The Relationship Between the Transactional Model,
and the General Adaptation Syndrome
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: The Relationship Between the Transactional Model, and the General Adaptation Syndrome
Pages: 11
Rating: 3 stars
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The term ‘stress’ was generally thought to have been a concept created by Robert Hooke in the 17th century. He
worked on the design of physical structures, such as bridges, his concept of stress came from how much pressure
a structure could withstand. However, Lazarus (1993) pointed out that the term ‘stress’ has been used as far back
as the 14th century, when it meant hardship or adversity. Back then it referred to the external stressor, such as the
death of a spouse or financial worry, in the 20th century, there are many different schools of thought on this area.
Hans Selye (1956), brought together the work of Cannon and Bernard and devised a comprehensive system of
physiological stress, which he termed the ‘General Adaptation Syndrome’, and is a 3-stage process. He theorised
that a certain level of stress called ‘eustress’ (Cox, 1978) could actually be beneficial to our overall performance.
Later In 1976, Cox & Mackay devised another model called the ‘Transactional model’. This model takes into
account the individual differences in the perception of the amount of stress experienced by the person. The main
difference between these two models is that Selye’s model only accounts for the physiological side of stress,
whereas Cox’s model takes into account both the physiological and psychological aspects of stress. Therefore,
both models will have slight similarities and differences in their explanation for how stress occurs in individuals,
which is the main focus of this essay.
There are three accepted definitions of stress: 1. Stimulus model - Stress is an external stimulus that places
demand on the individuals’ physiology. 2. Response model - Stress is regarded as the responses (both external
behaviour and internal/ph...