Health psychology (option): coping strategies and positive and negative coping techniques

Appraisal (Lazarus and Folkman)

Stress depends on how a situation is appraised:

• Primary appraisal: is this a threat, a challenge, or irrelevant? It becomes a stressor if demands seem to exceed resources.
• Secondary appraisal: can I cope? What resources and strategies do I have?
• Reappraisal: judgements change over time (a threat may come to seem a challenge).

Coping is the effort to manage demands that are appraised as stressful.

Three coping strategies

Positive and negative coping techniques

• Positive (adaptive) techniques reduce stress without causing new problems: problem-solving, seeking social support, exercise, relaxation and mindfulness, adequate sleep, religious coping that gives meaning.
• Negative (maladaptive) techniques give short-term relief but create new problems: alcohol and drug use, smoking, comfort eating, avoidance and denial, withdrawing from others, aggression.

Nakonz and Shik (2009) found Filipino migrant workers mainly used emotion-focused religious coping (seeing hardships as God's plan, 'giving the burden to God', sharing problems with church members), which reduced distress but did not change the exploitative stressors.

Evaluation

• Strengths: the transactional model explains individual differences (same stressor, different reactions); practical application in therapy and stress management.
• Weaknesses: strategies overlap (talking to a friend can be emotion- and problem-focused); people use several at once; coping is usually measured by self-report questionnaires, which may be affected by social desirability; which strategy is 'best' depends on the situation and culture (emotion-focused coping can be adaptive when nothing can be changed).

Worked example

Sara's mother is seriously ill in another country. Suggest an appropriate coping strategy and explain why.

1. She cannot change her mother's illness, so problem-focused coping alone is limited.
2. **Emotion-focused** coping, such as talking to friends, prayer or exercise, could reduce her distress.
3. **Appraisal-focused** coping, such as focusing on what she can do (regular calls), may also help.

Answer: Emotion-focused (and appraisal-focused) coping, because the stressor cannot be controlled.

Check yourself

1. Making a revision timetable to deal with exam stress is
   • problem-focused coping
   • emotion-focused coping
   • appraisal-focused coping
   • a negative coping technique
   Show answer

   problem-focused coping. It tackles the source of stress.

2. Going for a run to feel less stressed about a divorce is
   • problem-focused coping
   • primary appraisal
   • emotion-focused coping
   • a perpetuating factor
   Show answer

   emotion-focused coping. It reduces the distress, not the stressor.

3. Telling yourself a job interview is a chance to practise rather than a disaster is
   • appraisal-focused coping
   • problem-focused coping
   • instrumental support
   • a negative coping technique
   Show answer

   appraisal-focused coping. Changing how the stressor is viewed.

4. Which is a negative coping technique?
   • Exercising regularly
   • Making a plan to solve the problem
   • Talking to a friend
   • Drinking alcohol to forget problems
   Show answer

   Drinking alcohol to forget problems. Short-term relief, long-term harm.

5. Primary appraisal involves judging
   • whether you have the resources to cope
   • whether a situation is a threat, a challenge or irrelevant
   • which hormone is released
   • how long the stress will last in days
   Show answer

   whether a situation is a threat, a challenge or irrelevant. Secondary appraisal is about resources.

6. Explain when emotion-focused coping may be more effective than problem-focused coping.
   Show answer

   When the stressor cannot be changed or controlled, such as a bereavement or terminal illness, problem-solving is not possible, so reducing the distress through emotion-focused coping is more useful.. Uncontrollable stressor plus why.

Practise with instant feedback Print this lesson

Sources

• Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced Level in Psychology specification, Issue 6 (November 2024, first assessment January 2026)
• EBSCO Research Starters: Transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus and Folkman)
• Pearson IAL Psychology summary of studies: WPS03

Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.