Explain the advantage of appraising stressful situations as challenges rather than threats

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The reason you want to think of or appraise potentially stressful situations as challenging rather than threatening is that threat appraisals elicit negative emotions (such as fear, anxiety, depression), which in turn raise stress levels, while challenge appraisals elicit positive emotions, which lower stress levels. For example, students who emphasize threat appraisals of exams, such as thinking they will not have time to study or expecting to do poorly, are more likely to experience negative emotions, such as anxiety and fear. In turn, anxiety and fear trigger the fight-flight response, which raises the level of stress and often leads to emotion-focused coping, such as complaining, seeking sympathy, or avoiding studying. However, emotion-focused coping does not usually motivate actions, such as studying, that are needed to prepare students for exams. In comparison, students who emphasize challenge appraisals of exams, such as wanting to do their best or to prove themselves, are more likely to experience positive emotions, such as excitement or eagerness, which decrease levels of stress. In turn, challenge appraisals are more likely to result in problem-focused coping, which means taking direct action to deal with the situation itself, such as developing a study program. Thus, a good way to deal with potentially stressful situations is to focus on challenging rather than threatening appraisals.