Stress Stress can be defined as an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and/or psychological processes, that is a consequence of any external action, situation, or event that places special physical and/or psychological demands upon a person. This definition includes three concepts important to the overall study of stress: (a) situational demands or stressors cause persons to adapt (b) individuals tend to react and adapt in different ways to the stressors they are presented, and (c) some form. of physical and/ or psychological responses will occur. Therefore, internal characteristics may determine physical and emotional responses exhibited by individuals as a result of stressors. There are two distinct types of stressors, those without and within. Without stressors originate outside individuals and include such things as environmental or work-related demands. Within stressors are those from within individuals. These stressors tend to include individuals' personal values, attitudes, and self-concepts. There are three major types of stressors: environmental, organizational, and individual. Stressors are found to emerge from the environment and individuals. Internal characteristics would be stressors from within individuals. Internal characteristics are identified in numerous documents and cited as major sources of individual stress. Researchers have found that internal characteristics could contribute to individuals' susceptibility to stress and that these factors may even dictate how individuals handle the stress that they encounter they state that internal characteristics actually contribute to the amount of stress individuals are able to tolerate. A large number of the negative experiences of beginning vocational individuals emerge from internal characteristics. The role-related stress is a function of the individual's personality and job preparation. Perceived professional competence has been found to be a source of stress for many individuals. Individuals have been known to experience stress because of their lack of occupational confidence in a particular work or particular environment. Rapid changes in the world and technologies have caused individuals to feel incompetent and experience stress due to their inability to always remain current and up-to-date in their areas of expertise. Job satisfaction and individual stress are found to be strongly correlated. The amount of stress and degree of job satisfaction experienced by individuals directly influence the quality of individual work life. A list of events revealed recently is closely related to individuals' life satisfaction that could affect their stress and performance at work. These events included marriage, divorce, pregnancy, death of a loved one, and change of residence. According to the author of this passage, the term 'stress' can be defined as______.