Describe four approaches to understanding stress.
1. The Homeostatic / Medical Approach
This theory indicates that the body in adverse environmental situations manifests stress as a physiological change, later the body tries to return to a state of physical stability or homeostasis. This theory was described by Walter Cannon.
2. The Cognitive Appraisal Approach
This approach describes stress as a response to the person's interaction with the environment and the interpretation he makes about what happened as a trigger for stress. This approach was established by Richard Lazarus and focuses on subjective interpretation as a key factor in the stress process.
3. The Person-Environment Fit Approach
This approach postulates the origin of stress as the result of the lack of resources or skills to face a situation. It was described by Robert Kahn and they specify how the expectations of the roles contribute to the presence or absence of stress.
4. The Psychoanalytic Approach
This psychological approach postulated that two different factors contribute to the stress process, first the ego-ideal, which is an image of perfection that we have of people, and the self-image that is the perception we have of ourselves. According to this approach, stress occurs in response to a discrepancy between the two images.
How does each add something new to our understanding of stress?
Each of the approaches explains from different perspectives the origin of the perception of stress, and instead of being exclusive theories, each approach is complemented to explain how stress originates, either by internal or external factors.
I hope my information can help you.
