The stress theory of Richard S. Lazarus

The relationship between the reactions that our organism expresses before a situation, on the one hand, and our cognitions on the other, is undeniable. The stress theory of Richard S. Lazarus focused on studying this relationship, and how cognitions influence our stress response. We are going to know in detail the characteristics of this model.

• Related article: "Types of stress and their triggers"

The stress theory of Richard S. Lazarus: characteristics

Richard S. Lazarus was a leading American psychologist, professor, and researcher who investigated stress and its relationship to cognition. He developed a transactional model of stress.

The Stress Theory Richard S. Lazarus (1966), also developed by Cohen (1977) and Folkman (1984), focuses on the cognitive processes that appear in a stressful situation. This theory suggests that coping with a stressful situation is actually a process that depends on the context and other variables.

This theory is part of the so-called transactional models of stress, since it

takes into account how the person interacts with an environment and a specific situation, considering the influence of its evaluations and cognitions.

According to Lazarus, a situation is stressful as a result of the transactions between person and environment, which depend on the impact of the environmental stressor. In turn, this impact is mediated by two variables: firstly, by the evaluations that the person makes of the stressor, and secondly, by the personal, social or cultural resources available to the person when facing such an agent.

• You may be interested in: "History of Psychology: authors and main theories"

Assessment Types

Thus, according to the stress theory of Richard S. Lazarus, when referring to cognitive factors, there are three types of evaluation:

1. primary evaluation

It is the first to appear, and it occurs when the person faces a potentially stressful situation. It is a judgment about the meaning of the situation, as to qualify it as stressful, positive, controllable, changeable or simply irrelevant. That is, it is an evaluation that focuses on the environment, situation or environment.

If the person “decides” that the situation is a source of stress, the secondary appraisal is activated.

2. secondary evaluation

This focuses on the resources available to the person to face or not the situation. It is oriented to seek strategies to resolve the situation. The results of the secondary evaluation will modify the initial evaluation and predispose to develop coping strategies.

The use of one strategy or another will depend on the person's evaluation of the situation, whether it can be changed or not (as we will see later); that is, whether we are facing a controllable or uncontrollable situation.

The strategies posed by the Theory of stress Richard S. Lazarus are of two types:

2.1. Problem Oriented Strategies

These are those behaviors or cognitive acts aimed at managing or managing the source of stress. They try to change the environment-person relationship, acting on the environment or on the subject.

These strategies are effective when the situation can be changed.

2.2. emotion-oriented strategies

They are strategies aimed at the emotional regulation of the person, that is, at changing how the situation is perceived and experienced. They focus on regulating negative emotional reactions in a more effective and functional way., arisen as a result of the stressful situation. In other words, it is about changing the way in which what happens is interpreted.

Emotion-oriented strategies, unlike the previous ones, are effective when the situation cannot be changed.

3. Tertiary assessment or reassessment

This is the feedback from two previous evaluations and the corrections that can be made to improve them.

Coping Strategies Questionnaire

'Richard S. Lazarus designed a questionnaire called WCQ, intended to assess 8 dimensions of stress coping strategies:

• confrontation: direct actions directed towards the situation.
• distancing: trying to forget about the problem, refusing to take it seriously…
• self control: keep problems to yourself, do not rush, regulate yourself...
• Search for social support: ask a friend for help, talk to someone...
• Acceptance of responsibility: recognize yourself as the cause of the problem.
• escape-avoidance: waiting for a miracle to happen, avoiding contact with people, taking alcohol or drugs...
• Troubleshooting Planning: establish an action plan and follow it, make some change.
• positive reappraisal: get the positive side of the experience.

Each of these 8 dimensions is grouped into one of the two types of strategies mentioned: problem-oriented or emotion-oriented.

Bibliographic references:

• Friend Vazquez, I. (2012). Psychological manual of health. Madrid: Pyramid.
• Berra, E., Muñoz, S.I., Vega, C.Z., Rodríguez, A.S. and Gomez, G. (2014). Emotions, stress and coping in adolescents from the Lazarus and Folkman model. Intercontinental Journal of Psychology and Education, 16(1), 37-57.