In this video I discuss the relationship between the stress response and the social hierarchy. While high status in a hierarchy can be associated with greater control and less stress, it can also be the case that high status positions involve constant challenges and this can increase stress and levels of glucocorticoids. Human hierarchies are also difficult to assess because … Read More
Perceived Control & Learned Helplessness
In this video I discuss appraisal, perceived control, and learned helplessness. While primary appraisal refers to identifying whether something represents a threat, secondary appraisal refers to determining if one can manage or control a stressor. Stressors that can’t be managed (or are perceived to be uncontrollable) can create greater stress responses. Learned helplessness represents an extreme example of lack of … Read More
Stress, Personality, & Heart Disease
In this video I discuss the relationship between stress, personality, and heart disease. Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman proposed that Type A personality, characterized by competitiveness and hostility, was associated with 7x more heart disease than Type B personality, characterized by a more laid-back and calm demeanor. The frequent spikes of blood pressure associated with episodes of anger may increase … Read More
Psychological Stressors & Health
In this video I discuss the psychological components of stress and how we can become stressed from the anticipation of threats. Psychological stressors are especially dangerous because they have the potential to become chronic stressors which constantly plague us. Next I discuss the relationship between stress and peptic ulcers, including Barry Marshall and Robin Warren’s Nobel prize-winning research on the … Read More
Stress & The Immune System
In this video I briefly describe the immune system and the cells involved in surveillance and protection from invaders, pathogens, and other threats. Next I discuss the relationship between stress and decreased immune function, which is related to elevated levels of glucocorticoids. This can also be seen in treatment of autoimmune disorders that uses glucocorticoids to suppress immune function. Lastly … Read More
General Adaptation Syndrome
In this video I describe homeostasis, which refers to maintenance of an optimal state, and allostasis, which clarifies that an optimal state is actually a range of possible states depending on context. Next I discuss Hans Selye’s theory of General Adaptation Syndrome, which he derived from his work studying the effects of chronic stressors on rats. He found that many … Read More
The Stress Response & HPA Axis
In this video I describe the stress response in more detail, including possible gender differences in reaction to threats. Shelley Taylor proposed the tend–and–befriend response to refer to a female tendency to focus on relationships, empathy, and group cohesion in response to threats. Next I describe how the stress response travels through the body, which occurs along the HPA axis … Read More
Understanding Obesity
In this video I consider evolutionary explanations for the modern struggle with obesity. I describe how obesity is defined using the calculation of body mass index or BMI and consider potential problems with this simple calculation. I also discuss set point theory, energy expenditure, and the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945 and its possible role in gene expression and incidence … Read More
What is Meditation?
In this video I describe meditation, focusing on two types of practices: focused awareness meditation and mindfulness meditation. Focused awareness involves maintaining fixed attention on a particular object, sound, or mantra, while mindfulness allows attention to move freely without allowing thoughts to become attached to any particular focus. Both types involve a state of relaxation that can produce physiological changes … Read More
What is Stress?
You’re undoubtedly familiar with the concept of stress, but like many psychological variables we’ve seen, you may find it difficult to come up with a precise definition. What exactly is stress and how can we go about measuring it Walter Cannon coined the term “fight or flight response” to consider how we react to threats in the environment (you may … Read More
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