Stress and Coping
This domain tests how stress is appraised, the body's stress response, and the difference between adaptive and maladaptive coping.
What stress is
Stress is the response to demands appraised as exceeding one's resources. Lazarus's transactional model separates primary appraisal (is this a threat?) from secondary appraisal (can I cope?). Stressors include cataclysmic events, personal stressors, daily hassles and background strains.
Selye's general adaptation syndrome
Alarm, then resistance, then exhaustion. Short-lived stress can sharpen performance, as the Yerkes–Dodson curve shows, but prolonged stress depletes the body, suppressing immunity and raising cardiovascular risk.
Signs of stress
Physiological (raised heart rate, muscle tension, disturbed sleep), psychological (worry, irritability, poor concentration) and behavioural (avoidance, reduced performance).
Moderating factors
Type A behaviour - competitive, time-urgent and especially hostile - is linked to coronary risk, while Type B is more relaxed. Hardiness (commitment, control, challenge) and social support buffer stress.
Coping
Problem-focused coping targets the stressor; emotion-focused coping regulates the distress. Avoidance coping usually backfires. Useful techniques include relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, biofeedback, exercise and realistic time management.
Worked example
A pupil facing an examination first appraises it as threatening, then judges that she has notes and four days available. She builds a revision timetable and starts working: this is problem-focused coping. If she instead reframed the exam as unimportant, that would be emotion-focused reappraisal; if she avoided the books altogether, that would be avoidance coping.
Traps
Assuming all stress is harmful; treating Type A as a synonym for ambitious; confusing the resistance stage with recovery; describing avoidance as an effective long-term strategy.