Stress A Brief History

by Cooper, Cary; Dewe, Philip J.

• ISBN13: 9781405107457
• ISBN10: 1405107456
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-07
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Stress: A Brief History is a lively, accessible, and detailed examination of the origins of the field of stress research. First concise, accessible, academically grounded book on the origins of the concept of stress. Explores different theories and models of stress such as the psychosomatic approach, homeostasis, and general adaptation syndrome. Discusses the work and intriguing contributions of key researchers in the field such as Walter Cannon, Hans Selye, Harold Wolff, and Richard Lazarus. Explains the origins of key concepts in stress such as stressful life events, the coronary-prone personality, and appraisals and coping. Culminates in a discussion of what makes a good theory and what obligations stress researchers have to those whose working lives they study.

Author Biography

Cary L. Cooper is Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at the Manchester School of Management. He is the author of over 100 books, as well as senior co-editor of the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management (12 volumes, with Chris Argyris). He has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation, two UN bodies, and the International Labor Organisation.

Philip Dewe is Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Head of the Organizational Psychology Department at Birkbeck College. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Organizational Stress (with Cary L. Cooper and Michael P. O’Driscoll, 2001) and Coping, Health and Organisations (edited with Tom Cox and Michael Leiter, 2000).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	x
CHAPTER 1 FROM EARLY BEGINNINGS TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY	1	(8)
Introduction	1	(2)
Hooke's Law and the Engineering Analogy	3	(1)
The Eighteenth Century and Beyond	4	(3)
Summary: Themes from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries	7	(2)
CHAPTER 2 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: THE EARLY YEARS	9	(30)
Introduction	9	(1)
The Emergence of the School of Functionalism	10	(1)
Fatigue and Mental Hygiene	11	(2)
Psychosomatic Medicine and the Contribution of Walter Cannon	13	(7)
Hans Selye	20	(13)
The Work of Harold Wolff	33	(3)
Summary	36	(3)
CHAPTER 3 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: FROM THE 1950's TO RICHARD LAZARUS	39	(28)
Introduction: Stress in the 1950's and 1960's	39	(2)
Stressful Life Events	41	(2)
The Social Readjustment Scale	43	(3)
Daily Hassles and Uplifts and the Debate that Followed	46	(1)
The Debate: Critical Life Events versus Hassles and Uplifts	47	(4)
Personality and Type A Behavior Patterns	51	(4)
Towards the Study of Individual Differences	55	(2)
A Return to the 1950's and 1960's and a Change in Focus	57	(3)
The History of Stress in Sweden	60	(2)
The Origins of Organizational Psychology	62	(3)
Summary	65	(2)
CHAPTER 4 THE WORK OF RICHARD LAZARUS	67	(18)
Introduction	67	(1)
The Beginnings	68	(1)
The Berkeley Stress and Coping Project	69	(2)
A Historical Look at Appraisal	71	(3)
The Nature of Appraisals and the Debate that Followed	74	(4)
Lazarus and the Process View of Coping	78	(1)
Ways of Coping Questionnaire	79	(3)
Lazarus and Emotions	82	(1)
Summary	83	(2)
CHAPTER 5 WORK STRESS AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY	85	(25)
Introduction	85	(1)
Work Stress	85	(2)
Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity, and the Search for Causes of Work Stress	87	(3)
Beyond Role Conflict, Ambiguity, and Overload	90	(2)
Early Research Frameworks and Identifying Strains	92	(2)
Towards and Integrated Model of Work Stress	94	(4)
Work Stress and Coping	98	(4)
From Coping to the Self-Help Years to Stress Management	102	(5)
Occupational Health Psychology	107	(1)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	108	(1)
Summary	109	(1)
CHAPTER 6 WHAT DO WE MEAN BY STRESS: FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE	110	(10)
Introduction	110	(1)
What Do We Mean By Stress?	110	(3)
From the Past to the Future	113	(1)
How Does History Add to Our Understanding of Stress	114	(1)
Searching for the Organizing Concept of the Future	115	(1)
Distinguishing between Description and Meaning	116	(1)
Why Study Stress? Fulfilling Our Moral Responsibility	117	(1)
Summary	118	(2)
References	120	(17)
Index	137