PSYC 1030H Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Problem Solving, Hypochondriasis, Occupational Stress
26 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
An interdisciplinary field
•
Biological, physiological and sociocultural factors
○
Assumes that health and wellness caused by complex interactions:
•
Health psychology/behavioural Medicine
Neo-fredian (came after Freud and differed as he was open to other concepts)
•
Interested in the relationship between personality and health
•
Suggested several models for this relationship
•
Personality had a unique definition for Alexander: basically the type of defence mechanisms a person tended to use
○
Personality type (based on defence mechanism) = specific illness
○
Each literature focused on a number of specific illnesses (e.g. ulcers, asthma & hypertension)
○
Each illness was associated with a particular personality pattern
○
Use psychoanalysis to fix defence mechanism plus best medicine practice
○
It didn’t take long for a problem to appear with the model as not everyone with a particular type developed the illness
○
First model suggested that certain personality types were linked with certain illnesses (e.g. ulcer prone personality)
•
Personality type + organ inferiority (biological factors) = specific illness
○
The personality structure existed since early in the individuals life and organ vulnerability would have to existed since early on
○
But then why didn’t illness always start in childhood
○
Second Model
•
Personality + biological factors + Stressful event = specific illness
○
Alexander's theoretical model continues to have influence in the health psychology area
○
Specific health problems conceptualized as an interaction of biological and environmental factors
○
Third Model
•
Franz Alexander (1889-1963)
Stress
Hans Selye (1907-1982)
Any demand, positive or negative, can provoke the stress response
•
Assumes adaptive resources are genetically determined and finite
•
Stress response is characterized by the same chain of events and pattern of physiological responses regardless of the stressor
•
- Releases hormones (adrenaline) that help prepare the body to meet stress and danger
- Muscle tension, heart rate increases, breathing and perspiration increases, pupils dilate, stomach may clench
- Highly adaptive short term response to an emergency situation
Alarm- body's defences against stressors are mobilized through activation of the sympathetic nervous system
○
- Arousal is lower
- Body continues to draw on internal resources at an above normal rate
- outward appearance seems normal
- Physiologically the body's internal functioning is not normal
Resistance- body enters this stage if the stress is prolonged
○
-Sets stage for diseases of adaptation (e.g. peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis)
Consists of 3 stages: alarm stage, resistance, exhaustion
•
General Adaptation Syndrome (basic assumptions)
Capacity to resist is depleted
-
With continued exposure illness results
-
In sever cases, results in death
-
Exhaustion- continued exposure to the same stressor drains the body further
○
stress has too many ambiguous meanings
○
Stress is an abstraction-- it has no real independent existence
○
Not all responses to stress are uniform
○
Limited role given to psychological factors (e.g. cognitive appraisal is not taken into account)
○
Limitations
•
Richard S Lazarus (1922-2002)
Stress: psychological responses
It involves the production of stressors by the environment and the response of the individual
○
An individual's interpretation of events as threatening, harmful or challenging
○
Also our perception whether we have the resources to effectively cope with the demands
For Lazarus, stress is a two-way process:
•
Lecture -Stresses, Coping and Health
March 14, 2018
11:03 AM
Psychology 1030 Page 1
Document Summary
Assumes that health and wellness caused by complex interactions: Neo-fredian (came after freud and differed as he was open to other concepts) Interested in the relationship between personality and health. First model suggested that certain personality types were linked with certain illnesses (e. g. ulcer prone personality) Personality had a unique definition for alexander: basically the type of defence mechanisms a person tended to use. Personality type (based on defence mechanism) = specific illness. Each literature focused on a number of specific illnesses (e. g. ulcers, asthma & hypertension) Each illness was associated with a particular personality pattern. Use psychoanalysis to fix defence mechanism plus best medicine practice. It did(cid:374)"t take lo(cid:374)g for a pro(cid:271)le(cid:373) to appear (cid:449)ith the (cid:373)odel as (cid:374)ot e(cid:448)er(cid:455)o(cid:374)e (cid:449)ith a parti(cid:272)ular t(cid:455)pe de(cid:448)eloped the ill(cid:374)ess. Personality type + organ inferiority (biological factors) = specific illness. The personality structure existed since early in the individuals life and organ vulnerability would have to existed since ear ly on.
