CheckPoint Reaction to Stressors Appendix D

Axia College Material

Appendix D

The following table describes five situations in which a person reacts to stress in an unhealthy manner. For each:

1. Identify the stressor(s).
2. Briefly explain why the person's reaction is an unhealthy choice.
3. Briefly describe one healthy alternative way of reacting and why you consider this approach a healthy choice.
4. Identify two possible moderators of stress for this situation.

Situation	Source(s) of Stress	Unhealthy Reaction	Healthy Reaction	Two Possible Moderators of Stress
Every morning, as she prepares for her two-hour drive to work, Carole gets a headache.	The two hour drive to work each morning.	She spends so much time preparing herself, that she gives herself headaches	Not stressing so much on the actual drive itself, and take in some scenery.	1: Head to work a little earlier in the morning. 2: Try doing some meditation before leaving for work; it would help calm the nerves.
Jim hates attending meetings at which he might be asked a question. His hands begin to shake at the thought of not having the right answer.	The possibility of being called on at a big meeting and not knowing the right answer.	Deciding not to go to the meetings at all. It could help create a phobia.	Answering the question whether it be right or wrong, and taking	1: Prepare for the meeting by going over the materials needed. 2: Maybe try taking some deep breaths and having confidence that he knows the answers.
Lori's stomach hurts constantly. Lori was married eight months ago, is expecting her first child in five months, and just started a new job after finishing her graduate degree.	She is pregnant, with work related stress.	Having doubts that she is capable of doing a good job at her new job.	Having better confidence that she knows what she is doing and going to that job stress-free!	1: Again, here I recommend meditation. I think it might help relax her and her baby enough to where her stomach wouldn’t hurt.
Dalene feels paralyzed with two choices: (a) stay in a job where the boss is overbearing and abusive, but where she has a steady paycheck or; (b)pursue a business opportunity and risks the security of a steady paycheck.	Do I stay or do I go? Her stress comes with the feeling of uncertainty.	To do nothing at all would be unhealthy in this situation.	Realize that regardless what choice she makes, it will all work out.	1: Be Positive. 2: Sit down and write all the pros and cons to keeping her job, and getting a new one. This might also help her get a better game plan together!
Harold sees his coworkers as inconsiderate, unsupportive, and lazy. He hates his job.	His perception of his coworkers.	Continuing to function in this stressful environment.	Not quitting till another job is found. That way there is no stress of money.	1: Try to get to know them and find out if he is just making a pre-judgment of the person or not. 2: Find a different place of employment. If it’s so bad there and nobody likes him, then maybe a change of scenery would be best.

In all the scenarios above I chose the healthy reaction to each person because, if I were to be in the exact same situation, that is what I would personally do!

CheckPoint Psychotherapy

The biomedical approach is a controversial one because drugs do not help solve all problems that a person may be experiencing. It cannot help with relationship issues that one may be going through or even help them solve everyday issues. It can help some of the chemical imbalance that occurs in a person’s brain.  There is little question that biomedical therapy has helped many different people suffering from many different disorders. Psychosurgery is not around anymore because of questions about its effectiveness and the occurrences of serious side effects.

According to Aaron Beck’s notes, the clients develop emotional problems such as depression because of cognitive errors that may lead them to minimize accomplishments and blow out of proportion their failures. He also noted that depressed people experience cognitive disorders such as the cognitive triad; that is they expect the worst from themselves, the world, and the future. Medications cannot help correct issues like this. This is more of a problem that needs to have attention brought to it with a professional. A good idea with these problems is to apply principles of reinforcement. 

CheckPoint Persuasion & Conformity Scenario

A summary of my original rational would included that I believe either one of the boys are really accessible to caving into peer pressures such as drinking, drug use, skipping class, and other irresponsible behavior in a new city, but I would have to say that I believe that John’s circumstances would probably help him fall into peer pressures a little easier than Donnie. Donnie is on a path and with determination; it’s hard to persuade a person to fall off that path!

I felt that my classmate rational on both of the profiles were pretty dead on. I would defiantly agree that John would be the more likely of the two to fall into peer pressures before Donnie would. My classmate, who wrote this about each individual, seemed to really understand the effects that everyday stresses can cause on a person going through that big of a change in their life. Going off to a new school, embarking on a new journey can be trying enough, so I think determination gives Donnie the upper hand in the two. From the sounds of it, Donnie does not seem to need friends, since he only had a few, close ones in high school.

My classmate did not make me see the scenario any differently because I already agreed with most of what was said. I like the detail that my classmate went into to describe how, and why, John was more susceptible to caving into peer pressure.

CheckPoint Parenting Styles and Development

Authoritative parents: The first adult: This adult would have an easier time coping with anything that might come their way. They were raised to understand why things happen in some ways. They also have a lot better of a support system from their parents who have always been there for them with love and support. The support they are offered from their families will give them the strength they need to make it through whatever comes their way!

Authoritarian parents: The second adult: This adult would have no easy way of coping with anything thrown their way because they do not understand anything except “because I said so”.  This is a bad way to raise a child because it does not tell the child actual reasoning behind the things they do, they just do it because they were told to, so I really feel that an adult would have a hard time coping with an unwanted issue.

Permissive parents: The third adult: A child that grew up with a permissive parent would probably have a hard time if they were to try and cope with a disease because they are already used to getting what they want, and I guarantee that they cannot talk their way out of growing older, so they will handle the situation poorly. They also would have a hard time communicating their problems to other family members, because of their permissive parents never being very communicable with their children.

CheckPoint Effects of Stress

CheckPoint Effects of Stress

You are currently an associate at an advertising agency where you have worked for two years. You are pursuing a promotion to the position of advertising executive. While you have expected to put in extra hours and some added responsibility as part of earning the promotion, your boss has increased your workload significantly, including some projects which had been assigned to other associates. You have more deadlines than you think you can meet plus the creative pressure of creating new and innovative material for your campaigns.

·         Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum

·         Answer each of the following questions in 50 to 75 words:

1.     What steps of the general adaptation syndrome will I experience?

I would think the first steps of general adaptation syndrome that I would face would be the fight or flight reaction. This would mean that my body would trigger an alarm that would tell my body to prepare to fight or flee from a threatening stressor or source of danger.

2.     What emotional and cognitive effects might this stressor produce?

Emotional and cognitive effects that might produce this stressor produce; anxiety, anger, and depression. As a cognitive effect; this may cause someone to have difficulty focusing on the task at hand. It might also cause difficulty remembering stuff or solving problems. I think it might cause a lot of anxiety, also.

3.     If this stress continues, how might it affect my health?

If this stress continues then it might affect my health greatly in many ways ranging anywhere from headaches to coronary heart diseases. I would not count out that this would probably bring on a tension headache. It could cause an anxiety attack from the anxiety levels, and that is just not a good thing.

4.     How might I resolve this situation effectively to reduce my stress?

Take a deep breath, count to ten, and relax. Realize that humans are bound to make mistakes, and the mistake can always be fixed. Just do the best you can at the project, ask for help from the people the assignments were already assigned to and do the best you can!

CheckPoint Changes from Adolescence Through Adulthood Appendix F

Axia College Material

Appendix F

For each of three developmental domains: physical, cognitive, and social/personality, identify two major changes or challenges associated with that developmental stage (adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood).

Stage of Development	Physical Development	Cognitive Development	Social/Personality Development
Adolescence	Growth Spurts Puberty	Formal operational stage. Egocentrism.	“I got to be me.” Problems with parents, engage in risky behavior. Ego identity
Young Adulthood	This is when physical development reaches its peak! This is where you feel your best!	Obtain highest intelligent test scores during this stage.	“the trying twenties” “Intimacy versus isolation”
Middle Adulthood	Physical decline. Memory loss, hair often starts falling or thinning at this point. Menopause.	Memory functioning loss.  This is the time where healthy eating would start to help you age better.	“Middlescence” “Age of Mastery” “Empty-nest syndrome”
Late Adulthood	Skin becomes less elastic, and so it becomes more wrinkled. Hair grows grey.	Alzheimer’s Disease. Loss of memory,	Stage of ego integrity, retirement.

Capstone Discussion Question PSY 210

Up until I read Chapter 6 in What You Can do with a Major in Psychology, I had never really thought about what I would like to do with my degree. I think I have come to the final decision that I would like to be a clinical counselor. I am most interested in this type of counseling because I like to work with people who have issues including bereavement, learning disabilities, or even post-traumatic stress. With the clinical counseling, the good thing is I do not have to specialize in any of those types of issues because I may work with them all.

What I would need in order to pursue my clinical counseling, I would have to obtain, first, at least a masters’ degree in Psychology. Then, I would have to probably have some additional schooling, certification, supervised hours and certification exams.

My short and long term goals include first getting my associates degree and working my way up to a masters’ degree. I will obtain my certifications and do the extra required schooling when I reach that point. Pretty much whatever it takes for me to get my degree, is what I plan to do. The volunteering and the internships with little pay, they are all things that will help me in reaching my final goal!

The Sexual Response Cycle

There are four levels to the sexual cycle which include excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. During the excitement phase, a young man can get an erection in as little as 3 to 8 seconds! This is the phase where the vasocongestion (the swelling of genital tissues with blood) happens. Vasocongestion in women swells the clitoris and flattens and spreads the vaginal lips. This can happen to a woman in 10 to 30 seconds and is followed with vaginal lubrication. Both men and women share the commonality of their nipples becoming “hard” or “erect”.  Also, their heart rate and blood pressure increase. It seems to me that women can have an erection lasting three times the amount longer than a man. And unlike a man, a woman can have multiple orgasms, when a man has to become re-aroused to orgasm once the refractory period is past and their levels of sexual arousal have returned to pre-plateau levels. 

The plateau phase is when the level of sexual arousal levels remains somewhat stable. This is when the testes may reach up to one and half times their un-aroused sized, and are elevated into position for ejaculation. The inner two-thirds of the vagina expand and In women, vasocongestion swells the outer part of the vagina, contracting the vaginal opening in preparation for grasping the penis. The inner part of the vagina expands further. The clitoris withdraws beneath the clitoral hood and shortens.  In both man and woman, their breathing becomes heavy, and rapid, like panting, and their heart rate may increase 100 to 160 beats per minute. In both the blood pressure will continue to rise.

In the orgasmic stage for the man, sensations of impending ejaculation lasting 2 to 3 seconds precede the ejaculatory reflex. Orgasmic contractions propel semen through the penis and out of the body. Contractions of the pelvic muscles surrounding the vagina occur. In both, muscle spasms occur throughout the body; blood pressure, and heart rate, and breathing rate all reach a peak.

Assignment Psychology and Health Problems

The multi-factorial model of health and illness is a model that individualizes each factor into groups like; biological factors, Sociocultural factor, environmental factors, personality factors, behavioral factors and stressors. It takes each group and tells about the different places it affects, and how it affects each one. Each individual factor relates to the diagnosis of illnesses in different ways. The psychological factors can be linked to how we manage our stress, or to if we end up having a coronary heart disease (CHD).

The biological factors are all factors that you are unable to control. The biological factor consists of many different factors including family history of illness, congenital disabilities, birth complications, age, gender, and ethnicity. The ethnicity needs to be made aware of, due to the fact that your race may cause vulnerability to certain diseases or health problems like Tay-Sachs disease or sickle cell anemia. The gender can be important because men are more likely to have coronary heart problems than women are (American Heart Association, 2000). Also, it is said that men live an average of seven years shorter than women. The reason being that women tend to try and get health problems taken care of quicker than a man, who will let his symptoms persist and not seek medical attention till it is too late! The biological factor is also where you would categorize the reaction of the cardiovascular system to stress. The functioning of the immune system, your inoculations, medication history, and pain and discomfort also make up the biological factor. The different health issues caused by the biological factor could include cardiovascular health, hypertension, and the serum cholesterol level. People that have a family history of coronary heart disease are more likely to have the problems themselves (American Heart Association, 2000a). Also the same when it comes to certain different kinds of cancers. If your family has a history of any kind of cancer, then it is recommended that you have things examined at least ten years of age younger than the person who had cancer was when they got it. So, if your grandmother had breast cancer when she was 35 you would get your first mammogram at 25.

Some of the Sociocultural factors, I think could be controlled, like health related cultural, religious beliefs, and practices, health related legislation, and health promotion in the workplace or community. I would have to say things like prejudice, discrimination and socioeconomic status are things that are not able to be controlled by you. Now, when it comes to the access of health care (adequacy of available health care, availability of health insurance, and transportation to get to and from the health care facilities), I would say this one depends on your family as you are growing up and can be changed by you when you are old enough to be able to afford health insurance yourself.

The environmental factor includes many of the different things that we live with all around us every day! Vehicular safety, solid waste treatment and sanitation, architectural features (e.g. crowding, injury-resistant design, nontoxic construction materials, aesthetic design, air quality, and noise insulation) are all environmental factors. Also, the air we breathe, water we drink, the radiation the sun gives us, global warming, and the depletion of our ozone are all factors that are considered to be environmental factors. The environmental factor group contains a few things that by ourselves we are unable to control, but together, we may have a better chance of controlling. If we were all to be more conscience about our environment, then I think we could all have a little bit better surroundings. Some people cannot control that they have a poor family and cannot afford the amenities of running water.

Now when it comes to the stressors group, it is almost self-explanatory. Everything you do in a day, every decision you make can be a cause of stress. Daily hassles like making food, having a time deadline, illness in the family, frustration, and pain and discomfort are all considered to be stressors. Even good things can be considered stress, like maintain a steady relationship, having children, or going to going to school. Your body reacts to different stress in different ways. Some stress can be so severe that it causes tension headaches, or maybe even migraines.

The personality group contains many different factors that make you kind of who you are. Things like seeking medical (or avoiding) information about heath risks and stressors, optimism or pessimism, introversion/ extroversion, hostility and suspiciousness are all personality factors that make you the way you are. The tendency to express or hold in feelings of anger and frustration, attribution styles, and the coronary-prone (Type A) personality are all, also, considered to be part of the personality factor along with self-efficacy expectations and physical conflict.

Now the behavioral factor consists of how you behave. The different things like diet (intake of food, fats, vitamins, etc), cigarette smoking, sleep patterns, social skills, and compliance with medical and dental advice are all factors of the behavioral group. Also, your safety practices are included in this group.

I am deciding to write about headaches and premenstrual syndrome as my two health problems discussed in the text. Psychology has played a major role in the understanding and managing these health problems. For headaches, the role has been a really big one with psychology. Persistent stress can cause the muscles in your shoulders, neck, forehead and scalp to contract causing muscle-tension headaches. Psychological factors, such as the tendency to blow things out of proportion, can also lead to having muscle-tension headaches. With these types of headaches, in order to manage them, you would try to manage you stress better, and any type of aspirin may not completely kill the pain, but it would defiantly dull it!

As for premenstrual syndrome (PMS), it is a perfectly natural biological process for women. PMS is the term referred to during the menstrual cycle of 4 to 7 day intervals. PMS symptoms can include depression, anxiety, mood swings, anger and irritability, lack of energy, weight gain, or feeling bloated (both from fluid retention). The symptoms can come before, and remain during the entire menstrual cycle. The best thing to manage the symptoms of PMS is to take Midol, Ibuprofen or other over the counter medicines may be helpful for the cramping. Various prescriptions drugs such as tranquilizers may also be of some help for the stress and anxiety symptoms that might occur.

PSY 210 Assignment Personality Theory Activity

I have chosen to write first about the psychodynamic theories. I am in such aw over how Sigmund Freud even got his theories in the first place! The psychodynamic theories all have Mr. Freud to thank for all of its original ideas! The most interesting part of the psychodynamic theory, for me, was the part where it goes onto talk about the Oedipus and Electra complexes! I had never thought about it till now, but it is a good theory. I also think it would be really hard to prove as a theory! His theory on the psychosexual development is really “out there” to me! I do not like the idea of an infant controlling their sexual gratification and their nourishment by sucking. It just seems like a natural process to me. Maybe even a natural instinct to an infant! Maybe it is something that is stored in our sub-consciences as a natural instinct?

When it talks about the “human iceberg”, I feel more that this is a good theory and would love to talk more into the superego, ego, and id. It is really cool to see that we only use a part of our brain on a conscience level. There are so many theories out there that let us know that we only use a part of our brains, and it must of all originated from Sigmund Freud’s theories! Carl Jung theorized that we not only have a personal unconscious that hold all our repressed memories and such, but also a collective unconscious that contains primitive images that reflect the history of our species!

The second theory I would like to compare and contrast is the Trait theories! Psychologist Hans J. Eysenck came out with the Five Factor model. I really like the whole idea of our stableness and our unstableness being either or. Meaning; I like how it breaks down into groups of; introverted-stable/unstable, extroverted-stable-unstable. Cross-cultural research has found that these five factors appear to emerge in studies of personalities of many peoples, including Americans, Germans, Israelis, Portuguese, Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese (McCrae & Costa, 1997).  It is a common factor that we all seem to be included in! Not all researchers accept the Big Five model. Some believe that reducing human personality to a mere five dimensions fails to capture the fullness and richness of human personality or to account for differences in how individuals behave in specific environmental contexts (Epstein, 1996; Paunonen et al., 1998). I myself am a believer in the Big Five model, and think that it might find what divides as culturally. I think it might be a better way to understanding the human diversity!

The Trait theory is mainly descriptive and it is most of the time assumed that it is all your hereditary genes that deal with the developments of specific personality traits. Your genetic factors can make you the way you are, too! Your genes only help you to a large extent! I like all the different ideas that came from this theory, and I strongly agree with all the ones that were available for me to read. So I cannot really contrast the differences in this one!

Appendix C:

Axia College Material

Appendix C

Match the psychological theories with the appropriate statement(s):

__Psychodynamic Theory                   __Trait Theory

                      

__Learning Theory                                __Sociocultural

__Humanistic Theory               

A.  Individualism versus collectivism- Sociocultural

2. Popular theorist Eysenck initiated the five-factor model. Trait Theory

3. The healthy personality is found in balancing the social self with the individual self. Learning Theory

4. Genetics determine the traits for a healthy personality, but how those traits are expressed are influenced by learning experiences, development of skills, and the ability to choose our own actions. Sociocultural Theory

5. Popular theorists include Maslow and Rogers. Humanistic Theory

6.  Popular theorists include Freud, Jung, and Erikson. Psychodynamic Theory

7. Social and cultural factors such as ethnicity, gender, culture, discrimination, and socioeconomic status influence one’s sense of self and his or her adjustment to society. Sociocultural Theory

8. Taken from the European philosophy of Existentialism. Humanistic Theory

9. Focus on the individuals’ capacity to build knowledge and adapt to the environments around them. Includes behaviorism and social-cognitive theory.  Learning Theory

10. Personality is characterized by a struggle between different elements within an individual’s personality. Behavior, thoughts, and emotions are the result of this inner struggle. Trait Theory

11. Consists of five major personality factors which are reasonably stable elements of personality. These factors include extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Trait Theory

12. Popular theorists include Pavlov and Skinner. Learning Theory

13. Idea of the healthy personality is the ability to love and work. Psychodynamic Theory

14. A healthy personality means knowing one’s self, making authentic choices which are consistent with goals, and the capability of making real changes in their lives. Trait Theory