Causes of Stress

Causes of Stress; Work - Johanson

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Measurement of stress response
Quasi experiment, 24 workers in Swedish saw mill, High risk group - complex job, socially isolated and machine-paced work, Low risk group - cleaners and maintenance workers.
Stress measured by adrenaline and noradrenaline levels in urine, temperature e.g. self-rating scales and measuring caffeine & nicotine intake.
High risk group - higher adrenaline levels that increased throughout the day the, self-report revealed they felt more irritated and rushed than control group.
1. Concurrent validity - physiological & self-report measures showed increased levels of stress in the high risk group 2. Situational v dispositional explanations 3. natural setting - high EV 4. Useful - employers can ensure people with high risk jobs have an opportunity to interact socially.

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Comparison of two methods of stress management
Repeated measures design - each participant completed the Hassles & Uplifts rating scales (every month for 9 months) and the Life Events scale after 10/12. Stress measured using the Hopkins symptoms checklist (HSCL) and the Bradburn Morale Scale. 100 participants from California, mainly white, protestant, good income & good education.
Men - positive correlation between Life Events & Hassles and negative correlation with uplifts. Women - the more life events reported the more hassles & uplifts reported, hassles often correlated with psychological stress symptoms. Therefore hassles are a more powerful predictor of stress.
1. Is the sample representative? 2. Validity of self-report methods - social desirability bias and demand characteristics 3. Reliability - longitudinal study over 10 months 4. Self-report methods easy to repeat 5. Correlation cannot infer cause & effect 6. Application can reduce stress by increasing "uplift" opportunities.

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The effect of control in reducing stress
Lab experiment, independent measures design, 60 undergraduates shown photos of car crash victims. Group 1 - control over how long saw each photo via a switch. Group 2 - saw photos for same length of time as 1, told would be 60 sec between each & given 10 sec warning. Group 3 - saw photos for same time but no control or predictability. Stress measured via GSR and heart rate.
Heart-rate monitors inaccurate, group 1 least stress, group 2 middle, group 3 most stressed.
1. Lab experiment - controlled conditions - reliable - lacks EV 2. Student participants - validity affected by Demand Characteristics 3. Independent measures - individual differences could be confounding variable - affect reliability and validity 4. Objective - GSR - physiological - scientifically measured and compared against a base line. 5. Could they have improved validity by asking participants to complete self-ratings?

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