UNIT 6: MOTIVATION, EMOTION AND STRESS

MOTIVATION:
The term motivation refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-
directed behavior

It involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate
behavior
In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a person
does something
 Derived from Latin word ‘movere’ meaning to move.
 Motivation is psychological process.

 It gives purpose and direction to behavior.

 All human being is motivated to achieve goals.

 Employee may possess skills and abilities. But they may lack willingness to
use those skills. Motivation induces employees to use their skills to perform
effectively.
 Motivation is a inner force that energize people in to actions.
 Motivation starts with need.
 Need is a physiological or psychological deficiency. Need activates drive.

 The drive is aimed at goals.

 The interacting relationships among need, drive and goal are the foundation
of motivation process
CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTIVATION:

  Motivation is a psychological phenomenon

  Motivation is based on needs
 Goals are motivator

 Motivation is different from satisfaction

 Motivation is a continuous process

 Motivation is related to a person in totality

THE MOTIVATIONAL CYCLE:

Need

Reward Motivation Drive

Incentive
TYPES OF MOTIVES:

Physiological motives (needs) Psychological motives (needs)

a. Hunger motive a. Affiliation motive

b. Thirst motive b. Achievement motive

c. Sex motive c. Work motive

d. Rest and sleep motive  

e. Maternal motive  

   
TYPES OF MOTIVATION
 On the basis of approach:
 Positivemotivation :- based on rewards and prize
 Negative motivation :- based on fear and force
TYPES OF MOTIVATION
 On the basis of Nature of reward used:-
 Intrinsic motivation: are internal motivators that include status, authority, freedom,
opportunities etc.
 Extrinsic motivation : are tangible rewards/ motivators allowance, vehicles, housing
facilities etc.
TYPES OF MOTIVATION
 On the basis of type of incentives used:-
 Financial motivation: includes monetary benefits to inspire employees. Money is
useful to satisfy social needs.
 Non-financial motivation:- includes recognition for work done, praise, opportunities
for growth.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES/ THEORIES TO MOTIVATION:

 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory

 Drive Reduction Approach to Motivation

 The arousal theory of Motivation

 Incentive theory of Motivation

 Equity Theory of Motivation

 Cognitive Approaches to Motivation

a. Expectancy theory

b. Goal-setting theory
1. MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY

Maslow’s earliest five stage model (1943)

MASLOW’S FIVE STAGE MODEL:
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY
 Founded by Abraham Maslow.
 This theory states that satisfaction of needs motivate individual behavior.

 He stated that human beings have 5 types of needs which are hierarchal in
nature.
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY
 Once the strongest need is satisfied then the second need emerges as being
the strongest need and the human behavior is regulated in process of
achieving satisfaction.
 As long as the needs are unsatisfied, they dominate behavior.

 As they became reasonably satisfied, they loose their motivational power and
the need of next level becomes dominant motivational force.
 1. physiological needs: (food, water, clothing, shelter, sex) minimum
survival. They are the top priority needs. They need to be satisfied first.
 Salary is the means to satisfy the physiological needs in organization.
 2. Safety needs:- They are needs for economic, security and protection from
physical and emotional harm.
 Provident fund, pension, health insurance, job security satisfy safety needs in
organization.
 3, Social needs:- They are needs for love, affection, belongingness and
companionship. They are the needs for interaction with other people.
 Peers in formal group, employee clubs satisfy social needs in organization.
 4. Esteem needs:- They are needs of liking and disliking for one self, also
known as ego needs.
 Internal – needs for self esteem, autonomy, self respect, achievement.

 External – needs for status, recognition, power, praise, prestige.

 Job title, luxury cars, attractive offices satisfy esteem needs in organization
 5. self actualization needs:- They are needs for self fulfillment, potential
achievement, creativity, talent utilization and personal growth. It is becoming
what one is capable of becoming.
 Self actualization can never be fully satisfied.
IMPLICATIONS OF HIERARCHY NEED THEORY
 Needs motivate individual. A person progress step by step in the need
hierarchy.
 Low order needs most pressing. People satisfy most pressing need first. Only
one need is operational at a time.
 Only unsatisfied needs motivate.

 The degree of satisfaction differs from person to person.

CRITICISM OF HIERARCHY NEED THEORY
 The hierarchy of needs donot always follow the sequence assumed by
Maslow.
 The theory may not be applicable in all times and circumstances.

 People differ in expectation. The same need doesnot lead to the same
responses in all individuals.
2. DRIVE REDUCTION THEORY OF MOTIVATION:
 developed by Clark L. Hull
 focuses on how motivation originates from

biological needs or drives

 Hull proposed that a person’s behavior is an

external display of his desire to satisfy his physical

deficiencies
 grounded on the principle of homeostasis

(inside balance)
 further developed by Kenneth Spence (1940’s)

 A “drive” is a state of arousal or tension triggered

by a person’s physiological or biological needs

 any behavior that reduces the drives will be

repeated by humans and animals.

1) Primary drives – these are related to our biological needs, e.g. hunger, thirst, etc.
2) Secondary drives – these are related to our prior experience and learning, e.g. achievement.
3. THE AROUSAL THEORY OF MOTIVATION:
 suggests that people are driven to perform actions in order to maintain an optimum level of
physiological arousal.
 3. AROUSAL THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 The arousal theory of motivation suggests that people are driven to perform actions in order
to maintain an optimum level of physiological arousal. What exactly is the optimal level of
motivation? Well, it varies from one individual to the next.
 How It Works?

 According to the arousal theory of motivation, when our arousal levels drop below our
individually mandated optimal levels, we seek out stimulation to elevate them.
 For example, if our levels drop too low we might seek stimulation by going out to a night
club with friends.
 If these levels become too elevated and we become over stimulated, we might be motivated to
select a relaxing activity such as going for a walk or taking a nap.
 3. AROUSAL THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Optimal arousal levels vary from one person to the next. One person might have very low
arousal needs, while another individual might require very high levels.
 The person with low arousal needs might be motivated to pursue simple activities such as
crocheting or watching a movie in order to maintain their arousal levels.
 The individual with the high arousal needs, on the other hand, might need to seek out risky or
thrilling activities such as motorcycle racing or sky diving in order to maintain the ideal
levels.
 3. AROUSAL THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Arousal and Performance
 One of the assertions of the arousal theory of motivation is that our levels of arousal have an
influence on our performance. This is commonly referred to as the Yerkes-Dodson Law.
 The law states that increased levels of arousal will improve performance, but only up until the
optimum arousal level is reached. At that point, performance begins to suffer as arousal levels
increase.
 E.g. Most students have experienced this phenomenon when taking final exams. Increased
arousal can lead to better test performance by helping you stay alert, focused, and attentive.
Excessive arousal can lead to test anxiety and leave you nervous and unable to concentrate on
the test.
4. INCENTIVE THEORY OF MOTIVATION:
 The incentive theory is one of the major theories of motivation and suggests that behavior
is motivated by a desire for reinforcement or incentives.

 suggests that we are pulled into action by outside

incentives.

 You can link incentive theory to operant conditioning.

 Just as in operant conditioning, where behaviors are

performed in order to either gain reinforcement or
avoid punishment, incentive theory states that your
actions are directed toward gaining rewards.
5.EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Developed by J. Stacy Adams
 This theory is based on the notion that people want to be treated fairly in
relation to others for motivation.
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Individuals compare themselves with a comparison person (referent) –
someone in a comparable organization situation.
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
The referent can be:
 Self-inside: Experience in other position within the current organization.

 Self-outside: Experience in similar position outside the current organization.

 Other-inside: Another person inside the current organization.

 Other-outside: Another person outside the current organization.

EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Equity theory states that individuals are motivated by their desire to be
equitably treated in their workplace.
 Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and
then take actions to reduce any inequities.
 EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION

Feelings of Actions to
Evaluation of Evaluation of Comparision of
equity or reduce
Self others self with others
inequity inequity
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Equity occurs when
person’s outcomes other’s outcomes
person’s inputs other’s input

 Inequity occurs when above ration is not equal.

The greater the perceived inequity, greater the motivation to reduce it.
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 The job inputs and outcomes/output can be:

Job inputs Job outcomes

•Ability
•Pay
•Education
•Salary
•Time
•Promotion
•Effort
•Recognition
•Age
•Status
•Skill
•Job security
•Training
etc
etc
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Mechanism to reduce inequity:
1. Changing inputs: the person may increase or decrease his job inputs. Eg:-
working hard or slower.
2. Changing outcomes: the person may attempt to change his outcomes. Eg:-
by asking a salary increase.
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Mechanism to reduce inequity:
3. Changing the perceptions of input and outcomes:- the person may change his
perceptions of inputs or outcomes.
4. Changing the inputs or outcomes of comparison person:- person can
convince the comparison person to change his inputs or outcomes to restore
equity.
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Mechanism to reduce inequity:
5. Changing the comparison person (Referent):- A person may change the
comparison person to restore equity.
6. Leaving the field:- a person can remove himself from the situation of equity.
Eg: Leaving the job.
EQUITY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Implications of Equity Theory:
1. Organizations should establish and maintain fair and equitable methods of
treating their employees.
2. Employees should perceive fair and equitable treatment by organization.
5. COGNITIVE APPROACHES TO MOTIVATION:
 The cognitive approach to motivation suggests that we are motivated by our thoughts,
expectations and goals.
 The cognitive theories of motivation include the Expectancy Theory and the Goal-Setting
Theory.
A. EXPECTANCY THEORY OF MOTIVATION:
 Developed by Victor H Vroom.
 Expectancy Theory states that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends
on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on
the attractiveness of that outcome of the individual.

Three components:
Expectancy
Instrumentality
Valence
VROOM’S EXPECTANCY THEORY
a) Effort – Performance Relationship
Expectation that efforts generate better performance. This is known as
expectancy.
VROOM’S EXPECTANCY THEORY
b) Performance – Reward Relationship
Expectancy that better performance leads to reward outcomes. This is known
instrumentality.
VROOM’S EXPECTANCY THEORY
c) Reward – Personal Goals Relationship
Expectation that each reward outcome has an anticipated value. This is called
‘valence’. Reward should satisfy personal goals of an individual.
B. GOAL-SETTING THEORY OF MOTIVATION:
 Proposed by Edwin Locke in the 1960’s
 The theory explains that goal setting has an influence on task performance. Specific and
challenging goals are more likely to motivate a person and lead to a better execution of
tasks, whereas vague and easy goals may result to poor task performance.
INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION:
 Intrinsic motivation causes us to participate in an activity for our own enjoyment,
rather than for any concrete tangible reward that it will bring us.

 On the other hand, extrinsic motivation causes us to do something for money, a grade,
or some other concrete, tangible reward.

 For example: When a physician works long because she loves medicine, intrinsic
motivation underlies her efforts.

 We are more appropriate to preserve, work harder and produce work of higher quality
when motivation for a task is intrinsic rather than extrinsic.
 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE MOTIVATION:
Positive motivation
 Positive motivation makes people willing to do their in the best way they can and improve
their performance. Positive motivations offer some reward to people to act in the desired
manner. It is, indeed, a tool of creating an interest in the mind of the employees for better
performance so as to each the attainment of organization goals.
  Positive motivations are, thus, the process of attempting to influence the behaviours of
employees through the means of reward. It is concerned with the incentives provided to
the employees. Such incentive or reward may include in wage and salary. Pro-motivation
praise, encroach or reward may includes may take the form of monetary.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE MOTIVATION:
Negative motivation:
 Negative motivation means the act of forcing employees to work by means of threats and
punishment. Sometimes must initiates some against employees with a view to
discouraging them understand behavior and encouraging positive behavior. It is the
negative treatment exercise on the employees who are not performing their work as
expected. Provisions relating to demotion, dismissal, transfer, penalties, group rejection,
etc. are few examples of negative motivations.

 It is not good practices in chose negative incentives to motivate employees. However,

management may be compelled to use this technique with a view to preventing them
form  undesirable behavior. This technique with to preventing them from undesirable
behavior. This may be effective only for a short-term to motivation some person.
Therefore, manager should adopt positive techniques for motivation their employees.
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS AND MOTIVATIONS
Physiological motives can also be termed as innate, unlearned, biological and
primary
 Hunger

 Thirst

 Rest and sleep

 Sex

 Maternal behavior
SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVATIONS
Psychological motives are also known as acquired, secondary, social and
learned motives.
 Affiliation need

 Need for achievement and power

 Work motivation
 CONFLICT
 Conflict is defined as inability to choose between two alternatives. The individual often
find it difficult to decide which of the two opposite goal is to attain.
 There are several types of conflict:

1. Approach – Approach (when individual face two equally attractive alternative. )

2. Approach Avoidance ( when individual faces with goal of +ve as well as –ve consequences)

3. Avoidance avoidance ( when individual has to decide between two equally unattractive goals.)

4. Multiple aproach avoidance ( when individual face two or more alternatives both +ve & -ve.)
FRUSTRATION
 Conflict and frustration are closely related.
 Conflict arises when it is difficult to decide between two alternatives whereas
frustration results when our goal is blocked and we are not able to satisfy our
motive.
 E.g. a child is frustrated when he/she has been denied to get a desired toy.

 Different sources of frustration are:

 Environmental sources
 Personal sources
 Social sources
 EMOTION:
What is Emotion???
“Emotions are intense feelings that are
directed at someone or something”

It is a strong feeling deriving from

one's circumstances, mood, or
relationships with others

Emotion is, in everyday speech, a person's

state of mind and instinctive responses, but scientific discourse has drifted to other meanings
and there is no consensus on a definition.
 EMOTION
 The word emotion is derived from the Latin word ‘emovere’ which means ‘to
stir up’, ‘to agitate’, ‘to excite’.
 Emotion refers to the stirred up state of feeling that is the way it appears to
the individual himself.
 Emotions are some sort of feelings or affective experiences which are
characterized by some psychological changes which lead them to perform
some sort of behavioural acts.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EMOTION AND MOOD:
Features Emotions Moods

Nature Emotions are intense feelings Moods are less intense

Stimulus Emotions are the creators of moods. It can be Moods are the after events of emotions. Emotions can
anything that gives rise to feelings. turn into moods.

Reaction Emotions are responses to a specific object or Moods are subjective feelings that lacks contextual
context. stimulus.

Behavior Emotions are not the traits of an individual. Moods can later become an individual traits.
NATURE OF EMOTION:
 Emotions are universal because they are found in all living organisms at all stages of
development from birth to old age.
 Emotions are personal therefore they differ from person to person.

 Same emotion can be aroused by various stimuli (objects and situations).

 Emotions rise at once but fade slowly.

 Emotions have the quality of displacement. For example, an officer

who gets scolded at office may express his anger by beating his
children at home.
NATURE OF EMOTION:
 An emotion can generate a number of other similar emotions.
 Emotional experiences involve many physical and physiological changes in the organism.
For example, enlarging the eyes, flushing the face, flowing tears, the beating o the heart, etc.
 There is negative correlation between the increase of emotions and intelligence because
emotional increase adversely affects the process of reasoning and thinking.
 Emotional experience can be both positive and negative. People welcome positive emotions
such as happiness, satisfaction, etc. and avoid negative ones such as pain, anxiety, disgust or
sadness.
TYPES OF EMOTIONS
Emotions based on Variety: Positive and Negative Emotions
Generally the pleasant emotions like amusement, love, curiosity, joy and
happiness which are helpful and necessary to the normal development of an
individual are positive emotions.
On the other hand, unpleasant emotions like fear, anger, jealousy, etc. which are
harmful to the well-being and development are negative emotions.
TYPES OF EMOTIONS
Emotions based on Intensity: High and Low Emotions
Emotions vary in intensity form high, such as excitement, to low, such as
displeasure.
An overly emotional person may find it difficult to concentrate on work
efficiently, and coordinate his or her thoughts and actions.
One individual may remain calm and quiet while another individual may
show joy and extreme happiness even in the same situation.
TYPES OF EMOTIONS
Emotions based on frequency
Some people can even show fake emotions more frequently than others. The
reason we call someone an ‘angry man’ or another as a ‘smiling man’ is
because the individual displays the related emotions often.
TYPES OF EMOTIONS
Emotions based on Duration
Some people display emotions continuously for a longer time while others
show it for a very short period of time.

However, emotions with too much intensity and curiosity, whether positive or
negative, bring harmful effects, and sometimes the so-called negative
emotions (for example, fear in children) may prove very essential for human
welfare.
ELEMENTS OF EMOTIONS
 Physiology of emotion
 Behavior of emotion

 Subjective experience: Labeling emotions

ELEMENTS OF EMOTIONS
 Physiology of emotion: Physically, when a person experience emotion, there
is an arousal created by sysmpathetic nervous system.
 Heart rate increases, breathing becomes rapid, mouth may become dry.
ELEMENTS OF EMOTIONS
 Behavior of emotion:
 There are facial experiences, body movements and actions that indicates to
other how a person feels.
 Frowns, smiles, sad expressions combine with hand gestures.

 People fight, run, kiss and yell along with countless other actions stemming
from emotions they feel.
 Facial expression can vary across different cultures, although some aspects of
facial expression seem to be universal.
ELEMENTS OF EMOTIONS
 Subjective experience: Labeling emotions
 The third component of emotion is interpreting the subjective feeling by
giving it a label: anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, shame and so
on.
 Another way of labeling this component is to call it ‘cognitive
component’ because labeling process is a matter of retrieving memories
of previous similar expreiences.
 Emotional Labor
Emotional labor refers to the effort, planning and control needed to express
organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions.
E.g. Nurse need to show devotion and dedication to help the patient.
Ghate Baidhya (funeral counselor) must be sad.
Doctors need to be neutral to patients.
 Sometimes, emotional labor is difficult for a person when he/she have to
project one emotion that is opposite to what s/he is feeling. This conflicting
situation is called ‘emotional dissonance’.
 Felt emotions and displayed emotions
Felt emotion is the neutral, spontaneous emotion. They are real, true emotions
of the individuals.
Displayed emotions are expressed in relation to situation or nature of job.
THEORIES OF EMOTION
 James-Lange Theory
 Cannon-Bard theory

 Schachter-Singer theory
 THEORIES OF EMOTION
 James-Lange Theory :

 people experience emotion because they perceive their bodies’ physiological responses to
external events.

According to this theory, people don’t cry because they feel sad. Rather, people feel sad
because they cry, and, likewise, they feel happy because they smile. This theory suggests
that different physiological states correspond to different experiences of emotion.
 THEORIES OF EMOTION
 Cannon-Bard theory:

Cannon proposed his own theory of emotion in the 1920s, which was extended by another
physiologist, Philip Bard, in the 1930s. The resulting Cannon-Bard theory states that the
experience of emotion happens at the same time that physiological arousal happens.
Neither one causes the other. The brain gets a message that causes the experience of emotion
at the same time that the autonomic nervous system gets a message that causes physiological
arousal.
 THEORIES OF EMOTION
 Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory:
In the 1960s, Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer proposed a different theory to
explain emotion. They said that people’s experience of emotion depends on two factors:
physiological arousal and the cognitive interpretation of that arousal. 

 When people perceive physiological symptoms of arousal, they look for an environmental
explanation of this arousal. The label people give an emotion depends on what they find in
their environment.
Example: If a person finds herself near an angry mob of people when she is
physiologically aroused, she might label that arousal “anger.” On the other hand, if she
experiences the same pattern of physiological arousal at a music concert, she might label the
arousal “excitement.”
 THEORIES OF EMOTION
 Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory:
Schachter and Singer agree with the James-Lange theory that people infer emotions
when they experience physiological arousal. But they also agree with the Cannon-Bard theory
that the same pattern of physiological arousal can give rise to different emotions.
EMOTION AND HEALTH
STRESS
 STRESS
 Stress is the term used to describe the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses
to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging.
 Stress can show itself in many ways.

 Physical problems can include unusual fatigue, sleeping problem, chest pain and nausea.

 People under stress may behave differently too; crying a lot, smoking and drinking more than
usual.
 Emotionally, people under stress experience anxiety, depression, fear, and irritability, as well as
anger and frustration.
 Mental symptoms of stress include problems in concentration, memory and decision making.
 STRESSOR
 Stress causing events are called stressors. They can come from a person or from an external
source and range from relatively mild to severe.
 Stressors can range from the deadly serious, hurricane, fires, crashes) to merely irritating and
annoying (delays, rude people, losing a key).
 Stressors can be imaginary too. (e.g. imagining about owns future)
 STRESSOR
 Effects of stressor:
 Distress – the effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressor.
 Eustress- the effect of positive events that will make demands on a person to adapt or
change. E.g. job promotion is a positive event, but they require great deal of change in
people’s habits, duties and even lifestyle, thereby creating stress
 STRESSOR
 Causes of stress:
 Environmental factor: include social, technological, political change, economic and financial
condition, race and class, terrorism etc.
 Organizational factor: task demand, physical demand, role demand.
 Individual factor: marital dissatisfaction; issues related to children, spouse, family, Financial
resources, acculturative stress.
 CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS:
 Physiological consequences ( heart diseases, gastrointestinal problem, diabetes, headache,
hypertension, asthma)
 Psychological consequences (sleep disturbance, sexual and reproductive dysfunction,
memory and learning defects, emotion related problems)
 Behavioral consequences (excessive use of smoke & alcohol, eating problem, rapid speech,
aggressiveness)
 Organizational consequences (performance, withdrawal, negative attitudes, diminished
competency, job burn out)
 MANAGING STRESS
 Everyone has to manage stress because stressors are an unavoidable part of life.
 Efforts to control, reduce or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress are known as
coping.
 Stress management can be classified into 2 broad categories:
 Individual approach (physical exercise, nutrition, relaxation/sleep, managing routine, social support
network, cognitive therapy)
 Organizational approach (training, wellness program, voluntary leaves)
 STRESS
 General adaptation syndrome model (GAS): the course of stress

The effects of long term stress are illustrated in a series of stages proposed by Hans Selye, a pioneering
stress theorist.

General adaptation syndrome model, suggests that the psychological response to stress follows same set
pattern regardless of the cause of stress.
This model has three phases:
 Alarm and mobilization

 Resistance

 Exhaustion
STRESS : GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME MODEL
 STRESS
 General adaptation syndrome model (GAS): the course of stress
This model has three phases:
Alarm and mobilization – occurs when people become aware of the presence of a stressor. On a

biological level, the sympathetic nervous system becomes energized, which helps a person to cope
initially with the stressor. If the stressor persists, people move into the second stage, resistance.
Resistance – During this stage, body is actively fighting the stressor on a biological level. During

resistance, people use variety of means to cope with the stressor. E.g. a student who faces the stress
of failing several courses might spend long hours studying seeking to cope with stress.
 Exhaustion – If the resistance is inadequate, people enter the last stage, exhaustion. During this

stage, person’s ability to fight the stressor declines to point where negative consequences of stress
appear e.g. physical illness, psychological symptoms in a form of an inability to concentrate,
disorientation.
 STRESS
 Psychoneuroimmunology of stress
psychoneuroimmunology concerns the study of the effects of psychological factors such as
stress, emotion, thinking and behaviour on the immune system.
contemporary health psychologists have taken a broader approach to stress. Focusing on
outcomes of stress, they have identifies three main consequenes of it.
1. First, stress has direct physiological results – increase in blood pressure, increase in hormonal
activities, overall decline in functioning of immune system.
2. Second, stress lead people to engage in behaviors that are harmful to their health, including
increases nicotine, drug and alcohol use; poor eating habits; decreased sleep.
3. Finally, stress produces indirect consequences that results in decline in health- a reduction in the
likelihood of obtaining health care and decreased compliance with medical advise.
 STRESS : PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY OF STRESS
Why is stress so damaging to immune system?
One reason is that stress may over stimulate it. Rather than fighting invading bacteria, viruses and
other foreign invaders, it may begin to attack body itself and damage health tissue.
Stress can also decrease the immune system response, permitting germs that produce colds to
reproduce more easily or allowing cancer cells to spread more rapidly.
In normal circumstances, our bodies produce lymphocytes, specialized WBC that fights diseases. It
is possible that stress can alter this level of production.
 COPING WITH STRESS

Efforts to control, reduce or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress are known as
‘coping’. We habitually use certain coping responses to deal with stress.

We have more direct and potentially more positive ways of coping with stress, which fall into
two main categories:
 Emotion focused coping – people try to manage their emotions in the face of stress by seeking to change the
way they feel about or perceive a problem. E.g. strategies such as accepting sympathy from others and
looking at the bright side of situation
 Problem focused coping – attempts to modify stressful problem or source of stress. It leads to changes in

behavior or development of plan of action to deal with stress. E.g. taking a day off from caring for a relative
with serious chronic health illness to go a health club or spa can bring significant relief from stress.
 LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
A state in which people conclude that unpleasant or aversive stimuli cannot be controlled - a view
of the world that becomes so ingrained that they cease trying to remedy the aversive
circumstances even if they actually can exert some influence on situation.
Victim of learned helplessness have concluded that there is no link between the responses they
make and the outcomes that occur.
Our relationship with others also help us to cope with stress.
SOCIAL SUPPORT
The social and emotional support people provide each other helps in dealing with stress in several
ways. Such support demonstrate that a person is an important and valued member of a social
network.
Similarly, other people can provide information and advice about appropriate ways to deal with
stress.