Stress and wellbeing - Part 2 Flashcards
Lazarus and Folkman general
· Emphasised the importance of the mental processes involved in dealing with a stressful situation (rather than taking a traditional biological approach to stress).
· Became apparent that the individual’s perception and assessment of the stress was important rather than just the response to the stressor or the stressor itself.
· Also focused on the relationship between the individual and their environment in assessing whether the stressor is threatening, challenging or potentially dangerous (e.g. losing job).
· This model defines two main stages, neither of which necessarily need conscious effort.
L + F - primary appraisal
Primary appraisal: the recognition of a potentially stressful situation in which the person assesses the situation as stressful, neutral or irrelevant. If stressful, evaluate the significance:
o Harm/loss: how much damage has already occurred
o Threat: harm/loss that may not have occurred yet but could occur in the future
o Challenge: involves an assessment of the potential for personal gain or growth from the situation
L + F - secondary appraisal
Secondary appraisal: the stage where the **person considers what options and resources are available to them and how they will respond. **
· Both stages involved emotional forecasting: the prediction of which feelings will be experienced with any option associated with stress or fight-or-flight options.
· Primary appraisal: the person predicts what feelings the given situation will produce.
· Secondary appraisal: the person predicts the possible emotional impact of each potential response.
· Lazarus accepted the notion that stress could be positive and negative, and identified fifteen basic emotions that may contribute to arousal:
o Positive emotions: happiness, pride, love, relief, hope, compassion
o Negative emotions: anger, anxiety, disgust, envy, fright, guilt, jealousy, sadness, shame
L + F strengths
· It used human subjects in developing the model.
· It used a cognitive approach to stress with a focus on how people cope with psychological stressors.
· It took both mental processes and emotions into account when examining how an individual interprets a situation as stressful or not (i.e. it acknowledges individual differences).
L + F limitations
· The greater focus on psychological factors meant that less emphasis was placed on the physiological elements of the stress response.
· It did not include cultural, social or environmental factors in looking at how individuals perceive a stressful event.
Coping
the process of constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific internal and/or external stressors that are interpreted as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person
Problem-focused coping
strategies to manage/change response to the stressor.
§ E.g. collect more information to better understand it, reflect and consider it from a new perspective, consider new ways of dealing with it
§ Tends to be used when we perceive that we have some control over a stressful situation and we believe we can change it
Emotional-focused coping
strategies to deal with emotional responses to the stressor
§ E.g. denial, avoidance, acceptance
§ Tends to be used when we believe we have little or no control over a stressful situation and can’t do anything to change it
Social factors that exacerbate stress
· Social readjustment/major life events · Social isolation
Social factors that alleviate stress
· Social readjustment/major life events · Social support
Cultural factors that alleviate stress
· Cultural participation · Ethnic enclaves
Cultural factors that exacerbate stress
· Acculturation, e.g. adopting a new culture · Racism
Enviro factors that alleviate stress
· Employment: access to basic necessities · Avoidance: policy to minimise crowding · Stress inoculation (treatment)
Enviro factors that exacerbate stress
· Poverty · Crowding Catastrophe: natural/technological disaster
