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Coping with Stress

Dispositions, Strategies, and the Problem of Measurement

  • Chapter
Dynamics of Stress

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping ((SSSO))

Abstract

In recent years, a controversy has evolved concerning the usefulness of the trait concept for predicting a person’s actual behavior (see e.g., Alston, 1975; Bern, 1983; Bern & Allen, 1974; Bern & Funder, 1978; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1980; Mischel, 1968, 1973, 1983, 1984; Mischel & Peake, 1982, 1983). This controversy has also influenced paradigms in stress and coping research. There is an increasing tendency to abandon trait concepts (like “repression-sensitization”) and, instead, to adopt concepts like coping process or coping strategy to describe and predict stress-related behavior and behavior outcomes (see Folkman, 1984; Folkman & Lazarus. 1980. 1985: Lazarus & Folkman. 1984).

Preparation of this chapter was facilitated by a grant from the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk (EAA-Projekt, No II/35 461 and No II/37 071).

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Krohne, H.W. (1986). Coping with Stress. In: Appley, M.H., Trumbull, R. (eds) Dynamics of Stress. The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5122-1_11

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