Stress

Stress is the response that occurs when a person perceives that the demands on them exceed their ability to cope. It is partly psychological (appraisal of the situation) and partly physiological (a bodily reaction).

The transactional view. Stress depends on appraisal: the same event is stressful only if it is judged threatening and beyond one's coping resources — which is why people differ in what stresses them.

The physiology — General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS; Selye). The body's response to a stressor has three stages:

1. Alarm — the stressor is detected; the fight-or-flight response fires (adrenaline, raised heart rate).
2. Resistance — the body adapts and tries to cope, staying aroused; cortisol is released via the HPA axis (hypothalamus → pituitary → adrenal cortex).
3. Exhaustion — if stress is prolonged, resources are depleted; cortisol stays high, the immune system weakens, and stress-related illness can result (e.g. high blood pressure, lowered immunity).

Why this matters. This body–mind model explains why stress causes illness (chronic cortisol harms the body), why we can measure it physiologically (cortisol, heart rate) and by self-report (appraisal), and why both biological and psychological management work.

Life events (Holmes & Rahe — the SRRS). Major life changes (good or bad) require readjustment, which is stressful. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) gives each event a score in 'life change units' (LCUs) (e.g. death of a spouse = 100). Higher total LCUs over a year correlate with greater illness risk.

• Strength: quantifies stress, links it to illness. Weakness: correlational; ignores individual appraisal (the same event affects people differently); mixes positive and negative events.

Daily hassles (Kanner et al. — Hassles & Uplifts Scale). Everyday irritations (traffic, deadlines, arguments) accumulate, and hassles may predict ill-health better than major life events. Uplifts (positive moments) can buffer stress.

• Strength: captures everyday stress and individual experience. Weakness: still self-report/correlational.

Workplace stress (e.g. Johansson et al.). Work stressors include lack of control, work overload, repetitive/isolated work and role conflict. Johansson et al. found Swedish sawmill workers in high-pressure, low-control 'finishers' jobs had higher stress hormones and more illness/absence.

Personality (Friedman & Rosenman — Type A). Type A behaviour (competitive, impatient, hostile, time-pressured) is linked to higher stress and coronary heart disease than Type B (relaxed). Hostility appears especially important.

Physiological measures. Measure the body's stress response directly:

• Cortisol (in blood/saliva), heart rate and blood pressure, and skin conductance (GSR).
  • + Objective, not easily faked, quantitative. − Invasive/intrusive, affected by other factors (caffeine, exercise, illness), and the measurement itself can cause stress; high cost/equipment.

Self-report measures. Ask the person about their stress:

• SRRS (life events), the Hassles & Uplifts Scale, and stress questionnaires/diaries.
  • + Capture the subjective experience and appraisal, cheap and easy, can explore sources. − Subjective, prone to social desirability and memory errors, and rely on the person recognising their own stress.

Combined. Because each has weaknesses, researchers often combine physiological and self-report measures (triangulation) for a fuller, more valid picture.

Evaluation in brief. Physiological measures are objective but indirect (raised cortisol isn't only due to stress); self-report is direct but subjective — so the most valid approach uses both.

Biological management:

• Drugs — benzodiazepines (BZs) boost GABA to reduce anxiety; beta-blockers reduce the physical symptoms (heart rate, blood pressure) of the stress response.
  • + Fast, effective for symptoms. − Side effects, dependence (BZs), treat symptoms not causes.
• Biofeedback (Budzynski). The person is given real-time feedback of a body signal (e.g. muscle tension, heart rate) and learns, via operant conditioning/relaxation, to control it.
  • + No drugs, gives the patient control, lasting skill. − Needs equipment/training, effects vary.

Psychological management:

• Stress Inoculation Training (SIT; Meichenbaum) — a cognitive-behavioural approach in three phases:
  1. Conceptualisation — understand the stress and one's reactions.
  2. Skills acquisition — learn coping skills (relaxation, positive self-talk, problem-solving).
  3. Application — practise the skills on increasingly stressful situations to build resilience ('inoculation').
  • + Tackles causes/coping, lasting, equips for future stress. − Time-consuming, needs effort/commitment.
• Social support — emotional, practical and informational support buffers stress.

Key framing: drugs/biofeedback target the body's response; SIT/social support change thinking and coping — combining them is often most effective.

Bring it together for Paper 3 'evaluate / discuss'.

Strengths

• Strong real-world application — workplace wellbeing, clinical stress management, public health.
• A mix of objective (physiological) and subjective (self-report) measures, and effective management methods.

Weaknesses / issues

• Correlational evidence — life events/hassles studies show links, not causes (illness could cause stress, or a third factor).
• Reductionism — drug treatments reduce stress to biology; some accounts ignore appraisal.
• Individual differences — the same stressor affects people differently (appraisal, personality, support).

Relevant issues & debates

• Application to everyday life (central strength).
• Idiographic vs nomothetic — general scales (SRRS) vs the individual's unique appraisal.
• Reductionism vs holism — biological vs a bio-psycho-social view (the transactional model is holistic).
• Use of quantitative vs qualitative data; nature vs nurture (Type A personality vs learned coping).