Psychology Notes for AS & A2

AQA Specification A

Module 2

Physiological  Psychology - Stress Management

Exercise

Exercise is an excellent way to combat stress (the body is already ready for fight or flight) – it makes use of the extra adrenaline in your system and "burns off" the stress chemicals.

Relaxation

Relaxation techniques also help: reading, listening to music, going for a walk or just sitting quietly in your favourite spot.

Control

People who believe they are in control of their lives are less stressed than those that feel they are victims of circumstance.

Brady

Brady conducted the "Executive Monkey" study – a piece of bad research done badly. He conducted tests on pairs of monkeys in two separate, identical cages. They were set up in such a way that the animals could be given electric shocks through the floor. Each cage had a lever- in the "executive" monkey's cage this could switch off the current in both cages if pulled just before a shock was due. The "non-executive" monkey's lever had no effect.

Brady thought the monkey in control should be less damaged by stress, but the experiment showed that these animals were more damaged. It did not help that Brady always assigned the more intelligent monkey as the executive.

Weiss

Weiss repeated Brady's study using rates. Just before a shock was due, a buzzer would sound. Weiss assigned the role of executive randomly, so intelligence was removed as a confounding variable. The executive rats suffered less stress damage than the non-executive rats.

The buzzer helped by letting the rats work out that a shock was coming. This shows that it is not just important to be in control – you have to believe you are in control.

Proff. Julian Rotter

Rotter's theory was derived from the above research but applied to humans: the Locus of Control scale.

The nearer a person is to the Internal side of the scale, the less harmed they are by stressful events; the nearer they are to the External end of the scale, the more damage is done.

Diet

Too much adrenaline is a problem caused by stress, but some foods can act as stimulants, worsening the problem. Caffeine is present in tea, coffee, cola and chocolate, so the intake of these foods should be lowered or stopped.

Sugar is not helpful to the stressed because it forces the body to produce more insulin (pushes blood sugar levels down). When this
happens, the body compensates by producing more adrenaline (pushes blood sugar levels up).

Attitude

A positive attitude helps extremely when dealing with stress.

Albert Ellis

Ellis (a cognitive therapist) came up with "Cognitive Restructuring" – changing the way you think. The "problem" is your interpretation, and interpretations are frequently wrong.

A + B = C, don't forget D

A = The activating event (e.g. redundancy)
B = Your belief about the event (e.g. "I can't get another job, no money, so can't pay bills")
C = Consequence of A + B (Stress)
D = Dispute – you need to dispute beliefs that are not true

"A" cannot be changed, but if you change "B", "C" will also be changed.

12 Irrational things we say to ourselves and Disputes

1. I can't stand this
   I already have
2. This is the worst thing that could happen
   If it really was, I would not be here now
3. I am such an idiot
   I made a mistake, we all do
4. I will never learn to use ……..
   I have learned other things, I can learn this
5. Why does this always happen to me?
   It happens to everyone, not just you
6. He never returns my calls
   It may take longer than I like, but he does return my calls
7. Nobody cares about this issue but me
   Other people to care, I just need to seek them out
8. My neighbours are completely inconsiderate
   They probably don't realise how much they upset me
9. Life is so unfair to me
   We all experience both good and bad things
10. I am a terrible parent / teacher etc
    I could have handled it better and I will do so next time
11. If I let someone else do this it will not be done right so I must do it myself
    I can't do everything, I will train others. I must not expect perfection
12. My boss is the world's worst
    I wish my boss treated me better but he / she certainly is not the world's worst

If there is something you can't change, it is not a problem it is a fact. No point stressing about facts.

Time Management

There are only 168 hours in a week. If you are trying to pack in 200 hours of activities, you will be stressed! Structure activities better to reduce the time they take.

Reducing Occupational Stress

• Make a real commitment to stress reduction
• Provide occupational stress workshops (legal requirement for companies)
• Modify shifts
• Modify training
• Increase worker decision making (control)
• Examine environment (noise levels, equipment used by employees etc)

10 Point Plan

This ten point plan was developed by the Centre for Stress Education and Research:

1. If you feel yourself becoming stressed, find somewhere quiet and do relaxation exercises
2. Work no more than 10 hours a day
3. Take a break in the middle of the day
4. Have at least one full day in seven away from work
5. Take regular exercise
6. Try to think logically about the problem
7. If you have severe problems, get professional assistance
8. Do not rely on drugs or alcohol (they do not help the situation)
9. Set realistic goals and deadlines
10. Do not dwell on the past or fret about the future – Concentrate on the Present

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