In the early 1980s, two of my favourite professors, Professor Richard Lazarus and Professor Susan Folkman from the University of California, Berkeley, worked together to give us The Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping.
This theory introduced the concept of primary and secondary appraisal. It proposed a transactional relationship between us and our environment and described us as psychological beings interacting with our outside world, appraising it constantly, not only responding to it. This was a completely different approach; we now had a part to play in our stressful environments; we created our own stressors by deciding if they were stressful for us.
When I first studied this theory, I got a bit “huffy” with it. I reacted with “No way do I create my own stressors. I had nothing to do with losing my job when the company closed down or why a colleague disrespected me”. As for my psychological state at the moment I was hit with these stressors, you can bet your boots it was anything but positive, happy or hopeful. I remember thinking: “This is just another one of those academic statements that sounds intellectual but is a load of ‘hot air’ when you think about it”. However, as I studied it more, I began to comprehend what the professors were saying; that everything in our lives starts and ends with how we perceive everything.
This theory, given to us 45 years ago, gives us a better grip on our stressors and stress responses. It explains how we appraise what is stressful for us and how we create our own stressors and trigger our own stress responses that activate the release of our stress hormones, which, over time, can cause our own physical and mental illnesses.
The only comment I would make is that they used the word “stress” to describe both the stressor and the stress response, which, in my view, does not create clarity, but this is how it was done back in the early 1980s.
Primary appraisal is our first automatic unconscious appraisal of whether an event, situation or person is stressful for us. The professors proposed four ways we appraise any stressor: irrelevant, benign and positive, harmful and a threat, or harmful and a challenge. We unconsciously and automatically ask ourselves; “Is this event, situation or person a threat to me on any level? How will he/she or it harm me?” Put simply: “Is this stressful?” Our primary appraisal involves an appraisal of our outside world. It happens in a span of a single heartbeat on an automatic, unconscious level that ensures our survival.
In his book, Emotions Revealed, Understanding Faces and Feelings 2003, Professor Emeritus Paul Ekman, Psychologist, University of California, writes: “This automatic primary appraisal system is the same system that kicks in when we have to react to near-miss situations, like near-miss car accidents and how we automatically react by instinctively reacting to danger without thinking. If we were to actually think about how to deal with these types of emergency situations, we most likely would not survive them. Most of this process is outside of our awareness and control. Very important in this process is the role of our psychological state on our stress response.”
When we have appraised something or someone as stressful, we move into secondary appraisal by appraising the pros and cons of our own coping strategies. We simply ask ourselves (on the same automatic, unconscious level), “Do I have the ability, and sufficient coping skills to be able to deal with this threat?” Put simply: “Will I cope?” Secondary appraisal involves an appraisal of our coping skills and our internal world.
If the answer to primary appraisal is yes – the event, situation or person is a stressor – and the answer to secondary appraisal is no – I will not cope, automatically and unconsciously – we trigger our own stress response.
Lazarus and Folkman told us: “Our stress response can take different forms; direct action, seeking information, doing nothing, or developing a means of coping in terms of relaxation or defence mechanisms. We appraise a stressor as a threat if the outcome is unknown, our capacity to cope with it is very low, a positive outcome is unlikely, and we have no control. The most important to remember in this process is, the psychological interpretation of stressful events is more important than the events themselves.” Meaning, that it’s not the stressor that causes most of our problems, it’s how we perceive and deal with the stressor that causes most of our problems.
Professor Paul Ekman (same book) writes: “Our perception of a stressor is based on our temperament, personality, past experiences, education and, most importantly, our coping skills, or lack of coping skills. It’s our perception of the psychological situation through thoughts, feelings and emotions that is the critical or deciding factor. The effect that stress has on us is based more on our feelings of threat, vulnerability and ability to cope than on the stressful event itself.”
I’m hoping it’s becoming clear to you that the whole process of appraising your stressors is severely affected by your psychological state at the moment of primary and secondary appraisal. This is what you need to pay more attention to if you are to reduce your stress responses.
While we are never aware we are appraising our stressors, we are always aware of some psychological and physical signs and symptoms of our stress response, especially when we get irritated, angry, or feel intimidated and afraid.
It’s important to remember that every time you trigger a stress response, stress hormones flood your bloodstream. Over time, these hormones damage your body and brain, causing physical or mental illnesses. So, no matter what you’re going through, it is your responsibility to look after yourself by focusing on de-stressing and keeping your stress hormone levels low.
No stressors = no stress hormones = a better quality of life.
By Joan Maycock
Joan Maycock MSc Health Psychologist specialises in Stress and Burnout Education. Stress and Burnout Educational Retreats, Workshops and 1on1 Sessions for private and corporate groups. In Ireland and Portugal.
Email: eirinnretreats@gmail.com
