stress

=Stress=

Stress can be defined as any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and that thereby tax one’s coping abilities (Marquand, 1999). The threat may be to immediate physical safety, long-range security, self-esteem, reputation, peace of mind or many other things that one values. Stress is a part of life and everyone experiences stress from time to time. Many everyday events such as waiting in line, having car trouble and shopping for Christmas presents can be stressful. Researchers have found that everyday problems and minor nuisances of life are also important forms of stress (Auerbach, Stephen, and Gramling, 2005).

=Major types of stress=

Frustration[[image:cat-stressed2.jpg width="167" height="135" align="right"]]
Frustration occurs in any situation which the pursuit of some goal is thwarted. You experience frustration when you want something and can’t have it (Rue, 2005). Everyone has to deal with frustration virtually everyday. Traffic jams, difficult daily commutes, and annoying drivers, for instance, are a routine source of frustration that can elicit anger and aggression. Moreover, failures and losses are two common kinds of frustration that are often highly stressful (Marquand, 1999).

Conflict
Conflict occurs when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioural impulses compete for expression (Woudhuysen, 1998). There are three basic types of conflict: approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance and approach-avoidance. In an approach-approach conflict a choice must be made between two attractive goals. For example, should you watch TV or play video games or do want to have a hamburger or pizza for lunch? In an avoidance-avoidance conflict a choice must be made between two unattractive goals. You are as they say “caught between a rock and a hard place.” For example, should you continue to collect unemployment checks, or should you take that degrading job at McDonalds. Lastly, in approach-avoidance conflict a choice must be made about whether to pursue a single goal that has both attractive and unattractive aspects. For example, imagine that you’re offered a career promotion that will mean a large increase in pay, but you’ll have to move to a city where you don’t want to live.

Pressure
Pressure involves expectations or demands that one behave in a certain way. You are under pressure to perform when you’re expected to execute tasks and responsibilities quickly, efficiently and successfully (Yung, 1996). For example salespeople are under pressure to move merchandise. Pressures to conform to others’ expectations are also common in our lives. For instance, people in the business world are expected to dress a certain way.

=The Effects of Stress=

Impaired task performance
Frequently, stress takes its toll on the ability to perform effectively on a task at hand. Pressure to perform often makes people self-conscious and this elevated self-consciousness disrupts their attention. Stress increases people’s tendency to jump to a conclusion too quickly without considering all their options and to do an unsystematic, poorly organized review of their available options. Also, stress can have a negative effect on certain memory functions (Wikipedia, 2006).

Burnout
Burnout involves physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lowered sense of self-efficacy that can be brought on gradually by chronic work-related stress. Exhaustion, which is central to burnout, includes chronic fatigue, weakness, and low energy. Cynicism is manifested in highly negative attitudes towards oneself, one’s work and life in general. Reduced self-efficacy involves declining feelings of competence at work which give way to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Factors in everyday life that appear to promote burnout include work overload, struggling with interpersonal conflicts, and lack of control over responsibilities and outcomes (Woudhuysen, 1998).

=Course Relevance=

Design for Stress
Poorly designed products can cause stress and risk being misused when people are under stress. Some contributors to modern stress include the increased reliance on electronic equipment, the emerging reliance on oneself for health care, and technology overload (Formosa, 2005). The influences on people's thought and actions vary greatly, from instinct at the powerful extreme to instruction manuals at the other, weak, extreme. Other influences on design and usability are preconceptions, physical design cues, symbols/colours/words, complex graphics, complex text, quick reference guides, and instruction manuals (Frauenfelder, 2005).

Stress and Activities[[image:stress.gif width="183" height="128" align="right"]]
When individuals are under pressure whether it is time pressure or pressure from their superiors technologies must work well and be easy to operate. If they are difficult and complex to utilize one while become frustrated and angry. Simple operations must be responsive in a timely manner. Also, stress can lead to mistakes and errors so designs should prevent or help resolve any errors that might arise. For example, the undo function in a word processor or the history feature in Photoshop allows users to easily correct their mistakes.

Stress and Attention[[image:3a11174.jpg width="176" height="139" align="right"]]
In today’s fast-paced world people are under a lot of stress. Technology is suppose to relieve some of this stress by making tasks easier. Systems should be easy to use and understand. People usually need to have things done in a timely manner so tasks should be easy to execute and not overly complicated. Technology should help make tasks easier not more frustrating. People’s attention is usually split over many tasks (multi-tasking) so regular tasks should be easy to do. Stress is known to effect memory negatively. Thus systems should focus more on recognition rather than recall. Simple tasks should be able to be executed in the least amount of steps possible. For example, making calls on a cell phone should require one push of a button only.