Stress begins when a person encounters a potential stressor. Stressors vary in duration and intensity, from ongoing difficulties to brief events and severe trauma. This lesson explains how stressors are categorized and what distinguishes traumatic events.
A chronic stressor persists over an extended period. Examples include long-term unemployment, imprisonment, or caring for a parent with dementia. Because it continues, a chronic stressor may require a person to cope repeatedly over time.
All flashcards
Chronic stressor
A stressor that persists over an extended period, such as long-term unemployment or ongoing caregiving.
Acute stressor
A brief, focal event that may remain overwhelming or distressing after it ends.
Traumatic event
An event involving exposure to actual or threatened death or serious injury.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
A chronic stress reaction that may include intrusive memories, avoidance, jumpiness, or emotional changes.
Job burnout
Emotional exhaustion and cynicism related to one's job, including diminished personal accomplishment.
Quiz questions
What combination defines job strain?Answer: High job demands combined with little decision-making discretion or control.
Which set names the three dimensions of job burnout?Answer: Exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment.
How has the frequency of daily hassles compared with life-change units in predicting health?Answer: Hassle frequency has sometimes predicted health outcomes better than life-change units.
How is a total Social Readjustment Rating Scale score calculated?Answer: Add the values for listed events experienced during the previous 12 months.
What can a correlation between stress scores and health symptoms establish by itself?Answer: That the measures are associated, but not that one caused the other.
Based on Psychology 2e by Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.