Page 255 - DEDU402_DEVELOPMENT_OF_LEARNER_AND_TEACHING_LEARNING_PROCESS_ENGLISH

Development of Learner and Teaching Learning Process

Notes 27.1 Meaning and Characteristics of Stress

Stress is a big problem of our society. It is known from modern researches that stress is the cause of
the illness of 75% people. Even stress is the cause of dangerous disease like heart attack and cancer.
The question is that, what is the meaning of stress? Psychologists have admitted different attitudes for
defi ning stress.
(i) Some psychologists have tried to understand the stress, as the factors of stimulus and have
said that any event or situation that insists a man for doing abnormal responses is called stress.
Events as- earthquake, leaving the job, destroy the business, death of loving person are the main
events, which create stress in a man. Such materials, social and environmental factors, which
create stress, are called stressor.
(ii) Some psychologists have tried to explain the stress as a response. Here psychologists have
delivered physical and physiological responses done by man in the difficult situations. When

a man shows this type of special psychological responses as – anxiety, anger, aggression and

physiological responses as—stomach is not fit, do not take the sleep, shooting the blood pressure,
we call that this man is under stress. A popular psychologist Hens Selye , in 1979 of this fi eld
1

has said, defining stress in the form of response—“Stress refers to nonspecific responses of the

body to any demand made upon it.” The main characteristics of this definition, stress has been

defined as a non specific response, by which Selye means that such responses are not related

to stimulus, which produce any specific stress, but same types of response can be produced by
any stimulus of producing stress.

(iii) The third batch of psychologists, who defined stress not only as a stimulus not as a response but
also tried to define it on the basis of its relationship. This approach is called transactional approach.

Psychologists consider it that some events or situation are defi nitely such, which are stressful
for men. There are some situations and events which can create stress in some men, hence stress
cannot be defined meaningfully as a stimulus in the same way the responses of stressful events,

even that physiological responses can be affected easily. So stress can be understood in the form
of only stress. According to transactional approach, it is necessary to know that how does a man
evaluate the events and situation in the form of present material for the solution of his needs or
motives and similar situations. In the other words according to this approach stress refl ects a
specific relationship between man and environment ( by which man feels fear and his materials

get challenged. The followers of this approach are Lazarus and Folkman, 1984 and Taylor, 1991
Morgan, King, Weize and Schopler , in 1986 have given a good defi nition of stress by collecting the
2

thoughts of Lazarus, Folkman and Taylor etc.” We will define stress as an internal state which can be
caused by physical demands on the body (diseases, conditions, exercise, extremes of temperature and
like) or by environmental and social situations which are evaluated as potentially harmful, uncontrolled
3
or exceeding our resources for coping.” In the same way Wood and Wood 1999 have defi ned stress –

“Most psychologists define stress as the psychological and physiological responses to a condition that
threatens or challenges the individual and requires some form of adaption or adjustment.”

1. “Stress refers to nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it.”
—Hans Selye: The stress of life, 1979, p. 40

2. “We will define stress as an internal state which can be caused by physical demands on the body (diseased
conditions, exercise, extremes of temperature and the like) or by environmental and social situations which are
evaluated as potentially harmful, uncontrollable or exceeding our resources for coping”.
—Morgan, King, Weisz and Schopler, Introduction to Psychology, 1986, p. 321
3. “Most psychologists difine stress as the physiological and psychological response to a condition that threatens or

chellenges the individual and requires some form of adaptation or adjustment.”
—Wood and Wood : The World of Psychology, 1999, p. 469

248 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

30/07/13 3:03 PM
Development of learner and teaching learning process 248 30/07/13 3:03 PM
Development of learner and teaching learning process 248