PSYC 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Type A And Type B Personality Theory, Coronary Artery Disease, Communalism

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The Effects of Stress Notes
What is Stress?
Stress and Stressors
Stress = A physical and mental response to a challenging or threatening situation
Stressor = A stressful stimulus… a condition demanding adaptation
Primitive Stressors:
Starvation
Exposure to the elements
Mortal attack (Humans who respond more quickly to danger survived)
Traumatic Stressors:
A situation that threatens one’s physical safety, arousing feelings of fear,
horror, or helplessness
The Physical Stress Response
Acute Stress
A temporary pattern of arousal caused by a stressor with a clear onset and
limited duration
Example: flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror
Chronic Stress
A continuous state of stressful arousal persisting over time
Example: A bad marriage
Stress & Personality
Type A Personality
Characteristics includes being impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about
one’s status, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive, and incapable of relaxation
COMPETITIVE, AGGRESSIVE, ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED
Individuals are often highly achieving workaholics who multi-task, drive themselves with
deadlines, and are unhappy about the smallest of delays… “Stress junkies
Are at higher risk for coronary heart disease
Type B Personality
The Type B personality generally lives at a lower stress level and typically:
EASYGOING, LESS-STRESSED, INDIFFERENT
Individuals work steadily, enjoying achievements but not becoming stressed
when they are not achieved
When faced with competition, they do not mind losing and either enjoy the game
or back down
They may be creative and enjoy exploring ideas and concepts
They are often reflective, thinking about the outer and inner worlds
The Stages of Stress
The Physical Stress Response
1. Initial arousal: Increased physiological state
2. Protective behavioral reaction, often fight-or-flight
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A sequence of internal processes that prepares the organism for struggle or
escape
Withdrawal: If fight or flight is not possible, or stressor is too much to
handle, the organism may ‘freeze’
Passive Fear Response: An individual responds to a threat by becoming
emotionally withdrawn and disengaged
3. Internal responses to the autonomic nervous system and endocrine system
(The body due to stress)
4. Decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system
Five stages that occur in the wake of natural disasters:
1. Psychic numbness: Shock confusion
2. Automatic action: Little awareness/recall of the experience
3. Communal effort: People pool resources and collaborate
4. Letdown: Depletion of energy, feel abandoned
5. Recovery: Survivors adapt to changes created by the catastrophe
The Effects of Stress
The Effects of Stress
Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost that provides the drive and
energy to help people get through situations like exams or work deadlines. However, an
extreme amount of stress can have health consequences and adversely affect the
immune, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and central nervous systems
Unlike everyday stressors, which can be managed with healthy stress management
behaviors, untreated chronic stress can result in serious health conditions including
anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system
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Document Summary

Stress = a physical and mental response to a challenging or threatening situation. Stressor = a stressful stimulus a condition demanding adaptation. Mortal attack (humans who respond more quickly to danger survived) A situation that threatens one"s physical safety, arousing feelings of fear, horror, or helplessness. A temporary pattern of arousal caused by a stressor with a clear onset and limited duration. Example: flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror. A continuous state of stressful arousal persisting over time. Characteristics includes being impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about one"s status, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive, and incapable of relaxation. Individuals are often highly achieving workaholics who multi-task, drive themselves with deadlines, and are unhappy about the smallest of delays stress junkies . Are at higher risk for coronary heart disease. The type b personality generally lives at a lower stress level and typically: Individuals work steadily, enjoying achievements but not becoming stressed when they are not achieved.

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