Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

510 CHAPTER 12 Stress, Health, and CopingUncontrollable Events Literally hundredsof thousands of passengers were strandedwhen more than a thousand planes weregrounded in April of 2008 because of asuspected wiring problem. Long lines,chaotic crowds, and uncertainty aboutwhen they might be able to fly to theirdestination contributed to the passengers’frustration. Psychological research hasshown that events and situations that areperceived as being beyond your controlare especially likely to cause stress (Heth &Somer, 2002). Given that, how might yoube able to lessen the stressful impact ofsuch situations?optimistic explanatory styleAccounting for negative events or situationswith external, unstable, and specific explanations.pessimistic explanatory styleAccounting for negative events or situationswith internal, stable, and global explanations.Personal ControlWho is more likely to experience more stress, a personwho has some control over a stressful experience or aperson who has no control? Psychological research hasconsistently shown that having a sense of control overa stressful situation reduces the impact of stressors anddecreases feelings of anxiety and depression (Dickerson& Kemeny, 2004; Taylor, Kemeny, & others,2000). Those who can control a stress-producingevent often show no more psychological distress orphysical arousal than people who are not exposed tothe stressor at all.Psychologists Judith Rodin and Ellen Langer(1977) demonstrated the importance of a sense ofcontrol in a classic series of studies with nursing homeresidents. One group of residents—the “high-control”group—was given the opportunity to make choicesabout their daily activities and to exercise control over their environment. In contrast,residents assigned to the “low-control” group had little control over theirdaily activities. Decisions were made for them by the nursing home staff. Eighteenmonths later, the high-control residents were more active, alert, sociable, andhealthier than the low-control residents. And twice as many of the low-control residentshad died (Langer & Rodin, 1976; Rodin & Langer, 1977).How does a sense of control affect health? If you feel that you can control a stressorby taking steps to minimize or avoid it, you will experience less stress, both subjectivelyand physiologically (Heth & Somer, 2002; Thompson & Spacapan, 1991).Having a sense of personal control also works to our benefit by enhancing positiveemotions, such as self-confidence and feelings of self-efficacy, autonomy, and selfreliance(Taylor, Kemeny, & others, 2000). In contrast, feeling a lack of control overevents produces all the hallmarks of the stress response. Levels of catecholaminesand corticosteroids increase, and the effectiveness of immune system functioningdecreases (see Maier & Watkins, 2000; Rodin, 1986).However, the perception of personal control in a stressful situation must be realisticto be adaptive (Heth & Somer, 2002). Studies of people with chronic diseases,like heart disease and arthritis, have shown that unrealistic perceptions of personalcontrol contribute to stress and poor adjustment (Affleck & others, 1987a; Affleck& others, 1987b).Further, not everyone benefits from feelings of enhanced personal control.Cross-cultural studies have shown that a sense of control is more highly valued inindividualistic, Western cultures than in collectivistic, Eastern cultures. ComparingJapanese and British participants, Darryl O’Connor and Mikiko Shimizu (2002)found that a heightened sense of personal control was associated with a lower levelof perceived stress—but only among the British participants.Explanatory StyleOptimism Versus PessimismWe all experience defeat, rejection, or failure at some point in our lives. Yet despiterepeated failures, rejections, or defeats, some people persist in their efforts. In contrast,some people give up in the face of failure and setbacks—the essence of learnedhelplessness, which we discussed in Chapter 5. What distinguishes between those whopersist and those who give up?According to psychologist Martin Seligman (1990, 1992), how people characteristicallyexplain their failures and defeats makes the difference. People who havean optimistic explanatory style tend to use external, unstable, and specific explanationsfor negative events. In contrast, people who have a pessimistic explanatorystyle use internal, stable, and global explanations for negative events. Pessimists are