stress appraisal and coping Flashcards
what are the 3 types of psychological stress?
- Organizational stress
§ Competitive stress
§ Personal stress
what is psychological stress?
“An ongoing process that involves individuals transacting with their environments, making appraisals of the situations they find themselves in, and endeavouring to cope with any issues that may
arise” (Fletcher, Hanton, & Mellalieu, 2006, p. 9)
what is stress as an environmental stimulus?
- Originated in physics and engineering (Hinkle, 1973; Mason, 1975)
- Stress refers to external pressure
- Stress is perceived as an independent variable
what is stress as an individuals response?
- “Being stressed”
- An individual’s responses to environmental demands
what is stress as an interaction?
- Combined effect of two (or more) independent variables on a dependent variable
- Implies cause and effect
- The person and the environment give rise to cognitive-emotional
reactions but maintain their distinctiveness
what is stress as a transaction?
- Less focused on the specific components of an interaction
- Concerned with the psychological processes (e.g., the cognitive-motivational-relational concepts of appraisal and coping) that underpin an encounter
what are the three stress theories?
– Physiological – perspective of stress (Darwin,
1859; James, 1980; Selye, 1956)
Perceived stress as an external event
–Transactional – stress theory (Lazarus &
Folkman, 1984)
Widely used, tested, and applied to sport
– Cognitive-motivational-relational (CMR) –
theory of stress and emotions (Lazarus, 1999)
Incorporates stress and emotion
stages of transactional stress theory?
stressor -- demand appraisal -- evaluation responses -- emotions coping -- strategies (individual differences)
what is a stressor?
environmental demands encountered by
an individual” (Fletcher et al., 2006, p.
329)
what is appraisal?
Appraising refers to how a person evaluates his or her
transactions with the environment (Lazarus, 1964, 1966)
what is primary appraisal?
evaluation of whether or not a stressor is
relevant to an individual’s goals, intentions, and well-being.
what is secondary appraisal?
the identification and availability of
coping resources.
what is coping?
a dynamic and recursive process that
involves interactions between a person’s internal
(i.e. beliefs, goals, values) and external (i.e.
situational) environments (Lazarus, 1999)
what are the 5 categories of coping?
- Problem-focused coping
Efforts to alter or manage the problem that is causing stress (e.g.,
problem solving, increasing concentration)
§ Emotion-focused coping
Regulating the emotional responses that result from stress (e.g.,
positive self-talk, relaxation, breathing techniques, wishful thinking,
imagery/visualisation)
§ Avoidance coping
Efforts to disengage from the stressful situation (e.g., avoiding the
situation, thought stopping, denial)
§ Approach coping
Confronting the source of stress and deliberately attempting to reduce
it (e.g., taking direct action, planning, reading)
§ Reappraisal
Efforts to reappraise the stressful situation (e.g., cognitive restructuring)
mediating factors in coping process?
Self-esteem (Lane, Jones, & Stevens, 2002)
§ Motivational orientation (Ntoumanis, Biddle, & Haddock,
1999; Pensgaard & Roberts, 2003)
§ Self-confidence (Cresswell & Hodge, 2004)
§ Previous performance (Grove, Eklund, & Heard, 1997;
Madden, Kirkby, & McDonald, 1989)
§ Choking (Wang, Marchant, & Morris, 2004)
