Cognitive interference refers to unwanted, often disturbing thoughts which intrude on a person's life. This text examines the effects of this thinking on behaviour, particularly how stress can distort cognition and performance and the role it plays in social maladjustment and slow learning.

In this volume, the first synthesis of work on cognitive interference, leading researchers, theorists, and clinicians from around the world confront a number of important questions about intrusive thoughts and suggest a challenging agenda for the future.

This volume is based on the First International Conference on Stress and Emotion, held in Visegrad, Hungary. It covers, in four sections, theoretical aspects of stress and emotion, perception, cognition and emotion, the physiological and biological concomitants of emotion and stress, type A behaviour and emotion. There is also an appendix of reports on the subject.

This volume is concerned with emotional reactions to stress and is organized in five parts dealing with stress and emotion theory; stress conflict and personality; emotional reactions to stress; physiological reactions to stress; and the relationship of type-A behaviour to heart disease. Type-A behaviour is dealt with on a number of levels, for example, occupational stress and the attendant risk of coronary disease, academic stress situations and other forms of behaviour pattern in type-A.

The 17th volume of this prestigious and long-standing Series on Stress and Emotion focuses on recent advances in research by internationally renowned contributors from over a dozen countries. Individual chapters explore the impact of anxiety and stress on emotions in the workplace, school settings, and interpersonal relationships. The original research and practical implications presented in this volume are of interest to all social, behavioral, and medical scientists concerned with stress and anxiety-related issues. The chapters in Part One of this volume examine efforts to assess and manage the effects of stress and anxiety in one's personal life, that result from medical illness, morality issues and athletic competition, along with coping mechanisms across culture and gender. Part Two considers the experience, expression, and control of anger in a variety of cultural, educational and family contexts. The chapters in the final section explore cross-cultural effects of occupational stress and its impact on particular jobs. The contributions to this volume further our understanding of how stress factors, anxious feelings, and emotional responses to both can impact and influence our lives.

First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.