Researchers have conceptualized stress in three ways.

In one approach, stress is seen as a stimulus,

and studies focus on the impact of stressors. Another approach treats stress as a response and
examines the strains that stressors produce. The third approach views stress as a process that
involves continuous interactions and adjustments-or transactions- between the person and the
environment. These viewpoints have led to the definition of stress as the condition that results when
person/environment transaction lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy between the demands
of a situation and the resources of the person’s biological, physicological, and social systems.

Transactions that lead to the condition of stress generally involve a process of cognitive appraisal,
which takes two forms. One type of appraisal, called primary appraisal, foccused on whether a
demand threatens the person’s well-being. It produces one of three judgments: the demand is
irrelevant, it is good, or it is stressful. A stresssful appraisal receives further assesment for the
ammount of harm or loss, the threat of future harm, and the degree of challenge the demand
present. The other type of appraisal, called secondary appraisal, assesses the resources available for
meeting the demand. When primary and secondary appraisals indicate that the fit between the
demands and resources is close, we may experience little stress. But when we appraise a
discrepancy-especially if demands seen greater than our resources-we may feel a substansial
amount of stress.

Whether events are appraised as stressful is influenced by two types of factors-those are relate to
the person and those that relate to the situation. Factors of the person and personality
characteristics, such as the person’s self-esteem and belief system. With regard to situational
factors, events tend to be appraised as stressful if they involve strong demands, are imminent, are
undesirable and uncontrollable, involve major life transitions, or occur at an unexpected time in the
life span.

Stressors produce strain in the person’s biological, physicological, and social systems. Emergency
situations evoke a physicological fight-or-flight reaction, by which the organism prepares to attack
the threat or flee. When stress is strong and prolonged, the physicological reaction goes through
three stages: the alarm reaction. The stage of resistance, and the stage of exhaustion. This series of
reactions is called the general adaptation syndrome. Acccording to Seyle, continuous high levels of
stress can make the person vulnerable to diseases of adaptation, including ulcers and high blood
presure. Pyschosocial factors influence the physiological reaction to stress.

Stress can affect psychosocial procesess. It can impair cognitive functioning and may lead to
generalized cognitive deficits in children. Various emotions can accompany stress-these emotions
include fear, anxiety, depression, and anger. When stress is accompanied by anger, aggresive
behavior tends to increase and remain at a relatively high level even after the stressful experience is
over. Stress also reduces people’s helping behavior.

Although the sources of stress may change as people develop, the condition of stress can occur at
any time in the life span. Sometimes stress arises from within the person, such as when the person is
ill or experiences conflict. The family can be another source of stress, through the behavior, needs,
and personality of each of its members. The whole family can experience stress (1) when one of its
members is seriously ill, becomes disabled, or dies; (2) if the parents separate or divorce; and (3) if
there is an addition to the family, particularly if the addition si a baby who has a difficult
temperament. How the family reacts to these stressors depends on the ages of the people involved.
The source of stress can also be the community and society-for example, from problems related to
people’s jobs or enviromental hazards.

Researchers measure stress in three ways. One way involves assesing physiological arousal. Blood
pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and galvanic skin response can be measured with an apparatus
called polygraph. Biochemical analyses of blood and urine samples can test for corticosteroids (for
example, cortisol) and catecholamines (for example, epinephrine and norepinephrine). Another
method of measuring stress uses a survey of people’s life events. The most widely used scale of life
events has been the Social Readjusment Rating Scale, but newer instruments have been developed
to correct some of its weaknesses. The third method for measuring stress involves assesing the daily
hassles people experience. Although stress can contribute to the development of illness, many
psychologist believe that not all stress is harmful.