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Coping Coping
Cognitive and behavioral efforts to
manage/deal with stress and its effects
See Harrington (2013), Chapter 10, for
alternative definitions

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Coping
We have been focused on the three major
approaches to stress
But coping has been with us all along
Stress
Stress science originated outside psychology but
psychological views are now prominent, essential
Psychological stress research has emphasized coping
Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions,
especially those affecting behavior in a given context

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Stress and Adaptive Outcomes Cultural Representations of Stress

Risk and Protective Adaptive
Factors Coping Outcomes

Demographic
age, gender, SES, Mental
race, ethnicity Stress, Physical
Psychosocial Emotion Social
personality, social
relationships
In the film Network and some other cinematic depictions
Notes: of stress, emotions seem to be part of the coping process
Stress can influence adaptive outcomes through its cognitive, affective, But in most stress research we cope with emotion
biological, and behavioral effects. Rather than emotions being a form of coping

Coping provides explanatory power by accounting for stress outcomes.

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The Scream (or The Cry)

Edvard Munch
The questions:
Coping can be interpersonal and can involve emotion regulation
How am I coping?
How well am I coping
Am I coping? 7 8

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If stress is nearly constant, so is coping Coping may be ineffective or even make things worse
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Sometimes what and how much we eat can be seen as coping

Sometimes alcohol use is coping

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Defining Stress and Coping

What is stress in everyday language?
What does it mean to be:
Under stress?
Stressed?
Stressed out?
Stressing?
What about words like:
Fear, anxiety, distress?
Tension, pressure?
Frustration, anger?
Sadness, depression?
Burnout?
And drug use
Everyday words and expressions for stress
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often imply something about coping 14

Major Principles
Major Concepts/Issues/Themes from Early Work
Evolution (Darwin)
Definitions
Evolved emotions as responses to stress
Precursors to coping? Engineering metaphor: Load, stress, strain
The person is like a physical structure
Homeostasis (Walter Cannon)
Dynamic process (Harold G. Wolff)
Stress: A disturbance of homeostasis
Feedback processes Body fighting back (cf. immune response to antigen)

Our biological evolution provides and Unlike most physical structures, the person
supports a repertoire of coping responses responds actively to stress

And we learn forms of coping from the social- Biology may be better than engineering as a
cultural environment
model for coping
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Beach Scene Family Gathering Walter Cannon: Fight or Flight Response

The Fight-Flight response It also implies that how

suggests an important we cope may influence
distinction between the nature and magnitude
different forms of coping: of the biological stress
Approach (fight) response
Avoidance (flight)

But can the same coping construct span

all different forms of coping?

Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945)

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John Mason: Critique of Selye Psychological Stress Theory

This was reinforced by Masons suggestion that
Selyes GAS also can be seen in terms of:
Mobilization of biological energy
Preparation for energetic coping activity

But it was Richard S. Lazarus who crystalized and advanced

scientific thinking about coping

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Coping: Managing/Dealing with Stress Coping: Managing/Dealing with Stress

Problem-focused: Change the situation
Note: Unlike cognitive appraisal, coping is -Plan, take action, try to understand, get help*
deliberate, effortful, and conscious:
Mainly a System 2 process? Emotion-focused: Manage negative emotions
-Deny, give up, take drugs/alcohol, get help*
Family of coping-related constructs/distinctions:
Response situated in time/place *Fuzzy Distinction
Procedure (declarative vs. procedural knowledge)
Some behaviors fit both problem and emotion focused
Strategy (versus tactic?)
What is the basis? Intention/goal? Or consequence?
Style (versus content?)
Options selection performance (skill), flexibility
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From Leventhal
From Bandura
Domain specificity: How we actually respond to specific threat
Health threat see doctor, take medication
Problem- or Emotion-focused? Approach/Avoidance?
Self-efficacy: Confidence in ones
Does it matter?
ability to perform a specific (coping)
Problem representation: Beliefs about threat guide coping
If the problem is X, we do Y
behavior to obtain a desired outcome

Self-Regulation: We evaluate coping and then Outcome expectancy: Confidence that

Stop if internal standard is satisfied if a specific (coping) behavior is
performed correctly a desired outcome
Change coping response if it is not working
will be attained
Accept outcome and alter our internal standard
Could call this coping response efficacy
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From the Environmental Approach From the Environmental Approach

Cannon (1942): Voodoo Death Chronic stress

Richter (1957): Swim test
George Engel (1968): Giving up/Given up Job demands or effort
Helplessness: A coping response/failure to cope Coping with work = Stress?
With physiologic consequences Or hard work = stress?

So, is behavior the stressor?

Checklist approach to Life Events
Life change/adjustment Caregiving
Coping with anothers mental/physical health
problem = stress?
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From Harrington (2013) Chapter 10 From Harrington (2013) Chapter 10

Coping Categories Specific Types of Coping Strategies
Problem-focused See pp. 309-310
Emotion-focused Approach and Avoidance Coping
Support-seeking See p. 311
Meaning-making
Automatic Negative/Dysfunctional Thoughts
Goodness of Fit Hypothesis See pp. 314-316
If stressor is controllable problem-focused

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A Narrative Approach Elements of Film and Coping Prototypes

Acts of Heroism Prototypes Our mental models of coping

Postures, e.g., aggressive, passive
Acts of Valor
Metaphors, e.g., coping as a battle
Patton Character types
Hero
Cowardly Lion Coward
Victim
Foil: Has attributes that contrast with main character
Can be a source of stress, e.g., Draco Malfoy vs. Harry Potter
Reluctant warrior: Hamlet
Confidante/supporter
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The Good wife, daughter, friend

Coping prototypes Coping prototypes

Constructed from society/culture Various standpoints
Including literature, film, prominent people Ideal
Ought
And social learning, e.g., from parents Actual
Influence appraisal Location in self-concept/social identity
Gender-related
Precede and guide coping activity
Role-related (parent, sibling, spouse, son,
Introduce error in coping measurement daughter, friend)

Subjects may project desirable forms of coping

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Subjects may avoid projecting undesirable ones