Ravalier PhD Theis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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Onset of resistance reaction can occur in minutes to hours after exposure.
Stage 3 – Exhaustion: If the stressors continue or the individual’s defence
mechanisms are not effective enough over time the body’s resources are
run down and is unable to maintain equilibrium, with the individual
moving into the exhaustion stage. Should an individual be in this stage
for an extended period of time, long-term damage may result. This is
chronic stress, i.e. where the stressor is present continuously or
repeatedly over a prolonged period of time and therefore causes a more
long-term stress reaction.
Discussion Box 1: Example of Response Theories – Divorce
Divorce is an obvious and well-known potentially extreme source of stress. According to response
theories, all individuals who encounter divorce and perceive it as a stressor will go through three
reactionary stages. At first resistance to the stressor is low, but the following ‘counter-shock’
reaction initiates defence mechanisms. During the second stage, the individual adapts to the
continued divorce stressor and if the overload persists to be a problem then the third stage,
exhaustion, where one’s reserves have been depleted, occurs. Continued exhaustion would
eventually lead to both psychological and physiological outcomes.
1a.1.1) Critique of Response Theories
Despite the originality of the GAS theory of stress, over the decades
it has been the subject of much negative reaction. One such negativity
involves the implication that cognitive variables and other individual
differences such as personality play very little role in the contribution to
the initiation or moderation of the GAS. The absence of these factors may
therefore short-change what actually occurs in psychological stress
(Arnold, 2005). The GAS, for example, describes a non-specific bodily
response to stressors which allows no part played for individual
perception/understanding of a situation, or particular coping strategies
utilised by different people. For example Ravalier and Biggs (2009) found
that, when confronted with very similar situations, members of the police