SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND GROUP PROCESS

 SOCIAL  INFLUENCE  AND  GROUP PROCESS

                                   

   

A group may be defined as an organised system of two or more individuals, who are interacting  and  interdependent,  who  have common  motives,  have  a  set  of  role relationships among its members, and have norms  that  regulate  the  behaviour  of  its members. 

Groups  have  the  following  salient characteristics  :-

•A social unit consisting of two or more individuals  who  perceive  themselves as  belonging  to  the  group.  This characteristic  of  the  group  helps  in distinguishing  one  group  from  the other  and  gives  the  group  its  unique identity.

•A  collection  of  individuals  who  have common  motives  and  goals.  Groups  either working towards a given goal,  or  away  from  certain  threats facing  the  group.

•A  collection  of  individuals  who  are interdependent,  i.e.  What  one  is  doing may  have  consequences  for  others.Suppose one of the fielders in a cricket team drops an important catch during a match — this will have consequences for  the  entire  team.

•Individuals  who  are  trying  to  satisfy  a need  through  their  joint  association also  influence  each  other.

•A gathering of individuals who interact with  one  another  either  directly  or indirectly.

•A  collection  of  individuals  whose interactions  are  structured  by  a  set  of rules  and  norms.  This  means  that  the group  members  perform  the  same functions  every  time  the  group  meets and  the  group  members  adhere  to group  norms.

  Norms  tell  us  how  we ought  to  behave  in  the  group  and specify  the  behaviours  expected  from group  members.Groups can be differentiated from other collections of people. For example, a crowd is  also  a  collection  of  people  who  may  be present  at  a  place/situation  by  chance. Suppose you are going on the road and an accident takes place. Soon a large number of people tend to collect. This is an example of a crowd. There is neither any structure or  feeling  of  belongingness  in  a  crowd. Behaviour of people in crowds is irrational and  there  is  no  interdependence  among members. Teams  are  special  kinds  of  groups. Members  of  teams  often  have  comple-mentary  skills  and  are  committed  to  a common  goal  or  purpose.  Members  are mutually accountable for their activities. In teams, there is a positive synergy attained through  the  coordinated  efforts  of  the members.  

The  main  differences  between groups  and  teams  are:-

•In  groups,  performance  is  dependent on   contributions   of   individual members.    In  teams,  both  individual contributions  and  teamwork  matter.

•In  groups,  the  leader  or  whoever  is reading the group holds responsibility for  the  work.  However  in  teams,although  there  is  a  leader,  members hold  themselves  responsible.

 The audience  is  also  a  collection  of people  who  have  assembled  for  a  special purpose, maybe to watch a cricket match or a movie. Audiences are generally passive but  sometimes  they  go  into  a  frenzy  and become mobs. In mobs, there is a definite sense  of  purpose.  There  is  polarisation  inattention, and actions of persons are in a common  direction.  Mob  behaviour  is characterised  by  homogeneity  of  thought and  behaviour  as  well  as  impulsivity.

Why  Do  People  Join  Groups?

All  of  you  are  members  of  your  family,class and groups with which you interact or play.  Similarly,  other  people  are  also members  of  a  number  of  groups  at  any given  time.  Different  groups  satisfy different  needs,  and  therefore,  we  are simultaneously  members  of  different groups. This sometimes creates pressures for  us  because  there  may  be  competing demands and expectations. Most often we are  able  to  handle  these  competing demands  and  expectations.  People  join groups  because  these  groups  satisfy  a range  of  needs.  

In  general,  people  join groups  for  the  following  reasons  :-

•Security : When we are alone,we feel insecure.    Groups    reduce    this insecurity.  Being  with  people  gives  a sense  of  comfort,  and  protection.  As  a result, people feel stronger, and are less vulnerable  to  threats.

•Status  :  When  we  are  members  of  a group that is perceived to be important by  others,  we  feel  recognised  and experience  a  sense  of  power.  Supposeyour   school   wins   in   an   inter-institutional  debate  competition,  you feel proud and think that you are better than  others.

•Self-esteem : Groups provide feelings of self-worth and establish a positive social identity. Being a member of prestigious groups  enhances  one’s  self-concept.

                                  

•Satisfaction  of  one’s  psychological and social needs :- Groups satisfy one’ssocial and psychological needs such as sense  of  belongingness,  giving  and receiving  attention,  love,  and  power through  a  group.

•Goal  achievement  :-  Groups  help  in achieving  such  goals  which  cannot  be attained individually. There is power in the  majority.

•Provide knowledge and information:- Group membership provides knowledge and information and thus broadens our view.  As  individuals,  we  may  not  have all  the  required  information.  Groups Supplement  this  information  and knowledge. 

Group  FormationIn this section, we will see how groups are formed. Basic to group formation is somecontact  and  some  form  of  interaction between  people. 

 This  interaction  is facilitated  by  the  following  conditions:-

•Proximity  :-  Just  think  about  your group of friends. Would you have been friends  if  you  were  not  living  in  the same  colony,  or  going  to  the  same school, or maybe playing in the same playground?  Probably  your  answer would  be  ‘No’.  Repeated  interactions with the same set of individuals give us a  chance  to  know  them,  and  their interests  and  attitudes.  Common Interests,  attitudes,  and  background are  important  determinants  of  your liking  for  your  group  members.

•  Similarity :- Being exposed to someone over a period of time makes us assessor  similarities  and  paves  the  way  for formation  of  groups.  Why  do  we  like people  who  are  similar?  Psychologistshave given several explanations for this.One  explanation  is  that  people  prefer consistency and like relationships that are  consistent.  When  two  people are similar. There  is  consistency  and  they start  liking  each  other.  For  example,you  like  playing  football  and  another person in your class also loves playing football;  there  is  a  matching  of  your interests. There are higher chances that you  may  become  friends.  Another Explanation  given  by  psychologists  is that when we meet similar people, they reinforce and validate our opinions and values, we feel we are right and thus we start  liking  them.  Suppose  you  are  of the opinion that too much watching of television is not good, because it shows too  much  violence.  You  meet  someonewho  also  has  similar  views.  This Validates  your  opinion,  and  you  start liking the person who was instrumental in  validating  your  opinion.

                          

•Common  motives  and  goals  :-Whenpeople have common motives or goals,they  get  together  and  form  a  group which   may   facilitate   their   goal attainment. Suppose you want to teach children in a slum area who are unable to  go  to  school.  You  cannot  do  this alone  because  you  have  your  own studies and homework. You, therefore,form a group of like-minded friends and start  teaching  these  children.  So  you have  been  able  to  achieve  what  you could  not  have  done  alone.

Stages  of  Group  Formation

Remember that, like everything else in life,groups  develop.  You  do  not  become  a group  member  the  moment  you  come together.  Groups  usually  go  through different  stages  of  formation,  conflict, stabilisation,  performance,  and  dismissal.Tuckman  suggested  that  groups  pass through  five  developmental  sequences.

These  are:-  forming,  storming,  norming,performing  and  adjourning.

•When group members first meet, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the group. the  goal,  and  how  it  is  to  be achieved. People try to know each other and  assess  whether  they  will  fit  in.There  is  excitement  as  well  as apprehensions. This stage is called the forming  stage.

•Often, after this stage, there is a stage of intragroup conflict which is referred to  as  storming.  In  this  stage,  there  is conflict among members about how the target  of  the  group  is  to  be  achieved,who  is  to  control  the  group  and  its resources, and who is to perform what task. When this stage is complete, some sort  of  hierarchy  of  leadership  in  the group develops and a clear vision as to how  to  achieve  the  group  goal.

•The  storming  stage  is  followed  by another  stage  known  as  norming.Group  members  by  this  time  develop norms related to group behaviour. This Leads to development of a positive group identity.

•The fourth stage is performing. By this time,  the  structure  of  the  group  has evolved  and  is  accepted  by  group members.  The  group  moves  towards achieving  the  group  goal.  For  some groups,  this  may  be  the  last  stage  of group  development.

•However, for some groups, for example,in the case of an organising committee for a  school  function,  there  may  be another  stage  known  as  adjourning stage. In this stage, once the function is  over,  the  group  may  be  disbanded.

Four important  elements  of  group structure  are  :-

•Roles are socially defined expectations that individuals in a given situation are expected  to  fulfil.  Roles  refer  to  the typical behaviour that depicts a person in  a  given  social  context.  You  have  the role of a son or a daughter and with this role, there are certain role expectations,i.e. including the behaviour expected of someone  in  a  particular  role.  As  a daughter or a son, you are expected to respect  elders,  listen  to  them,  and  be responsible  towards  your  studies.

•Norms  are  expected  standards  of behaviour  and  beliefs  established, agreed  upon,  and  enforced  by  group members.  They  may  be  considered  as a  group’s  ‘unspoken  rules’.  In  your family, there are norms that guide the behaviour  of  family  members.These norms represent  shared  ways  of viewing  the  world.

•Status  refers  to  the  relative  social position  given  to  group  members  by others.  This  relative  position  or  status may  be  either  ascribed  (given  may  be because of one’s seniority) or achieved(the  person  has  achieved  status because of expertise or hard work).  By Being members of the group, we enjoy the  status  associated  with  that  group.All  of  us,  therefore,  strive  to  be members  of  such  groups  which  are high in status or are viewed favourably by  others.  Even  within  a  group,different  members  have  different prestige  and  status.  For  example,  the captain of a cricket team has a higher status compared to the other members, although  all  are  equally  important  for the  team’s  success.

•Cohesiveness  refers  to  togetherness,binding,  or  mutual  attraction  among group members. As the group becomes more cohesive, group members start to think, feel and act as a social unit, andless like isolated individuals. Members Of  a  highly  cohesive  group  have  a greater desire to remain in the group in comparison to those who belong to low cohesive groups. Cohesiveness refers to the team spirit or ‘we feeling’ or a sense of  belongingness  to  the  group.  It  is difficult to leave a cohesive group or to gain  membership  of  a  group  which  is highly  cohesive.  Extreme  cohesiveness however,  may  sometimes  not  be  in  a group's  interest.  Psychologists  have identified    the    phenomenon    of groupthink which  is  a consequence  of  extreme  cohesiveness.

TYPE OF  GROUPS

Groups differ in many respects; some have a  large  number  of  members  (e.g.,  a country),  some  are  small  (e.g.,  a  family), some  are  short-lived  (e.g.,  a  committee),some remain together for many years (e.g.,religious  groups),  some  are  highly organised  (e.g.,  army,  police,  etc.),  and others  are  informally  organised  (e.g.,spectators of a match). People may belong to different types of groups.

Major types of groups  are  enumerated  below  :-

•primary  and  secondary  groups

•formal  and  informal  groups

•ingroup  and  outgroup.

Primary  and  Secondary  Groups

A  major  difference  between  primary  and secondary  groups  is  that  primary  groups are  pre-existing  formations  which  are usually  given  to  the  individual  whereas secondary  groups  are  those  which  the individual  joins  by  choice.  Thus,  family,caste,  and  religion  are  primary  groups whereas membership of a political party is an  example  of  a  secondary  group.  In  a primary  group,  there  is  a  face-to-face interaction,  members  have  close  physical proximity, and they share warm emotional bonds.  Primary  groups  are  central  to an individual's  functioning  and  have  a  very major role in developing values and ideals of the individual during the early stages of development.  In  contrast,  secondary groups  are  those  where  relationships among  members  are  more  impersonal, indirect, and less frequent. In the primary group, boundaries are less permeable, i.e.members do not have the option to choose its membership as compared to 

secondary groups  where  it  is  easy  to  leave  and  join another  group. 

Formal  and  Informal  Groups

These groups differ in the degree to which the  functions  of  the  group  are  stated explicitly and formally. The functions of a formal group are explicitly stated as in the case of an office organisation. The roles tobe performed by group members are stated in an explicit  manner.  The  formal  and informal  groups  differ  on  the  basis  of structure. The formation of formal groups is based on some specific rules or laws and members  have  definite  roles.  There  are  a set  of  norms  which  help  in  establishing order.  A  university  is  an  example  of  a formal  group.  On  the  other  hand,  the formation of informal groups is not based on  rules  or  laws  and  there  is  close relationship  among  members.

Ingroup  and  Outgroup

Just  as  individuals  compare  themselves with  others  in  terms  of  similarities  and differences with respect to what they have and  what  others  have,  individuals  also compare  the  group  they  belong  to  with groups  of  which  they  are  not  a  member.The  term  ‘ingroup’  refers  to  one’s  own group,  and  ‘outgroup’  refers  to  another group.  For  ingroup  members,  we  use  the word ‘we’ while for outgroup members, the word  ‘they’ is  used.  By  using  the  words they and we, one is categorising people as similar or different. It has been found that persons  in  the  ingroup  are  generally supposed  to  be  similar,  are  viewed favourably,  and  have  desirable  traits. Members  of  the  outgroup  are  viewed differently and are often perceived negatively in  comparison  to  the  ingroup  members. Perceptions of ingroup and outgroup affect our  social  lives. Although  it  is  common  to  make  these categorisations,  it  should  be  appreciated that these categories are not real and are created by us. In some cultures, plurality is celebrated as has been the case in India. We have a unique composite culture which is reflected not only in the lives we live, but also  in  our  art,  architecture,  and  music

INDIVIDUALBEHAVIOUR

We have seen that groups are powerful as they are able to influence the behaviour of individuals.  

What  is  the  nature  of  this influence? What impact does the presence of others have on our performance? 

We will discuss  two  situations  :- 

 (i)  an  individual performing  an  activity  alone  in  the presence  of  others  (social  facilitation),and 

(ii) an individual performing an activity along  with  the  others  as  part  of  a  larger group  (social  loafing).

we would try to understand the phenomenon  of  social  loafing  in  this section.

Social  Loafing

Social  facilitation  research  suggests  that presence of others leads to arousal and can motivate  individuals  to  enhance  their performance  if  they  are  already  good  at solving  something.  This  enhancement occurs  when  a  person’s  efforts  are individually evaluated. What would happen if the efforts  of  an  individual  in  a  group  are pooled so that you look at the performance of  the  group  as  a  whole?  Do  you  know what  often  happens?  It  has  been  found that individuals work less hard in a group than they do when performing alone. This Points  to  a  phenomenon  referred  to  as ‘social loafing’. Social loafing is a reduction in  individual  effort  when  working  on  acollective  task,  i.e.  one  in  which  outputs are  pooled  with  those  of  other  group members. An example of such a task is the game  of  tug-of-war.  It  is  not  possible  for you  to  identify  how  much  force  each member  of  the  team  has  been  exerting. Such situations give opportunities to group members to relax and become a free rider. This phenomenon has been demonstrated in  many  experiments  by  Latane  and his associate who  asked a group  of  malestudents  to  clap  or  cheer  as  loudly  as possible  as  they  (experimenters)  were interested  in  knowing  how  much  noise people make in social settings. They varied the  group  size;  individuals  were  either alone,  or  in  groups  of  two,  four  and  six. The  results  of  the  study  showed  that although the total amount of noise rose up,as  size  increased,  the  amount  of  noise produced by each participant dropped. In Other  words,  each  participant  put  in  less effort  as  the  group  size  increased.

 Why Does Social Loafing occur? 

•  Group members feel less responsible for the  overall  task  being  performed  and therefore  exert  less  effort.

• Motivation  of  members  decreases because  they  realise  that  their contributions  will  not  be  evaluated  on an individual  basis.

• The performance of the group is not tobe  compared  with  other  groups.

• There  is  an  improper  coordination  (orno  coordination)  among  members.

• Belonging  to  the  same  group  is  not important  for  members.  It  is  only  an aggregate  of  individuals.

Social  loafing  may  be  reduced  by:-

• Making  the  efforts  of  each  person identifiable.

• Increasing  the  pressure  to  work  hard(making  group  members  committed  to successful  task  performance).

• Increasing the apparent importance or value  of  a  task.

• Making people feel that their individual contribution  is  important.

• Strengthening  group  cohesiveness which  increases  the  motivation  for successful  group  outcome

CONFORMITY,  COMPLIANCE,  AND OBEDIENCE

Groups and individuals exert influence on us. This influence may force us to change our  behaviours  in  a  particular  direction.The term ‘social influence’ refers to those processes  whereby  our  attitudes  and behaviours  are  influenced  by  the  real  or imagined  presence  of  other  people.Throughout the day you may encounter a number  of  situations  where  others  have tried to influence you and make you think in ways they want. Your parents, teachers,friends,  radio  and  television  commercials create  one  or  the  other  kind  of  social influence. Social influence is a part of our life. In some situations, social influence on us is    

 DETERMINANTS OF CONFORMITY

(i)Size  of  the  group  :-  Conformity  is greater when the group is small than when the group is large. Why does it happen? It is  easier  for  a  deviant  member  (one  who does not conform) to be noticed in a small group.  However,  in  a  large  group,  if  there is  strong  agreement  among  most  of  the members,  this  makes  the  majority stronger,  and  therefore,  the  norm  is  also stronger.  In  such  a  case,  the  minority member(s) would be more likely to conform because  the  group  pressure  would  be stronger.

(ii)Size  of  the  minority:-  Take  the  case of  the  Asch  experiment. Suppose the subject finds that after some rounds  of  judgment  of  the  lines,  there  is another  participant  who  starts  agreeing with  the  subject’s  answer.  Would  the subject now be more likely to conform, or less  likely  to  do  so?  When  the  dissenting or  deviating  minority  size  increases,  the likelihood of conformity decreases. In fact,it  may  increase  the  number  of  dissenters or  non-conformists  in  the  group.

(iii)Nature  of  the  task:-In  Asch's Experiment,the  task  required  an  answer that could be verified, and could be correct or  incorrect.  Suppose  the  task  involves giving  an  opinion  about  some  topic.  In Such a case, there is no correct or incorrect answer. In which  situation  is  there  likely to be more conformity, the first one where there  is  something  like  a  correct  or  incorrect answer, or the second one where answers  can  vary  widely  without  any answer being correct or incorrect? You may have  guessed  right;  conformity  would  be less  likely  in  the  second  situation.

(iv)Public  or  private  expression  of behaviour:-  In  the  Asch  technique,  the group  members  are  asked  to  give  their answers  publicly,  i.e.  all  members  know who  has  given  which  response.  However,there can be other situations (for example,voting  by  secret  ballot)  in  which  the behaviour  of  members  is  private  (not known to others). Less conformity is found under  private  expression  than  it  is  seen under  public  expression

(v)Personality:-The conditions described above  show  how  the  features  of  the situation are important in determining the degree  of  conformity  shown.  We  also  find that  some  individuals  have  a  conforming personality. Such persons have a tendency to  change  their  behaviour  according  to what others say or do in most situations. By contrast, there are individuals who are independent,  and  do  not  look  for  a  norm in  order  to  decide  how  to  behave  in a specific  situation.  Research  has  shown that  highly  intelligent  people,  those  who are confident of themselves, those who are strongly  committed  and  have  a  high  self-esteem  are  less  likely  to  conform.

                                 

Conformity  takes  place  because  of informational  influence,  i.e.  influence  that results  from  accepting  evidence  rather than  reality.  This  kind  of  rational conformity  can  be  thought  of  as  learning about the world from the actions of others. We learn by observing people, who are the best  source  of  information  about  many social  conventions.  New  group  members learn  about  the  group’s  customs  by observing  the  actions  of  other  group members.  Conformity  may  also  occur because  of  normative  influence,  i.e.influence based on a person’s desire to be accepted  or  admired  by  others.  In  such cases,  people  conform  because  deviation from the group may lead to rejection or at the least,  non-acceptance  of  some  form  of punishment.  It  is  generally  observed  that the  group  majority  determines  the  final decision,  but  in  certain  conditions,  the minority  may  be  more  influential.  This Occurs when the minority takes a firm and uncompromising stand, thereby creating a doubt on the correctness of the majority's viewpoint. This creates a conflict within the group. ComplianceIt was stated earlier that compliance refers simply to behaving in response to a request from another person or group even in the absence  of  a  norm. 

 A  good  example  of compliance is the kind of behaviour shown when  a  salesperson  comes  to  our  door. Very  often,  this  person  comes  with  some goods  that  we  really  do  not  wish  to  buy.Yet,  sometimes  to  our  own  surprise,  wefind that the salesperson has spoken to usfor a few minutes and the conversation has ended  with  a  purchase  of  what  he  or  she wished  to  sell.  So  why  do  people  comply?In  many  situations,  this  happens because  it  is  an  easy  way  out  of  the situation.  It  is  more  polite  and  the  other party is pleased. In other situations, there could  be  other  factors  at  work.  The Following  techniques  have  been  found  to work when someone wants another person to  comply.

•The foot-in-the-door technique :Theperson  begins  by  making  a  small request  that  the  other  person  is  not likely to refuse. Once the other person carries out the request, a bigger request is  made.  Simply  because  the  other person  has  already  complied  with  the smaller request,  he  or  she  may  feel uncomfortable  refusing  the  second request.  For  example,  someone  may come  to  us  on  behalf  of  a  group  and give  us  a  gift  (something  free),  saying that   it   is   for   promotion.   Soonafterwards,  another  member  of  the same group may come to us again, and ask  us  to  buy  a  product  made  by  the group.

•The  deadline  technique  :  In  this technique,  a  ‘last  date’  is  announced until which a particular product or ‘anoffer’  will  be  available.  The  aim  is  to make  people  ‘hurry’  and  make  the purchase  before  they  miss  the  rare opportunity.  It  is  more  likely  that people  will  buy  a  product  under  this deadline  condition  than  if  there  is  no such  deadline.

•The  door-in-the-face  technique  :  In This  technique,  you  begin  with  a  large request and when this is refused a later request for something smaller, the one that  was  actually  desired,  is  made,which is usually granted by the person.

ObedienceWhen  compliance  is  shown  to  an instruction  or  order  from  a  person  in authority,  such  as  parents,  teachers,leaders,  or  policemen,  that  behaviour  is called  obedience.  Why  people  show obedience  is  easy  to  understand.  Mostoften  it  is  because  if  we  disobey,  some punishment might follow. Sometimes, it's because  we  believe  that  persons  in authority  must  be  obeyed.  People  in authority  have  effective  means  for enforcing their orders. Milgram Conducted An  experiment  to  show  that  individuals obey  commands  from  people  who  are strangers. The experimenter informed the respondents  in  the  study  that  they  were participating in an experiment to study the effects  of  punishment  on  learning.  The Experiment  was  conducted  on  pairs.  Oneperson  in  each  pair  was  the  “learner”,whose  work  was  to  memorise  pairs  of words.  The  other  participant  was  the“teacher”,  who  would  read  these  words aloud  and  punish  the  learner  when  s/hemade errors by giving her/him shock. Thelearner  would  make  errors  according  to prearranged instructions. The teacher was asked  to  deliver  a  shock  each  time  the learner  made  errors.  The  teacher  was further told to increase the strength of the shock each time the learner made an error.In  reality,  no  shocks  were  given.  The Instructions  were  so  arranged  that  the teacher  was  faced  with  a  dilemma  —should  s/he  continue  shocks  even  when they  were  increasingly  painful?  Theexperimenter  kept  on  motivating  the teacher  to  continue.  In  all,  65  per  centshowed total obedience. Some participants,however, protested and asked the session to end. Milgram’s study suggests that even ordinary  people  are  willing  to  harm  an innocent person if ordered by someone inauthority.Why  do  people  obey even  when  they know  that  their  behaviour  is  harming others?  Psychologists  have  identified several  reasons  for  this. 

Some  of  these reasons  are  :-

•People obey because they feel that they are  not  responsible  for  their  own actions,  they  are  simply  carrying  out orders  from  the  authority.

•Authority  generally  possesses  symbols of  status  (e.g.,  uniform,  title)  which people  find  difficult  to  resist.

•Authority     gradually     increases commands from lesser to greater levels and  initial  obedience  binds  the followers  for  commitment.  Once  you obey  small  orders,  slowly  there  is  an escalation  of  commitment  for  the person  who  is  in  authority  and  onestarts  obeying  bigger  orders.

COOPERATION AND  COMPETITION

People interact with each other in different contexts.  Behaviours  in  most  social situations  are  characterised  by  either ‘cooperation’ or ‘competition’. When groups work together to achieve shared goals, we refer  to  it  as  cooperation.  The  rewards  in cooperative  situations  are  group  rewards and not individual rewards. However, when members  try  to  maximise  their  own benefits and work for the realisation of self-interest,  competition  is  likely  to  result.Social  groups  may  have  both  competitive as  well  as  cooperative  goals.  Competitive Goals  are  set  in  such  a  way  that  each individual  can  get  her/his  goal  only  if others  do  not  attain  their  goals.

Determinants  of  Cooperation  and Competition

What factors determine whether people will cooperate  or  compete?

  Some  of  the important  ones  are  given  below:

(i)Reward  structure  :-  Psychologists believe  that  whether  people  will  cooperate or compete will depend on the reward  structure.  Cooperative  reward structure  is  one  in  which  there  is promotive  interdependence.  Each  is beneficiary of the reward and reward is possible  only  if  all  contribute.  A competitive reward structure is one in which  one  can  get  a  reward  only  if others  do  not  get  it.

-Whenthere     is     good     interpersonal communication, then cooperation is the likely  consequence.  Communication Facilitates  interaction,  and  discussion.As  a  result,  group  members  can convince  each  other  and  learn  about each  other.

(iii)Reciprocity  :-Reciprocity  means  that people feel obliged to return what they get.  Initial  cooperation  may  encourage more  cooperation.  Competition  may provoke  more  competition.  If  someone helps, you feel like helping that person;on  the  other  hand,  if  someone  refuses to  help  you  when  you  need  help,  you wouldn't like to help that person also.

THANK YOU

STRESS

 STRESS

All The  challenges,  problems,  and  difficult circumstances  put  us  under stress.  Thus,  if handled  properly,  stress  increases the  Probability of one’s survival. Stress is like electricity.  It  gives  energy,  increases human  arousal  and  affects performance.

However, if the electric current is too high, it can fuse bulbs, damage appliances, etc. High  stress  too  can  produce  unpleasant effects  and  cause  our  performance  to deteriorate.  Conversely,  too  little  stress may  cause  one  to  feel  somewhat  listless and low on motivation which may lead us to perform slowly and less efficiently. It is important to remember that not all stress is inherently bad or destructive.

 ‘Eustress' is the  term  used  to  describe  the  level  of stress  that  is  good  for  you  and  is  one  of a  person’s  best  assets  for  achieving  peak performance  and  managing  minor  crises. Eustress,  however,  has  the  potential  of turning  into  ‘distress’.  It  is  this  latter manifestation  of  stress  that  causes  our body’s wear and tear. Thus, stress can be described as the pattern of responses an organism makes to a stimulus event that disturbs  the  equilibrium  and  exceeds  a person's  ability  to  cope. 

Nature  of  Stress

The word stress has its origin in the Latinwords  ‘strictus’,  meaning  tight  or  narrow and  ‘stringere’,  the  verb  meaning  to tighten.  These  root  words  reflect  the internal   feelings   of   tightness   and constriction of the muscles and breathing reported  by  many  people  under  stress. Stress  is  often  explained  in  terms  of characteristics of the environment that are disruptive to the individual. Stressors are events  that  cause  our  body  to  give  the stress  response.  Such  events  include noise, crowding, a bad relationship, or the daily  commuting  to  school  or  office.  The Reaction  to  external  stressors  is  called ‘strain’. Stress has come to be associated with both the causes as well as effects. However, this  view  of  stress  can  cause  confusion.

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Hans  Selye,  the  father  of  modern  stress research,  defined  stress  as  “the  nonspecific  response  of  the  body  to any demand” that is, regardless of the cause of the threat, the individual will respond with the same physiological pattern of reactions. 

Many  researchers  do  not  agree  with  this definition  as  they  feel  that  the  stress response is not nearly as general and non-specific  as  Selye  suggests.  Different stressors may produce somewhat different patterns  of  stress  reaction,  and  different individuals may     have different characteristic modes of response. You may recall  the  case  of  an  opening  batsman mentioned earlier. Each one of us will see the situation through our own eyes and it is our perception of the demands, and our ability to meet them, which will determine whether  we  are  feeling  ‘stressed’  or  not. Stress is not a factor that resides in the individual or the environment, instead it is embedded  in  an  ongoing  process  that involves individuals transacting with their social and cultural environments, making appraisals  of  those  encounters  and attempting  to  cope  with  the  issues  that arise. 

Stress is a dynamic mental/cognitive state. It is a disruption in homeostasis or an  imbalance  that  gives  rise  to  a requirement  for  resolution  of  that imbalance  or  restoration  of  homeostasis.

The  perception  of  stress  is  dependent upon the individual’s cognitive appraisal of events and the resources available to deal with  them.  The  stress  process,  based  on the  cognitive  theory  of  stress  propounded by Lazarus and his colleagues, is described.  An  individual’s  response  to stressful situations largely depends upon the perceived  events  and  how  they  are interpreted  or  appraised.  Lazarus  has distinguished  between  two  types  of appraisal,  i.e.  primary  and  secondary.

Primary appraisal refers to the perception of  a  new  or  changing  environment  as positive,  neutral  or  negative  in  its consequences.  Negative  events  are appraised  for  their  possible  harm,  threator  challenge.  Harm  is  the  assessment  of the damage that has already been done by an  event.  Threat  is  the  assessment  of possible  future  damage  that  may  be brought  about  by  the  event.  Challenge Appraisals  are  associated  with  more confident expectations of the ability to cope with  the  stressful  event,  the  potential  to overcome  and  even  profit  from  the  event. 

When we perceive an event as stressful, we are likely to make a secondary appraisal, which  is  the  assessment  of  one’s  coping abilities  and  resources  and  whether  they will be sufficient to meet the harm, threat or challenge of the event. These resources may  be  mental,  physical,  personal  or social.  If  one  thinks  one  has  a  positive attitude,  health,  skills  and  social  support to  deal  with  the  crises  s/he  will  feel  less stressed.  This  two-level  appraisal  process determines  not  only  our  cognitive  and behavioural  responses  but  also  our emotional  and  physiological  responses  to external  events. These  appraisals  are  very  subjective and  will  depend  on  many  factors.  

• One factor  is  the  past  experience  of  dealing with  such  a  stressful  condition.  If  one has  handled  similar  situations very successfully in the past, they would be less threatening for her/him. 

• Another factor is whether the stressful event is perceived as controllable, i.e. whether one has masteryor  control  over  a  situation.  A  person  who believes that s/he can control the onset of a  negative  situation,  or  its  adverse consequences, will experience less amount of  stress  than  those  who  have  no  such sense  of  personal  control.  For  example,  a sense  of  self-confidence  or  efficacy  can determine  whether  the  person  is  likely  to appraise  the  situation  as  a  threat  or  challenge. 

 Thus,  the  experience  and outcome  of  a  stressor  may  vary  from individual to individual. Stress includes all those environmental and personal events,which challenge or threaten the well-beingof  a  person.  These  stressors  can  be external, such as environmental (noise, air pollution),  social  (break-up  with  a  friend, loneliness)  or  psychological  (conflict,frustration)  within  the  individual.Very  often,  these  stressors  result  in  a variety  of  stress  reactions,  which  may  be physiological, behavioural, emotional, and cognitive. At the physiological level,  arousal  plays  a  key  role  in  stress-related  behaviours.  The  hypothalamus initiates  action  along  two  pathways. 

•  The First  pathway  involves  the  autonomic nervous  system.  The  adrenal  gland releases  large  amounts  of  catecholamines(epinephrine and norepinephrine) into the bloodstream.  This  leads  to  physiological changes  seen  in  fight-or-flight  response.

• The second pathway involves the pituitary gland,  which  secretes  the  corticosteroid(cortisol)  which  provides  energy.  Emotional reactions to the experience of stress include  negative  emotions  such  as  fear,anxiety, embarrassment, anger, depression or even denial. 

The behavioural responses are  virtually  limitless,  depending  on  the nature of the stressful event. Confrontative Action  against  the  stressor  (fight)  or withdrawal  from  the  threatening  event flight)  are  two  general  categories  of behavioural    responses.

 COGNITIVE RESPONSE include  beliefs  about  the  harmor threat an event poses and beliefs about its causes or controllability. These include responses such as inability to concentrate,and  intrusive,  repetitive  or  morbidthoughts.  The stresses which people experience also vary in terms of  intensity  (low  intensity  vs.  high intensity),  duration  (short-term  vs.  long-term), complexity ( less complex vs. morecomplex)  and  predictability  (unexpected vs.  predictable).  The  outcome  of  stress depends  on  the  position  of  a  particular stressful    experience    along    these dimensions.  Usually  more  intense, prolonged  or  chronic,  complex  and unanticipated stresses have more negative consequences  than  have  less  intense,short-term,  less  complex  and  expected stresses.  An  individual’s  experiences  of stress depend on the physiological strength of that person. Thus, individuals with poor physical  health  and  weak  constitution would  be  more  vulnerable  than  would  be those  who  enjoy  good  health  and  strong constitution.

Psychological  characteristics

• Psychology characteristic,  like mental  health,  temperament,  and  self-concept  are  relevant  to  the  experience  of stress.  The  cultural  context  in  which  we live  determines  the  meaning  of  any  event and defines the nature of response that is expected under various conditions.

•  Finally, the stress experience will be determined by the  resources  of  the  person,  such  asmoney, social skills, coping style, support networks,  etc.  All  these  factors  determine the appraisal of a given stressful situation.

Signs  and  Symptoms  of  Stress

The  way  we  respond  to  stress  varies depending  upon  our  personality,  early upbringing and life experiences. Everyone Has  their  own  pattern  of  stress  response so the  warning  signs  may  vary,  as  may their  intensity.  Some  of  us  know  our pattern  of  stress  response  and  can  gauge the depth of the problem by the nature and severity of our own symptoms or changes in  behaviour.  These  symptoms  of  stress can    be    physical,    emotional    and behavioural.  Any  of  the  symptoms  can indicate  a  degree  of  stress  which,  if  left unresolved,    might    have    serious implications.

Types  of  Stress

The  three  major  types  of  stress,  viz.physical and environmental, psychological,and  social  are important  to  understand  that  all  these types  of  stress  are  interrelated.

Physical  and  Environmental  Stress

Physical stresses are demands that change the  state  of  our  body.  We  feel  strained when  we  overexert  ourselves  physically, lack a nutritious diet, suffer an injury, ors fail  to  get  enough  sleep.  Environmental Stresses  are  aspects  of  our  surroundings that are  often  unavoidable  such  as  air pollution,  crowding,  noise,  heat  of  the summer, winter cold, etc. Another group of environmental  stresses  are  catastrophic events   or   disasters   such   as   fire, earthquake,  floods,  etc.

Psychological  Stress

These  are  stresses  that  we  generate ourselves in our minds. These are personal and  unique  to  the  person  experiencing them and are internal sources of stress. We Worry  about  problems,  feel  anxiety,  or become  depressed.  These  are  not  only symptoms of stress, but they cause further stress  for  us.  

• Some  of  the  important sources  of  psychological  stress  are frustration,  conflicts,  internal  and  social pressures,  etc. Frustration  results  from  the  blocking of  needs  and  motives  by  something  or someone that hinders us from achieving a desired  goal.  There  could  be  a  number  of causes  of  frustration  such  as  social discrimination,  interpersonal  hurt,  lowgrades in school, etc. 

• Conflicts may occur between  two  or  more  incompatible  needs or motives, e.g. whether to study dance or psychology.  You  may  want  to  continue studies  or  take  up  a  job.  There  may  be  a conflict of values when you are pressured to take any action that may be against the values  held  by  you. 

•  Internal  pressures stem from beliefs based upon expectations from inside us to ourselves such as, ‘I must do everything perfectly’. Such expectations can only lead to disappointment. Many of us  drive  ourselves  ruthlessly  towards achieving unrealistically high standards in achieving our goals. 

• Social pressures may be  brought  about  from  people  who  make excessive demands on us. This can cause even  greater  pressure  when  we  have  to work with them. Also, there are people withwhom we face interpersonal difficulties, ‘personality  clash’  of  sorts.

Social stress

These  are  induced  externally  and  result from  our  interaction  with  other  people. Social  events  like  death  or  illness  in  the family, strained relationships, trouble with neighbours  are  some  examples  of  social stresses. These social stresses vary widely from  person  to  person.  Attending  parties may be stressful for a person who likes to spend  quiet  evenings  at  home  while  an outgoing person may find staying at home in  the  evenings  stressful.

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Sources of stress

A wide range of events and conditions can generate stress. Among the most important of  these  are  major  stressful  life  events,such  as  death  of  a  loved  one  or  personal episode.injury,  the  annoying  frequent  hassles  of everyday  life  and  traumatic  events  that affect  our  lives.

Life  Events

Changes, both big and small, sudden and gradual affect our life from the moment we're  born.  We  learn  to  cope  with  small,everyday changes but major life events can be  stressful,  because  they  disturb  our routine  and  cause  upheaval.  If  several  of these  life  events  that  are  planned  (e.g.moving  into  a  new  house)  or  unpredicted(e.g. break-up of a long-term relationship)occur  within  a  short  period  of  time,  we find  it  difficult  to  cope  with  them  and will  be  more  prone  to  the  symptoms of stress.

Hassles

These are the personal stressors we endure as  individuals,  due  to  the  happenings  in our daily life, such as noisy surroundings, commuting,  quarrelsome  neighbours,electricity  and  water  shortage,  traffic snarls,  and  so  on.  Attending  to  various emergencies are daily hassles experienced by  a  housewife.  There  are  some  jobs  in which  daily  hassles  are  very  frequent.These  daily  hassles  may  sometimes  have devastating   consequences   for   the individual  who  is  often  the  one  coping alone with them as others may not even be aware  of  them  as  outsiders.  The  morestress  people  report  as  a  result  of  daily hassles,  the  poorer  is  their  psychological well-being.

Traumatic  Events

These  include  being  involved  in  a  variety of  extreme  events  such  as  a  fire,  train  or road  accident,  robbery,  earthquake, tsunami,  etc.  The  effects  of  these  events may  occur  after  some  lapse  of  time  and sometimes persist as symptoms of anxiety,flashbacks,   dreams   and   intrusive thoughts,  etc.  Severe  trauma  can  also strain relationships. Professional help will be  needed  to  cope  with  them  especially  if they  persist  for  many  months  after the event is over.

EFFECTS OF  STRESS ON  PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING AND  HEALTH

What are the effects of stress? 

Many of the effects  are  physiological  in  nature,however,  other  changes  also  occur inside   stressed   individuals.   There Are   four   major   effects   of   stress associated  with  the  stressed  state,  viz.emotional, physiological, cognitive, and behavioural.

Emotional Effects : Those who suffer from stress  are  far  more  likely  to  experience mood swings, and show erratic behaviour that  may  alienate  them  from  family  and friends.  In  some  cases  this  can  start  a vicious  circle  of  decreasing  confidence, leading  to  more  serious  emotional problems.  Some  examples  are  feelings  of anxiety and depression, increased physical tension,  increased  psychological  tension and  mood  swings. 

 Physiological Effects : When the human body   is   placed   under   physical   or psychological  stress,  it  increases  the production  of  certain  hormones,  such  as adrenaline  and  cortisol.  These  hormones produce  marked  changes  in  heart  rate,blood  pressure  levels,  metabolism  and physical  activity.  Although, this  physical reaction  will  help  us  to  function  more effectively when we are under pressure for short  periods  of  time,  it  can  be  extremely damaging  to  the  body  in  the  long-term effect.  Examples  of  physiological  effects are release  of  epinephrine  and  nor-epinephrine, slowing down of the digestive system,  expansion  of  air  passages  in  the lungs,   increased   heart   rate,   and constriction  of  blood  vessels.

Cognitive  Effects  :  If  pressures  due  to stress  continue,  one  may  suffer  from mental  overload.  This  suffering  from  high level of stress can rapidly cause individuals to  lose  their  ability  to  make  sound. Faulty decisions made at home, in  career,  or  at the workplace  may  lead  to arguments,  failure,  financial  loss  or  even loss  of  job.  Cognitive  effects  of  stress  are poor  concentration,  and  reduced  short-term  memory  capacity.

Behavioural  Effects  :  Stress  affects  our behaviour  in  the  form  of  eating  less nutritional  food,  increasing  intake  of stimulants  such  as  caffeine,  excessive consumption  of  cigarettes,  alcohol  and other  drugs  such  as  tranquillisers  etc. Tranquillisers  can  be  addictive  and  have side effects such as loss of concentration,poor coordination, and dizziness. Some of the  typical  behavioural  effects  of  stress seen  are  disrupted  sleep  patterns,increased absenteeism, and reduced work performance.

Stress  and  Health

• You  must  have  often  observed  that  many of your friends (maybe including yourself as  well!)  fall  sick  during  the  examination time.  They  suffer  from  stomach  upsets, body  aches,  nausea,  diarrhoea  and  fever etc. You must have also noticed that people who are unhappy in their personal lives fall sick more often than those who are happy and  enjoy  life.  

• Chronic  daily  stress  can divert an individual’s attention from caring for  herself  or  himself.  When  stress  is prolonged,  it  affects  physical  health  and impairs  psychological  functioning.  

• People experience  exhaustion  and  attitudinal problems when the stress due to demands from the environment and constraints are too high and little support is available from family   and   friends.   

• The   physical exhaustion is seen in the signs of chronic fatigue,  weakness  and  low  energy.  Mental exhaustion appears in the form of irritability, anxiety, feelings of helplessness and  hopelessness.  

• This  state  of  physical,emotional and psychological exhaustion is known  as  burnout. There  is  also  convincing  evidence  to show  that  stress  can  produce  changes  in the  immune  system  and  increase  the chances  of  someone  becoming  ill. 

•  Stress has been implicated in the development of cardiovascular  disorders,  high  blood pressure,  as  well  as  psychosomatic disorders  including  ulcers,  asthma,allergies  and  headaches. 

Researchers estimate that stress plays an  important  role  in  fifty  to  seventy  percent of all physical illnesses.

 Studies also reveal that sixty percent of medical visits are primarily for stress-related symptoms.

General  Adaptation  Syndrome 

What happens to the body when stress is prolonged?  

Selye  studied  this  issue  by subjecting animals to a variety of stressors such  as  high  temperature,  X-rays  and insulin injections, in the laboratory over a long  period  of  time. 

 He  also  observed patients with various injuries and illnesses in hospitals. Selye noticed a similar pattern of bodily response in all of them. He called this  pattern  the  General  AdaptationSyndrome  (GAS).  According  to  him,  GASinvolves  three  stages:  alarm  reaction,resistance, and exhaustion.

1.Alarm  reaction  stage  :  The  presence of  a  noxious  stimulus  or  stressor leads  to  activation  of  the  adrenal-pituitary-cortex  system.  This  triggers the release of hormones producing the stress  response.  Now  the  individual  is ready  for  fight  or  flight.

2.Resistance stage : If stress is prolonged,the  resistance  stage  begins.  The  parasympathetic  nervous  system  calls  for more  cautious  use  of  the  body's resources. The organism makes efforts to  cope  with  the  threat,  as  through confrontation.

3.Exhaustion stage : Continued exposure to  the  same  stressor  or  additional stressors  drains  the  body  of  its resources  and  leads  to  the  third  stage of  exhaustion.  

The  physiological systems involved in alarm reaction and resistance  become  ineffective  and susceptibility to stress-related diseases such  as  high  blood  pressure  becomes more  likely. Selye’s  model  has  been  criticised  for assigning   a   very   limited   role   to psychological factors in stress. Researchers have  reported  that  the  psychological appraisal  of  events  is  important  for  the determination  of  stress.  How  people respond  to  stress  is  substantially influenced    by    their    perceptions,personalities  and  biological  constitutions.Stress  and  the  Immune  SystemStress  can  cause  illness  by  impairing  the workings  of  the  immune  system.  The Immune  system  guards  the  body  against attackers,  both  from  within  and  outside. Psychoneuroimmunology focuses on the links between the mind, the brain and the immune  system.  It  studies  the  effects  of stress  on  the  immune  system.  

How  does the immune system work? The white blood cells  (leucocytes)  within  the  immune system identify and destroy foreign bodies antigens) such as viruses. It also leads to the  production  of  antibodies. 

•  There  are several  kinds  of  white  blood  cells within  the  immune  system, including T cells, B cells and natural killer cells. T cells destroy invaders, and T-helper cells increase immunological activity. 

• These  T-helper  cells  that  are  attacked  by the  Human  Immunodeficiency  Virus(HIV), the virus causing Acquired ImmunoDeficiency  Syndrome  (AIDS).  B  cells produce antibodies. Natural killer cells are involved  in  the  fight  against  both  viruses and  tumours. 

• Stress  can  affect  natural  killer  cell cytotoxicity, which is of major importance in  the  defence  against  various  infections and cancer. Reduced levels of natural killer cell cytotoxicity have been found in people who  are  highly  stressed,  including students  facing  important  examinations,bereaved  persons,  and  those  who  are severely  depressed.  

Studies  reveal  that immune functioning is better in individuals receiving  social  support.  Also,  changes  in the  immune  system  will  have  more  effect on  health  among  those  whose  immune systems are already weakened. release  of  stress  hormones which  lead  to  weakening  of  the  immune system,  thereby  affecting  mental  and physical  health. Psychological stress is accompanied by negative   emotions   and   associated behaviours, including depression, hostility, anger  and  aggression.  Negative  emotion states  are  of  particular  concern  to  the study  of  effects  of  stress  on  health.  The Incidence of psychological disorders, such as panic attacks and obsessive behaviour increases  with  the  build  up  of  long-term stress. Worries can reach such a level that they  surface  as  a  frightening,  painful physical sensation, which can be mistaken for a heart attack. People under prolonged stress  are  more  prone  to  irrational  fears,mood  swings  and  phobias,  and in my experience  fits  of  depression,  anger  and irritability. These negative emotions appear to be related to the function of the immune system. Our ability to interpret our world and  to  invest  that  interpretation  with personal  meaning  and  emotion  have  a powerful  and  direct  effect  on  the  body. Negative moods have been associated with poor health  outcomes.  Feelings  of hopelessness  are  related  to  worsening  of disease, increased risk of injury and death due  to  various  causes. 

LIFESTYLE STRESS

• Lifestyle Stress  can  lead  to  unhealthy  lifestyle  or health damaging behaviour. Lifestyle is the overall pattern of decisions and behaviours that  determine  a  person’s  health and quality of life. 

• Stressed individuals may be more  likely  to  expose  themselves  to pathogens,which  are  agents  causing physical  illness. 

•  People  who  are  stressed have poor nutritional habits, sleep less and are likely to engage in other health risk behaviours  like  smoking  and  alcohol abuse.  

• Such  health  impairing  behaviours develop gradually and are accompanied by pleasant experiences temporarily. However,we tend to ignore their long-term damaging effects  and  underestimate  the  risk  they pose  to  our  lives.

• Studies  have  revealed  that  health promoting  behaviour  like  balanced  diet,regular  exercise,  family  support,  etc.  playan important role in good health. 

• Adhering To a lifestyle that includes a balanced low fat diet,  regular  exercise  and  continued activity  along  with  positive  thinking enhances  health  and  longevity.  

• The Modern  lifestyle  of  excesses  in  eating,drinking and the so called fast-paced goodlife has led to violation of  basic principles of health  in some of us, as to what we eat,think  or  do  with  our  lives.

COPING WITH STRESS

In  recent  years  the  conviction  has  grown that it is how we cope with stress and not the stress one experiences that influences our  psychological  well-being,  social functioning  and  health. Coping  is  a dynamic  situation-specific  reaction  to stress. It is a set of concrete responses to stressful  situations  or  events  that  are intended to resolve the problem and reduce stress. The way we cope with stress often depends on rigid deep-seated beliefs, based on experience, e.g. when caught in a traffic jam we feel angry, because we believe that the traffic ‘should’ move faster. To manage stress  we  often  need  to  reassess  the  way we  think  and  learn  coping  strategies. People who cope poorly with stress have an impsired immune    response    and diminished  activity  of  natural  killer  cells.Individuals  show  consistent  individual differences  in  the  coping  strategies  they use  to  handle  stressful  situations.  The secan  include  both  overt  and  covert activities.

 

The three coping strategies given by  Endler  and  Parker  are:-

Task-oriented  Strategy  :-  This  involves obtaining  information  about  the  stressful situation and about alternative courses of action and their probable outcome; it also involves  deciding  priorities  and  acting  so as  to  deal  directly  with  the  stressful situation.  For  example,  schedule  my  time better,  or  think  about  how  I  have  solved similar    problems.

Emotion-oriented  Strategy  :-  This  can involve  efforts  to  maintain  hope  and  to control one’s emotions; it can also involve venting  feelings  of  anger  and  frustration,or  deciding  that  nothing  can  be  done  to change  things.  For  example,  tell  myself that  it  is  not  really  happening  to  me,  or worry  about  what  I  am  going  to  do.

Avoidance-oriented  Strategy  :-  This involves  denying  or  minimising  the seriousness of the situation; it also involves conscious  suppression  of  stressful thoughts  and  their  replacement  by  self-protective thoughts.  Examples  of  this  are watching  TV,  phone  up  a  friend,  or  try  to be  with  other  people. Lazarus      and      Folkman's Conceptualised  coping  as  a  dynamic process  rather  than  an  individual  trait. Coping  refers  to  constantly  changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to master,reduce or tolerate the internal or external demands that are created by the stressful transaction.  Coping  serves  to  allow  the individual  to  manage  or  alter  a  problem and  regulate  the  emotional  response  to that  problem.  According  to  them  coping responses can be divided into two types of responses.

• problem-focused

• emotion-focused.

 Problem-focused strategies attack the  problem  itself,  with  behaviors designed  to  gain  information,  to  alter  the event, and to alter belief and commitments.They increase the person’s awareness, level of  knowledge,  and  range  of  behavioural and cognitive coping options. They can act to reduce the threat value of the event. For Example  “I  made  a  plan  of  action  and followed it”. 

Emotion-focused strategies call for  psychological  changes  designed primarily  to  limit  the  degree  of  emotional disruption  caused  by  an  event,  with minimal effort to alter the event itself. For Example “I did some things to let it out of my  system”.  

While  both  problem-focused and emotion-focused coping are necessary when facing stressful situations, research suggests that people generally tend to use the  former  more  often  than  the  latter.

Stress  Management  Techniques

Stress  is  a  silent  killer.  It  is  estimated  to play  a  significant  role  in  physical  illness and  disease.  Hypertension,  heart  disease,ulcers, diabetes and even cancer are linked to stress. Due to lifestyle changes stress ison  the  increase.  Therefore,  schools,  other institutions,  offices  and  communities  are concerned  about  knowing  techniques  to manage  stress. 

 Some  of  these  techniques are:-

Relaxation  Techniques  :   It  is  an  active skill that reduces symptoms of stress and decreases  the  incidence  of  illnesses  such as high blood pressure and heart disease.Usually  relaxation  starts  from  the  lower part of the body and progresses up to the facial  muscles  in  such  a  way  that  the whole  body  is  relaxed.  Deep  breathing  is used along with muscle relaxation to calm the  mind  and  relax  the  body.

Meditation Procedures : The yogic method of  meditation  consists  of  a  sequence  of learned  techniques  for  refocusing attention that brings about an altered state of  consciousness.  It  involves  such  a thorough concentration that the meditation becomes   unaware   of   any   outside stimulation  and  reaches  a  different  state of  consciousness.

Biofeedback : It is a procedure to monitor and  reduce  the  physiological  aspects  of stress by providing feedback about current physiological  activity  and  is  often accompanied  by  relaxation  training.

Challenges Biofeedback training involves three stages:developing an awareness of the particular physiological  response,  e.g.  heart  rate,learning   ways   of   controlling   that physiological response in quiet conditions;and  transferring  that  control  into  the conditions  of  everyday  life.

Creative  Visualisation  :  It  is  an  effective technique for dealing with stress. Creativevisualisation is a subjective experience that uses  imagery  and  imagination.  Before Visualising one must set oneself a realistic goal,  as  it  helps  build  confidence.  It's Easier  to  visualise  if  one’s  mind  is  quiet,body  relaxed  and  eyes  are  closed.  This Reduces  the  risk  of  interference  from unbidden  thoughts  and  provides  the creative  energy  needed  for  turning  an imagined  scene  into  reality.

Cognitive  Behavioural  Techniques  :These  techniques  aim  to  inoculate  people against stress. Stress inoculation training is  one  effective  method  developed  by Meichenbaum.  The  essence  of  this approach  is  to  replace  negative  and irrational  thoughts  with  positive  and rational ones.

 There are three main phases in  this  :  assessment,  stress  reduction techniques,  and  application  and  follow-through.  Assessment  involves  discussing the  nature  of  the  problem  and  seeing  it from  the  viewpoint  of  the  person/client.Stress  reduction  involves  learning  the techniques  of  reducing  stress  such  as relaxation  and  self-instruction.

Exercise :  Exercise  can  provide  an  active outlet  for  the  physiological  arousal experienced in response to stress. Regularexercise  improves  the  efficiency  of  the heart, enhances the function of the lungs,maintains  good  circulation,  lowers  blood pressure,  reduces  fat  in  the  blood  and improves  the  body’s  immune  system. Swimming,  walking,  running,  cycling,skipping,  etc.  help  to  reduce  stress.  Onemust practice these exercises at least four times  a  week  for  30  minutes  at  a  time. Each  session  must  have  a  warm-up,exercise  and  cool  down  phases.

PROMOTING  POSITIVE  HEALTH AND

WELL-BEING

It  is  unlikely  that  we  will  go  through  life without some experience of personal crises causing  acute  pressure  for  a  while.  Many people sail through and rebuild their lives very  positively.  They  are  likely  to  have constructive attitudes and also have lots of emotional  and  social  support  of  various kinds  available  to  them.  When  we  find ways of managing these pressures and can use the energy to create something positive out  of  the  situation,  then  we  will  have learned  to  survive  healthily  and  this  will leave  us  more  stress  fit  for  future  crises. It  is  like  being  immunised  against  the dangers  of  unhealthy  stress.

Stress  Resistant  Personality  :  Recentstudies by Kobasa have shown that people with high levels of stress but low levels of illness  share  three  characteristics,  which are referred to as the personality traits of hardiness. It consists of ‘the three Cs’, i.e.commitment,  control,  and  challenge. Hardiness is a set of beliefs about oneself,the world, and how they interact. It takes the shape of a sense of personal commitment to  what  you  are  doing,  a  sense  of  control over  your  life,  and  a  feeling  of  challenge. Stress resistant personalities have control which is a sense of purpose and direction in  life;  commitment  to  work,  family,hobbies and social life; and challenge, thatis, they see changes in life as normal and positive  rather  than  as  a  threat. Everyone   does   not   have   these characteristics, many of us have to relearn specific life skills in areas such as rational thinking,  and  assertiveness  to  equip ourselves better to cope with the demands of  everyday  life.etc.

Life  Skills

Life  skills  are  abilities  for  adaptive  and positive behaviour that enable individuals to  deal  effectively  with  the  demands  and challenges  of  everyday  life.  Our  ability  to cope depends on how well we are prepared to deal with and counterbalance everyday demands,  and  keep  equilibrium  in  our lives.  These  life  skills  can  be  learned  and even  improved  upon.  Assertiveness,  time management, rational thinking, improving relationships,  self-care,  and  overcoming unhelpful  habits  such  as  perfectionism,procrastination,  etc.  are  some  life  skills that will help to meet the challenging life.

Assertiveness  :  Assertiveness  is  a behavior   or   skill   that   helps   to communicate, clearly and confidently, our feelings, needs, wants, and thoughts. It is the ability to say no to a request, to state an opinion without being self-conscious, orto  express  emotions  such  as  love,  anger,etc.  openly.  If  you  are  assertive,  you  feel confident,  and  have  high  self-esteem  and a  solid  sense  of  your  own  identity.

Time  Management  :  The  way  you  spend your  time  determines  the  quality  of  your life.  Learning  how  to  plan  time  and delegate  can  help  to  relieve  the  pressure.The major way to reduce time stress is to change  one’s  perception  of  time.  The Central principle of time management is to spend your time doing the things that you value,  or  that  help  you  to  achieve  your goals.  It  depends  on  being  realistic  about what  you  know  and  that  you  must  do  it within a certain time period, knowing what you want to do, and organising your life to achieve  a  balance  between  the  two.

Rational  Thinking  :  Many  stress-related problems  occur  as  a  result  of  distorted thinking. The way you think and the way you  feel  are  closely  connected.  When  we are  stressed,  we  have  an  inbuilt  selective bias  to  attend  to  negative  thoughts  and images  from  the  past,  which  affect  our perception  of  the  present  and  the  future.Some of the principles of rational thinking are: challenging your distorted thinking and irrational  beliefs,  driving  out  potentially intrusive  negative  anxiety-provoking thoughts, and making positive statements.

Improving  Relationships:  The  key  to  a sound  lasting  relationship  is  communi-cation.  This  consists  of  three  essential skills:  listening  to  what  the  other  person is  saying,  expressing  how  you  feel  and what  you  think,  and  accepting  the  other person's opinions and feelings, even if they are  different  from  your  own.  It  also requires  us  to  avoid  misplaced  jealousy and  sulking  behaviour.

Self-care : If we keep ourselves healthy, fit and  relaxed,  we  are  better  prepared physically  and  emotionally  to  tackle  the stresses  of  everyday  life.  Our  breathing patterns  reflect  our  state  of  mind  and emotions.  When  we  are  stressed  or anxious,  we  tend  towards  rapid  and shallow breathing from high in the chest,with  frequent  sighs.  The  most  relaxed breathing  is  slow,  stomach-centred breathing from the diaphragm, i.e. a dome-like  muscle  between  the  chest  and  the abdominal cavity. 

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS

Environmental stresses like  noise,  pollution,  space,  light,  colour,etc. can all exert an influence on our mood.These  have  a  noticeable  effect  on  our ability to cope with stress, and well-being.

Overcoming Unhelpful Habits: Unhelpful Habits  such  as  perfectionism,  avoidance,procrastination,  etc.  are  strategies  that help  to  cope  in  the  short-term  but  whichmake  one  more  vulnerable  to  stress. Perfectionists are people who have to get everything  just  right.  They  have  difficulty in varying  standards  according  to  factors such  as  time  available,  consequences  of not being able to stop work, and the effort needed. They are more likely to feel tense adults.and find it difficult to relax, are critical of self and others, and may become inclined to avoid challenges. Avoidance is to put the issue under the carpet and refuse to accept or face it. Procrastination means putting off what  we  know  we  need  to  do.  We  all  are guilty  of  saying  “I  will  do  it  later”.  Peoplewho procrastinate are deliberately avoiding confronting their fears of failure or rejection. Various  factors  have  been  identified which  facilitate  the  development  of positive  health. Health  is  a  state  of complete  physical,  mental,  social  and spiritual  well-being,  and  not  merely  the absence  of  disease  or  infirmity.  Positive Health comprises the following constructs:“a  healthy  body;  high  quality  of  personal relationships;  a  sense  of  purpose  in  life;self-regard,  mastery  of  life’s  tasks;  and resilience to stress, trauma, and change" Specifically,  factors that  act  as  stress  buffers  and  facilitate positive  health  are  diet,  exercise,  positive attitude,  positive  thinking,  and  social support.

Diet : A balanced diet can lift one’s mood,give  more  energy,  feed  muscles,  improve circulation, prevent illness, strengthen the immune  system  and  make  one  feel  better to  cope  with  stresses  of  life.  The  key  to healthy  living  is  to  eat  three  main  meals a day, and eat a varied well-balanced diet.How much nutrition one needs depends on one's  activity  level,  genetic  make-up,climate,  and  health  history.  What  people eat, and how much do they weigh involve behavioural  processes.  Some  people  areable to maintain a healthy diet and weightwhile  others  become  obese.  When  we  are stressed, we seek ‘comfort foods’ which are high  in  fats,  salt  and  sugar.

Exercise  :  A  large  number  of  studies confirm a consistently positive relationship between physical fitness and health. Also,of all the measures an individual can take to  improve  health,  exercise  is  the  lifestyle change  with  the  widest  popular  approval.Regular exercise plays an important role in managing weight and stress, and is shown to  have  a  positive  effect  on  reducing.

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