THE PHENOMENON OF STRESS:Experiencing Stress in our Lives, Primary Appraisal

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Health Psychology PSY408

Lecture 13

THE PHENOMENON OF STRESS

Prologue

Tell me what's been happening in your life in the past several months. Sonia, the college counselor probed

in the student's first visit to his office. A nurse suggested that Sonia talk to a counselor because she has been

physically run down for the past few months, has been sleeping poorly, and has had several viral infections.

During this visit, she described many problems she has experienced. For one thing, this is her first year in

college and, although she goes home most weekends, she has never been away from her family, high school

friends, and fiancé Chris so long before-- and she misses them.

Her relationship with Chris is a special problem. He decided to go to a college closer to home so that he

could commute. They've been going together for 2 years, and he says he loves her, but Sonia isn't

convinced. She feels a lot of jealousy, often imagining that he is seeing others on the side even though she

has no evidence that he is. She calls him several times a week, saying she wants to hear his voice, but they

both know deep down that she's calling to check up on him. They argue about her suspicions at least once a

week. She says he's seeing others because, He's so good looking and I'm so fat." Keeping her weight down

is a constant struggle that, in her view, she always loses. Actually, her weight is within the recommended

healthful range for her height.

Sonia has also had other difficulties. She worries that she's preparing for the wrong career, argues often with

other students about the noise on her dormitory floor, and is overcommitted with schoolwork, club

activities on campus, and a part-time `ob. On top of all this, her car keeps breaking down, she's running out

of money to fix it, and her illnesses are compounding her problems.

Sonia's situation Is not uncommon. We all experience stress in our everyday lives, probably more than we

would like. It occurs in a wide variety of situations and settings--in the family, in school, and on the job, for

example. Sometimes the stress experience is brief, arid sometimes it continues for a long time. Sometimes it

is intense, and sometimes it is mild. It varies across time in a particular person, and it varies between

individuals. An experience that is stressful for one person--such as taking a difficult examination--may not

be stressful for another, and may even be exciting or challenging for still another person.

In this and coming lectures, we will discuss what stress is, where it comes from, and the impact it has. As we

do, you will find answers to questions you may have about Stress. What makes an event stressful? Why does

a particular event produce more stress in one person than in another? How does stress affect our bodies

and our behavior? Does the experience of stress change across the life span?

Experiencing Stress in our Lives

When you hear people say they are "under a lot of stress, you have some idea of what they mean. Usually

the statement means they feel unable to deal with the demands of their environment, and they Feel tense

and uncomfortable. You understand the meaning because you have had similar experiences, which you

labeled stress: Because of the pervasiveness and commonality of these experiences in our lives, you might

expect that defining the concept of stress would be simple. But it isn't. Let's see how psychologists have

conceptualized stress and what the prevailing definition is today.

What is Stress?

The condition of stress has two components: physical, involving direct material or bodily challenge, and

psychological, involving how individuals perceive circumstances in their lives. These components can be

examined in three ways. One approach focuses on the environment, describing stress as a stimulus. We see

this in people's reference to the source or cause of their tension as being an event or set of circumstances--

such as having "a high-stress job." Physically or psychologically challenging events or circumstances are

called stressors. Researchers who follow this approach study the impact of a wide range of stressors,

including (1) catastrophic events, such as tornadoes and earthquakes. (2) major life events, such as the loss

of a loved one or a job, and (3) chronic circumstances, such as living with severe pain from arthritis.

Health Psychology PSY408

The second approach treats stress as a response, focusing on people's reaction to stressors. We see an

example of this approach when people use the word stress to refer to their state of tension, and when

someone says. "I feel a lot of stress when I have to give a speech." Our responses can take two interrelated

forms. Psychological responses involve behavior, thought patterns, and emotions, as when you feel nervous.

Physiological responses involve heightened bodily arousal--your heart pounds, your mouth goes dry, your

stomach feels tight, and you perspire. The person's psychological and physiological response to a stressor is

called strain.

The third approach describes stress as a process that includes stressors and strains, but adds an important

dimension: the relationship between the person and the environment. This process involves continuous

interactions and adjustments--called transactions--with the person and environment each affecting and

being affected by the other. According to this view, stress is not just a stimulus or a response, but rather a

process in which the person is an active agent who can influence the impact of a stressor through

behavioral, cognitive, and emotional strategies. People differ in the amount of strain they experience from

the same stressor, such as being stuck in traffic or losing a job. One person who is stuck in traffic and late

for an important appointment keeps looking at his watch, honking his horn, and getting angrier by the

minute; another person in the same circumstances stays calm, turns on the radio, and listens to music.

We will define stress as "the condition in which person--environment transactions lead to a perceived

discrepancy between the physical or psychological demands of a situation and the resources of the

individual's biological, psychological, or social systems" (Lazarus et al. 1986). Let's look at the four

components of this definition, starting at the end.

1 - Stress taxes the person's biopsychosocial resources for coping with difficult events or circumstances.

These resources are limited, as we saw when Sonia had depleted her ability to cope with her problems,

became ill, and sought counseling. Sometimes the impact is focused mainly on our biological system--for

Instance, when we tax our physical strength to lift something heavy. More typically, however, the strain has

an impact on all three Systems; in Sonia's stressful experience, her physical, psychological, and social

resources were strained and became exhausted. Other stressful encounters that strain our biopsychosocial

resources include participating in a competitive athletic event, being injured in an accident, or becoming

nauseated before performing in a play.

2. The phrase demands of a situation" refers to the amount of our resources the stressor appears to require.

For instance, Sonia thought achieving the body weight she would need to keep Chris required tremendous

willpower.

3. When there is a poor fit, or a mismatch, between the demands of the situation and the resources of the

person, a discrepancy exists. This generally takes the form of the demands taxing or exceeding the

resources, as in Sonia's belief that she did not have the willpower to keep her weight down. But the

opposite discrepancy also occurs--that is, our resources may be underutilized--and this can be stressful,

too. A worker who is bored by a lack of challenge in a job may find this situation stressful. An important

point to keep in mind is that the discrepancy may be either real or just believed to exist. Suppose you had to

take an exam and wanted to do well, but worried greatly that you would not. If you had procrastinated and

did not prepare for the test, the discrepancy you see between the demands and your resources might be real.

But if you had previously done well on similar exams, prepared thoroughly for this one, and scored well on

a pretest in a study guide yet still thought you would not do well, the discrepancy you see would not reflect

the true state of affairs. Stress often results from inaccurate perceptions of discrepancies between

environmental demands and the actual resources. Stress is in the eye of the beholder.

4. In our transactions with the environment, we assess demands, resources, and discrepancies between

them--as Sonia might do if she notices Chris looking at an attractive woman. These transactions are

affected by many factors, including our prior experiences and aspects of the current situation. Suppose you

are on a track team and are running in a race. Relevant transactions for this race actually began long before

the race started, such as during your previous wins and losses, your recent training and fitness, and your

knowledge of and experience with your competitors. In the race, these prior transactions have an impact on

Health Psychology PSY408

the continuous transactions that occur you assess your strength and energy reserves, the position you are in

relative to the other runners, and the likelihood that another runner will show a surge of speed toward the

end of the race.

Appraising Events as Stressful

Transactions in stress generally involve an assessment process that Richard Lazarus and his coworkers call

cognitive appraisal. Cognitive appraisal is a mental process by which people assess two factors: (1) whether a

demand threatens their physical or psychological well-being and (2) the resources available for meeting the

demand. These two factors distinguish two types of appraisal--primary and secondary.

Primary Appraisal

When we encounter a potentially stressful event--for example, feeling symptoms of pain or nausea--we

first try to assess the meaning of the situation for our well-being. This assessment process is called primary

appraisal. In effect this appraisal seeks answers to such questions as, `What does this mean to me?" and

"Will I be okay or in trouble" Your primary appraisal regarding the pain or nausea could yield one of three

judgments:

1. It is irrelevant--as you might decide if you had had similar symptoms before that lasted only a short

while and were not followed by Illness.

2. It is good (called "benign-positive")--which might be your appraisal if you wanted very much to skip

work or have a college exam postponed.

3. It is stressful--as you might judge if you feared the symptoms were of a serious illness, such as botulism

(a life-threatening type of food poisoning).

Events that we appraise as stressful receive further appraisal for three implications: harm-loss, threat, and

challenge.

Harm-loss refers to the amount of damage that has already occurred, as when someone is in-capacitated and

in pain following a serious injury. Sometimes people who experience a relatively minor stressor think of it as

a "disaster", thereby exaggerating its personal impact and increasing their feelings of stress (Ellis, 1987).

Threat involves the expectation of future harm-- for example, when hospitalized patients contemplate their

medical bills, difficult rehabilitation, and loss of income. Stress appraisals seem to depend heavily on harm-

loss and threat. Challenge is the opportunity to achieve growth, mastery, or profit by using more than

routine resources to meet a demand. For instance, a worker might view an offer of a higher- level lob as

stressful, but see it as an opportunity to expand her skills, demonstrate her ability, and make more money.

Sometimes we experience stress even when the stressor does not relate to us directly--that is, the

transaction is vicarious. If we see other people in stressful circumstances, such as suffering from pain or a

life-threatening illness, we may empathize with their feelings and feel vulnerable ourselves. A classic

experiment demonstrated empathic appraisal by showing college-student subjects a film called "Subincision.

(Speisman, Lazarus, Mordkoff. & Davison, 1964).

The film contained stressful scenes of people of a primitive tribe having surgery. Before seeing the film, the

subjects were divided into four groups, so that each group would see the film a different way. One of the

groups saw the film with no sound track. Another group heard a sound track with a "trauma" narrative that

emphasized the pain, danger, and stressfulness of the surgery. A third group heard a denial narration that

denied the pain and potential harm depicted in the film, describing them as willing participants in a joyful

occasion who "look forward to the happy conclusion of the ceremony." The fourth group heard a

"scientific" narration that encouraged the viewers to watch in a detached manner--for example, the

narrator commented, as you can see, the operation is formal and the surgical technique, while crude, is very

carefully followed."

Did the different sound tracks affect the subjects' appraisals of stress? To evaluate this, the researchers used

both physiological and self-report measures of stress. The physiological measures, such as heart rate, were

Health Psychology PSY408

taken continuously during the viewing of the film. The self-report measures were questionnaires that

evaluated feelings of stress immediately after the film presentation.

The results showed that, compared with the subjects who saw the film with no sound track, those who

heard the trauma narration reacted with more stress, particularly during the film; those who heard the denial

and scientific narration reacted with less stress. These results show that people can experience stress

vicariously and that their reactions depend on the process of primary appraisal.

Secondary Appraisal

Secondary Appraisal refers to our ongoing assessment of the resources we have available for coping.

Although we generally engage in an assessment of our resources after we appraise an event as stressful,

secondary appraisal does not necessarily follow primary appraisal in time. Nevertheless, we are probably

more aware of secondary appraisal when we judge a situation as potentially stressful and try to determine

whether our resources are sufficient to meet the harm, threat, or challenge we face. Examples of secondary

appraisal judgments include;

· I can't do it--I know I'll fail.

· I'll try, but my chances are slim.

· I can do it if Ginny will help.

· If this method fails, I can try a few others.

· I can do it if I work hard.

· No problem--I can do it.

The condition of stress that we experience often depends on the outcome of the appraisals we make in our

transactions with the environment. When we judge the fit between demands and resources to be close, we

may experience little or no stress; but when our appraisals indicate a discrepancy, particularly if we appraise

greater demands than resources, we may feel a great deal of stress.

Can stress occur without cognitive appraisals? According to some researchers, it can, particularly in

emergency situations. Suppose you are in your car, stopped at a red light. In a split second you hear the

squealing of brakes; your body tenses as you say, "Oh my God"; and a car smashes yours in the rear. Your

saying, Oh my God!" is not really a cognitive appraisal--it's a reflexive response. But a stress reaction has

already begun, as the tensing of your body indicates, and this is "followed by `feelings' and appraisals".

Often in serious emergencies the stress reaction includes a state of shock in which the person is stunned,

dazed, or disoriented. This state may last for minutes or hours, or much longer. Because cognitive

functioning is impaired during shock, it is unlikely that appraisal processes play an important role in the

stress experienced while in that state. In non-emergency situations, cognitive appraisals appear to precede

stress reactions.

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