Difficulty: Intermediate | Prerequisites: Chapters 1–3 (biopsychosocial model, behaviour change models)
Chapter 6 covers what stress is, how it is appraised, the physiological responses it triggers, and how chronic stress produces cumulative health damage, particularly for marginalised groups. Chapter 7 shifts to how people cope, the resources that help, and specific interventions like ACT and expressive writing.
Stress is a transaction between person and environment: what matters is not just the event but how you appraise it. The body's stress response (fight-or-flight and its variants) evolved for acute threats but becomes harmful when activated chronically, particularly for Black women and other marginalised groups who experience structural stressors. Coping comes in problem-focused and emotion-focused forms, and interventions like ACT, expressive writing, and gratitude journaling have research support.
Distress
Negative stress that overwhelms coping resources and impairs functioning. This is what most people mean when they say "stress."
Eustress
Positive stress that is motivating and enhances performance (e.g. the excitement before a competition). In simple terms, not all stress is bad.
Acute stressor
A short-term stressor with a clear onset and endpoint (e.g. a job interview, a near-miss car accident).
Chronic stressor
A long-term, ongoing source of stress (e.g. poverty, caring for a family member with dementia, living in a dangerous neighbourhood).
Primary appraisal
The initial evaluation of a situation: is it irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful? If stressful, is it a threat, a challenge, or a harm/loss?
Secondary appraisal
The evaluation of what can be done about the stressor: what coping resources and options are available?
Fight-or-flight response
The body's acute physiological reaction to a perceived threat, involving activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the release of stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol). Prepares the body to confront or escape danger.
Freeze response
A stress response in which the person becomes immobilised or "stuck," sometimes described as a defensive shutdown. Research supports it as a legitimate third response beyond fight or flight.
Fawn response
A stress response characterised by people-pleasing or appeasing the source of threat. This concept is newer and has less empirical backing than fight, flight, or freeze, but it is gaining clinical attention.
Weathering
The hypothesis that chronic exposure to social, economic, and political stressors leads to premature physiological ageing, particularly in Black women. Think of it as the body wearing out faster because of sustained structural stress, not individual lifestyle choices.
Optimism
A dispositional tendency to expect positive outcomes. As a coping resource, optimism is associated with better health outcomes, greater persistence in the face of difficulty, and more effective use of coping strategies.
Psychological control
The belief that one can influence events and outcomes in one's life. Control-enhancing interventions aim to increase this sense of agency, which is linked to better health and coping.
Problem-focused coping
Coping strategies aimed at changing or managing the source of stress itself (e.g. making a plan, seeking information, taking action).
Emotion-focused coping
Coping strategies aimed at regulating the emotional response to a stressor (e.g. seeking emotional support, reappraisal, distraction). Used more often when the stressor is perceived as uncontrollable.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
A therapeutic approach that encourages psychological flexibility: accepting difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them, while committing to actions aligned with personal values.
Expressive writing
A coping intervention in which individuals write about their deepest thoughts and feelings related to a stressful experience. Research suggests it can improve physical and psychological health.
Distress is harmful stress; eustress is beneficial stress. Stressors can be acute (short-term, time-limited) or chronic (ongoing, without a clear endpoint). The same event can be experienced differently depending on the person's appraisal.
Stress is not simply "what happens to you" but a transaction between the person and the environment. Primary appraisal evaluates the significance of the event: is it irrelevant, benign, or threatening? Secondary appraisal evaluates what can be done about it: do I have the resources to cope? The combination of these two appraisals determines the stress response.
Cannon (1929): identified the fight-or-flight response and the concept of homeostasis
Selye (1956): proposed the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): alarm, resistance, exhaustion. Argued that prolonged stress wears the body down regardless of the type of stressor
Lazarus & Folkman (1984): shifted the focus from the stressor itself to the person's cognitive appraisal of it. This transactional model is the dominant framework in health psychology today
Modern researchers: have expanded the model to include freeze and fawn responses, cultural and structural dimensions of stress, and the physiological mechanisms linking chronic stress to disease
The classic fight-or-flight response activates the sympathetic nervous system: heart rate increases, blood flow is redirected to muscles, adrenaline and cortisol are released. This is adaptive for acute physical threats.
The freeze response involves immobilisation and is supported by research as a legitimate defensive response, particularly when fight or flight is not possible.
The fawn response involves appeasing or people-pleasing the source of threat. This concept is clinically recognised but has less empirical research behind it than the other responses. The study guide asks "what does the research say?" which signals the exam may test your ability to distinguish well-supported from less well-supported claims.
The weathering hypothesis (Geronimus) proposes that Black women in the United States experience accelerated biological ageing due to cumulative exposure to social, economic, and political stressors. This is not about individual behaviour or "stress management" but about the physiological toll of structural inequality sustained over a lifetime. Weathering connects social determinants of health (Ch. 2) to measurable biological outcomes.
This study examined coping strategies and their outcomes. Key takeaway: the type of coping strategy used matters less than whether it fits the situation. The research conclusion reinforces the idea that flexible coping, adapting your strategy to the demands of the stressor, is more effective than rigidly applying one approach.
Optimism is consistently associated with better health outcomes. Optimists tend to use more problem-focused coping, persist longer in the face of adversity, and engage in more health-promoting behaviours.
Psychological control refers to feeling that you have influence over your circumstances. Control-enhancing interventions (giving patients choices, providing information, teaching skills) improve health outcomes, particularly for people in institutional settings like hospitals or care homes.
Problem-focused vs. emotion-focused coping:
Problem-focused coping is used when the stressor is perceived as controllable: you take action to change the situation (planning, seeking information, taking steps)
Emotion-focused coping is used when the stressor is perceived as uncontrollable: you manage your emotional response (seeking support, reappraisal, acceptance, distraction)
Neither is inherently better. The match between strategy and situation matters most
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT teaches psychological flexibility through six core processes: acceptance, cognitive defusion (separating yourself from your thoughts), being present, self as context, values, and committed action. Rather than trying to eliminate negative thoughts or feelings, ACT encourages people to accept them and act according to their values regardless.
Expressive writing
Involves writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings related to a stressful or traumatic experience, typically for 15 to 20 minutes over several sessions. Research shows benefits for immune function, psychological well-being, and even wound healing.
Journaling and Wong et al. (2016):
Wong et al. found that gratitude journaling, specifically writing about things one is grateful for, produced positive outcomes for mental health. The key finding was that gratitude journaling worked not by increasing positive emotions but by reducing toxic emotions. This is a useful distinction for exam purposes.
Gratitude outcomes: Practising gratitude is associated with improved mood, better sleep, stronger social relationships, and greater resilience. The mechanism appears to be a shift in attentional focus away from negative rumination.
Students often think eustress is "good stress" in the sense that it has no physiological activation. Eustress still activates the stress response; the difference is in appraisal and outcome, not physiology.
Students confuse primary and secondary appraisal. Primary is about the event ("Is this a threat?"). Secondary is about resources ("Can I handle it?"). The names are misleading because they suggest a sequence, but they can occur simultaneously.
Students assume problem-focused coping is always better than emotion-focused coping. The research says the best strategy depends on whether the stressor is controllable. Emotion-focused coping is entirely appropriate when you cannot change the situation.
Students sometimes think weathering is about individual stress management failures. It is about the physiological consequences of structural inequality.
Know the historical progression: Cannon (fight-or-flight, homeostasis) to Selye (GAS, nonspecific stress response) to Lazarus & Folkman (transactional model, appraisal). Expect a question asking you to place a concept with its researcher.
Be able to distinguish problem-focused from emotion-focused coping and identify when each is appropriate.
The weathering concept is a course theme. Know what it is, who it primarily affects, and why it is a structural rather than individual explanation.
The fawn response is mentioned with a prompt ("What does the research say?"), suggesting the exam may test whether you know it has less empirical support than fight, flight, or freeze.
Wong et al. (2016) finding: gratitude works by reducing toxic emotions, not by increasing positive ones. This specific mechanism is exam-worthy.
True or False: Eustress and distress activate different physiological systems. (False, both activate the stress response; the difference is in appraisal)
Fill in the blank: In Lazarus and Folkman's model, ______ appraisal evaluates the event's significance, and ______ appraisal evaluates available coping resources. (Primary, secondary)
True or False: The fawn response has the same level of empirical support as the fight-or-flight response. (False)
Fill in the blank: The weathering hypothesis proposes that ______ experience premature physiological ageing due to cumulative structural stress. (Black women)
True or False: Emotion-focused coping is generally considered inferior to problem-focused coping. (False, it depends on the controllability of the stressor)
Q: A student has an important exam tomorrow. She creates a study schedule, reviews her notes, and asks a classmate to quiz her. What type of coping is she using, and why is it appropriate here?
A: Problem-focused coping, because the stressor (the exam) is controllable. She can take concrete action to improve her preparedness.
Q: Explain the weathering hypothesis and identify one reason it is considered a structural rather than individual explanation.
A: The weathering hypothesis proposes that Black women experience accelerated biological ageing due to chronic exposure to racism, poverty, and other systemic stressors. It is structural because the source of stress is inequality embedded in social and economic systems, not the individual's coping choices.
Q: According to Wong et al. (2016), how does gratitude journaling improve mental health?
A: Gratitude journaling works primarily by reducing toxic emotions (such as resentment and envy) rather than by increasing positive emotions. The shift in attentional focus is the key mechanism.
Q: What distinguishes ACT from traditional cognitive-behavioural approaches?
A: Traditional CBT aims to change or eliminate maladaptive thoughts. ACT instead encourages acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings, and focuses on committed action aligned with personal values. The goal is psychological flexibility, not thought elimination.
Stress appraisal (Ch. 6) connects to symptom interpretation in Chapter 8 and to how patients cope with chronic illness in Chapter 11. The weathering concept links social determinants (Ch. 2) to chronic disease outcomes (Ch. 13). Coping strategies from Chapter 7 are applied in pain management (Ch. 10) and in dealing with terminal illness (Ch. 12).
Related Terms / Search Tags
stress, distress, eustress, acute stressor, chronic stressor, primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, cognitive appraisal, transactional model, Lazarus and Folkman, Cannon, fight-or-flight, Selye, General Adaptation Syndrome, GAS, freeze response, fawn response, weathering, Geronimus, social determinants, chronic stress, coping, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, optimism, psychological control, control-enhancing interventions, ACT, acceptance and commitment therapy, psychological flexibility, expressive writing, journaling, gratitude, Wong et al., resilience, social support, Freire et al., PSY 320, health psychology MSU