Stress

What Stress covers

Stress is an optional topic for Paper 3. It covers the body's physiological response to a stressor, the link between prolonged stress and illness, where stress comes from and how it is measured, why people differ in their response, and the methods used to manage it.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The physiology of stressSelye's General Adaptation Syndrome, the acute response that produces immediate arousal, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response, and the role of cortisol in prolonged stress.Open →
• The role of stress in illnessHow prolonged stress weakens immune functioning and damages the cardiovascular system, the research linking examinations to immune suppression, and why acute and chronic stress are separated.Open →
• Sources of stressLife changes and daily hassles as sources of stress, the amplification hypothesis, and workplace stressors including low control.Open →
• Measuring stressThe Social Readjustment Rating Scale and the Hassles and Uplifts Scale, the weaknesses of self-report, and physiological measures such as skin conductance.Open →
• Individual differences in stressThe Type A and Type C behaviour patterns and the illnesses each is linked to, and the three components of hardiness.Open →
• Managing and coping with stressDrug treatments, stress inoculation therapy and its three phases, biofeedback, and gender differences in coping.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Stress further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Sympathomedullary pathway vs Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system

  Sympathomedullary pathway: the acute route giving immediate arousal through direct neural signalling. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system: the chronic route releasing cortisol slowly through the bloodstream.

• Adrenal medulla vs Adrenal cortex

  Adrenal medulla: the region releasing adrenaline and noradrenaline for immediate arousal. Adrenal cortex: the region releasing cortisol during prolonged demand.

• Quantitative overload vs Qualitative overload

  Quantitative overload: having far too great a volume of work to finish. Qualitative overload: having work that is too difficult for one's skill level.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)?

   Model answer

   Selye's model describing the body's short-term and long-term physiological response to stress in three stages.

2. 2

   How many stages are there in Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome?

   Model answer

   Three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

3. 3

   What happens during the alarm stage of GAS?

   Model answer

   The initial shock response occurs where the sympathetic nervous system is activated, preparing the body for fight or flight.

4. 4

   Which branch of the nervous system is activated during the alarm stage of GAS?

   Model answer

   The sympathetic nervous system.

5. 5

   What characterises the resistance stage of GAS?

   Model answer

   The body attempts to adapt to the continued presence of the stressor, with the parasympathetic nervous system dampening the stress response while the body remains on alert.

6. 6

   What role does the parasympathetic nervous system play during the resistance stage?

   Model answer

   It dampens the stress response while the body remains on alert.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Stress revision questions

What does Stress cover in AQA A-Level Psychology?

6 subtopics: the physiology of stress, the role of stress in illness, sources of stress, measuring stress, individual differences in stress and managing and coping with stress. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Stress organised?

By the AQA 7182 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.