Stress
changes that occur within a person (physically and mentally) as they adapt to the environment.
Stressor
those events or persons that cause the stress (event, person, thought,)
Hassels
small irritating events and when accumulated become a stressor.
Optimal Performance
the best job you can do
Yerkes-Dodson Principle
optimal performance is connected to moderate levels of stress.
Eustress
desirable and positive stress. (ex. Getting married)
Destress
negative effects of stress that leave you drained
Acute Stress
High levels of stress but short term (high spike)
Chronic Stress
Long term stress
Causes of Stress
1. Unpredictability of events
2. Pressure (external and internal sources)
3. Frustration- when you are blocked from reaching a goal frustration follows. Study shows when you are closer to reaching your goal and encounter an obstacle is more frustrating.
4
Holistic Health
Balance between different areas or your life. (way to reduce stress in these areas.) Physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and social
Physical
eating well, exercise, doing no drugs and alcohol, getting enough
Emotional
Being in touch with and expressing your thoughts/feelings and emotions.
Spiritual
morals, values, and finding a purpose in your life.
Social
being able to interact successfully with others and develop a support system.
Intellectual
ability to learn from your experiences. Being open to new ideas and well though out decisions.
Resting Heart Rate
Pulse, studies show college students (70-75) the lower the number the healthier you are
Respiration rate
refers the number breaths you take in one minute. (12-16 breaths)
How to measure stress
-Self report questionnaire - underreport their stress
-Behavioral measure- Observing their behavior, and measure their actual behavior. (accurate measurement)
-Medical measure- physiological measure (ie:blood pressure, sweating, stress hormones in blood s
Correlation Study
looking at the relationship between two variables. Does not tell you anything about cause and effect. (are not related to each other) One variable can cause the other variable and vice versa. YOU ONLY KNOW THE RELATIONSHIP. (Correlation is r= 0-100 (doesn
Experimental Study
studies the cause and effect. You have experimental group and control group.
-independent variable (experimenter changes or manipulates)
-dependent variable (what I am measuring)
Strong Correlation
.8 and 1
Medium Correlation
.3 and .79
Weak Correlation
0 and .20
Extraneous variable
all other variables. (time, temp, content of lecture) Both have to be the same for experimental and control group.
ANS
Digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, body temp. Not under your control! (sympathetic and parasympathetic)
Sympathetic
fight or flight syndrome (BP increase, Heart rate increase, respiration rate increase, allowing more oxygen to the brain and the muscles) during the arousal more glucose is released from the liver for more energy. Brain waves also change.
Parasympathetic
quiets the body, after the you have dealt with a situation from the sympathetic system. (promotes relaxation, repairs tissues, and flushes)
Homeostasis
property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties such as temperature or pH
Brain
contains neurons (30billion) each neuron has (10 million synapses) brain communicates.
Brain Stem
sits on top of the spinal cord. Regulates basic functions. (ex. Hunger, thirst) responds reflexively to the environment.
Mid- Brain
aka Limbic System processes emotions "your emotional intelligence
Testosterone
kills off the neurons in that part of the brain, which is responsible to process the emotions. "men are short changed
Female Limbic System
women have four times the brain size for emotions. Women are better at recognizing tone of voice, facial recognition, body posture and use emotionally relevant language. Female hormones alter a woman's brain to be more sensitive to threats and danger.
Amygdala
(part of limbic system)= When stimulated the pathway is quick and fast reacting. Makes crude judgement of event, if a snake is outside the door it is fast reacting with adrenaline. There is a double pathway, one pathway leads right to the amygdala for fea
Cerebral cortex
higher function which analyze stimuli and think about the stimuli, develop a plan of how to deal with the stimuli. (is this threatening or not) cognition occurs (the way you think about things, and intrepet), cognition can override the messages from the a
Over stimulated amygdala
freak out over everything. People are more anxious. Exposure to trauma leads to overly sensitive amygdala. Flood the brain with intrusive and emotional thoughts. (ex. PTSD)
Hippocampus
Involves memory
Reticular activating system
alert, awake state damage to the RAS you would have a hard time to be alert and awake.
Cortisol
stress hormone, when released it increases glucose production occurring in the liver. Increase of glucose leads to high BP. Repeated exposure to cortisol speeds up the aging process of the hippocampus and likely shrinks brain
Hypothalamus
delivers messages to different glands in the body, and releases some stress hormones. When activating releases adrenaline and cortisol and activates the pituitary gland. The pituitary glands activates releases of ACTH. When ACTH is released it stimulates
Adrenal Glands
stimulates stress hormones.
Causes of stress hormones
creates small tears in the vessels and interferes with heart getting oxygen.
General Adaptation Syndrome
1. Alarm
2. Resistance
3. Exhaustion
Alarm
Body increases sympathetic nervous system activity & activates adrenal glands to prepare us for "fight or flight", which by increasing our heart ? rate and breathing rates, as well as glucose availability (energy), increase our strength for fighting, etc
Resistance
Temperature, ? heart rate, b.p., respiration remain high while levels of hormones (e.g. adrenalin) continues to rise.
Exhaustion
If crises not resolved, resources become depleted, immunity drops, sometimes causing illnesses, ulcers, depression, or death
During Sympathetic Nervous System
(immune system is weakend, because cortisol weakens the immune system slows down lymphocytes (WBC) which destroy infections and abnormal cells. T & B-cells are healthy cells which, destroy mutant/abnormal cells. Stress hormones increase inflammation of th
Oxytocin
chemical which is released during positive interactions. Boost the immune system and decreases stress hormones being released.
Depressed People
chemical imbalance (brain is not able to keep serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine) Psychological explanation for depression- negative thinking. People who are pessimistic or negative person could alter the serotonin, and norepinephrine level. They als
During grieving
Lymphocites go down (WBC)
Psychiatrist
restore balance with medication
Psychologist
psychotherapy to understand and cause of depression.
Placebo
(self-fulfilling prophecy)fake pill (operates under the power of suggestion) if you are told take this medication it will get rid of your headache. They are very effective. Power of your mind can create changes in the body. The power of suggestion and bel
What keeps a stereotype going
When it fits your stereotype.
Active placebo
Active placebo-produce the exact same side effects of the real medication. Does not have the real ingredient.
Inactive placebo
sugar pill