Portrait of a Killer

Answer

• Portrait of a Killer Worksheet

  This one hour documentary produced by National Geographic explores the links

  stress and hierarchy.

  1. What did Dr. Sapolsky measure in baboons’ blood?

  Levels of hormone central to the stress response: adrenaline and glucocorticoides

  2. What is stress about?

  An immediate crisis going on; one wants to eat you or you want to eat someone

  3. How are zebras different than humans regarding stress?

  Its stress response can turn down when they escape unlike humans

  4. The right amount of stress is called stimulation.
  5. What are the two discoveries from Dr. Sapolsky’s early work?

  -A baboon’s rank determines the level of stress hormone in its system

  -Low rankers had increased heart rates and higher blood pressure

  6. The Whitehall study of the British Civil Service; what did the study show about hierarchy in

  stable jobs?

  The position in a hierarchy determines the risk of disease; the higher the rank the less the risk

  7. What was the first stress related disease? Ulcers
  8. Why do some people develop ulcers and others do not?

  Stress disrupts the ability of the body to heal itself. The body cannot repair stomach walls when bacteria run amok

  9. What is the difference between the arteries of high ranking macaque and a subordinate

  Macaque?

  A high ranking macaque has clean arteries. A subordinate one has a lot of atherosclerosis built on walls of arteries

  10. When examining the brains of rats, the team found that . . .
  11. The brain cells of a normal rat have extensive branches
  12. The brain cell of a stressed rat had smaller branches
  13. What part of the brain did this happen in Hippocampus
  14. Hunter, PhD Name ________________________________________
  15. What is the link between pleasure, stress, and where one stands in the hierarchy?

  Dominant ones in the hierarchy have a lot of dopamine in their brains. They thus take more pleasure as they are less stressed. The subordinate ones have less dopamine, a consequence of their stress and a reason for their less pleasure

  12. Richmond California: Emmanuel reported 47 homicides in the last year and 11

  shootings and 3 deaths in the last four days.

  13. How is fat that is brought on by stress distributed in the body?

  This fat is put around the centre of the body/around the abdomen

  14. Holland late 1944 (Dutch Hunger Winter). What were the linger effects on those born during and after the famine?

  They have increased risks of cardiovascular disease, more hypocholesterolaemia, more responsive to stress and in general poor health.

  15. As we age our telomeres shorten.
  16. Stress hormones can accelerate the shortening of our telomeres.
  17. Elizabeth Blackburn studied the chronically stressed women. She found that the length of telomeres directly relates to the mount of stress someone is under and the number of years they have been under stress
  18. Every year of taking care of a special needs child ages the telomeres by approximately 6

  years.

  19. We can heal the telomeres by being compassionate and caring for others
  20. What was the tragedy that Keekorok troop encountered?

  Half the males in the troop died from eating meat from a trash tainted with tuberculosis

  21. In the Keekorok group, who survived? Less aggressive males
  22. How did the Keekorok troop change?

  They spent more time grooming and establishing social affiliation

  23. How long did it take for the new troop members to learn the new norms? 6 months
  24. What did we learn from the Whitehall study?

  We belong to multiple hierarchies, and depending on which hierarchy one is in, the roles of that hierarchy has to be performed regardless of the organization. Those who are at the top of the hierarchy and less stressed suffer fewer diseases. The subordinates have more stress related conditions.

  25. What did we learn from the baboons?

  Absence of stress affects the society in many ways. There is less occurrence of high blood pressure or other stress related diseases. It’s not just about rank, but what that rank means in society.

  Stress and Health

  What is this similar to in my life? 

  The aspect of hierarchy and stress is similar to many of the occurrences that happen especially at work for me. I work within the marketing and sales department. Every day, I witness situations that tend to agree with the notion that those who are in subordinate positions are much more likely to develop health complications following the increased stress that they undergo. At work, the superiors are always demanding. Whenever there is a goal to be achieved or a milestone to strive for, all that the superiors tend to do is to direct the subordinate staff to accomplish the task. It is little wonder then that the baboons in the Keekorok troop tended to thrive long after the dominance dynamic had been interfered with during the tragedy. They demonstrated how “the absence of stress could impact society” (47:39). I have witnessed workers work much better whenever the superiors are not in office. This they do because the source of their anxiety and stress is out of the equation, at least temporarily. The Keekorok troop developed a new socialization mechanism as a response to the death of their dominant male leaders. This imbalance is clear at my workplace too.

   

   

   

  What does this remind me of in another book I’ve read? 

  Portrait of a Killer reminds me of the role that hierarchy and seniority plays in stress levels at the workplace. I have often come across books that discuss stress at the workplace and the way that this stress leads to negative health outcomes for workers of lower or subordinate levels in the workplace. Lustig et al. affirms that there is a great need for intercultural competence in the healthcare context for workers (p. 196). This is true as the culture, beliefs, religious practices and the assertions that are made by workers are inevitably tied to the way that they relate to and are treated by their superiors at work. Often, the way that subordinates are treated by their superiors cause them to either get stressed or not. Stress levels are inevitably tied to poor health because of the potential rise in blood pressure and what is identified in the film as the unequal distribution of excess weight especially around the abdomen. In the film, an overweight Emmanuel struggles with diabetes. The narrator admits that for him, “there is a price to pay for chronic stress” (31:28). The film actually reminds me of what I also read about stress and being overweight and how it was easier for a stressed person to get obese than a person who is not stressed.

   

  How did this TEDtalk relate to the world around me?

  This film related to the world around me in a variety of ways. For one, it identified the linger effects of those born before and after a famine. Through this, it clearly demonstrated how health is inextricably tied to stress and anxiety. The children born during the Dutch Hunger Winter tended to have increased risks of cardiovascular disease, more hypocholesterolaemia and overall poor health. The babies “were exposed to stress in foetal life and were still suffering the consequences of that” (36:07).In many parts of the world, the documented impacts of hunger and stress on unborn children are clear. The association of stress with increased chances for ulcers that identified in the film is something I can personally relate to following a series of ulcer attacks that I had at a very tough period in the past. Stress leads to numerous negative health outcomes for many people. In the presentation, it is suggested that telomeres can be healed when the person concerned got more compassionate and caring. Stress therefore can be relieved through a showing common courtesy and compassion. It is little wonder then that that professional counselling is founded on the basis of caring and keen listening. For the person to get well, they need to talk, be listened to and have people who basically show them love and compassion. A demonstration of love and compassion leads to less stress even in real life situations.