Question

Summarize the weaknesses of attempts to predict health by adding up a person’s self-report of daily hassles In what ways could it be helpful?

Compare the psychoanalytic catharsis hypothesis and the social learning theory view of cathars

Describe the scale designed by Holmes and Rahe, what it aims to measure, and whether it is successfu

Answer 1

• In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe decided to study whether or not stress contributes to illness. They surveyed more than 5,000 medical patients and asked them to say whether they had experience any of a series of 43 life events in the previous two years.
• Each event, called a Life Change Unit (LCU), had a different "weight" for stress. The more events the patient added up, the higher the score. The higher the score, and the larger the weight of each event, the more likely the patient was to become ill.They developed this scale for identifying major stressful life events.
• A life event is a significant experience which can lead to an increase in stress. The subject of the life events is believed to be a less significant factor in causing stress than the amount of disruptive change in a person’s life that the event causes.
• Therefore, both positive and negative life events which necessitate change in a person’s life can lead to stress. Even an enjoyable event, such as the birth of a child, can be a positive experience, but at the same time stressful for the newborn child’s parents.
• A total value for stressful life events can be worked out by adding up the scores for each event experienced over a 12 month period.
• If a person has less the 150 life change units they have a 30% chance of suffering from stress.
• 150 - 299 life change units equates to a 50% chance of suffering from stress.
• Over 300 life units means a person has an 80% chance of developing a stress related illness.
• The life events include,death of a spouse,divorce,major personal injury,marriage,pregnancy,major business readjustment,changes in residences,troubles with boss etc.
• Some psychologists have questioned the role of major, but rare, life events in people’s everyday experience of stress. Even people who do not experience any of the events listed in Holmes and Rahe’s inventory may still feel stress and eustress.
• There is little doubt that Holmes and Rahe’s life events can contribute to stress levels. However, the theory fails to account for the differing way in which individuals experience events. For example, a family gathering may be stressful to some people, but for others it may be an opportunity to relax. The assumption that life events affect everyone in the same way fails to take into account individual differences.
• The effect that life events have on stress levels can also be moderated by the coping strategies that a person uses to adapt to a demanding event. Whilst some people employ effective coping strategies to help them through a stressful time, others do not, and a life event can be more stressful to them as a result.
• For example, a husband who loses his wife may benefit from being able to spend time with family members and close friends. By contrast, someone who does not reach out for social support and isolates themselves during bereavement may find it even more stressful and more difficult to endure.
• Holmes and Rahe’s Social Readjustment Rating Scale ignores the way in which these different coping strategies can affect the level of stress induced by life events.
• Due to time limit,remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation