Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each coping example as problem-focused or emotion-focused.
Groups: Problem-focused coping · Emotion-focused coping
- Seeking comfort from a friend about an unchangeable loss
- Making a detailed study plan before an exam
- Directly confronting a fixable problem at work
- Meditating to calm anxiety about something you cannot control
Hints
- Problem-focused changes the SITUATION; emotion-focused manages the FEELING.
- If the stressor is controllable and being tackled directly, it is problem-focused.
Show the answer
Problem-focused coping: Making a detailed study plan before an exam, Directly confronting a fixable problem at work
Emotion-focused coping: Seeking comfort from a friend about an unchangeable loss, Meditating to calm anxiety about something you cannot control
Why
Changing the situation (study plan, confronting a fixable problem, researching solutions) is problem-focused; managing the emotional response (comfort, meditation, reframing) is emotion-focused. The tell is whether the effort targets the stressor or the feeling.
Practise Stress and Coping
The app has 6 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Psychology I is free to start.
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