Stress YouTube - stress monsters

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StressYouTube - stress monsters

• Causes (3)
• Measurements (3)
• Management (3)

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Stress is a biological response to an external
stressor/s

• Biological response to the fight or flight
  mechanism
• The bodies stress response causes an increase in
  blood pressure, reduction in blood flow to the
  peripheral blood vessels (hand and feet) and an
  increase in adrenaline, noradrenalin and
  corticosteroids to be released into the blood
  stream. Over a long period of time this stress
  response causes the bodys immune systems to
  eventually break down.

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Why is understanding stress useful

• 1. Causes psychological problems like anxiety and
  depression.
• 2. Causes everyday physical illness like cough
  and colds by lowering the effectiveness of the
  immune system.
• 3. Can cause heart disease and stroke by
  increasing build up of cholesterol.
• 4. May lead to illnesses like cancer
• 5. Causes millions of lost sick days from work
• 6. Causes accidents and injuries at work due to
  loss of concentration

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Evidence to show different factors which cause
stress

• Life event scales were devised to demonstrate how
  major life events such as death, divorce,
  unemployment and severe illness can be used to
  calculate levels of stress and consequently to
  predict illness (Holmes and Rahe 1967). However
  even when we do not have extreme stressors like
  these we still end up feeling stressed!
• Kanner 1981 - Minor stressors can combine to
  become large stressors

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Psychological Measures (psychometric tests)

• (i) Holmes and Rahe (1967) Social Readjustment
  Rating Scale (SRRS).
• HR defined stress in terms of the change caused
  to a persons life (change can be positive,
  negative or neutral but would still be stressful
  by their definition). HR argued that whenever an
  individual had to make a substantial adjustment
  to the environment, the likelihood of stress is
  high.
• Holmes Rahe first examined the medical records
  of around 5000 people. They found that, in many
  cases, significant life changes occurred in the
  months preceding the onset of illness. They
  selected 43 of these life events and asked a
  sample of 394 people to rate the degree of
  social readjustment required for each event
  (death of spouse was given the arbitrary value of
  100 and marriage the arbitrary value of 50).
  Based on these results, they constructed the
  SRRS.
• Each life event was ranked and assigned a number
  of life change units (LCUs) from 100 to 11. A
  persons stress score is the sum of all the life
  change units for events they have experienced
  within a period of 12 months.

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Examples of top rank events

• The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
• RANK
• 1. Death of spouse
• 2. Divorce
• 3. Marital separation
• 4. Jail term
• 5. Death of close family member
• 6. Personal injury or illness
• 7. Fired at work
• 8. Retirement
• 9. Change in health of family member
• 10. Pregnancy
• 11. Sex difficulties
• 12. Gain of new family member

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Kanner Hassles and Uplifts

• Kanner used hassles as a predictor of stress and
  illness. The standard life events (SRRS) which
  had been popular previously to predict stress,
  was compared with relatively minor events,
  namely, the hassles and uplifts of everyday life.
  Hassles and Uplifts Scales were administered once
  a month for 10 consecutive months to a community
  sample of 100 middle-aged adults in California.
• A longitudinal study with repeated measures
  design was used as participants filled out both
  the Life Events Scale as well as the Hassles and
  Uplifts Scale. They then had their
  psychological symptoms of stress assessed using
  the Hopkins Symptom checklist and the Bradburn
  Morale scale. (Nine subjects dropped out)
• It was found that the Hassles Scale was a better
  predictor of psychological and physiological
  symptoms than were the life events scores.
  Hassles also seemed to be consistent month on
  month. Hassles and symptoms of stress were
  significantly correlated. The more hassles the
  participant reported the more symptoms they
  reported. Uplifts were positively related to
  reduced symptoms for women but not for men.
• It was concluded that the assessment of daily
  hassles and uplifts may be a better approach to
  the prediction of stress and ill health than the
  life events approach.

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Hassles and Uplifts - Kanner
Daily Hassles Daily Uplifts
1 Concerns about weight 1 Relating well to spouse or partner
2 Health of a family member 2 Relating well to friends
3 Rising price of common goods 3 Completing a task
4 Home maintenance 4 Feeling healthy
5 Too many things to do 5 Getting enough sleep
6 Misplacing or losing things 6 Eating out
7 Outside home maintenance 7 Meeting your responsibilities
8 Property, investment or taxes 8 Visiting, phoning or writing to someone
9 Crime 9 Spending time with the family
10 Physical appearance 10 Finding your home a pleasant environment
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Work has also been shown to produce stress!

• What jobs or types of work would you think might
  be the most stressful?

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Johansson Swedish Saw Mill

• Aim to investigate whether work stressors such
  as repetitiveness, machine-regulated pace of work
  and high levels of responsibility increase
  stress-related physiological arousal and stress
  related illness
• Procedures The researchers identified a
  high-risk group of 14 finishers in a Swedish
  sawmill. Their job was to finish off the wood at
  the last stage of processing timber. The work was
  machine-paced, isolated, very repetitive yet
  highly skilled, and the finishers productivity
  determined the wage rates for the entire factory
• The 14 finishers were compared with a low-risk
  group of 10 cleaners, whose work was more varied,
  largely self-paced, and allowed more socialising
  with other workers
• Levels of stress-related hormones (adrenaline and
  noradrenaline) in the urine were measured on work
  days and rest days
• Records were kept of stress-related illness and
  absenteeism
• Findings The high-risk group of 14 finishers
  secreted more stress hormones (adrenaline and
  noradrenaline) on work days than on rest days,
  and higher levels than the control group. The
  high-risk group of finishers also showed
  significantly higher levels of stress-related
  illness such as headaches and higher levels of
  absenteeism than the low-risk group of cleaners.
• Conclusions A combination of work stressors-
  especially repetitiveness, machine-pacing of work
  and high levels of responsibility lead to
  chronic (long-term) physiological arousal. This
  in turn leads to stress-related illness and
  absenteeism.
• If employers want to reduce illness and
  absenteeism in their workforce, they need to find
  ways of reducing these work stressors, for
  example by introducing variety into employees
  work and by allowing them to experience some
  sense of control over the pace of their work.

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Johansson Swedish Saw Mill measures

• Each participant had to give a urine sample four
  times a day so that their adrenal levels could be
  measured.
• Their body temperature was recorded at the same
  time as this can give an indication of how alert
  a person is.
• These two physiological measures were combined
  with self report where each participant had to
  say how much caffeine and nicotine they had
  consumed since the last urine test. They also
  had to report on a range of emotions and feelings
  as well as sleepiness, well-being, calmness,
  irritation and efficiency etc. They had to
  scale these feelings on a continuum from minimum
  to maximum using a scale with millimetres. The
  score was how many millimetres from the base
  point the participants had marked themselves to
  be feeling.
• This combined approach gave both qualitative and
  quantitative measurements enabling Johannson to
  compare the two groups of workers and understand
  the impact of higher stress levels on the
  participants.

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Stress on the job

• Numerous studies show that job stress is far and
  away the major source of stress for American
  adults and that it has escalated progressively
  over the past few decades. Increased levels of
  job stress as assessed by the perception of
  having little control but lots of demands have
  been demonstrated to be associated with increased
  rates of heart attack, hypertension and other
  disorders. In New York, Los Angeles and other
  municipalities, the relationship between job
  stress and heart attacks is so well acknowledged,
  that any police officer who suffers a coronary
  event on or off the job is assumed to have a work
  related injury and is compensated accordingly
  (including a heart attack sustained while fishing
  on vacation or gambling in Las Vegas).

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Geer and Meisel Stress and control

• Aim To see if perceived control or actual
  control can reduce stress reactions to averse
  stimuli.
• Method Laboratory experiment in which
  participants were shown photographs of dead car
  crash victims and their stress levels were
  measured by GSR (Galvanic skin response) and
  heart rate through ECG monitoring.
• Participants 60 undergraduates enrolled in a
  psychology course at a New York university.
• Design Independent measures with participants
  randomly assigned to three conditions.
• Group 1 were given control over how long they
  looked at the images for. They could press a
  button to terminate the image and were told a
  tone would precede each new image.
• Group 2 Were warned the photos would be 60
  seconds apart they would see the picture for 35
  seconds and a 10 second warning tone would
  precede each photo. The group had no control but
  did know what was happening.
• Group 3 were told that from time to time they
  would see photos and hear tones but were not
  given timings or any control.
• Procedure each participant was seated in a sound
  proofed room and wired up to the GSR and ECG
  machines. The machine was calibrated for 5
  minutes while the participant relaxed and a
  baseline measurement was then taken.
  Instructions were read over an intercom. Each
  photo was precede with a 10 second tone and then
  flashed up for 35 seconds (only the one group
  could terminate the photo and move on). The GSR
  was taken at the onset of the tone and during the
  second half of the tone and in response to the
  picture.
• Results ECG recordings were discarded as they
  appeared inaccurate.
• Group 2 showed most stress. Group 1 showed least
  stress.
• Conclusions that having control over your
  environment can reduce stress responses.

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Causes of stress and supporting evidence

• Work as a cause of stress Johansson 1978 Swedish
  Sawmill, repetitiveness, machine pacing and
  responsibility.
• Hassles and Life Events as a cause of stress
  Kanner 1981.
• Lack of control as a cause of stress Geer and
  Meilsel 1973 lab experiment with car crash victims

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How can we measure stress levels?

• Physiological
• Blood pressure
• Steroid levels in urine and saliva (Reicher and
  Haslam).
• Galvanic skin response and heart rate (Geer and
  Meisel).

• Advantages scientific
• Disadvantages
• quantitative

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Self Report

• We have already considered how stress can be
  measured when looking at causes of stress - by
  looking at Holmes and Rahe and Kanner with their
  Life Events and Hassles and Uplifts Scales.
• Advantages qualitative and quantitative,
  detailed, personal.
• Disadvantages time consuming, difficulty in
  analysing, experimenter bias

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Combined Approach to measuring stress

• Johansson measured stress using biological
  measures and self report.
• This is a useful conclusion section when
  describing measurements as it involved both
  qualitative and quantitative data in the same
  measurements and reliability of the self report
  can be checked against the biological tests.

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Methods of measuring stress and supporting
evidence

• 1. Geer and Meisel 1973 physiological -GSR
  (galvanic skins response) and heart rate, body
  temperature.YouTube - Stress Monitor
• 2. Kanner self report of hassles and uplifts.
  Holmes and Rahe self report of major life
  events.
• 3. Johansson 1978 combined approach using
  physiological - urine tests and self report.

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Validity and measurements

• It is possible that a question could arise which
  is entirely about validity the most common way
  in which this is usually addressed is when the
  area specifically looks at measurements as
  validity obviously means are we measuring what we
  say we are measuring!
• Discuss the validity of measurements of stress
  (15)

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Techniques of stress management

• Learning Objectives
• Understand and evaluate behavioural and
  cognitive techniques to stress management.
• Explain the use of stress management techniques

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What techniques can be used to manage stress

• Cognitive techniques
• (SIT) Stress Inoculation Therapy can be used
  to help people learn to identify when they will
  become stressed and use positive thoughts to try
  and reduce future stress responses during
  sessions of cognitive therapy.
• Michenbaum (1975)YouTube - Stress Reduction 1 of
  6
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vUGaRyLN9gb8

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RET Rational emotive therapyPage 162

• Developed by Ellis 1962.
• Ellis believed that faulty or irrational ways of
  thinking affect stress appraisal processes
  increase the appraisal of threat or harm.
• RET A-B-C-D-E framework whereby the therapist
  bluntly/aggressively challenges the client to
  examine their belief systems to realise how
  irrational and damaging they are.
• Copy table 2 into your notes!
• Once completed summarise the evaluation in your
  own words.

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Meichenbaum Stress Inoculation Therapy - Cognitive

• Standard behavioural measures have tried to help
  people become desensitised to stress.
  Meichenbaum compared these standard behavioural
  methods with cognitive ones. Cognitive therapy
  sessions aimed at enabling people to identify
  their stressors and change their mental processes
  when under stress rather than just their
  behaviours.
• 21 students ages 17 25 responded to an advert
  about treatment of test anxiety. It was a field
  experiment with participants put into three
  groups, SIT, standard desensitisation and a
  control group. Each participant was tested using
  a test anxiety questionnaire.
• The SIT group received 8 therapy sessions giving
  them insight into their thoughts before tests.
  They were then given some positive statements to
  say and relaxation techniques to use in test
  situations.
• The systematic desensitisation groups were also
  given 8 therapy sessions with only progressive
  relaxation training whilst imaging stressful
  situations.
• The control group were told they were on a
  waiting list for treatment.
• Findings performance in tests in the SIT group
  improved the most although both therapy groups
  showed improvement over the control groups.
• Conclusions that SIT is an effective way of
  reducing anxiety in students who are prone to
  anxiety in test situations and more effective
  than simply behavioural techniques when a
  cognitive component is added in.

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Past Exam Question

• Discuss the cognitive approach to managing
  stress. Refer to one other approach in your
  answer. 12 marks

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Behavioural techniques biofeedback

• Allowing people to monitor their own health and
  gain feedback about the effects of certain
  behaviours allows them to modify behaviour
  through positive reinforcement.
• Budzynski (1973)YouTube - Stress Management and
  Temperature Bio Feedback http//www.youtube.com/wa
  tch?vZBY1YdwEfNQ
• YouTube - How to Use Biofeedback for Stress
  http//www.youtube.com/watch?vkn1RHEcmrNI
• YouTube - breathing techniques for stress,
  anxiety and panic

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Behavioural techniques Biofeedback - Budzinski

• Aim to see if biofeedback techniques work and
  help reduce tension headaches or whether the
  effect is due to the placebo effect. The placebo
  effect is a positive psychological effect that
  can occur even when there is no actual treatment.
• Method Experimental method with patients trained
  in the laboratory. Data was collected using
  muscle tension measurements (EMG) with an
  electromyography, a machine which gives feedback
  by a graph by applying electrodes to the muscles.
  Patients were also given a psychometric test for
  depression (MMPI) and asked to complete
  questionnaires on their headaches. It was an
  independent measures design with participants
  randomly assigned to one of three groups.
• Participants 18 replied to a newspaper advert in
  the USA. They were screened by telephone and
  then had psychiatric and medical examinations to
  ensure there were no other reasons for their
  headaches. There were 2 males and 16 females
  aged 22-44 with a mean age of 36.
• Group A had real biofeedback training with
  relaxation using the EMG
• Group B had biofeedback training but with false
  (pseudo) feedback
• Group C were used as a control group
• Procedure all groups kept a diary of their
  headaches for two weeks, rating them from 0 mild
  to 5 severe. Groups A and B were told to
  practice relaxation after the training for 15
  20 mins each day.
• Results After 3 months group As muscle tension
  was significantly lower than the other two
  groups. Reporting of headaches in group A also
  fell significantly compared to their base line
  which it did not in the other two groups.
• Conclusions biofeedback is an effective way to
  reduce stress levels by reducing tension.

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Social approaches

• Many researchers have found out that social
  support helps reduce stress. Loneliness and
  isolation increase stress.
• Waxler- Morrison (2006) found women with strong
  social relationships were more likely to survive
  breast cancer!

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Waxler-Morrison Social Support

• Aim to look at how a womans social
  relationships influence her response to breast
  cancer and survival.
• Method a quasi experiment with woman who were
  diagnosed with breast cancer. The information
  was gathered using questionnaires and 18
  interviews plus examination of medical records.
  Women were fitted into categories based on their
  social support network.
• Participants 133 women under 55 yrs
  (pre-menopausal) who had been referred with
  breast cancer in Canada.
• Design Independent measures design with women of
  different pre existing levels of social support.
• Procedure women were sent a questionnaire to
  fill in about their social support including
  questions on education and family
  responsibilities, friends, their perception of
  their support from others, marital status and
  church memberships etc. Their diagnoses were
  taken from medical records which were again
  checked 4 years later.
• Findings and conclusions qualitative data from
  questionnaires showed that practical help given
  by others for cleaning, child care, cooking etc
  was essential for support. Jobs were seen as
  important for support and most survivors reported
  supportive husbands although problems were often
  reported with children who may also need support.
  There was a significant relationship between
  the amount of support reported and survival rates.

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Techniques for managing stress and supporting
research

• 1. Cognitive techniques Michenbaum 1975
• 2. Behavioural techniques biofeedback
  Budzynski 1973
• 3. Social support Waxler-Morrison 2006

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Problems and usefulness

• Due to the high rate of illness and days off work
  sick combined with an increasingly stressful
  society it is really useful to learn how to
  manage our stress and avoid long term ill health.
  We have already seen how lack of control causes
  stress (Geer and Meisel) so by giving back
  control through cognitive or behavioural measures
  it can only help reduce stress
• However stress management needs trained
  counsellors, resources, commitment, time, money,
  and possibly a level of understanding that not
  everyone will be able to show. Some strategies
  are also more appropriate for long term stress
  rather than short term. For example if
  bereavement causes stress then cognitive therapy
  is not the answer social support might be most
  appropriate if there is a longer term problem
  social support may be a good first option
  followed by cognitive or behaviour therapy etc.

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Exam questions For Home Work!!Due 24/11/10

• Outline one technique for managing stress (10)
• Describe and evaluate the role of social support
  in mediating responses to stress. Refer to
  evidence in your answer.(12)