Week 5 Post 1: Stress

Appraisals of dealing with stress: 

Primary Appraisal- evaluation of whether a stressor is a threat (negative stress) or a challenge (positive) 

Secondary Appraisal- evaluation of what skills and resources are available to succeed (whether they have the individual skills AND the support to cope with the stress) 

**perception is very important when deciding whether something is stressful or not 

 

Types of stress:  

Frustration- refers idea of having goal/pursuit disrupted to stop you from achieving (feelings of loss or failure) 

Conflict- 2+ incompatible motivations compete for expression 

Approach-approach: choosing between 2 positive alternatives 

Avoidance-avoidance: choosing between 2 unattractive possibilities 

Approach-avoidance: a choice of whether to pursue a goal or behavior with positive and negative aspects 

Change- readjustments (mostly negative) to cause stress 

Social Readjustment Rating Scale- measure used to assess change in peoples’ lives (top 10 are 1) marriage, 2) troubles with boss, 3) detention in jail or other institute, 4) death of spouse, 5) major change in sleeping habits, 6) death of a close family member, 7) major change in eating habits, 8) foreclosure on a mortgage or loan, 9) revision of personal habits, 10) death of a close friend) 

Pressure- people's expectations of behavior (a strong relation to stress) 

 

Subjective Cognitive Appraisal: people’s experiences to particular events are not always the same (different levels of stress) - a function of appraisals influenced by familiarity, controllability, predictability (all 3 more positive factors)