1. UNIT 4 BRAIN, BEHAVIOUR & EXPERIENCE
AREA OF STUDY 2
MENTAL HEALTH

2. SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE SOCIAL FACTORS
SOCIAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE INCLUDE OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS
SOCIAL READJUSTMENT = the amount of change or adjustment in lifestyle a person is forced to make following a specific event in their life
SOCIAL READJUSTMENT RATING SCALE
(Holmes & Rahe 1967)
Has been revised a number of times and many different versions have been constructed, mainly used for stress research
KK 4C – PAGE

3. SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE SOCIAL FACTORS
SOCIAL READJUSTMENT RATING SCALE
(Holmes & Rahe 1967)
There are some limitations of the rating scale:
They do not take into account the personal meaning of events to different individuals. What is extremely stressful for one individual may be fine for another
KK 4C – PAGE

4. SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE CULTURAL FACTORS
IMMIGRANTS/REFUGEES/ASYLUM SEEKERS
The demands of adjusting to a new
culture can produce and exacerbate
the stress response to moving to a new
Country
There is a need to become acculturated
Sources of acculturated stress:
Learning a new language
Taking on a lower socio-economic status then what you might be used to
Racial and ethnic prejudice
Conflicts over preserving old values and beliefs
KK 4C – PAGE

5. SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Environmental factors that influence the stress response include:
Crowding
Loud noise
Air pollution
Extremes of temperature
Natural disasters
CROWDING: the feeling of being cramped, of having less space than is preferred (usually brought on because of increased population density)
KK 4C – PAGE
PERSONAL SPACE: the immediate and small area (up to about 50 centimeters) with an invisible boundary that surrounds a person

6. SOCIAL, CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE STRESS RESPONSE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
STUDIES ON PERSONAL SPACE:
JOHN CALHOUN (1962)
Exposed mice to an uncrowded then severely overcrowded environment in a specially constructed enclosure
The mice population doubled every 55 days
The mice became aggressive and cannibalistic, explored less and were either hyperactive or extremely lethargic
Calhoun concluded that the stress response had led to a number of psychological and physiological changes
STUDIES ON HUMANS
Data from humans is not conclusive
However, areas of high density do show a correlation
between these areas and psychological and
physiological symptoms of a stress response
(see page 534)
KK 4C – PAGE

7. HOMEWORK LEARNING ACTIVITY 13.9 (pg.537)
KK 4C – LEARNING ACTIVITY 13.9 (PAGE 537)