PSYC 328 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Allostatic Load, Threat Assessment, Coronary Artery Disease
Document Summary
Stress is a negative emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological, cognitive and behavioural changes. These are either directed toward altering the stressful event or accommodating to its effects. Stressors are stressful events which include noise, crowding, a bad relationship, a round of job interviews or the commute to work. Although the study of stressors has helped to define some conditions that are more likely to produce stress than others, they cannot fully explain the experience of stress. A stressful experience may seem stressful to some people but not to others. A salient example of this is the loss of employment. Person 1 feelings of stress due to feelings of failure, embarrassment and disappointing family members = threat. Person 2 less stress associated with this as they view the loss of employment as an opportunity to try a new field = challenge. How a potential stressor is perceived determines whether it will be experienced as stressful.
