Active learning ideas
This topic shifts the focus from the biology of stress to the psychological frameworks used to manage it. Students analyse Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, which emphasises the role of individual perception and appraisal. They also evaluate various coping strategies, distinguishing between approach and avoidance behaviours and the importance of context-specific effectiveness. This is a highly practical area of the curriculum that encourages students to reflect on their own resilience and coping mechanisms.
Activity 01
Provide groups with different scenarios (e.g., losing a job, moving to a new city). Students must 'bid' on whether the primary appraisal is a threat, harm/loss, or challenge, justifying their choice using the Transactional Model's terminology.
How does cognitive appraisal influence our experience of stress?
Activity 02
Divide the class to debate the effectiveness of avoidance coping. One side argues that avoidance is always maladaptive, while the other identifies specific short-term contexts where it might be beneficial, such as immediately after a traumatic event.
What are the differences between approach and avoidance coping strategies?
Activity 03
Students list three stressors they have faced. In pairs, they categorise their responses as approach or avoidance and discuss how they could have adjusted their strategy if the first one failed, demonstrating the concept of coping flexibility.
How can context-specific effectiveness improve coping flexibility?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Avoidance coping is always a bad thing.
Students often view avoidance as a failure. Through structured debate, they can learn that brief avoidance can sometimes be a helpful 'time-out' to prevent emotional overwhelm before switching to approach strategies.
Primary and secondary appraisal happen in a strict linear sequence.
Students may think one must finish before the other starts. Using case studies helps them see these are often overlapping and dynamic processes that can change as new information is gathered.
Methods used in this brief
Structure and Function of the Nervous System
Examine the divisions of the human nervous system and the role of neurons in transmitting information. Students will explore how the central and peripheral nervous systems coordinate behaviour.
8 methodologies
Stress as a Psychobiological Process
Investigate the physiological and psychological responses to stress, including the fight-flight-freeze response and the role of cortisol. This topic highlights the adaptive and maladaptive nature of stress.
8 methodologies