ABSTRACT
Life is full of potential sources of stress. These range from everyday hassles such as preparing for an exam, managing multiple demands on one's time, or dealing with a difficult boss, through to far more substantial challenges such as being exposed to constant abuse, undergoing major surgery, or having a job that routinely puts in life-threatening situations. One of the most important foci for work on secondary appraisal is research that explores the role of social support as a key process that helps people to cope with stress. Evidence that shared social identity provides a basis for effective social support starts to get to the heart of the qualitative difference between stress that is experienced by people as individuals and stress that is experienced by them as group members. The chapter supports a theoretical framework that allows us to understand the social psychological dynamics that underpin the physiological and personal aspects of stress.
