Life changes | AQA A-Level Psychology Revision
Updated: Sep 15
For 7182 specification, first teach in September 2025
AQA A-Level Psychology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 60 minutes
These life changes A-Level Psychology revision notes explain why major events may become sources of stress when they require significant psychological and behavioural adjustment. You will examine positive and negative life changes, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and the use of life change units to estimate stress. This topic follows the possible health effects of prolonged stress and prepares you to compare major life events with smaller, recurring sources of stress.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define life changes as a source of stress.
Explain why both positive and negative events may require stressful readjustment.
Describe how the Social Readjustment Rating Scale measures life changes.
Calculate a total life change unit score.
Apply life-change explanations to unfamiliar examples.
Evaluate research into life changes using individual differences, controllability and cause-and-effect issues.
Revision Notes 📚
What does the AQA specification require?
Within the Stress option, AQA requires students to study:
Life changes and daily hassles as sources of stress.
Workplace stress, including workload and control.
The Social Readjustment Rating Scale and Hassles and Uplifts Scale as self-report measures of stress.
Individual differences in stress, including personality and hardiness.
This lesson focuses specifically on life changes as a source of stress. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale is included because it provides an important way of investigating and quantifying life changes.
You should be prepared to:
Explain what makes a life change potentially stressful.
Recognise that both desirable and undesirable changes require adjustment.
Apply the explanation to a person experiencing several major changes.
Calculate a life change unit score.
Evaluate whether life changes reliably predict stress or illness.
What are life changes?
Life changes are significant events that disrupt a person’s usual routine and require them to make psychological, behavioural or practical adjustments.
Examples may include:
Marriage.
A change of job.
Relationship changes.
Changes in living arrangements.
Changes in family responsibilities.
The central feature is not simply whether the event is pleasant or unpleasant. It is the amount of readjustment required.
A life change may alter:
A person’s daily routine.
Their responsibilities.
Their relationships.
Their identity or social role.
Their financial circumstances.
The demands placed upon them.
The greater the required adjustment, the greater the potential source of stress.
Stress as readjustment
The life-change explanation proposes that adapting to a major event places demands on the individual.
The process can be summarised as:
Significant event → disruption to normal life → need for readjustment → increased demands → possible stress
For example, changing jobs may require a person to:
Learn unfamiliar tasks.
Develop new working relationships.
Adjust to a different timetable.
Travel to a new location.
Cope with uncertainty about their performance.
Even when the new job is an improvement, adapting to these changes can still be stressful.
Positive life changes can be stressful
A common misconception is that only negative events cause stress.
The life-change explanation recognises that positive changes may also be stressful because they require adjustment.
For example, marriage may be desired and enjoyable, but it may involve:
Changes in living arrangements.
New financial responsibilities.
Changes in family relationships.
Adjustments to personal routines.
New expectations and commitments.
The event can therefore be positive while still producing stress.
The 2022 AQA mark scheme explicitly recognises that life changes may be positive or negative and that both can require adjustment.
Negative life changes
Negative events may also require extensive readjustment.
They may involve:
Loss.
Reduced security.
Increased responsibilities.
Uncertainty.
Changes to social relationships.
Reduced personal control.
A negative life change may be stressful because the person must adapt while also experiencing unpleasant emotions or practical difficulties.
However, the seriousness of the event does not determine its effect in exactly the same way for every person.
Life changes are not automatically stressful
A life event is a potential stressor rather than a guaranteed cause of stress.
Its effect may depend on:
How the person interprets the event.
Whether the change was expected.
Whether it was chosen.
The person’s level of control.
Their personality.
Their coping resources.
The availability of social support.
Whether several changes occur close together.
Two people experiencing an apparently similar event may therefore respond very differently.
Planned and unplanned changes
The degree of planning or control may affect the stress produced by a life change.
Planned change
A person may:
Choose the event.
Prepare for it in advance.
Have time to organise practical arrangements.
Feel that they can influence what happens.
The change can still be demanding, but a sense of control may make adaptation easier.
Unplanned change
A person may:
Have little warning.
Lack control over the timing.
Be unable to prepare.
Experience greater uncertainty.
This may make the event more stressful because the person must adapt suddenly and has less influence over the situation.
The 2022 mark scheme identifies controllability as an important limitation of a simple life-change explanation. Changes over which people have more control may be less stressful than changes imposed upon them.
Predictable and unpredictable changes
Predictability is related to control but is not identical to it.
A predictable event is one the person expects.
A controllable event is one the person can influence.
A person might predict a change without being able to prevent it. Equally, a person might choose a change while remaining uncertain about its outcome.
Predictability may allow preparation, reducing some of the demands of adjustment.
One major change or several changes
A single life change may be manageable.
Several changes occurring during the same period may create a larger cumulative demand.
For example, a person might:
Get married.
Change jobs.
Move to a different area.
Take on new financial responsibilities.
Each event may require adjustment. Together, the changes could place a much greater demand on the person’s coping resources.
This cumulative principle is central to the Social Readjustment Rating Scale.
The Social Readjustment Rating Scale
What is the SRRS?
The Social Readjustment Rating Scale, usually abbreviated to the SRRS, is a self-report scale devised by Holmes and Rahe to measure the amount of life change a person has experienced.
The original scale contains 43 life events.
Each event is assigned a numerical value called a life change unit, or LCU.
The value represents the estimated amount of readjustment associated with that event.
Examples recognised in the AQA mark scheme include:
Life change | Life change units |
Marriage | 50 LCUs |
Changing job | 36 LCUs |
The SRRS is studied in greater depth as part of questionnaire-based stress measurement.
How the LCU values were produced
The numerical values were based on judgements about the relative amount of readjustment required by different events.
A sample of judges rated the events, producing standardised LCU values.
The aim was to create a scale that could:
Quantify recent life changes.
Produce a total readjustment score.
Allow people’s scores to be compared.
Investigate whether higher life-change scores are associated with stress-related illness.
The same LCU value is normally assigned to an event regardless of which participant experienced it.
This standardisation is useful for research but also creates an important limitation because people may experience the same event differently.
Calculating an LCU score
A person identifies the listed life changes they have experienced during a specified period.
The LCU values are then added together.
The calculation is:
Total LCU score=∑LCUs for all life changes experienced
A higher total indicates that the person has experienced a greater estimated amount of life readjustment.
Worked example
Suppose a person has:
Married, worth 50 LCUs.
Changed job, worth 36 LCUs.
Their total score is:
50+36=86 LCUs
The total is 86 LCUs.
The calculation estimates cumulative readjustment. It does not prove that the individual feels a particular amount of stress.
Interpreting a total LCU score
Holmes and Rahe proposed that a higher LCU score would be associated with a greater likelihood of stress-related illness.
The intended sequence is:
More major life changes → greater required readjustment → greater stress → increased vulnerability to illness
A high score is therefore treated as a risk indicator.
It is not:
A diagnosis.
Proof that the individual is stressed.
Proof that illness will develop.
A precise measurement of how the person feels.
The distinction between risk and certainty is vital.
What does the SRRS measure?
The SRRS measures exposure to events requiring readjustment.
It does not directly measure:
Heart rate.
Cortisol.
Skin conductance.
The individual’s immediate emotional response.
The quality of their coping.
The exact meaning of each event to them.
It is therefore an indirect measure of stress based on the assumption that more readjustment usually creates greater stress.
Life changes and stress are different concepts
A life change is an event or alteration in circumstances.
Stress is the response that may follow.
The distinction matters because two people may experience the same life change but show different levels of stress.
For example:
Both people may change jobs.
One may welcome the opportunity and feel prepared.
The other may feel forced into the change and fear failure.
The SRRS would assign the same standard LCU value.
Their actual stress responses may differ considerably.
Applying life changes to a scenario
Consider this example:
Luca has recently married and started a different job. Both changes were planned and welcomed, but he has had to move home, learn unfamiliar tasks and adjust to shared financial responsibilities. He reports feeling tired and overwhelmed.
A developed application might explain:
Marriage and changing job are significant life changes.
Both require Luca to alter his normal routines and responsibilities.
The events can be stressful even though they are positive and planned.
Experiencing several changes close together produces cumulative readjustment.
Luca’s tiredness and feeling overwhelmed may indicate that the combined demands are placing pressure on his coping resources.
A weak answer would state only:
Luca is stressed because he got married and changed jobs.
This does not explain why the events may produce stress.
Application structure
Use this structure:
Scenario detail → required readjustment → psychological demand → possible stress
For example:
Luca has started a new job, which requires him to learn unfamiliar tasks and adapt to new expectations. This readjustment increases the demands placed on him and may therefore produce stress.
Applying positive life changes
When applying the explanation to a positive event:
Identify the event.
Acknowledge that it may be desirable.
State what must change.
Explain why that adjustment may be demanding.
For example:
Luca wanted to get married, but marriage still involves changes to his routine and financial responsibilities. Life-change theory predicts that this required readjustment may be stressful even though the event is positive.
Applying controllability
Consider another example:
Ava chooses to move to a new home after six months of planning. Ben is required to move with little warning after circumstances beyond his control change.
Both people experience a move, but Ben may experience more stress because:
He has less control.
The change is less predictable.
He has less time to prepare.
The event may feel imposed upon him.
The life event alone therefore may not fully predict the stress response.
Applying individual differences
A person’s response may also depend on their characteristics.
For example:
A person who views change as a challenge may adapt more successfully.
A person who feels unable to influence events may experience greater stress.
Someone with strong social support may receive practical or emotional help.
Personality may affect interpretation and coping.
These differences are developed in personality-related stress responses and commitment, challenge and control.
Evaluating Life Changes as a Source of Stress
Strength: life changes can be operationalised
A strength of the SRRS approach is that life changes are given numerical values.
This means that researchers can calculate:
The number of events experienced.
A total LCU score.
Differences between individuals.
Relationships between life-change scores and later health.
The quantitative data can be analysed statistically.
This makes the concept of readjustment easier to investigate than a vague claim that someone has experienced “a lot of change”.
Strength: the scale is standardised
Every participant is presented with the same list of events and the same LCU values.
Standardisation can improve reliability because:
The procedure is consistent.
Scores are calculated in the same way.
Researchers can replicate the method.
Participants’ results can be compared.
However, consistency does not guarantee validity. A scale may measure everyone in the same way while still failing to represent their personal experience accurately.
Strength: the explanation recognises cumulative demands
The approach does not consider each event only in isolation.
Adding LCUs recognises that several changes may occur together and create a greater overall demand.
This gives the explanation practical value because a person experiencing numerous changes may need additional support even when no single event appears overwhelming.
Strength: both positive and negative events are included
The life-change approach recognises that stress is related to adjustment rather than unpleasantness alone.
This is useful because apparently positive changes can create substantial new demands.
For example:
Marriage may require changes in roles and routines.
A better job may require relocation and new responsibilities.
An achievement may create new expectations.
The explanation therefore avoids the simplistic claim that stress results only from negative experiences.
Limitation: people experience the same event differently
A major limitation is that standard LCU values may ignore the subjective meaning of an event.
For example, divorce might be experienced as:
A painful loss.
A relief from an unhappy relationship.
A financial crisis.
An opportunity for independence.
A mixture of positive and negative experiences.
Assigning the same value to every person may therefore lack validity.
The June 2022 examiner report emphasised that this was the clearest lesson-specific limitation. Students were often successful when describing the SRRS but less successful when explaining that the same life change may not be equally stressful for everyone.
Limitation: positive and negative events may not have equivalent effects
The SRRS focuses on the amount of change required.
This may underestimate the importance of whether the change is desirable or undesirable.
For example:
Getting a better job may involve extensive adjustment.
Losing a valued job may involve extensive adjustment.
The emotional and practical consequences may be very different.
Treating both mainly as amounts of change may oversimplify their effects.
AQA’s mark scheme identifies the need to distinguish between positive and negative changes because they may have very different consequences.
Limitation: controllability is not fully represented
Two events requiring similar practical adjustment may differ in how controllable they feel.
A chosen change may be less stressful than one imposed upon the person.
For example:
Choosing to leave a job may provide a sense of control.
Unexpectedly losing a job may involve uncertainty and powerlessness.
A standard LCU score may fail to represent this difference.
This weakens the claim that the event itself can predict stress without considering how it occurred.
Limitation: individual differences act as mediating variables
A mediating variable affects the relationship between two other factors.
The effect of life changes may be mediated by:
Personality.
Hardiness.
Gender.
Coping ability.
Social support.
Previous experience.
Perceived control.
This means that:
Life change does not lead to an identical stress response in every individual.
A hardy person who views change as an opportunity may cope more effectively than someone who interprets it as a threat.
The existence of mediating variables suggests that LCU scores alone may provide an incomplete prediction of stress.
Limitation: correlation does not establish causation
Research may find that people with high LCU scores experience more illness.
This is a correlation, meaning that the two variables are associated.
It does not prove:
Life changes caused the illness.
Other possibilities include:
Illness causes life changes.
A third variable causes both.
Stress and illness influence one another.
People who are already vulnerable experience events differently.
For example, becoming unwell could lead to:
A change of job.
Financial changes.
Changes in family responsibilities.
Changes in living arrangements.
The illness may therefore contribute to the life-change score rather than being its consequence.
Reverse causality
Reverse causality occurs when the proposed effect may actually influence the supposed cause.
In this topic:
Life changes may contribute to illness.
Illness may also create major life changes.
This makes it difficult to establish the direction of the relationship.
A developed evaluation point would state:
A correlation between LCUs and illness cannot demonstrate that readjustment caused the illness because existing illness may itself produce changes in work, relationships or daily routines.
Limitation: retrospective self-report
The SRRS asks people to identify life events experienced during an earlier period.
This makes it a retrospective measure.
Responses may be affected by:
Forgetting.
Inaccurate recall of timing.
Failure to report an event.
Different interpretations of event categories.
A person may also find it difficult to decide whether a complex experience matches one of the scale’s listed events.
Inaccurate recall would reduce the validity of the total LCU score.
Limitation: event counts may overlook duration
A single event may have effects that continue for months or years.
The SRRS records whether an event occurred, but the demands created by it may vary in duration.
For example:
A job change might produce brief adjustment.
Another job change might involve continuing uncertainty and workload.
The same event category may therefore create very different long-term demands.
A total based mainly on event values may not fully represent the duration of the resulting stress.
Limitation: life changes may overlook recurring minor stressors
Major events are not the only possible sources of stress.
Repeated small difficulties may accumulate, such as:
Delays.
Arguments.
Losing items.
Repeated interruptions.
Everyday practical problems.
These are studied as daily hassles.
A person with few major life changes may still experience substantial stress if minor problems occur frequently.
This does not mean life changes are irrelevant. It suggests that a complete account should consider both major and recurring stressors.
Evaluation of the explanation, not only the scale
There is an important distinction between evaluating:
The SRRS as a measuring instrument.
Life changes as a source of stress.
A limitation of the scale might be that it relies on retrospective self-report.
A limitation of the explanation might be that the same event does not cause the same stress in everyone.
The June 2022 examiner report noted that students sometimes evaluated the scale without focusing on whether life changes themselves are a convincing explanation of stress.
For a question asking about life changes as a source of stress, your evaluation should remain focused on issues such as:
Subjective experience.
Controllability.
Positive and negative meaning.
Individual differences.
Causality.
Practical value
The life-change approach may have useful applications.
A high level of recent change could indicate that a person:
Is facing several adjustment demands.
May benefit from additional support.
Needs time to adapt.
May be vulnerable to stress-related difficulties.
However, decisions should not be based only on the numerical score.
The person’s interpretation, control and coping resources should also be considered.
Life changes and physiological stress
A continuing period of adjustment may activate physiological stress systems.
For example:
Several major changes occur.
The person experiences continuing demands.
The HPA system may remain active.
Cortisol helps sustain the response.
Prolonged activation may affect health.
This links the source of stress with the physiological consequences of chronic stress.
The life change is the external demand. The physiological pathways explain how the body responds.
Life changes compared with daily hassles
Life changes | Daily hassles |
Major events | Smaller everyday difficulties |
Usually occur less frequently | May occur repeatedly |
Require significant readjustment | Create recurring demands and irritation |
Measured using the SRRS | Measured using the Hassles and Uplifts Scale |
Examples include marriage or changing job | Examples include everyday delays or arguments |
Stress may arise from the size of the adjustment | Stress may arise through accumulation |
The two explanations are not mutually exclusive.
A major life change may also create daily hassles.
For example, changing jobs may create:
A longer journey.
Unfamiliar technology.
Repeated timetable problems.
Difficulties arranging childcare.
The major event and its everyday consequences may both contribute to stress.
Overall evaluation
Life changes provide a clear explanation of how major events may create stress through the need for readjustment. The SRRS gives researchers a standardised method for converting recent changes into quantitative scores, making the explanation easier to investigate.
However, fixed LCU values can overlook subjective meaning, controllability and individual differences. Research is often correlational, so it cannot establish that life changes cause illness. Life changes are therefore best treated as potential stressors whose effects depend on the person and the circumstances.
Planning an extended response
For an extended response on life changes, organise your answer around knowledge, application and evaluation.
Knowledge and understanding
Explain:
Life changes as significant events requiring readjustment.
Positive and negative changes.
The cumulative effect of several changes.
The SRRS.
The 43 listed events.
Life change units.
Calculation of a total LCU score.
The proposed relationship between high scores, stress and illness.
Application
For each scenario detail:
Identify the life change.
State what adjustment it requires.
Explain why the adjustment is demanding.
Link it to possible stress.
Evaluation
Develop points such as:
Subjective interpretation.
Positive versus negative events.
Controllability and predictability.
Personality and hardiness.
Social support.
Correlation and reverse causality.
Retrospective self-report.
Comparison with daily hassles.
Practical applications.
A high-quality response should not merely list several events. The explanation must focus on the readjustment required.
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
Examiner hint: Include the central idea of readjustment. A life change is not stressful merely
because it occurs. Explain how it disrupts ordinary routines or responsibilities.
Examiner hint: Learn the SRRS terminology accurately. The June 2022 report found that many students successfully included relevant detail about the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and life change units.
Examiner hint: Do not assume that only negative events are stressful. Positive changes may still require considerable adjustment.
Examiner hint: Keep evaluation focused on life changes as a source of stress. The 2022 report noted that some students evaluated features of the SRRS without explaining what this showed about the life-change explanation.
Examiner hint: The subjective effect of an event is a strong limitation. Explain that the same event may be highly stressful for one person but positive or manageable for another.
Examiner hint: Apply rather than copy. Select a change from the scenario, explain what must
be adjusted and then link the resulting demand to stress.
Examiner hint: For a calculation, add all relevant LCU values and state the unit in the final answer.
Examiner hint: Use cautious causal language. A high LCU score may be associated with illness, but correlational evidence does not demonstrate that life changes caused it.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Defining life changes as negative events.
Why this is incorrect:Positive and negative events may both require substantial adjustment.
How to improve:Define life changes through disruption and readjustment rather than whether the event is pleasant.
Mistake: Saying that every major event causes stress.
Why this is incorrect:Life changes are potential stressors. Their effects depend on interpretation, control, personality and support.
How to improve:Use language such as “may cause stress” or “can increase demands”.
Mistake: Listing life events without explaining why they are stressful.
Why this is incorrect:A list does not demonstrate the psychological mechanism.
How to improve:Explain the adjustment to routines, roles or responsibilities produced by each event.
Mistake: Assuming a positive event cannot be stressful.
Why this is incorrect:A desired event may still create new demands.
How to improve:Separate whether the event is pleasant from how much readjustment it requires.
Mistake: Defining an LCU as a measure of illness.
Why this is incorrect:An LCU estimates the readjustment associated with a life event.
How to improve:Explain that total LCUs may be used to predict vulnerability, not diagnose illness.
Mistake: Treating an LCU score as a direct measurement of feelings.
Why this is incorrect:The score is based on standard values assigned to events, not the person’s immediate emotional state.
How to improve:Describe it as an indirect, standardised estimate of readjustment.
Mistake: Forgetting to add the LCU values.
Why this is incorrect:The SRRS uses a cumulative score.
How to improve:Show the addition clearly and include LCUs in the final answer.
Mistake: Assuming the same event affects everyone equally.
Why this is incorrect:Its meaning, controllability and consequences may differ.
How to improve:Use a contrasting example to demonstrate subjective experience.
Mistake: Evaluating only the questionnaire.
Why this is incorrect:A question about life changes requires evaluation of the explanation as well as the measurement technique.
How to improve:Discuss whether life events themselves reliably predict stress.
Mistake: Claiming that high LCUs prove illness was caused by stress.
Why this is incorrect:The relationship is correlational and may involve reverse causality or other variables.
How to improve:State that high scores may be associated with greater illness vulnerability.
Mistake: Confusing life changes with daily hassles.
Why this is incorrect:Life changes are major events, while daily hassles are smaller recurring difficulties.
How to improve:Identify the size, frequency and type of adjustment involved.
Mistake: Ignoring controllability.
Why this is incorrect:A planned and chosen event may affect a person differently from an imposed event.
How to improve:Explain whether the person selected, predicted or prepared for the change.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Which of the following best explains why a positive life change may cause stress?
A. Positive events always cause illness.B. Positive events may require significant readjustment.C. Positive events receive higher LCU values than negative events.D. Positive events cannot be controlled.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Define a life change as a source of stress.
[2 marks]
Question 3
Explain why marriage may be experienced as a source of stress even when it is welcomed.
[4 marks]
Question 4
A person has married and changed job during the past year.
Marriage is valued at 50 LCUs and changing job is valued at 36 LCUs.
Calculate the person’s total LCU score. Show your working.
[2 marks]
Question 5
Harper has recently accepted a new job and married their partner. Both events were planned and welcomed. However, Harper has moved home, begun travelling further to work and taken on new financial responsibilities.
Use your knowledge of life changes to explain why Harper may experience stress.
[6 marks]
Question 6
Explain one limitation of using standard LCU values to investigate life changes as a source of stress.
[4 marks]
Question 7
Evaluate research into life changes as a source of stress.
[8 marks]
Question 8
Ellis has experienced several changes during the past year. Ellis was unexpectedly required to change job, moved to a different town and later married. The marriage was planned and welcomed, but the job change was imposed with very little warning. Ellis has calculated a high score on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and believes this proves that illness is inevitable.
Discuss life changes as a source of stress. Refer to Ellis in your answer.
[16 marks]
Answers and Mark Scheme
Question 1
Answer: B
A positive event may still alter routines, roles and responsibilities, requiring significant readjustment.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Award up to two marks:
A life change is a significant event that disrupts a person’s usual circumstances or routine.
It may cause stress because it requires psychological, behavioural or practical readjustment.
[2 marks]
Question 3
Award up to four marks:
Marriage may be a positive or desired event.
It can alter a person’s routines or living arrangements.
It may create new financial, relationship or family responsibilities.
The required readjustment can place demands on the individual and therefore produce stress.
[4 marks]
Question 4
Award one mark for correct working:
50+36
Award one mark for the correct answer:
86 LCUs
[2 marks]
Question 5
Award one mark for each clear application, up to six marks:
Starting a new job is a significant life change.
Harper must adjust to unfamiliar work demands or a longer journey.
Marriage is also a life change even though it was welcomed.
Marriage may require adjustment to shared responsibilities or finances.
Moving home adds another major disruption to routines.
Several changes occurring close together create cumulative demands and may produce stress.
Credit other accurate applications that explain readjustment.
[6 marks]
Question 6
Award marks as follows:
One mark for identifying a relevant limitation.
Up to three further marks for developing its effect.
Possible answer:
Standard LCU values assume that the same life event requires a similar amount of adjustment for everyone. However, changing job might be an exciting opportunity for one person but an unwanted loss of security for another. The standard value may therefore fail to measure the individual’s actual experience, reducing the validity of the score.
Other relevant limitations include:
Lack of distinction between positive and negative events.
Failure to consider controllability.
Individual differences such as personality and hardiness.
Retrospective recall problems.
Correlational evidence and reverse causality.
[4 marks]
Question 7
Indicative content may include:
Knowledge and research
Life changes are major events requiring readjustment.
Positive and negative changes may be stressful.
Holmes and Rahe developed the SRRS.
The scale contains 43 life events.
Each event has a life change unit value.
LCUs are added to produce a cumulative score.
Higher scores are proposed to predict increased illness vulnerability.
Evaluation
Numerical scores allow quantitative analysis.
Standardisation improves consistency and replication.
Cumulative scores recognise the effect of several changes.
The same event may have different meanings for different people.
Positive and negative changes may not have equivalent effects.
Controllability and predictability are not represented fully.
Personality, hardiness and social support may mediate the relationship.
Retrospective self-report may be affected by inaccurate recall.
Correlation cannot demonstrate that life changes cause illness.
Illness may itself produce life changes.
Daily hassles may provide an additional explanation of stress.
For the highest marks, points should be developed and linked directly to how convincingly life changes explain stress.
[8 marks]
Question 8
Indicative content may include:
Knowledge and understanding
Life changes are major events that disrupt ordinary life.
Stress arises from the need for readjustment.
Both positive and negative changes can be stressful.
Several changes may produce cumulative demands.
The SRRS contains 43 life events.
Each event is assigned an LCU value.
LCUs are added to produce a total score.
A high score is proposed to indicate increased vulnerability to stress-related illness.
Application to Ellis
Changing job is a major life change requiring adjustment to new work demands.
Moving town requires changes to routines, travel and social circumstances.
Marriage is a positive life change but still requires readjustment.
Experiencing several events in one year may produce cumulative stress.
The imposed job change may be more stressful because Ellis had little control.
Limited warning reduces predictability and preparation.
The planned marriage may be experienced differently because it was welcomed and chosen.
The high SRRS score indicates estimated readjustment, not certainty of illness.
Ellis’s belief that illness is inevitable is therefore too deterministic.
Evaluation
Standard LCU values provide a clear and replicable measurement.
The scale makes quantitative comparison possible.
It recognises that several changes may accumulate.
The same job change or marriage may be experienced differently by different people.
Controllability may be more important than the event category alone.
Personality and hardiness may affect Ellis’s response.
Social support may reduce the effects of change.
SRRS scores rely on retrospective reporting.
Relationships between LCU scores and illness are correlational.
Illness may itself create life changes, producing reverse causality.
Daily hassles arising from the move or job may also contribute to stress.
A high-level response will explain readjustment clearly, use several separate details from Ellis’s situation and develop evaluation rather than listing brief limitations.
[16 marks]
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