ABSTRACT
Environmental stress can best be thought of as the process by which environmental conditions such as crowding, noise, temperature, and air pollution threaten or cause harm to people. This process includes the stressor (i.e., the condition that poses potential consequences), the interpretation or appraisal of the stressor, and behavioral, emotional, and physiological response to it (e.g., Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus & Cohen, 1977). Response may be directed to coping, wherein the individual seeks to modify the situation or manage emotional response to it, or it may be more nonspecific physiological arousal (e.g., Lazarus, 1966; Selye, 1956). When environmental conditions evoke appraisals of actual or likely harm, some combination of these responses occurs. If coping is unsuccessful or if threatening conditions persist or recur repeatedly, psychological and physiological damage is possible.
