Cognitive Stress Theory Essay

Although stressors can affect a person physiologically, stress can also affect people’s cognitive, emotional and social systems as well. Two concepts are significant in any psychological stress theory: appraisal, which is the individual’s assessment of something or someone, and coping, which is the individual’s effort to minimise or tolerate stress (Krohne, 2002). The “Theory of Cognitive Appraisal” model was proposed by Lazarus and Folkman to explain the psychological processes which influence the stressors. According to the theory, stress is seen as a two-way process; a relationship between the individual and their environment (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Cognitive apparaisal is divided into primary and secondary appraisal. With primary appraisal,

The coping process is not a single event. Instead, it is dynamic and involves ongoing behavioural and cognitive transactions with the environment. According to Lazarus et al. (1984), coping mechanisms can bring about postive coping or can be maladaptive, which means the person has not coped with the stressor or ward it off at all. Emotion-focused coping involves regulating the emotional response in order to tolerate or eliminate the stressor. Regulation of emotional responses can be done through behavioural and cognitive approaches. Some examples of behavioural approaches are using distraction and relaxation. Cognitive approaches include changing the way a person thinks about the stressor and changing the meaning of the stressor through redefinition. People to use emotion-focused approaches when they believe they cannot do anything to change the stressor (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Problem-focused coping involves modifying the behaviour of the person and learning to deal with the stressor. For example, making new study plans and sticking to it. Furthermore, people use problem-focused coping when they believe their resources or the demands of the stressor are changeable (Lazarus & Folkman,