CAUSES OF EMOTIONAL STRESS 



447 



with some form of substitute activity as an 

 outlet or release. If possible, such substi- 

 tutes should be symbolically appropriate to 

 the inhibited activities (as in bowling where 

 one aggresses against the pins), or be use- 

 ful in preserving security and safety (as a 

 daily work period on a submarine). An ex- 

 perimental analysis of substitute aggressive 

 behavior (displacement) in rats (59) exam- 

 ines many of the conditions under which 

 such behavior occurs and forms which it 

 might take. 



Development of Impulse Mastery in Adults 



Although the groundwork for the ability 

 to master such impulses as fear and anxiety 

 is laid in childhood, partial control may be 

 developed in adults lacking it by gradual 

 exposure to stress-producing situations. 

 That is to say, it is possible for adults to 

 become "seasoned" or "toughened" to emo- 

 tional stress so that it may be tolerated 

 without undue strain. If, for example, an 

 individual is required to perform his duties 

 in a moderately stressful situation, and if 

 over a period of time the stress is gradually 

 increased, he should become able to master 

 the increased stress without excessive dif- 

 ficulty. As a consequence, and within rea- 

 sonable limits, there should be no appreciable 

 loss in his ability to function adequately 

 under conditions that previously would have 

 been incapacitating. By thus becoming 

 progressively adapted to the stress situa- 

 tion, the individual learns that by keeping 

 his head he will be subjected to minimal 

 danger and at the same time will be able to 

 act most effectively. Realistic training un- 

 der realistic conditions of stress is a neces- 

 sary procedure if many individuals are not 

 to become psychiatric casualties when con- 

 fronted by actual danger. In fact, one ob- 

 server believes that "shell shock" is nothing 

 but insufficient training (73). 



A related procedure involves the forcing 

 of a successful solution under conditions of 

 conflict or stress. This method is illustrated 



by an experiment with cats (52) which were 

 made neurotic by induced conflict between 

 hunger and fear of the feeding situation. 

 When the animals were in a state bordering 

 on panic, they were forced by their intense 

 hunger to break through their previous fear 

 of the food box. Once this occurred, signs 

 of neurotic behavior subsided, and the pre- 

 viously traumatizing stimuli came to be a 

 signal for feeding. This "sink-or-swim" 

 method, however, is not without its possible 

 risks, such as when the stress is too great, 

 or when the subject is unable to achieve a 

 satisfactory solution. After this experience 

 of forced solution, some of the animals en- 

 tered into a state of panic, and continued 

 to show a marked increase in their neurotic 

 reactions, both in and out of the experimen- 

 tal setup. 



The proper mental and emotional atti- 

 tudes of the individual also may aid in the 

 mastery of stress-pioducing situations. In 

 an experiment involving conditioned re- 

 sponses to strong electric shock (35, 36), the 

 subjects who actively tried to face and mas- 

 ter the situation (as opposed to those who 

 remained passive) showed much less physio- 

 logical and emotional disturbance through- 

 out the experiment and especially in antici- 

 pation of the shock, were less bothered by 

 the shock itself, and were better able to 

 withstand it as the experiment progressed. 

 These subjects likewise recovered their com- 

 posure more rapidly after the shocks were 

 terminated. 



The importance of a person's actively and 

 realistically trying to master the situation 

 confronting him also applies to longer pe- 

 riods of time. For example, in a work adjust- 

 ment study (32), the dominant tendency of 

 the better adjusted individuals was actively 

 to face their difficulties and problems (rather 

 than to feel self-disparagement and the 

 desire to quit), to be more realistic and 

 flexible in their attitudes toward themselves 

 and their work, and to be more willing to 



