. Resistance stage- If stress continues then resistance
stage begins. The parasympathetic nervous system calls
for more cautious use of the body’s resources. The
organism makes an effort to cope with the threat through
confrontation.
3. Exhaustion stage- Continued exposure to the stressor or
additional stressors drains the body of its resources and
leads to exhaustion. The physiological systems involved in
alarm reaction and resistance become ineffective ad
susceptible to stress-related diseases like high blood
pressure.

CRITICISMS
It has been criticised for assigning a very limited role to
psychological factors in stress. Researchers have reported that
the psychological appraisal of events is important for the
determination of stress. How people respond to stress is
substantially influenced by their perceptions, personalities and
biological constitutions.

Stress and the Immune System

1. Stress can cause illness by impairing the working of the
immune system.
2. Psychoneuroimmunology focuses on the links between
the mind, the brain and the immune system. It studies the
effects of stress on the immune system.
3. The white blood cells called leucocytes within the
immune system identify and destroy foreign bodies called
antigens like viruses. It also leads to the production of
anti-bodies.
4. There are several kinds of white blood cells/leucocytes
including the T-cells, B-cells and the Natural killer cells –
(a) T-cells- destroy invaders and T-helper cells increase
immunological activity. T-helper cells are attacked by
the Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV), which is
the virus causing Acquired Immuno Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS).
 (b) B-cells- produce anti bodies.
(c) Natural Killer cells- are involved in the fight
against both viruses and tumours. Reduced levels of
natural killer cell cytoxicity have been found in
people who are highly stressed Egg- in students
facing exams, bereaved persons etc.
NEXT PARA FROM BOOK
Lifestyle- Stressed individuals are more likely to expose
themselves to pathogens which are agents causing physical
illness.
Coping with Stress
1. Lazarus and Folkman have conceptualised coping as a
dynamic process rather than an individual trait. Coping
refers to a constantly changing cognitive and behavioural
effort to master reduce or tolerate that internal or external
demand that are crated by the stressful transaction.
2. Coping is a dynamic situation-specific reaction to
stress. It is a set of concrete responses to stressful
situations or events that are intended to resolve
the problems and reduce stress.
3. The 3 coping strategies given by Edler and Parker are-
(a) Task-oriented strategy – This involves obtaining
info about the stressful situation and alternative
courses of action and their problematic outcome. It
involves deciding priorities and acting so as to deal
directly with the stressful situation. For egg- planning
time better.
(b) Emotion-oriented strategy: This involves efforts to
maintain hope and to control one’s emotions. It also
involves venting feelings of anger and frustration, or
deciding that nothing can be done to change things.
Egg- tell myself that its not really happening to me.
(c) Avoidance- oriented strategy: Involves denying
the seriousness of the situation and conscious
suppression of stressful thoughts and their
replacement by self- protective thoughts. Egg- phone
up a friend, watching TV.
According to Lazarus and Folkman coping responses are of 2
types-
A. Problem-focused strategies: that attack the problem
itself. Person gathers information about the stressors
thereby decreasing the value of the threat.
B. Emotion-focused strategies: call for psychological
changes designed to limit the degree of emotional
disruption caused by an event with minimal effort to alter
the event itself.
C. Both of these coping strategies are necessary when facing
stressful situations, research suggests that people
generally tend to use the former more.

STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

1. Relaxation Techniques- Reduces stress symptoms and
decreases incident of illness like heart disease+ high
blood pressure. Relaxation usually starts with the lower
body to the facial muscles so that the whole body is
relaxed. Uses deep breathing and muscle relaxation to
calm the mind+ body.
2. Meditation Procedures- Yogic method of medit which
brings about an altered state of consciousness through a
sequence of learned techniques. It uses such thorough
concentration that makes one unaware of any outside
stimulation & reaches a different state of consciousness.
3. Biofeedback – Monitor and reduce physiological aspects of
stress by providing feedback about current physiological
activity accompanied by relaxation training. It involves 3
states-
(i) Developing an awareness of the particular
physiological response like heart rate
(ii) Learning ways of controlling that response in quiet
conditions and
(iii) Transferring that control into the conditions of
everyday life.
 4. Creative Visualisation - It is a subjective experience that
uses imagery and imagination. Before visualising one
must set oneself a realistic goal to build confidence. It is
easier to visualise if one’s mind is quiet; body is relaxed
and eyes are closed. This reduces the risk of interference
from unbidden thoughts and provides the creative energy
needed for turning an imagined scene into reality.
5. Cognitive Behavioural techniques- This aims to inoculate
people against stress. Stress inoculation training is
effective method by Meichenbaum. Its goal is to replace
negative and irrational thoughts with positive and rational
ones. It has 3 main phases-
(a) Assessment- Discussing the nature of the problem
and seeing it from the client’s viewpoint
(b) Stress reduction techniques- learning the techniques
of reducing stress like relaxation and self-instruction.
(c) application and follow-through.
6. Exercise- This provides an active outlet for the
physiological arousal experienced in response to stress.
Regular exercise improves the efficiency of the heart,
enhances the lung capacity, reduces fat cells etc.
Exercising with swimming, walking running etc 4 times a
week for 30 min will help stress.

WAYS OF PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING

Life Skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that
enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life.
Lisa needs to –
1. Rational Thinking- Many stress related disorders arise
due to faulty thinking. When we are stressed, we have an
inbuilt selective bias to attend to negative thoughts and
images from the past which affect our perception of the
present and the future. Ways of thinking rationally are-
challenging distorted thinking and irrational beliefs,
driving out potential intrusive negative thoughts and
making positive statements.
 2. Improve Relationships- key to long lasting relationships
is- communication. This consists of 3 essential skills-
(a) Listening to what the other person says
(b) Expressing how you feel and what you think
(c) Accepting the other persons opinions and feeling
even if they are different from your own
(d) Avoid misplaced jealously and sulking behaviour.
3. Self- care- If we keep ourselves healthy and relaxed, we
are better prepared both physically and emotionally to
tackle the stresses of everyday life.
4. Assertiveness- It is a behaviour/skill that helps to
communicate clearly and confidently our feelings needs
wants and thoughts. It is the ability to say no to a request
and state an opinion without being self-conscious etc. If
we are assertive then we feel confident, have a high sense
of self-esteem and solid sense of our own identity.
5. Time Management- Learning how to plan our time and
delegate can help us to relieve the pressure. The major
way to reduce time stress is to change one’s perception of
time. Central principle of time management is to spend
our time doing the things that we value or help us to
achieve our goals.
6. Overcoming Unhelpful Habits- Habits like
perfectionism, avoidance and procrastination etc make us
vulnerable to stress in the long run
(i) Perfectionists are people who have to get
everything just right. They have difficulty in
varying standards according to factors like time
available, consequences etc. They find it difficult
to relax and are overly critical of their own
performance.
(ii) Procrastination means putting off what we need to
do. People who do this are deliberately avoiding
confronting their fears of failure or rejection.

Positive health comprises of – a healthy body, high quality of

personal relationships, sense of purpose in life, self-regard,
mastery or life tasks and resilience to stress, trauma and
change.
1. Diet- A balanced diet can lift one’s mood, give energy,
feed muscles, improve circulation, prevent illness,
strengthen the immune system and make one feel better
to cope with stresses of life. The key to healthy living is to
eat 3 meals a day and eat a varied of well-balanced diet.
When we are stresses, we seek ‘comfort foods’ which are
high fats, salt and sugar.
2. Exercise- Regular exercise plays a vital role in managing
weight and stress and it has a positive effect on reducing
tension anxiety and depression. Physical exercises like
walking running or even yoga etc have positive influences.
3. Positive Attitude- Positive health and well-being can be
realised by having a positive attitude. Some of the factor
leading to positive attitude are- having a fairly accurate
perception of reality, sense of purpose of life and
responsibility, acceptance and tolerance for different
viewpoints of others and taking credit for success and
accepting blame for failure.
4. Positive Thinking- optimism which Is the inclination to
expect favourable life outcomes has been linked to
psychological and physical well-being.
5. Social Support- It is defined as the existence and
availability of people on whom we can reply upon who
know that they care about, value and love us.
(i) Perceived Support- i.e. the quality of social support
is positively related to health and well being
(ii) Social network- the quality of social support is
unrelated to well being because it is a very time-
consuming and demanding to maintain a large
social network.
Social support may be in the form of-
1. Tangible support- or assistance involving material aid
like money, services etc. (Egg- a child gives her friend
notes because she was absent)
2. Information Support- about stressful events. (Egg-
Board pass out gives a 12th grade girl tips).
 3. Emotional support- Reassuring support generally from
family and friends to the individual showing that she is
loved, valued and cared for.
Social support reduces psychological distress like anxiety and
depression during stressful times. It is positively related to
psychological well-being and leads to benefits in mental health
for both the giver and the receiver.