Stimulus Response Theories to Stress and the Controversies Surrounding the Theory

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Stimulus Response Theories to Stress and the Controversies Surrounding the Theory

This paper will focus on stimulus response theories to stress, it will touch upon the controversy surrounding this theory and will look at other explanations to stress in comparison.

Any of us have experienced rapid heart rate, sweaty hands, and anxiety while watching a very suspenseful and frightening movie in the comfort of a cinema or in the security of our own homes. These physiological responses, caused simply by viewing the images on the screen and listening to the supporting dialogue, illustrate the intricate nerve and hormonal linkages that exist between the body and mind. More subtly, these responses may also occur in situations that threaten one's psychological or physical well-being. Public-speaking anxiety and the discomfort of embarrassment are common examples of the more subtle mind-body responses. The linkage between the mind and the body is powerful and has important implications for the individual's health (Rowe & Kahn, 1998; Pelletier, 1996). The stress response, an example of the body-mind relationship, is a physiological and psychological reaction to the demands, real or imagined, that confront us daily.

Dr Hans Selye (1974) defined stress as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it" He has categorised those responses along a continuum ranging from positive stress or "eustress" to negative stress "distress". Eustress is the emotional reaction experienced when struggling for the creative performance in athletics or in seeking solutions to various events in our lives, which may also be manifested in emotions of happiness, such as your best friends wedding. As stress increases, performance follow...

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...London: Mc Graw-Hill.

Lazarus, R. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.

Pelletier, K.R. (1996). Between mind and body: Stress, emotions, and health. In D. Coleman & J. Gurin (Eds.), Mind body medicine. (pp. 19-38). Yonkers, NY: Consumer Report Books.

Pennisi, E. (1997). Tracing molecules that make the brain-body connection. Science, 275, 930-931.

Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R.L. (1998). Successful aging. New York: Pantheon books.

Selye, H. (1974). Stress without distress. New York: Signet and Mentor books.

Selye, H. (1982). History and present status of the stress concept. In L.Goldberger & S. Breznitz (Eds). Handbook of Stress: Theoretical and Clinical Aspects. New York: Free Press.

Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness. San Franisco: W.H. Freeman.

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