15.1.7

Stress Level Studies

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Rahe et al (1970) - LCU score and illness

Aim: To test if high scores on the social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) (43 stressful life events weighted in terms of impact) were correlated with ill health (the link between stress and illness).

Procedure

Procedure

  • 2,500 male American Navy sailors were given the SRRS to assess how many challenging life events they had experienced in the previous 6 months.
  • During their next 6-month tour of duty health records were kept.
Results & conclusions

Results & conclusions

  • Results
    • There was a significant positive correlation +0.0118 between life events and ill health.
    • It was a small effect, but statistically significant.
  • Conclusion
    • This study demonstrates the relationship between stressful life events and ill health.
Evaluation

Evaluation

  • Strengths
    • Large sample.
    • Standardised SRRS.
  • Limitations
    • Correlations cannot show cause.
    • Individual differences.
    • Social and cultural variations.
    • Demand characteristics and social desirability.

Johansson (1978) - Stress Levels in Sawmill Workers

Johansson (1978) investigated the relationship between occupational stress and productivity in a Swedish Sawmill.

Procedure

Procedure

  • Natural experiment (workers already in job roles).
  • Two groups of workers:
    • Skilled finishers, whose work rate determined the pay levels for the whole mill.
    • Unskilled maintenance and cleaning workers with more flexible working conditions.
Records kept

Records kept

  • Daily urine sample – 4 times a day, baseline was at home.
  • Body temperature measured, caffeine and nicotine consumption.
  • Self-rating scales on words such as ‘sleepiness’, ‘well-being’.
  • Records of illness and absence.
Results

Results

  • The skilled workers had increasing levels of adrenaline throughout the day, had higher body temperature and caffeine and nicotine consumption on work days compared to rest days.
  • They were more likely to self-report lower levels of well-being and had more days off due to ill health. All these things are indicators of high stress.
Conclusion

Conclusion

  • The finishers were more stressed because of the following factors:
    • Responsibility for setting the wage rates.
    • Skilled but monotonous and repetitive work.
    • Machine paced work = absence of control.
    • Working in isolation.
Evaluation

Evaluation

  • Strengths
    • Practical applications.
    • Mundane realism.
  • Limitations
    • Ecological validity.
    • Cannot show cause.
    • Self-report – demand characteristics, social desirability.
    • Cultural and gender bias.
Jump to other topics
1

Social Influence

2

Memory

3

Attachment

4

(2026 Exams) Psychopathology

5

(2027 Exams) Clinical Psychology & Mental Health

6

Approaches in Psychology

7

Biopsychology

8

Research Methods

8.1

Research Methods

8.2

Scientific Processes

8.3

Data Handling & Analysis

8.4

Inferential Testing

9

Issues & Debates in Psychology (A2 only)

10

Option 1: Relationships (A2 only)

10.1

Relationships: Sexual Relationships (A2 only)

10.2

Relationships: Romantic Relationships (A2 only)

10.3

(2026 Exams) Relationships: Virtual (A2 only)

10.4

(2027 Exams) Relationships: Online (A2 only)

11

Option 1: Gender (A2 only)

12

Option 1: Cognition & Development (A2 only)

13

Option 2: Schizophrenia (A2 only)

14

Option 2: Eating Behaviour (A2 only)

15

Option 2: Stress (A2 only)

16

Option 3: Aggression (A2 only)

17

Option 3: Forensic Psychology (A2 only)

18

Option 3: Addiction (A2 only)

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