Stress
A Brief History
Blackwell Brief Histories of Psychology
1. Edition April 2004
160 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Stress: A Brief History is a lively, accessible, and
detailed examination of the origins of the field of stress
research.
* * First concise, accessible, academically grounded book on the
origins of the concept of stress.
* Explores different theories and models of stress such as the
psychosomatic approach, homeostasis, and general adaptation
syndrome.
* Discusses the work and intriguing contributions of key
researchers in the field such as Walter Cannon, Hans Selye, Harold
Wolff, and Richard Lazarus.
* Explains the origins of key concepts in stress such as
stressful life events, the coronary-prone personality, and
appraisals and coping.
* Culminates in a discussion of what makes a good theory and what
obligations stress researchers have to those whose working lives
they study.
1. From early beginnings to the 20th Century.
2. The 20th Century - The Early Years.
3. From the 1950s to Richard Lazarus.
4. The Work of Richard Lazarus.
5. Work Stress and Occupational Health Psychology.
6. What do we mean by stress: From the past to the future.
References.
Index
cause of early death. Cary Cooper's and Philip Dewe's book is a
fascinating and highly readable account of the long and difficult
journey to this insight. I recommend it strongly." Lennart Levi,
MD, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Division of Stress Research,
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
"an informative and concise summary of landmarks in the history
of stress research, with themes originating from over a hundred
years of contributions to the field ... this book carries more than
enough information for one to appreciate the origins of an exciting
and necessary field." Andi Yi-An Shih, Ph.D. Candidate,
University of British Colombia. Stress and Health, 20, 239-40,
2004
"This must be the definitive book on the history of stress,
written by specialists in organisational psychology and
behaviour...Work stress is given a chapter on its own , and the
conclusion asks what we mean by stress and how research on the
topic can be pursued." Scientific and Medical Network Review,
Summer 2005
Health at the Manchester School of Management. He is the author of
over 100 books, as well as senior co-editor of the Blackwell
Encyclopedia of Management (12 volumes, with Chris Argyris). He
has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation, two UN
bodies, and the International Labor Organisation.
Philip Dewe is Professor of Organizational Behaviour and
Head of the Organizational Psychology Department at Birkbeck
College. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including
Organizational Stress (with Cary L. Cooper and Michael P.
O'Driscoll, 2001) and Coping, Health and Organisations
(edited with Tom Cox and Michael Leiter, 2000).
