ABSTRACT
In humans, the perception of stressors is necessarily even more complex, in that any stressor has psychological characteristics and the individual perception of that stressor will depend on the context of the stressor, the context of the individual, and how successfully the individual can cope with the stressor. Among the classic demonstrations of the importance of cognitive appraisal and coping in mediating stress and illness are some experiments performed by J. Brady and by J. M. Weiss. Back in 1950, H. Selye had found a positive relationship between the occurrence of peptic and duodenal ulcers in humans and emotional stressors such as war or the "increase in the stressors and stress of modern life." Predictability of an oncoming stressor appeared to be a significant variable in illness symptoms associated with a stressor. Predictability and control in face of complex stressors may well be less adaptive than having no control.
