L14 - Stress And Coping

Question 1

What is the definition of stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)

Answer 1

• a substantial imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet the demand has important consequences

Question 2

What is the definition of coping ? (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)

Answer 2

• constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taking or exceeding the resources of the person

Question 3

What is the stress response equation?

Answer 3

Stress response = demands of situation > coping resources

Question 4

What are the 2 different coping styles (Anshel et al, 1997)

Answer 4

Approach coping - will address situation directly (e.g. Emphasising the positive, thought control, realistic appraisals)

Avoidance coping - will avoid the problem, behavioural and cognitive distancing (e.g. Ignore or block things out, avoidance/isolation, detachment, wishful thinking)

Question 5

What are the 2 coping strategies and how do they fit into the conceptual framework (Anshel et al, 1997)

Answer 5

Problem focused (approach) - e.g. Analyse reasons why errors are made and correct them

Problem focused (avoidance) - e.g. Try again and don’t worry about it

Emotion focused (approach) - e.g. Use progressive relaxation to reduce stress

Emotion focused (avoidance) - e.g. Ignore the situation as if it doesn’t bother you

Question 6

What did Giaccobi et al (2004) find to be some coping resources in golfers?

Answer 6

Cognitive techniques 
Relaxation techniques
Off course efforts 
Golf course strategies
Avoidance coping
Emotion focused coping 
Cognitive techniques

Question 7

Are coping resources dynamic or dispositional in nature?

Answer 7

• research suggests that elite athletes select different strategies to fit different situations (e.g. Gould et al, 1993)

Question 8

Discuss the dynamic nature of coping?

Answer 8

Nicholls et al (2005) looked at coping strategies in golfers and found the most frequently cited coping strategies were blocking, increased concentration and technical adjustments
- problem focused coping was used more than avoidance coping as emotion focused coping

Question 9

Do Men and Women display different coping strategies?

Answer 9

• mixed research findings, some studies find differences between the genders.
• Males prefer problem-focused coping
• females prefer emotion-focused coping and social support

Question 10

What are the age differences in coping behaviours (Nicholls and Polman,2007)

Answer 10

Athletes cope better with stress as they get older

• because children and adolescents have a smaller and more flexible coping repertoire than adults
• this means teaching children different coping strategies may enable them to feel better prepared to cope

Question 11

Discuss coping strategies and psychological responses? (Crocker et al, 2007)

Answer 11

More emotion-focused coping? - greater cognitive anxiety, greater negative affect

More avoidance coping? - greater cognitive anxiety, perfectionism

More problem-focused coping? - greater positive affect

Question 12

What did Eubank and Collins (2000) find when looking at coping strategy scores?

Answer 12

Showed higher mean coping strategy scores for facilitators and debilitators

Question 13

What did Nicholls and Polman (2007) state of effectiveness of coping response?

Answer 13

Less effective coping can lead to - sport withdrawal, decreased performance, an inability to pursue careers in professional sport

Depends on - self esteem and self confidence, motivational orientation, previous performance

Question 14

What is coping failure? (Poczwardowski and Conroe, 2002)

Answer 14

• feeling helplessness
• making more mistakes through intensified self analysis
• unable to leave mistakes behind
• crying after a performance

Question 15

What determines the effectiveness of coping response ?(Nicholls and Polman, 2007)

Answer 15

• automaticity of coping response - athletes who report their coping to be more effective during competition rated their coping as more automatic (Digdale et al, 2002)
• choice of coping strategy employed - positive self talk and thinking ahead vs negative self talk and thinking about irrelevant things (Eubank and Collins, 2000)
• level of perceived control over stressors - problem focused coping ^ control , emotion focused coping decreases control

Question 16

What did Pensgaard and Duda (2003) find when looking at emotions, coping and performance in Olympic athletes?

Answer 16

Placement at games predicted by - high coping effectiveness

Satisfaction with performance predicted by - high coping effectiveness, fewer dysfunctional emotions expressed

Perceived coping effectiveness is particularly important factor influencing performance - athletes should be taught to execute their coping strategies in an effective manner

Question 17

What are the implications of practice for coping strategies?

Answer 17

• unlikely that any single kind of coping will be appropriate for all situations
• Important to recognise and eliminate maladaptive coping strategies
• personality and motivational variables influence the coping process
• developing coping skills takes time
• some coping strategies may appear effective but have long term negative outcomes
• coping resources should be utilised wherever possible

Question 18

What did Folkman (1984) state about coping effectiveness training?

Answer 18

Controllable -> problem-focused coping

Uncontrollable -> emotion-focused coping

Question 19

What did Reeves et al (2011) find when looking at 5 young footballers who reported low coping self efficacy and coping effectiveness ?

Answer 19

After coping effectiveness training for 6 sessions, results showed coping self efficacy typically improved for all boys