Description of a Stressful Encounter: Appraisal, Threat, and Challenge

The purpose of this study was to examine a potentially stressful event for students, the midterm examination, using the Lazarus transactional stress model. At two time periods during an academic term, 50 students responded to questionnaires focused on the midterm examination and its outcome. Responses were used to identify changes in appraisals, personal stakes, perceptions of threat and challenge; to determine these variables' relations to each other and to the examination grade; and to determine the best predictors of threat, challenge, and grade. Results indicated that threat and challenge perceptions were the only variables that changed as the situation evolved; they were negatively correlated. The best predictor of threat and challenge was control, while the only variable that correlated with grade was harm.