Stage of resistance. If the reaction continues and is not strong enough to cause death the physiological reaction enters the stage of resistance. The body tries to adapt to the stressor. Physiological arousal declines but remains higher than normal and the body replenishes the hormones released by the adrenal glands. The organism may show few outward signs of stress. However, the body may not be able to resist new stresses. The body becomes increasingly vulnerable to health problems. These health problems include ulcers, high blood pressure, asthma, and illnesses that result from impaired immune function.
Stage of exhaustion. Severe long-term or repeated stress will cause the organism to enter the third stage, the stage of exhaustion. The immune system and the body's energy reserves are weakened until resistance is very limited. If the stress continues, disease and physiological damage become increasingly likely and death may result.
Moos and Swindle identified eight major sources of live experiences that are associated with stress.
- Physical Health
- Home/Neighbourhood (safety)
- Financial
- Work (pressure)
- Spouse/partner (emotional)
- Child
- Extended family
- Friends
Seligman developed a concept of learned helplessness he demonstrated learned helplessness in an experiment. Students were assigned to one of three training groups. They all experienced an unpleasant loud noise. In one group, the controllable-noise condition, the subjects were told the noise would come on from time to time and " there is something you can do to stop it." Subjects were able to press a button to stop the noise, which they did. The uncontrollable-noise group had the same instructions and apparatus, except the button was ineffectual in stopping the noise. In a comparison group, the subjects were simply told "from time to time a loud tone will come on for a while. Please sit and listen to it." After this all of the subjects were tested for helplessness: they were told that the noise would come on and off and that "there is something you can do to stop it." The subjects were presented with a different apparatus that had a sliding knob that, when manipulated correctly, would stop the noise. Students in the uncontrollable-noise group performed much more poorly than those in the other two groups.
Schwarzer’s study examined the effects of a stressor (unemployment) and social support on health amongst East German refugees. It looked at the refugees employment status and rated them as:
- Always jobless
- Job hunt successful (jobless at the beginning, but employed at the end)
- Never jobless
They were asked to rate statements on a 4 point likert scale
- Received social support (this referred to their retrospective assessment of actual behaviours)
- Perceived social support (this referred to their anticipation of social support in the future when in times of need)
Finally they were asked to rate physical symptoms of ill health
- Heart complaints
- Limb pains
- Stomach complaints
- Exhaustion
Collins and Frankenhaeuser (1978) looked at engineering students reactions to stress. Each subject was tested individually in an experimental (stress) and controlled condition. Each lasted 100 minutes and occurred in the morning a few days apart. Subjects were previously asked not to smoke, consume drugs, coffee, or alcohol prior to testing. Subjects gave a urine sample and then ate a light breakfast. In the controlled condition subjects read magazines and listened to music, in the experimental condition the subjects were engaged in a difficult and stressful cognitive/perceptual task. Heart rate was continually taken in both conditions and subjects gave another sample of urine at the end. The urine samples were analysed for catecholamine and corticosteroid concentration per body weight.
Evaluate studies of stress
Many psychologist have attempted to delve into the meaning behind stress and try to determine what causes stress, and how we respond to stress. However in some cases there are flaws in their studies that may affect the results obtained.
A problem for Selye’s GAS model is that some stressors elicit a stronger emotional response than others do. The theory does not take account of psychosocial processes. A sudden increase in temperature, for example, would produce more emotion than a gradual increase.
Another problem for GAS is that cognitive appraisal is not taken account of. A study by Katherine Tennes and Maria Kreye (1985) found that intelligent schoolchildren experienced more stress on the day of an exam than unintelligent schoolchildren. Cortisol levels were measured in urine samples taken on regular school days and on days when tests were given. Intelligence test scores were obtained from school records. The results suggest that brighter children are more concerned about academic achievement.
To summarise, the GAS incorrectly assumes that all stressors produce the same physiological reactions and fails to take account of psychosocial factors in stress. Even so the GAS is basically a valid model of stress that provides a useful insight into how the body responds to stress.
Moos and Swindle (1990) identified factors that influence stress, these factors do allow some thought for how stress can be reduced and how life events may interact with each other and therefore produce a new stressor. The study lacks validity it is retrospective due to a self-report method of data collection which may distort experience and subjects may under/over report. It gives a useful insight into how the context of recall influences what we recall. Individual variation is again omitted from the research which therefore adds to the low validity. Work was identified as the main source of stress for the majority of participants.
With the research on learned helplessness Seligman produces some valid points and there seems to be a degree of surface validity however, similarly to Selye’s GAS model individual variation is not accounted for. It is not very reliable because it originated from a study of animals and therefore cannot be proven, it is also difficult to measure before and after events which contribute to stress. It is also difficult to generalise this theory as it was conducted on animals and therefore cannot be applied to humans, the study does however, provide a useful insight into dealing with stress.
Schwarzer study on social support is a very useful study it provides an insight into how altering our lifestyle can reduce stress and how unemployment affects health. The study was conducted in 1992 which provides recent evidence however, it was conducted on migrants in East Germany which lowers the generalisability of the study. The study suggests that the relationship between stress (unemployment) and health is meditated towards social support. The results show that ill health was more prominent with the unemployed and those who considered themselves to receive low social support. A fairly large sample of 235 was used which increases generalisability to East German migrants. Due to a self-report method of data collection the ecological validity is reduced because of demand characteristics and over or under reporting. The study fails to allow for individual variation and different perceptions of events for example not everyone has the same pain threshold and therefore unless observed and diagnosed by a doctor the study lacks validity. The reliability of the study is difficult to determine as it provides support for the relationship between stress and health. However, some aspects are difficult to measure and therefore would be difficult to replicate.
In Collins and Frankenhaeuser the results show that heart rate and epinephrine levels increased in both males and females during stress but other physiological reactions depended on the gender of the subject. The outcome of this and many other studies have led Frankenhaeuser to propose that the pattern of physiological arousal under stress depends on two factors: effort and distress. Effort involves the persons interest, striving and determination and distress involves anxiety, uncertainty, boredom and dissatisfaction. Many methodological issues are raised similarly to all the above studies
It is not predominantly valid because it ignores psychological and social factors and is therefore reductionist. However due to using a controlled condition it has a high ecological validity and it provides an extremely useful diagnostic tool for doctors. The study is generalisable to both males and female engineering students. The subjects were individually tested which increases reliability due to consistency of measurements. This study can be linked to Rotter and Seligman which also reinforces the high reliability of the study. The experiment is objective (real, cannot be faked) The study produce a good quantity of data which can be used to provide a useful insight into the ways physiological reactions play a role in stress and as mentioned it provides a useful diagnostic tool for doctors.
In conclusion it is evident that all the research into stress has similar methodological flaws the prominent flaw being ignorance to individual variation. However, it is impossible to produce a “perfect” study where all ethical and methodological issues are abided by.
Stress is extremely difficult to define and therefore this is evident in all the studies I have described it is inevitable that when looking at stress as a biological issue individual variation is obviously going to be the major pitfall. Although all the research omits the feature of individual variation the studies provide useful insights into how we can overcome/cope with stress, how stress can be reduced and finally how fatal stress can be.
Clearly psychological processes play an important role in physiological reactions to stress. Research on physiological reactions to stress has shown that it is important to measure more than one index of arousal and to examine psychological and social factors too.
Suggest two ways in which people can avoid or reduce their stress
Moos and Swindle identified the major sources of stress. If people are familiar with the causes of stress they can go about reducing them. For example you may identify where you feel you receive the most stress, which as stated is supposed to be work and look for a way of reducing stress. This can come in many forms
- Chemical e.g. medicines like valium and librium
- Relaxation
- Meditation e.g. using a mantra
- Physical exercise e.g. swimming
- Changing cognition e.g. developing coping strategies
- Changing behaviour e.g. time management.
It may be that you find it difficult to determine why you feel stressed, you may not be aware of just how stressed the identified sources can make you. If this were the case I would look to solutions such as physical exercise and meditation before seeking chemical relief.
Learned helplessness is a major concern when looking at stress. The fact that people cannot learn to help themselves is disturbing. In order to promote how stress can be overcome before people become “helpless” it needs to be made publicly known. Stress is generally overlooked and regarded as unimportant when in reality it can be fatal. Public awareness of stress is extremely minimal therefore advertisements and campaigns should attempt to reinforce importance and awareness. This will hopefully encourage people to take the subject more seriously and not overlook it as an everyday issue. Stress is both over and under reported if people were made more aware of the dangers then their attitudes towards it may change and they may begin to appreciate it as an illness or certainly a response to negative stimuli. Also ways of reducing stress should be made more aware to people in order to prevent them from feelings of helplessness.
