The traditional cognitive model of attitudes helps explain the interplay between beliefs, feelings, behavioural intentions, emotions, and ultimately behaviour. What students often forget is that an attitude is really a cluster of beliefs, feelings and behavioural intentions. They also tend to forget the order in which they develop and eventually lead to behaviour.

The most important part about managing emotions is emotional intelligence (EI). The entire notion of emotional intelligence rests on being aware of our own emotions and that of others, and being able to manage our own emotions and that of others. By the way, the four levels of EI are hierarchical; don’t forget that.

Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are attitudes about work. While there is a moderate positive relationship between satisfaction and job performance, there exists a stronger positive relationship between job satisfaction and customer satisfaction. So, what happens when employees are dissatisfied with their jobs? Well, the possibilities are mind-boggling aren’t they? Lucky for you the EVLN model limits those possibilities to only four, and the abbreviation for the model helps you remember them. For me EVLN reminds me of Evelyn. That’s what’s called a mnemonic device.

As for the stress section of the chapter, the most difficult part is remembering the four stages of the general adaptation model, and the 5 ways to manage stress. Sometimes students get confused between stress and stressors –these are not the same things. Think of stressors as triggering events that give rise to the stress experience – like an exam.

Differentiating between the notions of eustress and distress can be problematic for students. Keep in mind that what is discussed in the chapter applies to distress, even though it is referred to as stress (its generic term). We don’t spend much time with eustress because it doesn’t really cause any problems. There are three common types of stressors discussed in this chapter. However, keep in mind that harassment comes in two forms: psychological, and sexual.

We face stressors on a daily basis. That’s part of the human condition. Some of us manage stress better than others (individual differences). The chapter ends with five strategies for managing stress. To help you remember them, you might consider making your own examples. Notice how withdrawing temporarily from the stressor(s) sounds a lot like taking a holiday. So, taking a holiday would be a form of stress management. That’s all the excuse you need right?!