66 pages 2 hours read

Robert M. Sapolsky

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress Related Diseases, and Coping

Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1993

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Background

Sociocultural Context: Modern Psychological Stress

Psychological and social stressors are those that occur as psychological states. Examples include the frustrations of driving in slow-moving traffic, the pressures to succeed financially and to accrue certain status symbols, and the difficulties of balancing work-life and personal-life. Although non-human primates and humans living in pre-industrial civilizations experience psychological stress, rates of psychological stress are significantly higher in industrialized human societies. This is due in part to the decreased prevalence of acute physical stressors, such as occurs when escaping a predator, and is due in part to modern lifestyles and societal structures, such as capitalism, which place significant psychological demands on people.

Sapolsky’s focus on psychological and social stress makes his text highly relevant for modern readers. The American Psychological Association conducted a study on stress in the United States in 2020, and the top psychological stressors reported by individuals included the COVID pandemic, health care issues, the prevalence of mass shootings, the progression of climate change, the potential impacts of immigration, and news reports of sexual assault and harassment and of opioid and heroin use. Other sources of psychological stress included the uncertainty for the future of the country and the perception that the nation is at a low point (“

blurred text

blurred text

Related Titles

By Robert M. Sapolsky

Plot Summary

logo

A Primate's Memoir

Robert M. Sapolsky

A Primate's Memoir

Robert M. Sapolsky

Study Guide

logo

Behave

Robert M. Sapolsky

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

Robert M. Sapolsky

Study Guide

logo

Determined

Robert M. Sapolsky

Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

Robert M. Sapolsky