Which theory describes stress as a stimulus, such as the perspective of Holmes and Rahe?

• A. Stress as response (Selye)
• B. Stress as stimulus (Holmes and Rahe)
• C. Stress as transaction (Lazarus)
• D. Stress as a process including internal and external demands and resources (Pearlin)

Answer: (B)

Stress is seen here as something external that initiates the strain—the event or change that requires the person to adapt. Holmes and Rahe pinpoint life events themselves as the stressors, proposing that the accumulation of these stressors predicts illness risk. Their Social Readjustment Rating Scale assigns units to different life events (like marriage, job loss, or bereavement) to quantify the total stress load a person carries. This makes stress a property of the stimulus—the external events—rather than of the person’s internal reaction or ongoing process.

In contrast, other theories describe stress differently: Selye’s model treats stress as the body's general response to any demand; Lazarus emphasizes how individuals appraise and cope with a situation (stress as a transaction between person and environment); Pearlin views stress as an ongoing process involving chronic demands and available resources within social roles.