PSY240H5 Chapter 6: Chapter 6-Stress Disorders.doc
Document Summary
One group of participants, the experimental group, could terminate their viewing by pressing a button. The other group, the control group, could not terminate their viewing by pressing a button. Both groups of participants saw the same photographs for the same duration of time. The level of anxiety in both groups was measured by their galvanic skin response (gsr), a drop in the electrical resistance of the skin, which is an index of physiological arousal. This explanation has been called the safety signal hypothesis: any change in life that requires numerous readjustments even a positive change can be perceived as stressful. The body"s metabolism increases in preparation for expending energy on physical action. Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate increase and the muscles tense: less essential activities, such as digestion, are curtailed. Saliva and mucus dry up, increasing the size of the air passages to the lungs.
