PSYC 3140 Chapter : Chapter Six.docx
Document Summary
Stress: means experiencing events that we perceive as endangering our physical or psychological well being. These events are usually referred to as stressors , and people"s reaction to them are labeled stress responses . Any negative event is perceived as more stressful if it is uncontrollable. Galvanic skin response (gsr): a drop in the electrical resistance of the skin, which is an index of psychological arousal. With unpredictable events, people feel they can never relax, because the events may occur at any time, so they remain anxious all the time. Any change in life that requires numerous readjustments even a positive change can be perceived as stressful. For example, most people think of marriage as a positive event, but it requires many readjustments in daily life and self-concept as two people go from living as single individuals to living as lifetime partners.
