Provision of information has been used as a strategy to relive travel-related anxiety. This study is motivated by the successful attempts for reducing the anxiety. Although, passengers' anxiety about using public transport (PT) has already been discussed, the London Underground passengers' anxiety has rarely been a target of investigation in the academic literature. Anxiety associated with the Underground use is reported to be greater than other PT modes. Although the existing studies discussing PT passengers' anxiety have attempted to provide solutions for anxiety reduction, few endeavours have been made to offer them based on the investigated causality between determinants of anxiety and its arousal. Thus, this study fills the gap by identifying antecedents, and verifying their effects on anxiety about the Underground use. This, in turn, furnishes theoretical grounds for designing content of information with an aim to relieve the anxiety in the circumstance that little data exists, which can be utilised for developing information for the purpose. To achieve the goal, two sets of phases have been engaged. First, a questionnaire (N=81) was conducted to identify anxiety triggers. The results revealed that they were other people's anti-social behaviour, overcrowding, noise, and late-night travel. An expert group interview was carried out to investigate what efforts are made to support passengers in the anxiety inducing situations. Second, examination was performed to understand about the passengers' anxiety based on theoretical knowledge about anxiety, and to determine its antecedents. A research model was formulated including six factors, perceived invulnerability, perceived physical ability, trust in other passengers (informal social control), confidence in the authorities, safety knowledge, and perceived uncontrollability. The effects were assessed through structural equation modelling, using questionnaire data (N=269). The results uncovered that perceived invulnerability, perceived physical ability, and confidence in the authorities have negative indirect effects on anxiety through perceived uncontrollability, and safety knowledge has a negative direct effect on anxiety. The confirmed anxiety buffering effects of the factors will be suggested to be used for developing content of information to help relieve the arousal. The study contributes to knowledge by identifying the determinants of the passengers' anxiety, and testing their effects on anxiety, and to produce theoretical support to create service information environment which helps relieve the anxiety.

Why is it that some athletes are able to withstand the pressures of competitive sport and attain peak performances, whereas others succumb to the demands and under-perform? It is the study of psychological resilience that aims to address this question. To significantly advance psychologists' knowledge and understanding of this area, there exists an urgent need to develop a sport-specific measure of resilience (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012; Galli & Vealey, 2008; Gucciardi, Jackson, Coulter, & Mallett, 2011). The purpose of this thesis, therefore, is to investigate the assessment of psychological resilience in sport performers. To this end, the thesis is split into five chapters. Chapter one reviews and critiques the various definitions, concepts, and theories of resilience, and provides an overview of the research that has specifically examined psychological resilience in sport performers. Chapter two reviews psychometric issues in resilience research and its implications for sport psychology (part one), and discusses psychological resilience in sport performers via a review of the stressors athletes encounter and the protective factors that help them withstand these demands (part two). Drawing on these reviews of resilience in sport, Chapter three (studies one-three) describes the development and validation of the Sport Resilience Scale (SRS). More specifically, Study 1 explores the content validity of a pool of items designed to reflect psychological resilience in athletes, Study 2 examines the factorial structure of the SRS using exploratory factor analysis, and Study 3 tests the factorial structure of the SRS via confirmatory factor analysis, investigates whether the components of the measurement model are invariant across different groups, and examines the relationship between the SRS and other relevant concepts. Using the SRS, and based on Fletcher and Sarkar's (2012) grounded theory of psychological resilience, Chapter four (studies 4 and 5) investigates resilience in sport performers via an examination of moderation and mediation hypotheses. Specifically, Study 4 tests whether the association between the stressors athletes encounter and athletes' positive adaptation is moderated by the protective factors that athletes possess and Study 5 tests whether the association between the stressors athletes encounter and athletes' positive adaptation is mediated by their cognitive appraisal processes. Lastly, Chapter five offers a summary, discussion, and conclusion of the thesis. Overall, the research reported in this thesis has developed the first valid and reliable measure of psychological resilience in sport performers and has provided quantitative support for Fletcher and Sarkar's (2012) theoretical model of sport resilience by illustrating the moderating role of protective factors and the mediating role of cognitive appraisal.

This paper aims to examine which form of examination that influence the students stress-level the most and if there’s a significant difference between genders. In relation to recent studies, hypotheses were formed that the oral exam should have the highest scores of stress, that students with better score on coping should have lower stress and that girls would score higher than boys. The study was conducted through a self-created survey that measured the students stress-levels in three different forms of examination, oral exam, written home-assignment and written classroom exams. The study was made at a school in southern Sweden with 95 respondents. The results showed that the oral examination caused highest scores in stress and that girls had significantly higher scores than boys. This study can be an enlightenment and guidance for teachers in their planning for examinations to ease the students raising stress-levels. / Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka vilken typ av examination som framkallar mest stress hos gymnasieelever samt om det finns någon signifikant skillnad mellan könen. I relation till tidigare studier formades hypoteser att muntlig examination genererade högst poäng på stress, att elever med högre poäng på stresshantering har lägre nivåer av stress, samt att tjejer påvisar högre stressvärden än killar. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av ett egenskapat enkätformulär som mätte elevernas stressnivåer i tre olika examinationsformer, muntlig examination, skriftlig hemuppgift samt salsprov. Studien genomfördes på en skola i södra Sverige och antalet respondenter var 95. Resultatet visade att muntlig examination genererade högst poäng av stress samt att tjejer hade markant högre resultat än killar. Studien ämnar till att ge lärare en insyn i elevernas situation och upplevelse av olika examinationer så att de har möjlighet att anpassa sin undervisning efter det.

Forskning kring arbetslöshet har ofta fokuserat på bemästringsstrategier (eng. coping strategies), men flera studier har även pekat på betydelsen av tron på den egna förmågan (eng. self-efficacy) och den kognitiva tolkningen (eng. cognitive appraisal) för valet av bemästringsstrategi. Genom att mäta individens tro på den egna förmågan, den kognitiva tolkningen och bemästringsstrategier syftar denna undersökning till att identifiera de faktorer som sannolikt leder till försämrad generell mental hälsa och längre tids arbetslöshet. I undersökningen deltog 194 arbetslösa som fick besvara en enkät. Resultatet visade att höga nivåer av de primära tolkningsdimensionerna hot och förlust tillsammans med låg tro på den egna förmågan relaterades till maladaptiva bemästringsstrategier, vilket kopplades till sämre generell mental hälsa och längre arbetslöshet. Både den primära tolkningen och tron på den egna förmågan är således fundamentala i processen att bemästra arbetslösheten.

Coping is an important concept to explain stress-related factors because it is a process that is mediated by both primary, and secondary appraisal (Lazarus &amp / Folkman, 1984). The present study aims to examine the extent to which correctional officers&#039 / cognitive appraisal associated with stress, and to develop, and test models including work stress, cognitive appraisal of stress, affect-related variables, coping strategies, psychological distress, and psychological adjustment. For this aim, a total of 268 correctional officers from seven different prisons in Turkey participated in the present study. The subjects were given Stress Appraisal Measure (SAM), Work Stress Scale for Correctional Officers (WSSCO), Positive, and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Emotional Approach Coping Scale (EACS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form (STAI-T), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS), and The Ways of Coping Inventory (WCI) in addition to Demographic Information Form. A variety of hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to reveal the significant associates of psychological distress and adjustment. According to the results of regression analyses, four models were developed, and tested by structural equation modeling. The results of the present study demonstrated that different cognitive appraisals, different affect-related variables, different coping strategies combined to influence psychological distress, and psychological adjustment measures in addition to the direct effects of work stress. Following discussion of the results in terms of theoretical, and methodological perspectives, the limitations of the present study, and the suggestions for future research were also handled.

Cognitive appraisal is a pivotal construct that has been identified in determining the stress response and coping response. Researchers have shown specific physiological outcomes of initial cognitive appraisals that are taken more as a threat or a challenge. Cognitive appraisal is known to fluctuate, but little is known about what influences these cognitive re-appraisals. While it has been theorized that changes in physiological arousal might impact cognitive re-appraisals, there is little support for this return pathway. Performance with the stressor has however been indicated as impacting cognitive reappraisals. The studies presented here tested the relationships between cognitive appraisal, cognitive re-appraisal, coping response, performance measures, and changes in physiology. A computerized digit-symbol reaction time task presented to participants as "an IQ test" yielded performance measures, while heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure were recorded, as were measures of participants' cognitive appraisal of the stressor. Participants were both male and female undergraduates with 28 in the first study and 71 in the second study. Results from both studies indicate that the initial cognitive appraisal predicted the coping response as self-reported after the task. Initial cognitive appraisal also predicted more than a third of the variance observed in cognitive re-appraisal. The performance measure, percent correct, predicted an additional 15% of the variance. Neither heart rate nor mean arterial pressure was found to influence the cognitive re-appraisal at the end of the task. The second study also had a subjective performance measure and another cognitive re-appraisal after three minutes of rest. Tests indicated that the subjective percent correct predicted over 15% of the variance of cognitive re-appraisal, subsuming the objective measure of percent correct. The second study also found only one physiological measure, the stress response’s mean arterial pressure, predicted 4% of the variance of the latter cognitive re-appraisal. Results identify the initial appraisal of, and the perception of performance with a stressful task as the primary targets for interventions promoting more effective coping and positive emotions. Future research is discussed that can address the limitations of these studies and investigate other environmental and personal factors that may influence cognitive appraisals. / text

The purpose of the current studies was to determine whether "matches", or fit, between actual task control and participants' desire for control over their environment lead to better stress and task performance outcomes than "mismatches", or misfit, in high work demand environments only. These studies also investigated the mediating effects of cognitive stressor appraisals and stress, as well as the moderating influence of hardiness on threat appraisals. Data were collected on 366 undergraduate students, who were asked to complete individual difference measures and engage in timed performance tasks. Results indicated no significant interactions between actual task control and desire for control for the outcomes of cognitive stressor appraisals, experienced stress, or task performance. No mediating influence was found for cognitive appraisals or stress, nor was there a buffering effect of hardiness on the cognitive appraisal process. Despite the non-significant results, the effects on task performance trended in the predicted direction in both studies, such that the highest task performance was found in cases of match between actual task control and desire for control, whereas the lowest task performance was found in cases of mismatch. These findings yield some support for Person-Environment Fit theory, demonstrating that actual task control and desire for control should be considered together when predicting task performance in workplace contexts.

Abstract Purpose - The purpose of this study is to extend the current understanding of NCE and its antecedents. Design/methodology/approach - A deductive approach was used to confirm the proposed model of NCE using structural equation modeling. Data was collected online using self-selection questionnaires, resulting in 252 responses used in the quantitative analysis. Seven hypotheses were tested in the analysis.  Findings - The primary findings of the study is that perceived injustice acts as an antecedent of cognitive and affective NCE, which in turn drive behavioral NCE. Accordingly, the proposed tri-dimensional framework of NCE, consisting of a cognitive, affective, and behavioral component, was supported. Negative service quality disconfirmation was not supported as an antecedent of NCE.  Originality/value - The originality of the paper lies in the testing of NCE and the proposed drivers as a unique construct, which has not previously been tested in quantitative research.

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