Final answer:
Individuals experiencing a crisis often face heightened stress due to their appraisal of stressors, which can be events or situations perceived as threats. These stressors can lead to either eustress, which positively affects performance, or distress, with negative health implications.
Step-by-step explanation:
When individuals experience heightened stress during a crisis, they are responding to stressors, which are environmental events that can be perceived as threatening or demanding. How a person appraises or interprets a stressor is crucial because it determines whether they will experience stress. Stressors can be traumatic events such as natural disasters or military combat, significant life changes like marriage or divorce, chronic conditions, or even daily hassles. People respond differently to stressors based on their primary and secondary appraisals; the former involves the judgment about the degree of potential harm a stressor might cause, while the latter evaluates the resources available to manage the stressor.
Various factors such as gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status can influence the number and types of stressors people experience. For instance, men, non-White individuals, and those of lower socioeconomic status have reported experiencing a greater number of traumatic stressors. It is also essential to understand that stress can have different effects: it can serve as eustress, which is a positive form of stress that can enhance performance, or it can develop into distress, which is negative stress leading to detrimental effects on health and well-being.