UC Riverside

Demand is a perceived need to exhaust resources to manage a situation. Although previous models of demand and stress have acknowledged the existence of potential gain in these taxing situations, they have focused primarily on the potential for loss. The present research tests a multivalence extension of the transactional model of stress to address the role of secondary appraisal in positively-valenced demand. Across three experiments, I demonstrate that secondary appraisal moderates the relationship between demand and valence, as well as an important cognitive outcome: problem solving. When secondary appraisal is high, demand increases positive valence and improves problemsolving performance. When secondary appraisal is low, demand increases negative valence and impairs problem-solving performance. These results are consistent with the theoretical structure of eustress and demonstrate the need to further explore positivelyvalenced demand in stress research.