The book that I will use to analyze my topic is Psychology – Eighth Edition in Modules by David G. Myers and the article I will use is The Stress of the Transition to University: A Longitudinal Study of Psychological Disturbance, Absent-Mindedness and Vulnerability to Homesickness by Shirley Fisher and Bruce Hood.
Psychology – Eighth Edition in Modules helps to explain my incident through the field of health psychology, which focuses on how our perception of a certain situation determines the stress we feel. It also analyzes how we can cope with and reduce stress to promote our well-being and decrease health problems created by stress. Health psychology explains that stress is more of a process by which we evaluate and respond to threats and challenges than it is a stimulus or response (Myers, 2007). In other words, the way in which we assess a certain situation determines how much stress we experience and the effectiveness of our response to that event. Depending on whether we appraise an event as threatening, challenging, or unimportant, our response may be feelings of stress to the point where we become distracted or depressed, or our response may be feelings of arousal and determination (Myers, 2007).
In my situation the challenging event, or stressor, is the complexity of university. My appraisal of the situation is one that is negative, as I believe that school is extremely difficult. I lack the confidence to do well and I am uncertain about whether or not I will succeed. As a result, my response has also been negative as I have been overwhelmed with feelings of distress that have prevented me from focusing and doing well in school. Health psychology explains that if we have a negative outlook on a problem, our response to that problem will also be negative. People who think negatively or have a pessimistic explanatory style feel as if they have less control over stressors compared to those who are optimistic (Myers, 2007).
