Stressed to the Limit: Physiology of Stress, The
The field of psychoneuroimmunology seeks to understand the interaction between the immune system and the central nervous system. Most stress research is focused on the fight-fight reaction, and more recently threats to the social self. The autonomic...
Stressed to the Limit: Cognitive Buffers Against Stress
Several cognitive factors appear to immunize people against the damaging effects of stressful events. If your environment is predictable, or you have some degree of control over it, fewer negative psychological responses tend to occur. Social suppor...
Stressed to the Limit: Diverse Reactions to Stressful Situations
The same situation may stress one person by not another based on their perception of events and coping strategies available. What people tend to forget is that there are at least two forms of stress response: fight-flight and disengagement. An examp...
Stressed to the Limit: Stress and Susceptibility to Disease
Certain physiological reactions to stress can increase our vulnerability to infections diseases like colds or flu. A number of researchers did a series of studies to determine why. One factor seems to be that lymphocytes which serve an immune functi...
Endless Questions: Performing Experiments
In an experiment, the ideal is to manipulate a single variable. It becomes the only element that differs between control and experimental groups. In a Carnegie Melon study, for example, primates are randomly assigned to stressed and non-stressed...
Stressed to the Limit: Social Support and Emotional Correlates with Health
Researchers have found that social support correlates with healthy blood pressure and lower levels of stress hormones. People with a close network who were exposed to a virus that causes a common cold, then quarantined did not become ill. It is thou...