A brief consideration of some stress definitions and models, revealed a considerable confusion in the way the term “stress” is currently used. It is argued that what is usually called “stress” at present should be called “stress process”, implying several stages of it. The model, proposed by the autor, limits the extent of word stress to the environmental stimulation and the processes up to perceptual level. Not every kind of supraoptimal stimulation should be considered as stressful, but only the stimulation associated with unpleasantness. The model emphasizes the role of matching process between the results of menial elaboration of the situation and the assessment of subject's own capacities to cope with the situation. The model also gives provision for a dynamic interaction of the subject with the stress source, and long term effects of persistent psychophysiological reactions to stress.
