Infographic 12.4: The Process of Coping

The flowchart shows the process of coping with a test. Text under the title reads “Coping refers to the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral methods we employ to manage stressful events. But we don’t always rely on the same strategies to manage stressors in our lives. Coping is an individual process through which we appraise a stressor to determine how it will affect us and how we can respond.” The flowchart itself is made up of text-boxes that are joined by arrows. Text box 1 reads “Before Test: Primary Appraisal”. An attached thought bubble reads “How will this affect me?” Two arrows split off from Box 1, to text boxes 2 and 3. Text box 2 reads “Person X”: Challenging. Attached thought bubbles read “I missed a lot of classes and don’t understand the material.” and “I don’t know how to manage this”. Text box 3 reads “Person Y”: Positive.” Attached thought bubbles read “I’m doing well in class. I will still get a good grade for the class even if I don’t do that well on the final.” and “I can cope with this.” A larger text box attached to the section with text boxes 2 and 3 reads “People respond differently to stressors depending on how they appraise them. A student who is struggling in a class because she hasn’t worked hard may find a test even more challenging than a student who has been working hard all semester.” Text boxes 2 and 3 both have arrows pointing from them to text boxes 4 and 5, respectively. Text boxes 4 and 5 both read “Secondary appraisal: What can I do?” A larger text box attached to this section reads “Once we know how an event will affect us, we use secondary appraisal to determine our response, taking into consideration what resources are available.” Three arrows extend out from Box 4, to boxes 6, 7, and 8. Box 6 reads “Problem focused: Seek help from friends.” An attached thought bubble reads “I’ll get notes from a classmate.” Box 7 reads “Emotion focused: seek emotional support”. An attached thought bubble reads “I’ll feel better after venting.” Box 8 reads “Emotion focused: Mental disengagement.” An attached thought bubble reads “I don’t care about this class anyway.” Three more arrows extend out from box 5, to text boxes 9, 10, and 11, respectively. Box 9 reads “Problem focused: Planning”. An attached thought bubble reads “First I’ll take the online self-quiz, then I’ll look up incorrect answers in my textbook.” Box 10 reads “Emotion focused: emphasize the positive.” An attached thought bubble reads “I feel so much better when I study.” Box 11 reads “Problem focused: Suppress competing activities.” An attached thought bubble reads “I won’t go out this weekend so I can focus on studying.” A large text box attached to the section with boxes 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 reads “In response to a stressor, most people use several coping strategies, including both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping involves doing something to deal with the source of stress. People who do not feel they can solve the problem tend to rely more on emotion-focused coping to manage their feelings about the situation.” Back at the top of the chart, text box 1 has an arrow that points right, to text box 12. Text box 12 reads “During Test: Primary Appraisal”. An attached thought bubble reads “Now how will this affect me?” Text underneath Box 12 reads “there will be independent responses from each instance of primary appraisal.” Text in a larger attached text box reads “Most stressful events are not static. Therefore, we may appraise them at different stages with different results. For example, you will appraise the challenge of a test differently before you take it, while you are taking it, and after you have taken it but are waiting to receive a grade.”