第85章

                                      T  FIGHT  OR  FLIGHT!

        ETC.  &  COGNITIVE  APPRAISAL

        Since  this  model  first  appeared,  some  psychologists  have  suggested  that  the  cognitive  component  alone  may

        be  both  a  necessary  and  sufficient  component  for  the  generation  of  emotion.

        The  Survival  Value  of  Emotions

        Plutchik,  a  psychologist  who  has  done  a  great  deal  of  research  on  emotion,  says,  “The  organic  tradition

        reminds  people  of  their  biological  connection  to  each  other,  and  the  survival  value  of  emotions  such  as  guilt,

        shame,  pity,  remorse,  gratitude,  and  empathy.”  One  could  claim  the  emotions  have  survival  value  because

        they  have  survived  in  the  evolutionary  process.  However,  social,  political,  and  economic  changes  among

        humans  occur  much  more  rapidly  than  evolutionary  changes,  and  characteristics  that  were  once  adaptive

        may  cease  to  be  adaptive  as  the  environment  changes.

        The  emotions  that  Plutchik  mentions  are  related  to  altruism  and  cooperation.  An  individual  with  these

        emotions  may  be  at  a  disadvantage  in  competition  with  an  individual  who  does  not  have  these  emotions

        and  is  selfish  and  without  conscience,  as  ordinary  people  are  often  the  victims  of  people  with  antisocial

        personalities.  However,  if  all  the  members  of  a  group  or  species  were  lacking  in  altruistic  emotions,  they

        would  find  it  difficult  to  form  a  cooperative  society  and  might  destroy  each  other.

        Stress:  Causes  and  Coping

        Stress  refers  to  the  reaction  of  an  individual  to  disturbing  events  in  their  environment.  Our  reaction  to  stress

        is  fundamentally  physiological,  with  any  or  all  of  the  following  manifestations:

        ·  A  heightened  state  of  awareness

        ·  A  dry  mouth

        ·  Increased  heart  rate

        ·  Shaky  hands

        ·  Increased  perspiration

        One  thing  that  makes  stress  difficult  to  define,  explain,  diagnose,  and  treat  is  that  stress  is  a  subjective  state.

        What  stresses  you  may  not  stress  other  people.  Negative  or  unpleasant  events  are  more  likely  to  be

        perceived  as  stressful  than  positive  events,  although  positive  events  such  as  childbirth  can  also  be  stressful.

        Negative  events  cause  more  psychological  distress  and  produce  more  physiological  symptoms  than  do

        positive  events.  Uncontrollable  or  unpredictable  events  are  more  stressful  than  those  that  are  controllable  or

        predictable.  Unpredictable  events  may  be  more  stressful,  because  there  is  no  opportunity  to  prepare  for

        coping  with  them.  Ambiguous  events  are  more  stressful  than  are  clear-cut  events,  whether  the  events  are

        good  or  bad.  Ambiguous  events  can  leave  you  stuck  in  a  problem-solving  stage  in  which  you  attempt  to

        understand  what  caused  the  event  and  its  meaning.

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        PSYCHOLOGY  AND  LIFE

        Stress  is  a  potential  causal  factor  in  illness,  in  that  it  can  open  the  door  for  both  physical  and  psychological

        problems.  Some  of  the  earlier  work  in  this  area  looked  at  the  role  played  in  illness  by  Major  Stressful  Life

        Events  (MSLE).  This  research  showed  the  impact  of  MSLEs  using  a  questionnaire  entitled  the  Social

        Readjustment  Rating  Scale  (SRRS).  Each  item  on  the  scale  has  been  given  a  certain  number  of  points,  with

        higher  numbers  corresponding  to  more  stressful  events.  Once  a  respondent  has  completed  the  scale,  the

        points  for  each  item  are  totaled.  The  higher  the  score  on  the  scale,  the  higher  the  stress  level.

        In  addition  to  large  stressful  events,  psychologists  have  recently  come  to  believe  that  daily  hassles  may  have

        a  larger  detrimental  impact  on  us  than  previously  thought.  Research  suggests  that  these  chronic  stressors

        are  more  predictive  of  physical  and  psychological  illness  than  are  the  more  acute  stressors  found  on  the

        SRRS.

        COPING  WITH  STRESSFUL  EVENTS

        According  to  Lazarus,  coping  is  the  process  of  attempting  to  manage  demands  that  are  viewed  as  taxing  or

        exceeding  one’s  resources.  It  is  the  process  of  trying  to  manage  and  master  stressful  events.  Researchers

        distinguish  between  two  types  of  coping  that  can  occur  simultaneously:

        .  Problem-Solving  Efforts,  which  are  attempts  to  do  something  constructive  to  change  the  stressful

        circumstances

        .  Emotion-Focused  coping,  which  involves  efforts  to  regulate  the  emotional  reactions  to  stressful  events.

        What  constitutes  successful  coping?