Stress and Profermance

Stress has recently been an interesting topic of study from many different angles. Many want to know just how much stress can affect different aspects of daily life. Individuals and organizations have been interested in learning about stress to see if it pertains to themselves or their employees. By studying whether it does have an effect in certain decisions and situations, we might be able to figure out solutions to negate the power stress has. It also might be of interest to learn if any one group of people is more susceptible to stress.

One focus of studies is whether stress has an effect on a university student’s academic performance. University students are surrounded by stress that impacts their mental and physical health, and as well as their performance in schoolwork. There are many different factors that contribute to stress and may, in fact, have an influence on a student’s performance. In previous studies, students have been asked to answer questions on a Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). One particular study (Womble, 2003), looked for a relationship between scores on the PSS and students’ grade point average (GPA) and found that there was no significant correlation. Kelly, Kelly and Clanton (2001) found that a lack of sleep increased feelings of anxiety and stress in students. As a result, students reported problems of shortened attention span and more frequent mistakes on tests. There are different kinds of stress and many different types of stressors that need to be taken into account in order for any study to be complete.

Types of Stress

Stress is defined as the internal reaction from the body that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment, when external demands exceed an individual’s abilities (Conners, 1983; Fevre, Matheny, and Kolt, 2003; Suedfeld, 1997; Zajacova, Lynch, and Espenshade, 2005). Any situation or thought may cause an individual to become frustrated, angry, nervous or anxious, and as a result, the person may become stressed. The word “stress” is most often used to describe a negative situation, so the majority of people think of stress as a bad thing that must be avoided. But not all stress is bad. Without stress, people would not be motivated to accomplish anything. Stress can be grouped into two categories, Eustress and Distress. “Distress and Eustress were originally both subsumed within the larger definition of stress but were regarded as different and distinct from each other.” (Fevre et al., 2003, pg 728)

Eustress is the term used for the good or positive stress (Fevre et al., 2003). This type of stress keeps people motivated and helps improve individual performance. Individuals do need, to some extent, pressure and anxiety to help them perform better. Eustress could be considered the optimal level of stress, where the amount of stress is between too much or too little (Fevre et al., 2003). When at optimal