Chapter 3c Flashcards
Primary appraisal process
Asses nature of stressor and impact on oneself, initially deems stressor as benign positive, irrelevent or stressful. Secondly it decides the stress reaction being challenge harm/loss or threat.
Subjective
Based on personal opinion
Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping
- helps track a persons subjective psychological stress response
- proposes that stress is a subjective ‘transaction’ between an incoming stressor and the personal and environmental factors specific to an individual. The model explains that the unique stress response of
an individual results from their appraisal (an assessment or evaluation of stimuli) of the nature of the stressor and their belief in their ability to cope with it.
What is Lazarus and folkmans model and what does stress result from according to it
Transactional model of stress and coping
Results from a perceived imbalance between the requirement of the stressor and individuals available coping resources
Appraisal
Assessment or evaluation of stimul
Primary appraisal stage
The first stage of the Transactional Model is known as primary appraisal, which is the initial
process of evaluating the nature of the incoming stressor, specifically the kind of stress it might cause.
Primary appraisal first sub stage
This is done in two separate substages. Primary appraisal first involves the individual deciding whether or not the incoming stimulus will actually cause them to experience stress. There are three initial ways an incoming stressor can be appraised:
• Benign-positive. An initial appraisal of a stimulus as neutral or good that does not cause stress for the individual.
• Irrelevant. An initial appraisal of a stimulus as a non-issue for the individual.
• Stressful. An initial appraisal of a stimulus as a source of worry or emotional significance
for the individual.
Primary appraisal second sub stage
The transaction continues only if this initial component of primary appraisal evaluates an incoming stimulus as ‘stressful’. Otherwise, the incoming stimulus is disregarded. If considered to be ‘stressful’, the stimulus (now called a stressor) undergoes further appraisal, being labelled according to the form of stress it causes. Lazarus and Folkman outline three potential forms of stress appraisal:
• Harm/loss. A further appraisal of a stressor as having caused some damage to the individual. This means the individual has already experienced direct distress as a result of the stressor.
• Threat. A further appraisal of a stressor as potentially causing damage to the individual
in the future. This appraisal causes the individual to experience distress, even if the stressor has not directly caused distress yet.
• Challenge. A further appraisal of a stressor as potentially providing a positive opportunity for growth or change for the individual
Examples of primary appraisal second substage
Stage: stressful
Threat: “I’m going to fail”
Challenge: “ the exam is a chance to improve my grades”
Loss/harm: “this exam has ruined my life”
Secondary appraisal stage
the individual evaluates the resources required and available in order to cope with a stressor.
In secondary appraisal, the individual decides what types of coping mechanisms or strategies will be needed to confront a stressor, and whether or not these are available to them.
Believing u have the resources may prevent further stress
Two types:
Emotion-focused coping: the use of coping strategies that target the emotional components of a stressor, dealing with it indirectly rather than confronting its source.
• Problem-focused coping: the use of coping strategies that directly target the source of the stressor, aiming to reduce it in a practical way.
Coping
Process of dealing with a stressor
Second appraisal stage coping strategies examples
Emotion-focused coping strategies
• Wishful thinking; ‘I don’t think my exam will be too hard’.
• Denial; ‘I don’t even care about my exam’.
• Reframing; ‘This exam is really good
practise for future exams’.
• Optimism; ‘It will surely turn out for
the best’.
• Venting emotions; ‘Exam periods are so
stressful! I feel overwhelmed!’.
• Meditation or distraction.
Problem-focused coping strategies:
• Seeking information or advice, whether from medical or mental health professionals, or people with relevant knowledge.
• Taking action; ‘I will study for four hours a night’.
• Time management; creating a plan for how best to invest time into the stressor, like a study timetable.
When does reappraisal occur
One deems they have needed resources during secondary appraisal, so instead of causing stress the stress is reduced or eliminated or one experiences reappraisal, checking if there interpretation of the stressor changed
The explanatory power of Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress
and Coping
powerful model to explain why different people react to stress in different ways. However, as with any model,
it does not always accurately reflect a true lived experience.
Strengths:
Allows one to track the subjective stress response of an individual.
• Allows for consideration of cognitive processes within the stress response, which the biological models do not take into account.
• Human subjects were used as a source of data during the creation of the model.
• Helps to explain why the same stressor may have different effects on different people.
• Coping stage (emotion and problem- focused strategies) provides suggestions for dealing with a stressor.
Limitations:
Some argue that the stages of primary and secondary appraisal can occur simultaneously, and so ordering them chronologically may not always be reflective of the true stress response.
• Individuals are not necessarily aware of why they feel certain kinds of stress, as suggested by primary appraisal.
• Does not include biological processes of stress, when in practice stress is a combination of both biological and psychological factors.
• Cannot easily be tested by research,
as human subjects are not necessarily consciously aware at all stages of appraisal, and therefore there is a lack of empirical evidence to support the model.
