Understanding Stress in Health Psychology
Stress is a central topic in health psychology that explores how psychological factors influence physical health and vice versa. This overview examines the complex definitions of stress and the cognitive appraisal processes that determine individual stress responses.
Stimulus-Based Definition of Stress
- Stress as a stimulus refers to events or situations perceived as threatening or overwhelming.
- Examples include work pressure, exams, and difficult relationships.
- Limitation: stressfulness varies among individuals; what stresses one may motivate another.
Response-Based Definition of Stress
- Proposed by endocrinologist Hans Selye, it defines stress as the physiological and psychological responses to threatening situations.
- Symptoms include increased heart rate, headaches, sleep disturbances, and emotional distress.
- Limitation: physiological responses can occur from both positive and negative stimuli, making it insufficient alone.
A Comprehensive Definition: Lazarus and Folkman (1984)
Stress is defined as a process where an individual perceives and responds to situations appraised as overwhelming or threatening. This model integrates both stimulus and response perspectives.
The Transactional Model of Stress (Cognitive Appraisal Theory)
Stress involves two major appraisal steps:
1. Primary Appraisal
- The individual assesses the severity or threat level of the situation.
- Example: Detecting a lump during breast self-examination and evaluating its potential severity.
2. Secondary Appraisal
- The individual evaluates available resources and coping strategies to manage the threat.
- Factors include self-efficacy and external support systems.
- Example: Considering treatment options or educational resources to handle an upcoming exam.
The Subjectivity of Stress
- Stress perception is highly individual and depends on appraisal outcomes.
- Positive events (eustress) and negative events (distress) can trigger similar physiological responses but differ in emotional valence.
Key Takeaways
- Stress cannot be fully understood only as an external stimulus or internal response.
- Effective stress management depends on accurate appraisal of threats and confidence in coping resources.
- Stress is ultimately "in the eyes of the beholder," influenced by personal interpretation and available support.
This comprehensive understanding can guide students and health practitioners in addressing stress-related health issues with greater nuance and empathy. For those interested in further exploring the biological underpinnings involved, see Comprehensive Summary of Unit One: Biological Basis of Behavior in AP Psychology. Additionally, understanding how the nervous system functions can offer deeper insight into physiological stress responses; refer to Comprehensive Overview of the Nervous System: Central and Peripheral Parts. To appreciate the broader context of research methodologies that underpin theories like Lazarus and Folkman's, consider reading Why Research is Crucial in Psychology: Understanding Scientific Inquiry.
Okay guys, we have introduced this course health psychology and we will immediately want to start um with the
definition of stress. As we understand that in health psychology, the course is wanting at
this stage to see the the how um some health issues relate to your psychology and how some psychological situations
also interpret to your bodily situations. Right? Why would um somebody sad lose appetite
and why would somebody sick in the body uh feel down and sad right you see that these two things are
interwoven so stress as one of the major topic we're going to be reviewing we are going to define it personally as
a final students personally I want you to have a good understanding so you you write when you exam please don't write
like a first year so we understand that stress we have a stimulusbased definition which
is not comprehensive enough we have a response based definition which is not so enough for you to say this is what
stress means now I'll start with what is the stimulus based Stim Blue's B definition of stress
um is when we define stress as any situation or event that is indiv that is seem threatening or um overwhelming to
an individual. Example, ah you say work is stressful too much
work example bad relationship example um exam time is stressful to some people right now you will notice that this
stimulus based definition is not enough. They tell us that this is a stimulus based definition but it is it is not
enough to define stress or to capture the meaning of stress because we have an understanding that what could be
stressful to another one person may not be stressful to another. You may be feeling this situation is stressful but
um you may be saying oh I got this promotion and I'm feeling stressed that
is too much work. that person want to go there so that the person will improve her skills and get better as a career
person. Right? So you see that is a limited situation or definition of stress. Now on the other way around we
may also see example of a response based definition. Hanseli yes Hanseli Hansel is a Harvard um endocrinologist.
So he's a master in these people that a person that study um the endocrine system the dotsless glands right so has
provided that definition of um stress and in those days right because he later enhanced his work but he said that
stress could be individuals the body's response the body's p perception and response
or let me use the word the he said individual's response to events stressful situations or stressful
or threatening situations your response to those threatening events or situations
that is a stress. Oh, why you stressing me? You understand? You see that? This is
he's talking about how your body, your heart rate, the physiological explanations and how your body became
the headache and everything. Oh, this is your response. You feel scared. You feel down. You feel worried. You feel your
you are out of this world. You say, "Oh, come on. You're going to stress." You see because of your physiological
responses the sleep is gone you couldn't sleep headache and your health is even weighing down and everything your
response to these threatening situations or events that is a response base but again is it
enough when you are running the whole fever because exam is coming the other
person's running excitement and ready to take all the videos or pictures due to exam, right? When you
are when just like that, right? So for us to try to capture a comprehensive
um definition of stress, we would want to capture the the these two areas this response based and stimulus based
definitions. So according to Lazarus and Faulkman 1984 they said that stress is defined as um a situ a process by which
individual perceive and respond please let's follow it when an individual perceive
one is a perception you remember they have interpreted it right now respond to situations or events that they have
appraised to be overwhelming or threatening. Do you understand? This is a very good
definition that captures the evaluation of a stimulus and the reaction towards that stimul the
response. So stimulus base is there, response based is there. So this is by Lazarus and Fman 1984. And having said
that, it's important I try to discuss um what they talked about when I talked about the cognitive pressure theory or
call it the transactional model. So this definition shows you or helps us to understand that there is before any
situation is deemed or called regarded to as stress there is an appraisal taking us to what we call the
transactional model please I'm discussing it under this um but you should expect to see it separately this
transitional model the two types of appraisal so they are saying that we appraise, we evaluate this situation
before we interpret it and then respond to it as a stressful situation or event. Right? So the primary appraisal
according to the cognitive appraisal theory that we individuals react to these things separately.
We react to stress separately and that's why they provided this Lazarus and Lazarus and Fman provided this or
transitional model of stress or this cognitive appraisal theory giving us two types of appraisals. Primary appraisals
secondary appraisals. The primary appraisal is when individual primary appraisal refers to that moment
um you are considering the severity or how threatening the danger that situation poses.
Yeah. Or a lady just touched for example maybe you did some BSC breast self examination
and you discover a little lump. Okay. This little lump cannot be said to be a a a stress but contingent on your
appraisal to the situation. So the first approach is how severe do you evaluate that situation? Exam is by
the corner. How do you approach that situation? Oh, I think I'm going to fail. Oh, I think this new job will just
wear me out. I can't cope with I think I think it will finally show my inabilities and I maybe you know people
respond and evaluate the situation. The severity of situations are not appraised equally
and having done that it takes us to the next level. If individuals have seen the level of severity the level of threat or
posed by that situation it takes us to the next appraisal that secondary appraisal. This is where they they check
if they have every resources that are if to check one the available resources
to cope and overcome that situation and how effective those u um um resources are. Yes. Okay. For example,
um a student may appraise exam as so fast and I think it's going to solve a problem and everything and I don't know
how I'm going to but one will come with this secondary appraiser. Well, we may have to take it towards night class. You
know when what we talked about what we talked about um what we talked about um what is it
called self-efficacy by Abadan individual's knowledge about their ability oh I think I can do it
presentation come on I I'll I'll do anything I want to do and one may come about like I said the
breast self-examination the lung say Okay, I think I can go through. Thank God there are facilities.
One might have appraised it. Oh no, this is terminal. This is this primary appraiser. This is terminal. How am I
going to overcome this? And I don't know. And this by by um what is it called? Um chemotherapy is dangerous and
it will remove all my hair. Oh no, I don't think I can handle it. They haven't seen it. It has not been
diagnosed to be cancer. Right. But they have it to be threatening and they have also not they are also not having faith
in one their self-efficacy to go through it and the available resources to be effective. They didn't see it to be
effective and they didn't see themsel on having what it takes to go through that situation. This is when that stress will
be very dangerous to their health. Right? But the other way around one can evalate. Oh, thank God I found this
early. Well, thank God for technology is a little is a little operations that will be I'll just or maybe take drugs.
There are drugs that one can take for that and it will be gone or operations and or surgery right and the team will
be gone and the person picks her bag his or her bag or yeah her bag and goes to work and leaves her daily life right
without being um brought down by that kind of stress or being that overwhelmed by the stress right appraisals.
appraisals. So you discover in this video we have talked about what is stress stimulus
based and response based and we provided a general review about stress and you understand that in in this response base
it is not enough please I I needed to point something out here having talked about the cognitive appraisal theory it
is not enough for it to say um individual response right remember that we have two types of stress you stress
and distress you a Greek word meaning good this a Greek word meaning bad right you stress
oh you won you won you won a lottery okay for example you won this and that and your heart uh heartbeat increase
you're excited and your whole body the adrenaline pumps and you are jumping and your heart is beating and wo you are
even sweating right tears of joy also the same way you receive a bad news your heart rate
increase and your name pumps and your eye dilate and you are even sweating you see the same response to even good and
bad so can we say a stress is individual response no that is Why we try to provide a general definition of stress
as uh a process by which an individual perceive and respond to events or
situation that he or she has appraised to be overwhelming or threatening. and forman 1984 providing also their
transational stress model that individuals respond evaluate these things separately and the the stress of
or the situations separately which determines the the kind of stress they will uh be exposed to. Uh well we talked
about the uh primary u appraisal and secondary appraisal. In primary appraisal we review the severity of the
situation and in secondary appraisal we talked about what it takes to go through it the available
resources. So in this summary we understand that stress is in the eyes of the beholder.
Stress is the beh in the eyes of the beholder. Are you seeing it to be that threatening or severe and you feel
despite the severity there is available resources to go through it. Stress is in the in the eyes of a beholder. See you
in the next video.
Stress in health psychology is defined in three main ways: as a stimulus (events perceived as threatening), as a response (physiological and psychological reactions to threats), and comprehensively as a process involving perception and response to overwhelming situations, integrating both stimulus and response views as proposed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984).
The transactional model explains stress through two cognitive appraisal steps: primary appraisal involves evaluating the threat level of a situation, while secondary appraisal assesses a person's coping resources and options. This model highlights that stress perception depends on individual interpretation and available coping mechanisms.
Stress is highly subjective because individuals appraise situations differently based on personal factors such as past experiences, coping skills, and support systems. Consequently, what one person perceives as threatening may be motivating or manageable to another, leading to varied stress responses.
Cognitive appraisal helps individuals identify whether an event is a threat and evaluate their ability to cope with it. Accurate appraisal allows people to engage appropriate coping strategies and seek support, which reduces the negative effects of stress and enhances resilience.
Eustress and distress can produce similar physiological responses like increased heart rate, but they differ in emotional impact—eustress is perceived as positive and motivating, while distress is negative and overwhelming. Understanding this distinction helps in recognizing that not all stress harms health.
In primary appraisal, someone might evaluate a detected lump during a breast self-exam as a potential health threat. In secondary appraisal, the same person might assess their coping resources by researching treatment options or seeking medical advice. For exams, primary appraisal is recognizing the exam as challenging, while secondary appraisal includes preparing study plans or asking for support.
By recognizing stress as a subjective process influenced by individual appraisal and coping resources, health practitioners can tailor interventions to support personal coping strategies and resource building. This nuanced perspective fosters empathy and more effective stress management techniques aligned with each person's unique experience.
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