Effects of stress on behavior

1. Effects of stress on behavior

3. Teeth grinding
Teeth grinding or
bruxism may
happen
subconsciously. If
you already grind
your teeth, stress
could make the
problem worse. It
may happen during
the day or night and
is seen in children
Hair pulling
People repeatedly
pull hair out of their
scalp, eyebrows and
other body areas due
to an urge to do so.
The condition is
troublesome and
may lead to baldness
in later life.

4. Tremors or nervous tics
Tremors or nervous tics
may occur or get
aggravated. Tremors
include hand shaking while
holding a glass, while a tic
could be excessive
winking of the eye or a
head movement in a
Eating disorders
Stress may lead to
overeating or under eating
as a coping mechanism.
Overeating may cause
obesity, belching and a
feeling of fullness while
under eating may
contribute to acidity,

5. Clumsiness may be an indicator of
how stressed the person is. Utensils
may be dropped, tea may be spilled
and if the person is ticked it off by
others, the behavior may worsen.
Unhygienic Routine: Stress may
cause a person to stop following
oral hygiene measures like brushing
twice a day and regular flossing.
This in turn may lead to cavities and
tooth decay.
Alcoholism: A person who is a social
drinker may rely on alcohol to take his
worries away and drink excess to feel
good under the influence of alcohol.
Abusing alcohol is a common method of
forgetting about the difficulties of life.

6. Social withdrawal
As mood is negatively
affected, the person may
lose interest in meeting
friends and attending
functions like parties and
weddings. The person
may cut off the people
close to him and become
a social recluse.
Impulse buying
The person may feel
elated with
acquiring things
and hence may go
on a random
shopping spree.
This is a strong
indicator that the
person is not in
control of his or her

8. How does Stress Affect Performance?
• One of the most noticeable effects of stress in one’s
life is the changes in his performance.
• Positive Effects
- performance levels increase when stress
management is effective. Stressors such as pressure
and demands can facilitate better stress response
and thus, higher levels of performance.
- E.g.: an approaching major examination which leads
a college student to double time on studying and
reviewing of lessons.

9. • Negative Effects:
- When stress is perceived as uncontrollable or
unmanageable, the person begins to experience a
gradual to drastic decrease in performance levels,
causing a decline in productivity and enthusiasm to
respond to the stress.
- E.g.: a very tight deadline is given to an office
employee who has to take care of her four children at
home and a sick mother at the hospital. This
overwhelming mix of situations, if not managed
carefully and totally, will result to a poor performance
at work, bad relationships with other members of the
family, ill health, and burnout.

10. Pressure and Performance
• Pressure, one of the significant life stressors, affects
performance, which was created by Robert Yerkes
and John Dodson in 1908.

13. Personality and Stress
• We all have certain features
to our personality that
make us unique as people;
however there are many
aspects of our personality
that are similar to other
people.
• These similar personality
factors are called
Personality Traits.
• Research has indicated that
certain personality traits
can make us more
vulnerable to stress.

14. 2 types of Personality Traits-
by Meyer Freidman
It's important to
realize that we are
all a mixture of type
A and B personality
traits but if we are
excessively type A
this can make us
more vulnerable to
stress.

15. Stress-Prone Personality Types :Type
A
• Time urgency / Rushed Lifestyle
• Aggressive, hostile, easily angered
• Hard driving , unable to relax,
cynical, not generally anxious
• Polyphagia (multitasking) / 2 things
at one
• Rapid speech patterns
• Predictor of heart disease

16. Other Stress-Prone Personality and
Effects: 1. Codependent Personality
• Dedicated approval seekers
• Perfectionists
• Super-overachievers
• Crisis managers
• Devoted loyalists
• Self-sacrificing willing victim
• “Victims”

17. 2. Helpless-Hopeless Personality (Type
C)
• Poor self-motivation
• Learned helplessness
• Feel helpless, hopeless, give up,
little or no emotional
• Response to stress: please others
at their expense, often depressed,
behavioral disinterest

18. 3. Irrational-Illogical Personality
• Characterized as: evaluators, deprived
• Do not perceive situations accurately
• Unrealistic expectations
• Most stress stems from negative
thoughts & irrational beliefs
– ABC Model: A = activating agent
– B = illogical beliefs
– C = consequences – bio psychosocial
– A+B=C

19. Stress-Resistant Personality Types:
Type B
• Opposite type A,
• Relaxed, easy-going, experience fewer hassles
than type A
• Typically not as successful as type A, but many
are successful nevertheless

20. Stress-Resistant Personality
Types: 1. The Hardy Personality
• Based on the work of Maddi and Kobasa
• Three characteristics noted in those who cope
well with stress:
1. Commitment (invests oneself in the solution)
2. Control (takes control of a situation, doesn’t
run from it)
3. Challenge (sees opportunity rather than the
problems)

21. HARDINESS

22. 2. Survivor Personality Traits
• A person who responds rather than reacts to
danger/stress
• Proud but humble
• Selfish but altruistic
• Rebellious but cooperative
• Spiritual but bold
• Considered optimists and good at creative problem
solving

23. 3. ‘R’ Personality (Sensation Seekers)
• Zuckerman (1971) identified the sensation-seeking
personality as those people who seek thrills and
sensations
• Take calculated risks in their endeavors; they
appear to be dominated by an adventurous spirit.

24. Response to Stress
• There are four distinct
responses that correspond
to our primary behavioral
tendencies.
• These are: Fight, Flight,
Freeze

25. Consequences of Stress for
the Individual

26. 1. Mood disorders
• Unipolar disorder
• Bio-polar disorder
2. Anxiety disorders
• Panic disorder
• Generalized anxiety disorder
3. Burn Out

27. Consequences of Stress for the
Organization

28. Work-related mental health problems constitute
one of the main challenges currently faced by
organizations, particularly because of their
serious consequences-and-extent for these
organizations and for individuals.
Indeed, it has been found that there is a direct
link between stress and heart disease,
dissatisfaction at work, accidents and certain
forms of cancer.

29. This increase in incidental absences as well as
short-term and long-term disabilities
unquestionably leads to a decline in the morale
of the troops and thus in productivity and the
quality of work. Moreover, organizations incur
additional costs for temporary staff and
overtime.

30. THANKYOU