Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

THE GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME MODEL: 
THE COURSE OF STRESS 
The effects of long-term stress are illustrated in a series of stages proposed by Hans 
Selye (pronounced “sell-yay”), a pioneering stress theorist (Selye, 1976, 1993). This 
model, the  general adaptation syndrome (GAS),  suggests that the physiological 
response to stress follows the same set pattern regardless of the cause of stress. 
As shown in Figure 4 , the GAS has three phases. The fi rst stage— alarm and 
mobilization —occurs when people become aware of the presence of a stressor. On a 
biological level, the sympathetic nervous system becomes energized, which helps a 
person cope initially with the stressor. 
However, if the stressor persists, people move into the second response stage: 
resistance . During this stage, the body is actively fi ghting the stressor on a biological 
level. During resistance, people use a variety of means to cope with the stressor—
sometimes successfully but at a cost of some degree of physical or psychological 
well-being. For example, a student who faces the stress of failing several courses 
might spend long hours studying seeking to cope with the stress. 
If resistance is inadequate, people enter the last stage of the GAS: exhaustion . 
During the exhaustion stage, a person’s ability to fight the stressor declines to 
the point where negative consequences of stress appear: physical illness and 
psychological symptoms in the form of an inability to concentrate, heightened 
irritability, or, in severe cases, disorientation and a loss of touch with reality. In 
a sense, people wear out, and their physiological resources to fight the stressor 
are used up. 
How do people move out of the third stage after they have entered it? In some 
cases, exhaustion allows people to escape a stressor. For example, people who become