ABSTRACT

It has often been claimed in recent years that the concept of stress is of little use in social science because of its amorphous and nonspecific nature (see, e.g., the uselessness of engineering analogies, as discussed by King, Stanley, & Burrows, 1987, p. 2). The concept of effort has been somewhat less the focus of attention among researchers in the biopsychosocial field. Nevertheless, when brought under close inspection, a similar conclusion may be copiously offered on the concept of effort. From this pessimistic perspective, the title given to the present chapter suggests the foolish task of dissecting mist when wearing blurred glasses.