Stress as a transaction

• Transactional Theory of stress and coping

  A theory proposing that stress involves an encounter between the individual and their external environment, with stress response depending on individual appraisal
• Lazarus and Folkman


  1984
• Appraisal


  The individual’s evaluation of the relevance of the stressor to their well-being and their ability to cope with it
• Two key psychological factors determining stress

  • The meaning of the event
  • The individual’s judgement of their ability to cope with it
• According to Lazarus and Folkman, stress is not the result of the individual alone or the environment alone


  The environment can influence the individual, but the individual can also influence the environment
• An individual’s appraisal of the situation and their resources for dealing with that situation determines whether or not they experience stress
• When there is an imbalance between a person’s appraisal of the demands of the situation and their estimation of their ability to meet those demands

  They will experience stress
• Drivers in a traffic jam

  • Driver one accepts the situation and makes a phone call
  • Driver two sees it as the end of the world and gets irritated
• Stress


  Is largely ‘in the eye of the beholder’ and depends on how each person appraises a stressor
• Appraisal


  Is not necessarily conscious; it is subjective and a highly personal process
• Role of cognitive appraisal

  • Primary appraisal
  • Secondary appraisal
• Cognitive appraisal process


  1. Primary appraisal

  2. Evaluate significance of the event

  3. Decide if the event is irrelevant, benign-positive or stressful

  4. If stressful, engage in additional appraisals
• Primary appraisal


  Evaluating or ‘judging’ the significance of the event
• Outcomes of primary appraisal

  • Irrelevant
  • Benign-positive
  • Stressful
• Additional appraisals


  1. Harm/loss

  2. Threat

  3. Challenge
• Harm/loss


  An assessment of how much damage has occurred
• Threat


  An assessment of potential harm/loss that may occur in the future
• Challenge


  An assessment of potential personal gain or growth from the situation
• Secondary appraisal


  Evaluating our ability to control or overcome the situation
• Resources for coping


  • Internal (strength, motivation)
  • External (money, support from family)
• If coping demands are perceived as greater than available resources

  Likely to experience a stress response
• Primary and secondary appraisals can merge to influence overall judgement of the specific transaction with the potential stressor
• Methods of coping


  • Approach strategies
  • Avoidance strategies
• Approach strategies


  • Target the stressor or response in practical ways
  • Behavioural or psychological responses designed to change the nature of the stressor
• Problem-focused strategies


  • Directly target the stressor
  • Aim to reduce the stressor
• Problem-focused strategies


  • Seeking information
  • Making a plan of action
  • Learning a new skill
  • Concentrating on the next step
• Problem-focused strategies will not work in situations where the stressor is beyond the individual’s control
• Emotion-focused strategies


  • Aimed at managing emotional distress
  • Change unpleasant emotions associated with the stressor
• Emotion-focused strategies help us feel better but don’t solve the source of the stress
• Positive emotion-focused strategies


  • Disengaging from emotions
  • Seeking emotional support
  • Meditating
  • Expressing emotions
• Negative emotion-focused strategies


  • Denial
  • Oversleeping
  • Substance abuse
  • Overeating
  • Shifting blame
  • Giving up