The Effectiveness of an Electronic-Mail Campaign to Modify Stress Levels, Mood States, and Coping Techniques Among Employed Adults Page: 4
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substances (which Selye termed "stressors"). He defined stress as the body's response to any
demand, whether the demand is pleasant or unpleasant. Selye (1978) states explicitly, "...stress
is not simply nervous tension..." (p. 62) because the general, predictable stress reactions occur in
organisms without nervous systems, in unconscious or anesthetized patients, and in cell cultures.
Physical alarm, resistance, or exhaustion characterizes the stress response and varying levels of
the body's tolerance to the "fight or flight" reaction.
Selye's work with rats demonstrated that exposure to noxious stimuli resulted in a
consistent triad of physiological reactions, and the same was assumed to be true for humans.
Indeed, there are some stimuli that produce the human stress response without cognitive
interpretation of the demands or the ability to cope. According to one author, those stimuli are
"...amphetamine, caffeine, theobromine, theophylline, nicotine, extreme heat, and extreme
cold..." (Everly & Sobelman, 1987, p. 17). Worksite stress management programs following
this model might seek reduction in the number of stressors and stress-producing stimuli so that
the stress response can be avoided when possible.
Limitations of the stimulus and response models. Both the stimulus and response models
pay little attention to individual differences in perception and responses to stress, as well as the
interaction between the two components of the stimulus-response relationship. Also ignored are
the properties of the stimuli and responses, such as frequency, intensity, and duration, which
have important implications in explaining stress (Cooper, Dewe, & O'Driscoll, 2001). Neither
the stimulus or response models can account for variablility between individuals, so other
variables must be considered.
Personal interpretation and characterization of the situation is important in understanding
stress. Selye (1978) acknowledges that pleasant conditions may elicit the stress response,
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Hoke, Cassandra N. The Effectiveness of an Electronic-Mail Campaign to Modify Stress Levels, Mood States, and Coping Techniques Among Employed Adults, dissertation, August 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4262/m1/9/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .