ANSWERS
Stress
(stress response) - ANS The unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person
experiences when faced with any demand.
Stressor
(or demand) - ANS The person or event that triggers the stress response.
Distress
(or strain) - ANS The adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational
consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events.
Sources of Work Stress - ANS Work stress is caused by
- factors in the work environment
- as well as by nonwork (external) pressures
Four Approaches to Stress - ANS - Homeostatic/Medical
- Cognitive appraisal
- Person-environment fit
- Psychoanalytic approaches
Homeostatic/Medical Approach
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- the emergency response or the militaristic response, arguing that it was rooted in "the fighting
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, - His early writings provide the basis for the fight-or-flight nomenclature. - ANS Stress occurs
when an external, environmental demand upsets an individual's natural steady-state balance,
what he calls homeostasis.
- Homeostasis:
A steady state of bodily functioning and equilibrium.
* Cannon believed the body was designed with natural defense mechanisms to keep it in
homeostasis
Cognitive Appraisal Approach
- Perception and cognitive appraisal are important processes in determining what is stressful. -
ANS - Emphasis on the psychological and cognitive aspects of the stress response
- Problem-focused coping looks at managing the stressor
- Emotion-focused coping looks at managing one's response
Person-environment fit
- emphasized the idea that confusing and conflicting expectations of a person in a social role
create stress for that person.
- Stress occurs when the role expectations are confusing and/or conflict with one's skills and
abilities. - ANS Stress is caused by incomplete instructions about one's social role. Occurs
when one's skills and abilities match a clearly defined set of role expectations
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, Psychoanalytic
- help us understand the role of unconscious personality factors as causes of stress within a
person. - ANS Stress is caused by discrepancy between one's idealized self (ego-ideal) and
the real self-image.
* ego-ideal:
The embodiment of a person's perfect self.
(Although not sharply defined, the ego-ideal encompasses admirable attributes of parental
personalities, desired and/or imaginable qualities, and the absence of any negative or
distasteful qualities.)
* self-image
How a person sees himself or herself, both positively and negatively.
Discrepancy between the two elements of personality is directly proportional to the amount of
stress experienced.
(the greater the discrepancy, the more stress a person experiences.)
The Stress Response
- The stress response can be very effective in preparing a person to handle legitimate
emergencies through peak performance. Thus, it is neither inherently bad nor necessarily
destructive. - ANS - The stress response begins with the release of chemical messengers,
primarily adrenaline, into the bloodstream.
- These messengers activate the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine (hormone)
system.
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