3.Stress, Proactive coping and General perceived self-efficacy

However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?- Buddha
My research work- 3


General self-efficacy is the belief in ones own competence to deal effectively with stressful demands. Proactive coping emphasizes the individual’s effort to takes initiative rather than reacting to it. Study findings revealed that beliefs about one’s own competence help the person to take initiative (proactive) to stressors instead of reacting to it and also perceive less stress. 

Now, I have been developing a training manual to enhancing proactive coping skills. This will help the person to develop and use their personal and social resources more effectively which will help the person to learn to use their every day stress for their personal growth. 

All my research works submitted to various journals. However you can get by sending mail to me if you want to learn more about it. My sincere thanks to the authors, who are all, contributed the theories and tools for my research. 

Further reading and Web resources

1.Zweig & Webster: What are we measuring? An examination of the relationships between the big-five personality traits, goal orientation, and performance intentions, Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 36, Issue 7, Pages 1693-1708, May 2004.
2.Schwarzer, R. (1998). General Perceived Self-Efficacy in 14 Cultures.{On-line}. Available: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~health/lingua5.htm.

3. Greenglass, E. R., Schwarzer, R., & Taubert, S. (1999). The Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI): A multidimensional research instrument. [On-line publication. Available at: http://www.psych.yorku.ca/greenglass/].

The Personal Style Inventory (PSI) Learning Kit encourages you to achieve greater flexibility and integration in your use of the rational versus intuitive ways of being in the world. 

http://www.the-intuitive-self.org/scripts/frameit/intro.cgi?/website/introduction/assess/psi_learning_kit.html

2.Stress coping and cognitive styles

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. -Buddha

My research work- 2

People differ in their relative preferences for ‘logical’ and ‘intuitive’ ways of dealing with situation, they have widely use four types of coping viz, approach, avoidance, emotional regulation and reappraisal. I have found that the cognitive styles have significantly influence on their ability to cope up with stress.
Logical describes an individual who makes judgments based on reason and focuses on specific details.
Intuitive describe an individual who makes judgments based on feelings and adopts a global approach (big picture-holistic).

Findings revealed that intuitive thinking leads to positive approach oriented coping whereas logical thinking leads to avoidance and emotional focused coping. Integration of both logical and intuitive thinking leads to reappraisal coping. According to transactional approach and meaning making cognitive reappraisal are central in determining whether a situation is potential threatening, harmful or challenging and cognition determine both the perception of stress and the individual’s reaction to it. Much of our thinking left to itself biased, distorted, partial and prejudiced. When we encounter uncertain or uncontrollable events only our logical thinking may not be helpful and leads to emotional reaction and avoidance coping. We need to develop integration of both logical and intuitive thinking to promote cognitive reappraisal (big picture – holistic) and to deal with stressful situation more effectively.

1.Stress coping skills and goal orientation

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself" - Jim Rohn

My research work- 1

My personal interest is to find out why people differ so greatly in their response to stress, and how can I help them to develop appropriate coping skills. Here I am presenting some of my research works. To avoid technical jargon I have simply presents the important conclusions.

Stress coping play a major role which determines how students approach and engage learning activities.

Stress coping skills that makes the students to seek to develop their skills,
1.Resourcefulness
2.Ability to relax
3.Ability to access situation
4.Self-reliance
5.Adaptability and flexibility
Students who focuses in their ‘process of learning’ wants to learn something from their complex task but they don’t focus on their end result.

Stress coping skills that makes the students to approach their task to demonstrate their ability and competence,
1.Resourcefulness
2.Ability to relax
3.Ability to Access situation
4.Proactive attitude

If missing the above skills, students may simply

avoid the learning task. Learning coupled with approach orientation will be helpful to the students to achieve something.

Top three coping method

1. Proactive coping

You can do something before the stressful events occur!
One can cope before stressful events take place, while it is happening or afterwards.
We can anticipate, prevent, or seek challenges. We can increase or invest our
personal, social resources effectively. We can not wait for the things happened, we
can make the things happen by our active effort.
Example for proactive coping
-preparing for an exam or an interview well in advance
-managing our time or relationship
-working out our plan or goal with commitment

Changing our attitude focusing the present or future events

2. Meaning making

You can do something even after the stressful events
Sometime changing the way we think, feel and act will help us to deal with our
stress. Reorganizing, reinterpreting, reframing, restructuring and looking for the
positive of stressful events are the ways to make meaning. many of the
psychotherapy aims at nothing but changing the way of thinking, feeling and
acting. Changing our self to fit into the unchangeable external reality is essential to
cope with it.
Example for the meaning making
We can take a new look make new meaning
Failure as a feedback
Change as a challenge
Obstacle as an opportunity

Changing our response to the past or present event

3. Religious coping

You can do something even in extreme stress
All religions offer a framework for understanding, interpreting and accepting our
stressful life events. When we encounter uncontrollable circumstances the only thing
we can do to comfort ourselves is to surrender to God, the almighty. This will give at
least the illusion of control over the situation. Positive religious coping is the only
way if all the coping methods failed. this method can give us a sense of relief and
peace in extremely uncontrollable stressful circumstances.
Example
Think how one can cope with these following situations!
Death of loved one
Life threatening, incurable illness such as cancer
Violence, terrorism
Transforming oneself beyond their own limits,To gain strength and acceptance

Top three protecting shield, that helps us to deal with our stress.

1. Personal development

How we relate with ourselves
Personal attributes such as self-esteem, self-worth, self-determinism, optimism,
hope and self-efficacy directly related to our stress. Personal development is the first
protecting shield from stress. We need to feel good about ourselves.

Take personal responsibility

2. Social development

How we relate with others
Our communication, relationships, giving receiving help and managing conflict
all requires honesty, genuineness, and mutual trust. We need other persons help and
support to cope with stress. This will be the second protecting shield that protects us from
stress.

Take social responsibility

3. Work or task

How we relate with our task or work
Only through our meaningful contribution or achievement we can believe
our ability, meaningful contribution and our achievements make us feel worthy,
boost our esteem. We may gain new friends others may appreciate accept and
respect us. We need to achieve, learn or contribute something. This is the third
protecting shield that helps us from stress.

Contribute something meaningfully

These three domains in our life serve as protecting shields which make a
difference in our life. If we learn to respond instead of reacting to our life events
we can gain something which will help us to transform our life greatly.