PSYC 2301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Asian Americans, Common Cold, Cortisol
15 Jun 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Stress and Social support
• Social support
o Perception or experience that one is loved and cared for by others
o Supportive others can provide: i.e. types of supprt
▪ Tangible assistance
• Money, food, help with chores
• Usually for kids this is the parents that will supply this
▪ Informational support
• Someone providing advice and information
• Advice in coping strategies advice on where to get information.
▪ Emotional support
• When someone else makes us feel valued and cared for
▪ Companionship support
• Sense of belonging
• Objective vs. subjective
o Size of social network vs. social support
▪ Objective – how many connections you have (are you in clubs, do u do activites,
do you talk to your neighbors)
• More people
▪ Subjective – the strength of the support and connections.
▪ Majority of studies indicate that objective (more social support) is better.
• Direct vs. buffering effects
o Direct hypothesis Same benefit during stressful and non-stressful times
▪ Those with and without social support are effected by stressors at the same
intensity but those with social support have an overall ebteer baseline wellbeing
therefore their effect is less negative.
▪
o Buffering hypothesis Especially beneficial when stressful things happen
▪ Idea that social support is especiialy beneficial in times of stress
▪ 2 ways in which this can happen:
• Social support can attenuate or eliminate initial negative reaction to
stress
