The document defines stress and discusses its physiological and cognitive aspects. It describes stress as a transaction between a person and their environment that is perceived as threatening or exceeding their ability to cope. This leads to physiological arousal through the sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis. The general adaptation syndrome describes the body's short and long-term response to stress. Coping involves cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage demands through problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies. Having a sense of control over stressors can reduce their physiological impact.

1. Stress and Coping

2. Definition (1)
Aldwin (1994)
• Quality of experience, produced through a person-
environment transaction, that through over- or under-arousal,
results in psychological or physiological distress
Hans Selye
• The non-specific result of any demand upon the body, be the
effect mental or somatic
• Eustress is a positive stressful experience, a state of physical
and psychological well-being that is associated with increased
motivation and the acceptance of a challenge.
• What is essential to well-being is a balance to produce an
optimal level of arousal
• Too little stress can be as harmful as too much
• Stress can result from being over- or under-stimulated

3. Definition (2)
Lazarus & Folkman (1984)
• A relationship between a person and the environment that
is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or
her resources and endangering his/her well-being
• This definition introduces the important notion of
subjective appraisal
Walter Canon
• Introduced the concept of homeostasis: body’s attempt at
maintaining a stable internal state
• Stress challenges homeostasis
Fight or Flight response
• Complex ANS reaction in preparation for emergencies

4. Definition (3)
Rice, P. R. (1999)
Stressors
• External, environmental demands placed on us that cause
us to feel stressed
Subjective response
• Interpretive mental state of the individual
• Allows one to diminish, augment, or distort the impact of
external events
Body’s physical response to stress
• Physiological challenges which, if prolonged, can result in
a negative state, or alternatively, an improved capacity to
cope physiologically

5. The Physiology of Stress
• 2 major components to the physical
response to stress:
• Nervous system
• Endocrine system

6. Structure of the Nervous System
Central nervous system is made of:
• Brain
• Spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system is made of:
Somatic nervous system
• Receives information from the sensory organs
• Controls movements of the skeletal muscles
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• Primarily serves internal organs
Has 2 divisions:
• Sympathetic
• Parasympathetic

9. Sympathetic Response to Stress
Hypothalamus causes:
Increases arousal in the sympathetic nervous system
• Increased heart rate & blood pressure
• Constriction of peripheral blood vessels
• Respiration rates increase
• Bronchial tubes dilate
• Pupils dilate
• Digestive processes decrease
Sympathetic activation prepares the body for intense
motor activity

12. Parasympathetic response to stress
Serves regenerative, growth-promoting, energy-
conserving functions
Its effects include the opposite of the effect of the
sympathetic nervous system
Functions under normal, non-stressful conditions
Also activated by the hypothalamus
• re-establishes homeostasis in the system
• reconstructive process following stressful experience
• slows the heart rate & decreases blood pressure
• decreases muscle tension
• slows respiration
• neutralizes fight or flight response

14. Structure of the Endocrine System
• The endocrine system consists of ductless glands
distributed throughout the body
• The neuroendocrine system is made of those
endocrine glands that are controlled by the
nervous system
• Glands of the endocrine and neuroendocrine
systems secrete chemicals called hormones
• Hormones move into the blood stream to be
carried throughout the body
• Specialized receptors on target tissues or organs
allow hormones to have specific effects even
though they circulate throughout the body

16. Endocrine Responses to Stress
Hypothalamus causes:
• The pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic
hormone (ACTH) that stimulates the adrenal cortex
• Sympathetic fibers to directly activate the adrenal
medulla
• The adrenal glands are located on top of each kidney
• Each gland is composed of:
– an outer covering: the adrenal cortex
– an inner part: the adrenal medulla
• Both secrete hormones that are important in the
stress response

18. Adrenomedullary Response - SAM
Occurs through the activation of the sympathetic-
adrenal medulla (SAM) complex:
• Perception of stress causes the hypothalamus (via
nervous connection) to activate sympathetic fibers
• Sympathetic fibers activate the adrenal medulla
• Adrenal medulla secretes the catecholamines:
epinephrine & norepinephrine
This causes:
• Increased heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate &
blood glucose levels
• Shuts down digestive system
• Rapid, short-lived response to stress

19. Adrenocortical Response - HPA
Occurs through the activation of the hypothalamus-
pituitary-adrenal (HPA) cortex complex:
• Perception of stress causes the hypothalamus to
release ACTH releasing hormone
• This causes the anterior pituitary to secrete ACTH
• ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex to secrete
glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids
Glucocorticoids
• Protein and fat get metabolized into glucose
• Reduce inflammation, suppress immune cells
Mineralocorticoids
• Blood volume and pressure increase

20. Sympathetic and Endocrine Responses to Stress
• Stress perception causes a chain reaction:
SAM
• rapid, short-term stress reaction
• the sympathetic NS stimulates the adrenal medulla
• the adrenal medulla produces epinephrine and
norepinephrine
HPA
• slower but longer-lasting response
• the pituitary releases ACTH
• ACTH causes the adrenal cortex to release
glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids

22. Brain Response to Stress
Limbic System
• Adds an element of emotion to the experience of
stress
• Usually negative emotions: fear, anger, anxiety, pain
Reticular formation
• Communication network that filters messages to the
body
• Receives input from all the sensory systems and
determines which sensory information is processed or
blocked
• This allows us to selectively attend to specific tasks
while ignoring irrelevant information

25. The General Adaptation Syndrome (1)
Defined by Selye in 1956. Comprises 3 stages:
Stage I: Alarm
• The body’s defences against stressors are mobilized
through activation of the sympathetic nervous
system
• Activation of the SAM complex
• Arousal of the sympathetic nervous system releases
hormones (adrenaline) that help prepare the body to
meet stress and danger
• Highly adaptive short term response to an
emergency situation

26. The General Adaptation Syndrome (2)
Stage II: Resistance
• The body enters this stage if the stress is prolonged
• Activation of the HPA complex
• Arousal is lower
• But the body continues to draw on internal resources
at an above normal rate
• Outwards appearance seems normal
• Physiologically, the body’s internal functioning is
not normal
• Sets the stage for diseases of adaptation (e.g., peptic
ulcers, ulcerative colitis)

27. The General Adaptation Syndrome (3)
Stage III: Exhaustion
• Continued exposure to the same stressor
drains the body further
• The capacity to resist is depleted
• Illness results
• This stage is characterized by activation of
the parasympathetic division of the ANS
• But at an abnormally low level
• In severe cases, results in death

29. Cognitive - Transactional Model
Lazarus & Folkman (1984)
• Propose that the interpretation of stressful events
is more important than the events themselves
• It is neither the environmental event nor the
person’s response that defines stress
• It is the individual’s perception of the
psychological situation that defines stress
• Stress is a function of the person’s feeling of
threat, vulnerability, and ability to cope rather than
a function of the stressor
• Distinguish three kinds of appraisal

30. Primary appraisal
• Initial evaluation of a situation
3 possible outcomes:
Irrelevant
• the event has no implication for the individual’s
well-being
Benign-positive
• the event may increase well-being
Stressful
• the situation is perceived as harmful, threatening,
or challenging

31. Primary appraisal (2)
Harm/loss
• involves actual significant physical or psychological
loss
• psychological damage that has already been done
Threat
• the anticipation of harm or loss
• allows to anticipate and prepare for the future
Challenge
• the event is perceived as stressful
• the focus is on positive excitement
• refers to the person’s confidence in overcoming
difficult demands

32. Secondary Appraisal
Concerned with a person’s evaluation of his/her ability to
cope with the situation
The individual asks 3 questions:
• which coping options are available?
• the likelihood that one can apply the strategy
• the likelihood that any given options will work: will it
reduce stress?
Reappraisal
• continuous reappraisal on the basis of new information
• identical to the initial process
• may lead to more stress

34. Coping (1)
Lazarus and Folkman (1984)
• Constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to
manage specific internal and/or external demands that are
appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the
person
Several important elements of the definition:
• Coping is a process of constant evaluation of the success
of one’s strategies
• Coping is learned as one encounters situations
• Coping requires effort
• Coping is an effort to manage. Success is not contingent
on mastery, just good enough

35. Coping (2)
Health & energy
Positive belief
• the ability to cope is enhanced when people believe they
can successfully bring about desired consequences
Problem-solving skills
• having specific knowledge or abilities related to specific
problem
Social skill
• ability to get other people to cooperate
Social support
• feeling of being accepted, loved, or prized by others
Material Resources

36. Coping (3)
Problem Focussed Coping
• consists of changing the situation
• redefining the problem
• looking at alternative solutions
• evaluating the implications of the alternatives
• choosing the best one to act on
Emotion-focussed coping
• consists of controlling and possibly changing the emotional
response to an event
• cognitive responses such as avoidance or minimization
• the goal is to decrease emotional distress
• often used when the individual feels that nothing can be done
about the situation

37. Stress and Control
Stephen Weiss (1968, 1971)
Study 1
• reliable escape response reduces development of ulcers
Study 2
• predictable stressors produced fewer ulcers
• true even in the absence of an escape response option
Study 3
• feedback about effectiveness of response results in fewer ulcers
Conclusion
• the physiological effects of stress can be greatly reduced if the
organism can engage in controlling behaviour
• getting feedback that one’s behaviour is effective can further
reduce the physiological effects of stress

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