Emotion and Stress

1. Models of Stress

    1. Biomedical Model
      1. Suggests patient has little control
      2. Illness from biological causes
      3. Cure from "expert"
    2. Biopsychosocial Model
      1. Combination of the effects of three variables
        1. Biological Agents
        2. Social Factors and Supports
        3. Psychological and Cognitive factors
    3. Stress
      1. The physiological and psychological response to conditions that threaten or challenge us
      2. Our response to real or imagined demands that are placed upon us
      3. Any change is stressful, may be either positive or negative in our lives
    4. The General Adaptation Syndrome
      1. Has Selye's Model
      2. Discusses the body's nonspecific response to stressors
        1. Stage 1 - Alarm
          1. Our first response to demands of the stressor
        2. Stage 2 - Resistance
          1. Dealing with the stressor
          2. Body reaches end of its ability to successfully cope
          3. We may not realize the toll the stress has taken upon us
        3. Stage 3 - Exhaustion
          1. Coping skills exhausted
          2. Resistance drops off
          3. Onset of stress related disorders
  1. Sources of Stress
    1. Traumatic Experiences or Catastrophes
      1. We experience stages of grief and coping with these
      2. Initially, shock and denial, later anxiety and grief
      3. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
        1. Consequence of traumatic life experience
        2. Anxiety, flashbacks, intrusive memories, nightmares present
    2. Daily Hassles - every day continuous stressors that continue to build and take their toll on health
      1. Social Readjustment Rating Scale by Holmes and Rahe
        1. Attempt to measure degree of change in our lives and its potential negative impact on our lives
      2. Hassles Scale
        1. Similar to SRRS except that it adds a dimension asking the individuals perception of how stressful the event is to them
    3. Personality
      1. Type A - wired, achieving, tense, competitive types. Recent research suggests anger from negative emotions related to coronary heart disease risk.
      2. Type B - low key and easy going types.
  2. Coping Skills
    1. Problem focused
      1. Attempt to resolve the source of the stress or problem
    2. Emotion focused
      1. Attempt to manage the physiological effects of the stressor
    3. Spirituality appears to aid in coping with stressful events
  3. Stress Management
    1. 2 important steps - Must manage both the stressor and its effect for success
    2. Components of Successful Stress Management
      1. Optimism
      2. Commitment
      3. Challenge
      4. Control
      5. Social Support
      6. Selection of healthily lifestyle
        1. Don't smoke
        2. Don't abuse substances
        3. Exercise
        4. Good nutrition
        5. Improve Interpersonal and problem solving skills
        6. Develop support system

Key Terms

Emotion Emotion is a response of the whole organism involving three components: (1) physical arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.
Catharsis Catharsis is emotional release; according to the catharsis hypothesis, by expressing our anger, we can reduce it.
James-Lange Theory The James-Lange theory states that emotional experiences are based on an awareness of the body's responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.
Cannon-Bard Theory The Cannon-Bard theory states that the subjective experience of an emotion occurs at the same time as the body's physical reaction.
Stress Stress refers to the psychological and physiological processes by which people perceive and react to stressors, or events they perceive as threatening or challenging.
General Adaptation Syndrome (Gas) The general adaptation syndrome (GAS) is the three-stage sequence of bodily reaction to stress outlined by Hans Selye. The stages are alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
Type A Type A personality is Friedman and Rosenman's term for the coronary-prone behavior pattern of hard-driving, competitive, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.
Type B Type B personality is Friedman and Rosenman's term for the behavior pattern of easygoing people.
Biofeedback Biofeedback refers to a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state.