Psychology2016

Stress and Health 445

neighborhood. Separation results in a fairly high degree of stress, and that stress will be

even higher if the separation is forced (by discrimination from the majority group) rather

than voluntary (self-imposed withdrawal from the majority culture).

The greatest acculturative stress will most likely be experienced by people who

have chosen to be marginalized, neither maintaining contact with their original culture

nor joining the majority culture. They essentially live on the “margins” of both cultures

without feeling or becoming part of either culture. Many Native Americans may feel

marginalized, belonging neither to their original tribe of origin nor to the majority cul-

ture. Marginalized individuals do not have the security of the familiar culture of origin

or the acceptance of the majority culture and may suffer a loss of identity and feel alien-

ated from others (Roysircar-Sodowsky & Maestas, 2000; Rudmin, 2003). Obviously, mar-

ginalized people have little in the way of a social-support system to help them deal with

both everyday stresses and major life changes.

cognitive factors

Type A: workaholic, competitive, ambitious,

hate to waste time, easily annoyed; more likely

to have health issues (e.g., heart disease),

especially the more hostile an individual is

“Type H”: hardy personality, appear to be like

Type A but less prone to heart disease; appear

to thrive on stress due to three factors: sense

of commitment, control, and seeing stressors

as a challenge

Type B: more easygoing, slower to anger, not as

competitive or driven; less likely to have health

issues

Type C: tend to be pleasant and at peace but

find it difficult to express emotions, especially

Seligman (originally studied concept of learned helplessness) began the negative ones; associated with cancer

positive psychology movement; has

suggested that optimism leads to longer

life and greater success in life endeavors

optimism is associated with controlling

mood or emotional reactions; can be

a learned skill through alternative thinking,

relaxation, and correcting faulty thinking

explanatory style

optimists tend to

look for positive

outcomes, whereas

pessimists seem to

expect the worst

primary appraisal involves

estimating severity of the

stressor and classifying it as

a threat, challenge, or loss

already occurred

secondary appraisal involves

estimation of resources available

to cope with stressor

Lazarus’s cognitive-

mediational theory of

emotion

suggests an individual’s

appraisal of a stressor is a

major factor in determining

how stressful that stressor

becomes

personality differences

affect how one assesses

a stressor, the coping

strategies used, and

possible health outcomes

result of appraisal

determines level

of stress and

emotional reaction

personality factors

social factors

physiological factors

alarm: sympathetic nervous system

is first activated

exhaustion: prolonged stress response

coupled with depleted resources can

lead to stress-related diseases or death

of the organism; if stressor is stopped,

parasympathetic division is activated

and body attempts to replenish

resources

resistance: continued activation of

sympathetic activity until organism’s

resources are depleted

stress-related responses similar to those

triggered by infection— increase in white blood

cell count, enzymes, and antibodies

body is engineered for short-term, acute stress;

prolonged stress/depletion of resources results in

reduced functioning of immune system

prolonged stress and/or weakened immune system

places people at a higher risk of coronary heart

disease, weight gain, diabetes, and lower natural

killer cell activity; depression and anxiety may also

be associated with prolonged stress

the autonomic nervous system (ANS) figures prominently in

the body’s physiological reactions to stress

the field of

psychoneuroimmunology

focuses on the effects of

stress on the immune system

Hans Selye identified the

general adaptation

syndrome (GAS),

the sequence of

physiological reactions

the body goes through

when adapting to

a stressor

poverty results in lack of basic life necessities

job stress may be related to workload, lack of control

or job security, work schedule, and low job satisfaction

integration: original identity maintained but forms positive

relationships with members of dominant culture (lowest stress)

marginalization: does not maintain contact with original

culture or join majority culture (greatest stress)

assimilation: individual gives up old culture and

completely adopts ways of majority (moderate stress)

separation: majority culture is rejected and original

cultural identity is maintained (high stress)

Stress and Health

a great deal of stress can come from dealing with other people and social interactions

in general, having a positive social support system

that provides various forms of help (e.g., monetary,

physical, emotional support) is a good predictor

for healthy aging and longevity

poverty and job stress are prominent,

economically based social factors that

lead to stressful living conditions

culturally, stress is affected by status

of acculturation (adapting to a new,

different, or often dominant culture)

and the method chosen to adapt

Concept Map L.O. 11.4, 11.5, 11.6, 11.7, 11.8, 11.9

Interactive

M11_CICC7961_05_SE_C11.indd 445 9/1/16 8:40 PM