transactional model of stress

Question 1

primary appraisal

Answer 1

benign positive, irrelevant, stressful
then
harm/lost, threat, challenge

Question 2

secondary appraisal

Answer 2

enough resources to cope (reduced stress or reappraisal), not enough resources to cope

Question 3

Emotion-focused coping

Answer 3

use of coping strategies that target the emotional components of a stressor, dealing with it indirectly rather than confronting its source

Question 4

Problem-focused coping

Answer 4

use of coping strategies that directly target the source of the stressor, aiming to reduce it in a practical way

Question 5

emotion focused coping eg

Answer 5

• 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.

Question 6

problem focused coping eg

Answer 6

• Seeking information or advice, 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

Question 7

strengths

Answer 7

• 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.

Question 8

weaknesses

Answer 8

• the stages of primary and secondary appraisal can occur simultaneously, so may not always be reflective of the true stress response.
• Individuals are not necessarily aware of why they feel certain kinds of stress
• Does not include biological processes of stress
• Cannot easily be tested by research, as human subjects are not necessarily consciously aware at all stages of appraisal