This article by R.S. Lazarus titled “From Psychological Stress to the Emotions: A History of Changing Outlooks” was really interesting.  The first part of the article reads like a great story.  Stress is one of those words that we tend to throw around all the time without bothering to define what we actually mean by the word.  Academia has gone through many definitions of stress and probably will continue to do so.  Still, this article gives a good history of all the different ways in which academicians, especially those North American psychologists, have treated the phenomena we call stress and how these views are tied to historical events and broader paradigm shifts.  I find Lazarus’ definition of stress and coping particularly useful to my study of culture shock.  Specifically, I think the transactional theory linking appraisal, stress, and coping might be useful in understanding the psychological processes involved in Porges’ Social Engagement System.