 25. Self‑Regulatory Processes, Stress, and Coping  555
to distinctions among aspects of coping that 
seem to flow readily from the self-  regulation 
model; to a series of ways in which stress can 
arise in the course of ordinary behavior; and 
to some research findings that reveal both 
the divergent self-  regulatory functions in -
volved in coping (effort and disengagement) 
and individual differences in the manner in 
which people cope with adversity as a func -
tion of their expectations.
In closing, we make one last point about 
the links among stress, coping, and self- 
regulation. This point is not unique to the 
perspective we have taken here, but it seems 
to be implied with particular clarity by it. 
The point is this: Stress is not an all-or-none 
phenomenon, and coping is not fundamen -
tally different in kind from other behavior. 
Disruptions in life fall along a continuum, 
ranging from minor frustrations to devastat -
ing losses. All disruptions raise issues that 
need to be resolved by the people experienc -
ing them. The approach we have taken here 
suggests that the underlying structure of 
those issues is the same, whether the disrup -
tion is due to a minor frustration or a dev -
astating loss. A confrontation with adversity 
(regardless of its source) can be seen as the 
origin of stress, whether mild or severe. The 
person’s effort to dissolve the adversity, to 
dampen its subjective impact, or to accom -
modate to the new life situation that the 
adversity brings with it, are the essence of 
coping—  and of self-  regulation.
REFERENCES
Affleck, G., Tennen, H., Pfeiffer, C., & Fifield, J. 
(1987). Appraisals of control and predictability 
in adapting to a chronic disease. Journal of Per -
sonality and Social Psychology, 53, 273–279.
Allison, P. J., Guichard, C., & Gilain, L. (2000). 
A prospective investigation of dispositional op -
timism as a predictor of health-  related quality of 
life in head and neck cancer patients. Quality of 
Life Research, 9, 951–960.
Altmann, E. M., Trafton, J. G., & Hambrick, D. Z. 
(2014). Momentary interruptions can derail the 
train of thought. Journal of Experimental Psy -
chology: General, 143,  215–226.
Armor, D. A., & Taylor, S. E. (1998). Situated 
optimism: Specific outcome expectancies and 
self- regulation. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances 
in experimental social psychology (Vol. 29, 
pp. 309–379). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Baumeister, R. F., & Scher, S. J. (1988). Self- 
defeating behavior patterns among normal in -
dividuals: Review and analysis of common self- 
destructive tendencies. Psychological Bulletin, 
104, 3–22.
Brissette, I., Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (2002). 
The role of optimism in social network develop -
ment, coping, and psychological adjustment dur -
ing a life transition. Journal of Personality and 
Social Psychology, 82, 102–111.
Carver, C. S. (2003). Pleasure as a sign you can at -
tend to something else: Placing positive feelings 
within a general model of affect. Cognition and 
Emotion, 17,  241–261.
Carver, C. S. (2004). Negative affects deriving from 
the behavioral approach system. Emotion, 4, 
3–22.
Carver, C. S., & Connor-  Smith, J. (2010). Personal -
ity and coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 
61, 679–704.
Carver, C. S., Lawrence, J. W., & Scheier, M. F. 
(1999). Self-  discrepancies and affect: Incorporat -
ing the role of feared selves. Personality and So -
cial Psychology Bulletin, 25, 783–792.
Carver, C. S., Pozo, C., Harris, S. D., Noriega, V., 
Scheier, M. F., Robinson, D. S., et al. (1993). 
How coping mediates the effect of optimism 
on distress: A study of women with early stage 
breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social 
Psychology, 65, 375–390.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1981). Attention 
and self-  regulation: A control-  theory approach 
to human behavior . New York: Springer-  Verlag.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1990). Origins 
and functions of positive and negative affect: A 
control-  process view. Psychological Review, 97, 
19–35.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1998). On the self- 
regulation of behavior . New York: Cambridge 
University Press.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2003). Optimism. 
In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Coping: The 
psychology of what works . New York: Oxford 
University Press.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2013). Goals and 
emotion. In M. D. Robinson, E. R. Watkins, & 
E. Harmon- Jones (Eds.), Guilford handbook 
of cognition and emotion (pp. 176–194). New 
York: Guilford Press.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2017). Opti -
mism, coping, and well-being. In C. Cooper & 
J. C. Quick (Eds.), Wiley handbook of stress 
and health: A guide to research and practice 
(pp. 401–414). Chichester, UK: Wiley-  Blackwell.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2019). A self- 
regulatory viewpoint on human behavior. In R. 
M. Ryan (Ed.), Oxford handbook of motivation 
(2nd ed., pp. 28–42). New York: Oxford Univer -
sity Press.