WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS - INFLUENCES OF CHOICE AVAILABILITY ON STRESS ANDTHE PERCEPTION OF CONTROL

The effects of making available various types of choices within the co ntext of a stressful situation were examined in three studies. The man ipulations included the number of alternative courses of action availa ble, the availability of information upon which to base an informed se lection, and the amount of information processing required per option. In the first study the anticipation of being able to choose between o ptions was found to reduce rated stressfulness and increase perceived controllability of the situations, but only when adequate information about the options was available. The second and third studies provided support for the view that situations are seen as more stressful when coping options must be selected blindly and when the selection of copi ng options requires substantial information processing under time pres sure. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.