Marianne Frankenhaeuser

Pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic-adrenal correlates of distress and effort ☆

Abstract Measures of adrenalin, noradrenalin and cortisol excretion and self-reports of various aspects of subjective arousal obtained for 24 female and 24 male university students during five experimental and three baseline conditions were submitted to factor analysis. Two factors were extracted: a “distress factor” with high positive loadings in subjective variables indicative of negative affect and a moderately high positive loading in cortisol excretion; and an “effort factor” with high positive loadings primarily in subjective variables indicative of action-proneness and in adrenalin excretion. The dissociation between pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic-adrenal activity is illustrated by data from (1) a monotonous vigilance task inducing both effort and distress, and a concomitant increase of adrenalin as well as cortisol excretion, and (2) a self-paced reaction time task inducing effort but no distress, and a concomitant increase in adrenalin but decrease in cortisol excretion.

Underload and Overload in Working Life: Outline of a Multidisciplinary Approach

A research project is outlined in which concepts and methods from social psychology and psychophysiology are integrated in the study of human adaptation to underload and overload related to technically advanced work processes. Attempts are made to identify aversive factors in the work process by studying acute stress reactions, e.g., catecholamine excretion, in the course of work and relating these to long term, negative effects on well-being, job satisfaction and health. Data from a pilot study of sawmill workers support the view that machine-paced work characterized by a short work cycle and lack of control over the work process constitutes a threat to health and well being.

sex Differences in Psychoneuroendocrine Reactions to Examination Stress

&NA; Sex differences in adaptation and coping were studied by comparing neuroendocrine and psychological functions in male and female high‐school students during 2‐3 hr of routine school work (control condition) and a 6‐hr matriculation examination (stress condition). In the control condition sex differences were slight and nonsignificant. During examination stress, the urinary excretion of cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and 3‐methoxy‐4‐hydroxy‐phenylethylene glycol (MOPEG or MHPG) increased in both sexes, but to a consistently greater extent in the male group, significantly so for adrenaline and MOPEG. Both sexes performed equally well in the examination, but self‐reports showed that feelings of success and confidence were common among males, whereas feelings of discomfort and failure dominated in the female group. High discomfort correlated with poor performance in the males but with good performance in the females.

A Psychobiological Framework for Research on Human Stress and Coping

This chapter is based on research carried out in the author’s laboratory during the past decades. The central theme is the experimental study of how environmental factors influence human health and behavior. Special attention is given to the health hazards associated with demands on human adaptation to the rapid rate of change in modern society. The approach is multidisciplinary, focusing on the dynamics of stressful person-environment interactions, viewed from social, psychological, and biological perspectives.

Sex differences in sympathetic-adrenal medullary reactions induced by different stressors

Male and female university students were exposed to two different stressors in each of two 110-min sessions, i.e., a cognitive task (color-word conflict) and repeated venipuncture. Catecholamine excretion, heart rate, and subjective reactions were measured. Control values were obtained under conditions of relaxation in the laboratory. Subjects of both sexes responded to both stressors by increased heart rate and feelings of unpleasantness and distress. The pattern of adrenaline excretion, however, differed between sexes: in males both stressors induced a significant increase, whereas in females adrenaline excretion remained on the same level under the two stress conditions as during relaxation. Noradrenaline excretion was not systematically affected by either stressor in either sex group.

Dissociation between sympathetic-adrenal and pituitary-adrenal responses to an achievement situation characterized by high controllability: Comparison between type A and type B males and females

Type A and Type B university students of both sexes performed a choice-reaction task that was designed to allow each subject at his/her preferred pace and to maintain control over the stimulus rate throughout a period of sustained work. Type As selected faster stimulus rates, and coped more effectively with their total work load than did Type Bs with their lesser load. The superior achievement of the Type A group was not reflected in self-reports of subjective arousal, not in physiological arousal indices, e.g. heart rate, and catecholamine and cortisol excretion. Comparison between sexes (Type A and Type B persons) showed that males reported exerting significantly more effort than females and, accordingly, secreted significantly more adrenaline. A common charcteristic of all groups was the dissociation between sympathetic-adrenal and pituitary-adrenal arousal, catecholamine output increasing and cortisol output decreasing in response to the achievement demands. The rise in catecholamine output was interpreted in terms of the mobilization of effort induced by the task, and the decrease of cortisol in terms of the high level of personal control in performing the task.

Stress Responses in Male and Female Engineering Students

Male and female engineering students were studies under stress induced by a congnitive-conflict task and in a control condition spent in inactivity. The results showed that (a) in the control condition the sexes did not differ in adrenaline, noradrenaline or cortisol excretion, whereas heart rate was significantly higher in the females; (b) adrenaline excretion and heart rate increased significantly in both sexes during stress; (c) the rise in adrenaline excretion was more pronounced in the males, whereas the rise in heart rate was significantly greater in the females; (d) cortisol excretion increased significantly during stress in the male group only; and (e) self-estimates of effort and performance were consistently higher and increased more over time in the males than in the females, bu these sex differences on the subjective level were not reflected in actual performance. The interaction of biological and social factors in the development of sex differences in stress reactions is discussed.

Women, work, and health : stress and opportunities

No wonder you activities are, reading will be always needed. It is not only to fulfil the duties that you need to finish in deadline time. Reading will encourage your mind and thoughts. Of course, reading will greatly develop your experiences about everything. Reading women work and health stress and opportunities is also a way as one of the collective books that gives many advantages. The advantages are not only for you, but for the other peoples with those meaningful benefits.

Effects of alcohol intake on subjective and objective variables over a five-hour period

SummaryEight male subjects were studied during a five-hour period following a single dose of 0.55 g alcohol per kg body weight. The main variables of the experiment were a) blood alcohol concentration, b) self-estimated degree of intoxication, and c) observed degree of intoxication. The subjective scales were obtained by the method of magnitude estimation. The two curves representing self-estimated and observed degree of intoxication were in very close agreement; in a general way they also followed the blood alcohol concentration curve, although certain systematic deviations were found. In addition, d) self-estimates of certain mood variables were obtained, and e) two objective performance tests were administered. Nearly all curves obtained in the experiment showed a peak about 30–40 min after alcohol intake. The subjective variables appeared to be more affected by alcohol than the performance variables.

Subjective and objective effects of alcohol as functions of dosage and time

SummaryEight male subjects were studied during a five-hour period following three different doses of a) 0.33, b) 0.44, and c) 0.66 g alcohol per kg body weight.The main dependent variables of the investigation were 1. blood alcohol concentration, 2. self-estimated degree of intoxication, and 3. observed degree of intoxication. The subjective scales were obtained by the method of magnitude estimation. Corresponding curves of self-estimated and observed degree of intoxication were in very close agreement. In most respects the subjective estimation curves also showed a far-reaching agreement with the corresponding blood alcohol curves: a fast intitial growth followed by an essentially linear decline. The rate of decline of the subjective curves was, however, much faster.In addition to these principal data, 4. self-estimates of certain mood variables were obtained, and 5. two objective performance tests were administered. Nearly all curves obtained in the experiments showed a maximal effect about 30–50 min after alcohol intake. The subjective variables, and particularly those related to general intoxication, were on the whole more affected by alcohol than were the performance variables.The results of the present investigation with three doses of alcohol substantiate and widen the conclusions based on a previous study with a single moderate dose.