Stress and stressors: WACE Year 12 Psychology Unit 4
“Stress as defined by Selye (1936); types of stress, distress and eustress (Selye, 1983); stressors: types (environmental, psychological, social, cultural) and characteristics (nature, duration, strength)”
Hans Selye described stress as the body's non-specific response to any demand placed on it. Stress can be distress (negative stress that feels harmful and overwhelming) or eustress (positive stress that feels motivating). A stressor is anything that causes stress. The syllabus names four types of stressors (environmental, psychological, social and cultural) and three characteristics that affect how stressful they are (nature, duration and strength).
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point sets up the three models of stress in Unit 4. You need to define stress, distinguish distress from eustress, classify stressors in a scenario, and explain how their characteristics change the stress response.
Defining stress (Selye, 1936)
Hans Selye was an endocrinologist who noticed that animals exposed to very different harmful agents (cold, injury, toxins) showed the same general pattern of physical changes. He described stress as the non-specific response of the body to any demand made on it. "Non-specific" means the body reacts in a similar way whatever the cause. This idea led to his General Adaptation Syndrome.
Distress and eustress (Selye, 1983)
- Distress: negative stress. It is experienced as unpleasant and harmful, often when demands seem to exceed a person's ability to cope, and prolonged distress can damage health.
- Eustress: positive stress. It is experienced as motivating, exciting or challenging, and can improve focus and performance (the nerves before a sports final).
The same stressor can produce eustress in one person and distress in another, depending on how they see it and their resources for coping, which links to the transactional model.
Types of stressors
| Type | Where it comes from | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | The physical surroundings | Noise, heat, crowding, pollution, bushfires, floods |
| Psychological | A person's own thoughts, perceptions and pressures | Fear of failure, perfectionism, worry about the future, uncertainty |
| Social | Relationships and interactions with other people | Conflict with friends or family, bullying, loneliness, a relationship ending |
| Cultural | Cultural background, values and expectations, and adjusting between cultures | Adjusting to a new country, discrimination or racism, conflict between family and peer cultural expectations |
Characteristics of stressors
- Nature: what kind of stressor it is and how it is perceived, such as whether it is a threat or a challenge, and whether it is predictable and controllable. Unpredictable, uncontrollable stressors are usually more stressful.
- Duration: how long the stressor lasts. Short-term (acute) stressors, such as a car nearly hitting you, cause a brief response. Long-term (chronic) stressors, such as ongoing financial pressure or caring for an ill parent, keep the stress response active and are more damaging to health.
- Strength: how intense the stressor is. A minor argument is weaker than the death of a family member; stronger stressors usually produce a greater stress response.
Most exam questions give a stressor and ask for its type and one or more characteristics. Name the type first, then say how its nature, duration or strength will affect the stress response.
Tran's term
Tran moved from Vietnam to Perth last year. His family expects him to study medicine, but he wants to study art. His street has had roadworks outside his bedroom for six months, and he has just had an argument with his best friend.
- Cultural stressor: adjusting to a new country and balancing family expectations with his own wishes. Its duration is long, making it a chronic stressor.
- Environmental stressor: noise from roadworks, with a long duration that may disrupt his sleep.
- Social stressor: the argument with his best friend; its strength depends on how serious the conflict is.
- Psychological stressor: his worry about disappointing his family and his uncertainty about his future.
Because several chronic stressors are present at once, Tran is at greater risk of distress.
Marker's note: justify each type with the detail from the scenario.
- Confusing stress and stressor
- The stressor is the cause; stress is the response.
- Calling all stress harmful
- Eustress is positive and can improve performance.
- Mixing up psychological and social stressors
- Social stressors involve other people; psychological stressors come from a person's own thoughts and perceptions.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of SCSA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
Original4 marksDistinguish between distress and eustress, using the example of a Year 12 student preparing for a performance in a school production.Show worked answer →
Two marks for each type, defined and applied.
Eustress. Positive stress that a person experiences as motivating and energising, often linked to a challenge they want. Example: the student feels excited and energised before opening night, which sharpens their focus.
Distress. Negative stress that a person experiences as unpleasant and harmful, often when demands feel greater than their ability to cope. Example: the student feels overwhelmed, cannot sleep and worries they will forget their lines.
Original6 marksClassify each of the following stressors by type, and explain how its duration and strength might affect the stress experienced: (a) living next to a construction site for a year; (b) being excluded by a friendship group; (c) feeling torn between family cultural expectations and friends' expectations.Show worked answer →
Two marks for each stressor: type (1 mark) and a link to duration or strength (1 mark).
- (a) Environmental stressor
- Constant noise is a physical feature of the surroundings. Because it lasts a long time (long duration), it can cause chronic stress even if the strength of the noise on any day is moderate.
- (b) Social stressor
- It arises from relationships with other people. If exclusion is intense (high strength), for example public and hurtful, stress will be greater; if it continues for months, it becomes a chronic stressor.
- (c) Cultural stressor
- It arises from differences between cultural values and expectations. It can be of long duration because it is part of daily life, and its strength depends on how important both sets of expectations are to the student.
Practise this
Sources & how we know this
- Psychology ATAR course Year 12 syllabus (effective from 1 January 2024) — School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA)
- Psychology ATAR course: syllabus and support materials — SCSA
- Past ATAR course examinations — SCSA