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PSYCHOLOGY
Student Web Activity
Visit the Understanding Psychology Web site at psychology.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 15— Student Web Activities for an activity about stress.
Both denial and intellectualization can prevent physical reactions to stress. In one study (Lazarus et al., 1965), three groups of participants viewed a film that showed gruesome accidents at a sawmill. One group was told that the injuries were not real but were staged by the actors (denial). A second group was advised that they were seeing an educa- tional film about the importance of safety measures (intellectualization). The third group was told nothing. The levels of physical reaction were lower in the first two groups than in the third. Thus, if a person does not evaluate an event or situation as stressful, a stress reaction will not occur. Yet that is really failing to deal with what could be a legitimate stressor (Holahan & Moos, 1985).
Active Coping Strategies
By appraising a situation as a challenge and not a threat, we can adopt an active coping strategy for dealing with stress (see Figure 15.11). Active coping strategies involve changing our environment or modifying a situation to remove stressors or reduce the level of stress.
Hardiness Some people acquire personality traits that are, in effect, active coping strategies. Hardiness refers to the personality traits of control, commitment, and challenge that help us reduce the stress we feel. Control involves feeling that we have the ability to affect the outcome of the situ- ation. Commitment refers to establishing and pursuing our goals, while challenge means that we actively confront and solve problems instead of feeling threatened and powerless because of them. For instance, you may demonstrate hardiness if, when confronted with the assignment of giving a speech in public, you approach the assignment as a positive experience (challenge), believe that you can prepare and give a good speech (control), and prepare for and practice your speech (commitment).
Controlling Stressful Situations There are several ways in which we can control our exposure to stressful events and thereby reduce levels of stress. As noted earlier, escape or withdrawal, when possible, can be an effective coping strategy. A young woman who is not enjoying herself at a party, for example, can leave. When avoiding an event is not practical, control- ling its timing may be helpful; you can try to space out stress-producing events. A couple who is planning to have a baby in the summer, for instance, may postpone looking for a new house.
Problem Solving Sometimes neither avoiding nor spacing events is pos- sible. A high school senior may face a deadline for a college application and an important exam on the same day. In cases like this, problem solv- ing or confronting the matter head-on can be the best way to cope. Regarding frustrations or conflicts as problems to be solved means the sit- uation becomes a positive challenge rather than a negative setback. Problem solving involves a rational analysis of the situation that will lead to an appropriate decision. The student in our example may map out the remaining days and allocate specific times to work on the application and other times to study for the test. He may also decide that he can gain
432 Chapter 15 / Stress and Health