Final answer:
Research by Richard Lazarus and colleagues indicates that daily hassles have a greater impact on health than major life changes, with frequent, minor irritations contributing to adverse health outcomes more than occasional significant events.
Step-by-step explanation:
The assertion that everyday hassles have a more significant impact on one's health than major life changes is indeed supported by empirical research. Richard Lazarus, Anita DeLongis, and their colleagues have conducted studies that demonstrate daily hassles are strong predictors of health outcomes. Daily hassles such as traffic, lost keys, and arguments can accumulate, leading to negative mood states and increased physiological stress. Cyber hassles, particularly the stress from social media, have also been implicated in adverse health effects like loss of sleep.
Major life events, which were once the primary focus of stress research, require significant readjustment but happen less frequently. However, the accumulation of daily hassles, which occur more frequently, can have a more profound cumulative effect on one's psychological well-being and physical health. It is the frequent, minor irritations rather than the infrequent major changes that are more often associated with health problems.