The Roles of Appraisal and Perception in Stress Responses, and Leveraging Appraisals and Mindsets to Improve Stress Responses

Abstract

Stress is a multifaceted psychobiological process that can result in maladaptive or adaptive outcomes depending on myriad factors including context, duration (e.g., acute vs. chronic), and psychological factors (e.g., appraisal or mindsets). The idea that stress can be facilitative as well as debilitative, however, contradicts the dominant cultural perspective that stress is unilaterally debilitating, maladaptive, and “bad for me.” Given typical negative conceptualizations of stress, traditional regulatory techniques are aimed at reducing or avoiding the stress one experiences in daily life. Thus, substantial societal benefits can be reaped if regulatory techniques can be developed that optimize, rather than reduce, stress responses. Toward this end, the research reviewed here elucidates the role appraisal and mindset processes play in the generation of stress responses. Then, using the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat as an organizing framework, stress optimization regulatory strategies that focus on changing appraisal processes to improve responses are presented. Implications for theory development, coping, and public policy are discussed.