From Who experiences stress to When It Occurs: Revisiting Lazarus’ transactional model of stress using an ecological momentary assessment framework
8 affiliations
- 1Institute for Applied Research and Evaluation, Lutheran University of Applied Sciences, Nuremberg, Germany
- 2Division of Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- 3Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- 4Institute of Medical Data Science, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- 5DigiHealth Institute, Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Neu-Ulm, Germany
- 6Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- 7Social and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Occupational, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- 8Center for Digital Medicine, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Abstract
According to the Transactional Model of Stress, stress responses arise from one’s perceptions of situational relevance (primary appraisal) and coping resources (secondary appraisal) as being insufficient. Although the model assumes moment-to-moment within-person variability, most research evidence stems from cross-sectional study designs. Therefore, this study applies Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to test the dynamic interplay between primary and secondary appraisals and fluctuations in perceived stress. We used EMA data from the TrackYourStress platform to examine both interindividual (“who”) and intraindividual (“when”) associations between primary and secondary appraisals and perceived stress. Bayesian multilevel models were applied to 2,908 observations from 164 participants. These models showed that higher appraisal of situational relevance was associated with increased stress, whereas higher appraisal of coping resources was associated with lower stress levels. Importantly, the association between relevance appraisals and stress was stronger under low coping resource appraisals. Findings were present at the inter- and intraindividual level. These findings support the model’s dynamic assumptions and highlight that appraisals not only account for interindividual differences in stress levels but also for moment-to-moment variation in stress responses in daily life. Author summary: Stress is not simply the result of what happens to us. The same situation can feel overwhelming to one person and manageable to another, and it may distress us on one day but not the next. Decades ago, Richard Lazarus proposed that stress depends on two personal judgements: how relevant or demanding a situation seems, and whether we feel we have the resources to cope with it. Although this influential model assumes that stress shifts from moment to moment, most studies have tested it only once per person, making these dynamics hard to capture. We used the smartphone app TrackYourStress to ask 164 people about their stress and their appraisals repeatedly during everyday life, collecting 2,908 reports. This let us separate stable differences between people (“who feels more stressed”) from momentary changes within the same person (“when someone feels stressed”). Situations judged as more relevant were linked to more stress, while feeling well-resourced was linked to less. Relevance stressed most when coping resources felt low — both between and within people. These findings support Lazarus's model in daily life and point to new opportunities for smartphone-based tools that monitor and support people's stress in real time.
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BibTeX
@article{john2026from,
title = {{From Who experiences stress to When It Occurs: Revisiting Lazarus’ transactional model of stress using an ecological momentary assessment framework}},
author = {Dennis John and Hannah van Alebeek and Rüdiger Pryss and Carsten Vogel and Johannes Schobel and Teresa O’Rourke and Anne-Kathrin Helten and Jennifer Apolinário-Hagen and Thomas Probst},
journal = {PLOS Digital Health},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pdig.0001716},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/digitalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pdig.0001716},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - From Who experiences stress to When It Occurs: Revisiting Lazarus’ transactional model of stress using an ecological momentary assessment framework
AU - Dennis John
AU - Hannah van Alebeek
AU - Rüdiger Pryss
AU - Carsten Vogel
AU - Johannes Schobel
AU - Teresa O’Rourke
AU - Anne-Kathrin Helten
AU - Jennifer Apolinário-Hagen
AU - Thomas Probst
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
JO - PLOS Digital Health
DO - 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001716
UR - https://journals.plos.org/digitalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pdig.0001716
AB - According to the Transactional Model of Stress, stress responses arise from one’s perceptions of situational relevance (primary appraisal) and coping resources (secondary appraisal) as being insufficient. Although the model assumes moment-to-moment within-person variability, most research evidence stems from cross-sectional study designs. Therefore, this study applies Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to test the dynamic interplay between primary and secondary appraisals and fluctuations in perceived stress. We used EMA data from the TrackYourStress platform to examine both interindividual (“who”) and intraindividual (“when”) associations between primary and secondary appraisals and perceived stress. Bayesian multilevel models were applied to 2,908 observations from 164 participants. These models showed that higher appraisal of situational relevance was associated with increased stress, whereas higher appraisal of coping resources was associated with lower stress levels. Importantly, the association between relevance appraisals and stress was stronger under low coping resource appraisals. Findings were present at the inter- and intraindividual level. These findings support the model’s dynamic assumptions and highlight that appraisals not only account for interindividual differences in stress levels but also for moment-to-moment variation in stress responses in daily life. Author summary: Stress is not simply the result of what happens to us. The same situation can feel overwhelming to one person and manageable to another, and it may distress us on one day but not the next. Decades ago, Richard Lazarus proposed that stress depends on two personal judgements: how relevant or demanding a situation seems, and whether we feel we have the resources to cope with it. Although this influential model assumes that stress shifts from moment to moment, most studies have tested it only once per person, making these dynamics hard to capture. We used the smartphone app TrackYourStress to ask 164 people about their stress and their appraisals repeatedly during everyday life, collecting 2,908 reports. This let us separate stable differences between people (“who feels more stressed”) from momentary changes within the same person (“when someone feels stressed”). Situations judged as more relevant were linked to more stress, while feeling well-resourced was linked to less. Relevance stressed most when coping resources felt low — both between and within people. These findings support Lazarus's model in daily life and point to new opportunities for smartphone-based tools that monitor and support people's stress in real time.
SN - 2767-3170
ER -