Psychology 2036A/B Lecture 4: pysch lecture 4

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2036A/B
• Professor: Doug Hazlewood

Document Summary

S tres s : c hap ter 6. A. it"s an environmental stimulus: ex. exams are stressful, stimuli are called stressors. Response to a stressor: ex. i feel stressed at exam time. Two types of responses: psychological (thoughts, feelings, aka distress, ex. I"m nervous, anxious: physiological (ex. hearts speeds up) Part 2: early contributions: stress is a physiological response. A. walter cannon: stressors activate two body systems (sam, sympathetic nervous system > action, endocrine system (adrenal medulla) If prolonged, diseases of adaptation ex. ulcers, high bp: phase 3: exhaustion (energy reserves depleted, resistance no longer possible) More serious diseases and death: note: physiological responses are the same regardless of stressor ( general", physiological effects of prolonged stress: hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (hpa) axis, hypothalamus influences pituitary, and pituitary influences adrenal cortex, adrenal cortex releases corticosteroids ex. cortisol. Suppress immune system: if activated for too long, body becomes exhausted. Selye and cannon only focused on physiological, psychological responses can"t be ignored.