66 pages • 2 hours read
Robert M. SapolskyWhy Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress Related Diseases, and Coping
Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1993A 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 (“Stress in America 2020.” American Psychological Association, 2020).
These sources of stress, which are experienced chronically as either prolonged or frequent stressors, are the type that are focused on in Why Zebras Don’t Have Ulcers. Sapolsky explains what these stressors do to the body when they occur and what impact they might have on health. He also examines ways that people can mitigate the onslaught of socially-constructed psychological stressors they face each day.
Genre Context: Popular Science
An implicit purpose of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers is to promote science literacy among lay readers. Science literacy is relatively low because of modern anti-science mindsets and occasional lack of educational access to robust scientific education. The genre of popular science writing aims to combat low science literacy by making scientific information more accessible and relevant to a general reading audience.
Anti-science mindsets can be witnessed in climate-change denial or in anti-vaccine movements, and they are driven by mistrust in and misunderstanding of science. Science is perceived as lacking credibility and as contradictory or conflicting, either conflicting with different studies or conflicting with personal or political beliefs (Philipp-Muller, Aviva, et al. “WHY ARE PEOPLE ANTISCIENCE, and What Can We Do About It?” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, no. 30, 2022). The media, which often presents results of studies as fact, can exacerbate the sense of contradiction in science, and social media allows for widespread misinformation. The capitalist economic system also creates skepticism, as many question the motives of wealthy individuals or corporations who are supporting scientific research.
Sapolsky promotes pro-science mindsets and science literacy in his approach and structure in Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. To combat anti-science attitudes, he explains why and how studies are limited, and addresses ethical concerns with researching certain topics. For instance, he shares that it is difficult to study whether psychosocial interventions improve cancer survival rates because such studies would require certain patients to forego potentially beneficial stress management guidance. He promotes science literacy by explaining the underlying definitions and processes rather than only writing about stress and its impacts. He also incorporates numerous literary devices that make the material more relatable and accessible for readers without a background in science.
Sapolsky promotes both science literacy and combats anti-science attitudes by periodically updating the text—with the second edition released in 1998 and the third in 2004—to incorporate the latest scientific research. By taking these steps, Sapolsky fosters the relationship between modern lay-readers and science.
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By Robert M. Sapolsky
