stress and coping lect 5

Question 1

what is stress

Answer 1

relationship between the person and environment that is appraised/evaluated by the person as relevant to his or her wellbeing and in which the person’s resources are taxed or exceeded (lazarus and folkman)

Question 2

what does stress relate to

Answer 2

-distress (negative emotional state)

Question 3

zajonc study

Answer 3

-researched mere exposure
-pp presented with series of irregular shapes in pairs below level of conscious awareness (12ms)
-in some trials, pp see a shape they have previously seen
-pp tended to choose those previously presented (despite original presentation being outside cognitive awareness)

Question 4

lazarus’ study

Answer 4

-psychological meaning of the situation is important
-is situation is emotional, what emotion is experienced, how does the person respond to this
-appraisal/evaluation is important

Question 4

how does lazarus’ research differ to zajonc’s

Answer 4

lazarus takes the view that cognition is required for emotion aetiology

Question 5

lazarus and folkman transactional model

Answer 5

stress is…
1.a transaction
-interplay between person and situation
-we actively interact with the world around us
-we have a relationship with the environment
2.a process
-stress is not fixed, it changes as the person attempts to cope
3.importance of appraisal
-addresses indiv differences in stress
-appraisal influences how people cope

Question 6

transactional model continued- coping with stress

Answer 6

4 elements in coping process
1.causal internal or external event

2. evaluation establishing benign from non benign
   two types of appraisal happen at same time (primary = is situation relevant to goals and desires, secondary = which specific emotion is it and what can i do)
   -if yes to primary appraisal then this is a pos situ
   -secondary appraisal determines the nature of emotion/stress
   -if situ is benign, coping cycle ends

3.coping process

4.stress reaction

Question 7

what are the 4 classes of stress reaction as part of the transactional model

Answer 7

harm/loss: damage already done

threat: anticipation of neg event

challenge: as threat but with chance of personal growth

benefit/gain: situ being benign or goal congruent

Question 8

what are the 2 types of coping from negative emotions

Answer 8

1 problem focused: aimed at altering person environment situation

2 emotion focused: aimed at altering situational interpretation

Question 9

coping by lazarus and folkman

Answer 9

-cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage a troubled person environment relationship
-2 types of coping: problem (fixing problem at hand) and emotion focused (denial, viewing in pos light)
-people use both strategies e.g use emotion focused to help with the problem focused

Question 10

lazarus and folkman research

Answer 10

-examined uni students doing an exam
-analysed their appraisal and coping at 3 interval:
1.leading up to exam
2.had exam and awaiting results
3.had results
-threat and challenge emotions prevalent at time 1 and 2 but dropped at 3
-harm and benefit emotions rose sig from time 1 to 2 and then remained stable
-time 1 = problem focused coping
-between time 1 and 2 = less problem focused coping
-time 3 = poorer grades led to more emotion based coping
-coping and emotions are sig associated

Question 11

coping with health threats

Answer 11

Lowe et al
-looked at whether coping predicted later outcomes in coronary patients
-outcomes: anxiety, depression, health status
-measured health and coping:
1.whilst an in patient
2. 2 months post discharge
2. 6 months post discharge
-acceptance focused coping = better emotional adjustment
-social/emotion coping = poorer emotional adjustment
-problem focused coping = fewer health complaints

Question 12

pollard and kennedy research

Answer 12

-looked at coping at pp with spinal cord injury
-measured coping 12 weeks post injury to predict depression and anxiety 10 years later
-coping was relatively stable
-2 strategies measured at 12 weeks predicted 33% of depression at 10 yrs
1.positive reinterpretation (neg associations)
2.behaviour disengagement (positive association)
-12 week coping did NOT predict 10 yr anxiety

Question 13

leventhal’s self regulation model (SRM)/ common sense model (CSM)

Answer 13

-people build mental model of their illness (illness representation)
-this informs subsequent adaptive efforts and provides window into why people cope the way they do

Question 14

what are the attributes of illness representation (SRM/CSM)

Answer 14

-identity (what is the illness)
-consequences (the effects)
-cause (attributions of cause)
-time line
-controllability (personal and treatment control)
-emotional representation
-illness coherence (mental cog of the illness)

Question 15

Lowe study

Answer 15

-large community based survey
-associations between illness representation and use of unscheduled care services in 3 months
-primary care = GP, out of hours
-secondary care = minor injury unit, 99 ambulance, A and E
-community based = chemist prescription/advice, dentist
-pp regarded illness at either:
group 1: serious, unambiguous, hard to manage, distressing
group 2: chronic, concerning but think they can manage
group 3: ST, limited impact/concern but ambiguous
-group 1 used secondary care more

Question 16

lazarus vs leventhal similarities

Answer 16

-indiv seen as active in interactions with the environment
-situ and personal factors involved in generating experience and behaviour
-both recognise the importance of appraisals
-have similar structure

Question 17

lazarus vs leventhal differences

Answer 17

-Leventhal goes further in attempting to identify specific
underlying characteristics which influence coping
(illness representations)
-Lazarus gives more emphasis to understanding
emotional responses than does Leventhal
-SRM aims to understanding how illness representations
influence coping efforts
-Lazarus’s model aimed at understanding emotions:
coping is merely a vehicle for this
-The SRM provides a significant framework for
understanding coping
-Lazarus’s model has the conceptual advantage of being
a better model of emotions