Psychology A2 · Health Psychology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome describes how the body reacts to any stressor in three stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion. In the short term this helps us cope. If stress goes on for a long time, stress hormones such as cortisol stay high, the immune system is weakened and blood pressure rises, so infections and heart disease become more likely.
The syllabus gives three causes of stress. Holmes and Rahe say that life events which force us to readjust cause stress, even pleasant ones. Work causes stress, especially high demands with little control. Friedman and Rosenman say that a Type A personality makes a person more likely to be stressed and to develop heart disease.
Students say a person in the resistance stage is no longer stressed. The body only appears to cope: stress hormones are still raised, and this is why exhaustion follows.
Answer: 73 life change units; the same fixed values are used for everybody (a nomothetic approach).
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