HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
STRESS, COPING, STRESS MANAGEMENT
What is STRESS?
‘’A particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the
person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her wellbeing’’
(Lazarus & Folkman 1984, p. 16)
Stress is produced by an individual’s perception of the misfit between the demands of the
outside world and their own resources.
THE TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF STRESS
Cannon’s fight-or-flight model argued that stress was an automatic response to an external
stressor with individuals passively responding to stimuli (Ogden 2007). The transactional
model of stress, on the other hand, claims that individuals actively interact with their
stressors. Whether a stress response is elicited depends on their appraisals of the
environment as well as their own abilities.
• PRIMARY APPRAISAL
First, a person appraises the DEMAND. An event can be appraised as
IRRELEVANT/ BENIGN/ POSITIVE
HARMFUL & A THREAT
HARMFUL & A CHALLENGE.
• SECONDARY APPRAISAL
Once the external stressor has been assessed, people evaluate their OWN RESOURCES to
see how they could cope with it.
Whether stress is experienced or not depends on the focus of these two appraisals.
Appraisals are influenced by PSYCHOLOGICAL (personality, mood etc.), PHYSIOLOGICAL
(health, illness etc.) as well as CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS.
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STRESS, COPING, STRESS MANAGEMENT
What is STRESS?
‘’A particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the
person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her wellbeing’’
(Lazarus & Folkman 1984, p. 16)
Stress is produced by an individual’s perception of the misfit between the demands of the
outside world and their own resources.
THE TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF STRESS
Cannon’s fight-or-flight model argued that stress was an automatic response to an external
stressor with individuals passively responding to stimuli (Ogden 2007). The transactional
model of stress, on the other hand, claims that individuals actively interact with their
stressors. Whether a stress response is elicited depends on their appraisals of the
environment as well as their own abilities.
• PRIMARY APPRAISAL
First, a person appraises the DEMAND. An event can be appraised as
IRRELEVANT/ BENIGN/ POSITIVE
HARMFUL & A THREAT
HARMFUL & A CHALLENGE.
• SECONDARY APPRAISAL
Once the external stressor has been assessed, people evaluate their OWN RESOURCES to
see how they could cope with it.
Whether stress is experienced or not depends on the focus of these two appraisals.
Appraisals are influenced by PSYCHOLOGICAL (personality, mood etc.), PHYSIOLOGICAL
(health, illness etc.) as well as CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS.
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