The Psychophysiology of Stress: Practical Insights on Challenge and Threat

Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann

CAST; March 20, 2011

A short history and long past…

The case is the same for men: if you mutilate them in boyhood, the later growinghair never comes, and the voice never changes but remains high pitched; if they bemutilated in early manhood, the late growths of hair quit them except the growthon the groin, and that diminishes but does not entirely depart.

“History of Animals” Aristotle, about 350 BC

Intracrine MediationIntracrine Mediation

Intracrine substances regulate Intracellular events

Autocrine MediationAutocrine Mediation

Autocrine substances “feedback”to influence the same cells that secreted them

Paracrine MediationParacrine Mediation

Paracrine cells secrete chemicals that affect adjacent cells

Endocrine MediationEndocrine MediationEndocrine cells secrete chemicals that affect cells at distant target locations

Ectocrine MediationEctocrine MediationEctocrine substances are released into the environment by individuals to affect other individuals

In SumIn SumA set of “Broadcast Systems” with several levels of mediation

The hypothalamus (a part of the brain) activates, controls and integrates the peripheral autonomic mechanisms, endocrine activity, and many somatic functions, e.g., general regulation of water balance, body temperature, sleep, and food intake, and the development of secondary sex characteristics.

The pituitary (2 distinct small oval glands attached to the hypothalamus), produces various secretions that directly or indirectly effect most basic body functions.

1. Hormones are chemical messengers produced and released by specialized glands

2. Released into the bloodstream where they travel to act on target organs some distance from their origin

3. Can operate over a greater distance from their origin and with much greater temporal range than neurotransmitters

4. Hormones coordinate the physiology and behavior of an animal by regulating , integrating, and controlling bodily function

Biology Behavior/Ecology….

Behavior/Ecology Biology…

Ecology

Biology Behavior

• No differences in testosteroneNo differences in testosterone levels among male fans levels among male fans before the gamebefore the game

• Change in testosterone between Change in testosterone between the beginning of the game and thethe beginning of the game and the end of the game was larger, in the end of the game was larger, in the positive direction for male fans of positive direction for male fans of the winning teamthe winning team

Another Level of Coordination:Another Level of Coordination:The same hormones that affect the presence or absence of mating behaviors also affect the production/maturation of the reproductive system

• Increase immediate availability of energy

• Increase oxygen intake

• Inhibit growth, digestion, immune function, reproductive function, pain perception

• Increase blood flow to important flight/flight areas

• Enhancement of memory/performance

Defining Emotion Your Definitions?? The emotional experience is the experience of the

situation as interpreted by the organism (Frijda, 1986)

Emotions motivate behavior but they decouple behavior from perception of the stimulus so that reconsideration is possible (Scherer, 1984).

Emotions are the patterns of perception, or rather interpretation, and their correlates in the central and peripheral nervous systems (Ellsworth, 1994; Roseman & Smith, 2001; Scherer, 2001).

Emotions are biological processes that organize human behavior by constraining thought and action as the environment is appraised as either beneficial or threatening (Fischer & Bidell, 1998; Frijda, 1986; Lazarus, 1991).

Appraisal Theory – Core Concepts Appraisal: direct, immediate

and intuitive evaluations, to account for qualitative distinctions among emotions

Appraisals result in action tendencies which are experienced as emotions

Richard Lazarus (1966) Primary & secondary

appraisal

Appraisal Theory – Core Concepts Emotions are characterized by their enormous

variability and subtle distinctions The experience of emotion is continuous Emotions are processes (Roseman & Smith,

2001)Appraisal Type Appraisal

Novelty Is this novel? Change attracts attention.

Valence Is this good or bad?

Goals/Needs Is this important to me?

Agency What caused this to happen? Can this be controlled? By me?

Norms/Values Has a social norm been broken? By whom?

The Stress System; Two Halves of a Whole

Hypothalamus Releases

Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH)

Stress Causes the Sympathetic Nervous System to Activate

Anterior Pituitary Releases

Adrenocorticotropic Releasing Hormone(ACTH)

Adrenal Gland Releases

Cortisol

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis Responds to sustained stresses in response to the Sympathetic Nervous System

+ Stimulates

+ Stimulates

+ Stimulates

- Inhibits

- Inhibits

Can examine cortisol in response to an acute stressor…

Or as it changes over the course of the day…

Emotion & Cognition

Declarative memory function is impaired following the administration of acute or chronic synthetic cortisol in high doses (for a review, Lupien and McEwen, 1997).

Improved memory performance with moderate cortisol increases (Lupien et al., 1999).

Working memory, initiation and cessation of action, abstract and conceptual thinking, cognitive flexibility and response to novelty, and goal directed behavior are also impacted by stress/emotion (Baddeley, 1995; Luria, 1966; Fuster, 1980).

So what?

What you “know” and “understand” is dynamic, not static.

Emotion organizes, drives, amplifies, and attenuates all students’ observed thinking and reasoning.

How kids experience school on a psycho-physiologic level is highly dependant on their prior experiences of school and at home.

Motivation and Emotion in Education The most effective classroom environments work hard to

engage and motivate students (Brophy, 1981; Pressley, et al., 2003).

Student motivation for, interest in, and value placed on education declines substantially over the course of formal schooling (Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Gottfried, Fleming, & Gottfried, 2001; Wigfield & Eccles, 2002).

Classroom experiences and instructional practices can enhance student engagement to support academic achievement (Stipek, 1996, 2002; Turner, 1995).

Yet, evidenced-based strategies for supporting the development of students’ motivation and academic emotion are rarely instituted in any systematic or meaningful way in classrooms (Brophy, 1998; Guthrie & Alao, 1997; Stipek, 1996, 2002).

Knowledge

Abilities

Dispositional characteristics

Available external support

Level of danger

Degree of uncertainty

Perceived amount of required effort

Resources Demands

The Unbearable Automaticity of Being…

Provide options for recruiting interest Options that increase individual choice and autonomy Options that enhance relevance value and authenticity Options that reduce threats and distractionsProvide options for sustaining effort and persistence Options that heighten salience of goals and objectives Options that vary levels of challenge and support Options that foster collaboration and cooperation Options that increase mastery-oriented feedbackProvide options for self-regulation Options that guide personal goal setting and expectations Options that scaffold coping skills and strategies Options that develop self-assessment and reflection

UDL Affect Guidelines: Multiple Means of Engagement

Building Resources – Reducing Threats, Supporting ChallengeInstruction: Make demands, purposes and real

world significance clear Give challenging tasks that can be

differentiated by skill level Allow students to move at their own

pace Tasks should allow for substantive,

intellectual work Focus on big ideas rather than small

fragmented skills or concepts Give open ended, multi dimensional

tasks with support Encourage participation, exploration

and experimentation Allow choice/support student interest

Evaluation: De-emphasize external evaluation Base grades at least in part on effort,

improvement and standards rather than relative performance

Emphasize info contained in grades Make grading criteria clear and fair Provide substantive, informative

feedback rather than just grades or scores

Monitor learning and understanding through formative assessment

Hold students accountable Emphasize the value/”smartness” in

errors and help seeking