An examination of attributions and emotions in the transactional approach to the organizational stress process

Although the transactional model of the stress process (Lazarus, 1966, 1993 ; Lazarus and Folkman, 1984, 1987) continues to be utilized in a significan t amount of stress research, much of the current literature on job stress f ocuses on pinpointing objective stressors. This paper examines Lazarus' tra nsactional appraisal approach and includes a specific discussion of the pro cess by which employees' attributions regarding stressors and the resulting emotions significantly influence their choices of coping mechanisms. Given that a single work event can be interpreted in a variety of ways, the role of individuals' cognitive processing is being ignored by much of the curre nt empirical stress research. This paper examines and highlights the import ance of the cognitive and emotional components within the organizational st ress process: Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.