Study Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome through alarm, resistance and exhaustion, evaluating how the model explains physiological stress responses and health outcomes.
Evaluate Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) as an explanation of stress.
AO1 (4 marks), AO3 (4 marks)
AO1
- In the Selye's GAS model, the initial alarm stage is when a person
registers a threat and creates a hormonal change.
- Exhaustion can occur if the body is repeatedly stressed or the
stress is long lasting.
- Selye's research evidence came mostly from his studies using
animals such as rats.
- Cognitive psychologists would explain stress as a result of
negative and faulty thought patterns.
AO3
- Rodriques et al. (2009) suggested that stress hormones alter the
neural structures that are associated with emotion, so Selye's
explanation has scientific credibility.
- Brady (1958) found that the monkeys exposed to stress
physically deteriorated and began to die after 23 days from their
stress, so Selye's explanation of exhaustion has supporting
evidence.
- Animal research supporting the GAS explanation could be
ungeneralisable to the human population as animals may not
represent human reactions to stress.
- Beck and Weishaar (2010) used cognitive techniques to treat
faulty thinking and cognitive bias showing cognitive factors could
cause stress and it may not be a result of GAS.
Look for other reasonable marking points.
(8)
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\hline Level
Mark
Descriptor
AO1 (4 marks), AO3 (4 marks)
Candidates must demonstrate an equal emphasis between knowledge and
understanding vs evaluation/conclusion in their answer.
0
No rewardable material.
Level 1
1-2
Marks
Demonstrates isolated elements of knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
A conclusion may be presented, but will be generic and the supporting
evidence will be limited. Limited attempt to address the question. (AO3)
Level 2
3-4
Marks
Demonstrates mostly accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Candidates will produce statements with some development in the form
of mostly accurate and relevant factual material, leading to a superficial
conclusion being made. (AO3)
Level 3
5-6
Marks
Demonstrates accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Arguments developed using mostly coherent chains of reasoning. leading
to a conclusion being presented. Candidates will demonstrate a grasp of
competing arguments but evaluation may be imbalanced. (AO3)
Level 4
7-8
Marks
Demonstrates accurate and thorough knowledge and understanding.
(AO1)
Displays a well-developed and logical evaluation, containing logical
chains of reasoning throughout. Demonstrates an awareness of
competing arguments, presenting a balanced conclusion. (AO3)
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