Psychology 3312F-001
STRESS AND COPING
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
Major concepts, distinctions and classes of events in the field of psychological stress and coping will be covered. Individual differences in stress-proneness and their measurement will be considered as well. Finally, contemporary mathematical and computer-simulation approaches to "stress as a process" will be addressed, and explained in non-technical terms.
Antirequisites: Psychology 4390F, if taken 2011-12, 2012-13, or 2013-14.
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Prerequisite: Psychology 2820E, or both of Psychology 2800E and 2810.
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
3 lecture/seminar hours, 0.5 course.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. R.W.J. Neufeld, C.Psych., FCAHS, FAAAP
Office and Phone Number: Westminster Hall, Room 310E, (519) 661-3696
Office Hours: By Appointment or after class
Email: rneufeld@uwo.ca
TA: Bryan Grant: Email: bgrant29@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Lectures: Thursdays 2:30 – 5:30 p.m., Room 3305, Somerville House
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
No Textbook Required.
Readings:
See Lecture Schedule below (7.0)
Re: Topics (A) and (B):
For September 24, 2015
Paterson, R. J., & Neufeld, R. W. J. (1989). The stress response and parameters of stressful situations. In R. W. J. Neufeld, (Ed.). Advances in the investigation of psychological stress. New York: Wiley. Pp. 7-42.*
Neufeld, R. W. J., & Paterson, R. J. (1989). Issues concerning control and its implementation. In R. W. J. Neufeld (Ed.). Advances in the investigation of psychological stress. New York: Wiley. Pp. 43-67*
For October 1, 2015
Monroe, S. M. (2008). Modern approaches to conceptualizing and measuring human life stress. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. 4, 33-52.**
Re. Topic (C):
For October 1, 2015
Neufeld, R. W. J. (1990). Coping with stress, coping without stress, and stress with coping: On inter-construct redundancies. Stress Medicine. 6, 117-125.*
General, transcending Topics A through E (obligatory). Although general, you should space these readings according to the indicated completion dates.
For September 24, 2015
Ekenrode, J. & Bolger, N. (1995). Daily and within-day event measurement. In Cohen, S., Kessler, R. C., & Underwood Gordon, L. Measuring stress. New York: Oxford University Press: pp. 80-101.*
(“Macro-measurement” of stress response.)
For October 1, 2015
Pollard, T. M. & Ice, G. (2007). Measuring hormonal variation in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis: cortisol. In Ice, G., & James, G. D. Measuring stress in humans. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.*
(“Macro-measurement” of stress response.)
For October 1, 2015
Tomaka, J., Blascovich, J., Kibler, J., & Ernst, J. (1997). Cognitive and physiological antecedents of threat and challenge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 63-72**.
(“Micro-measurement” of stress response.)
Recommended, as desired/needed, for elaboration on topics (C) and (D).
Shanahan, M. J., & Neufeld, R. W. J. (2010). Coping with stress through decisional control: Quantification of negotiating the environment. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 63, 575-601.**
Neufeld, R.W.J. (1999). Dynamic differentials of stress and coping. Psychological Review, 106, 385-397.**
Levy, L.R., Yao, W., McGuire, G., Vollick, D.N., Jetté, J., Shanahan, M.J., & Neufeld, R.W.J. (2012). Nonlinear bifurcations of psychological stress negotiation: New properties of a formal dynamical model. Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology and Life Sciences, 16, 429-456. **
Recommended, as desired/needed for elaboration on Topic (E).
Neufeld, R.W.J., & McCarty, T. (1994). A formal analysis of stressor and stress- proneness effects on basic information processing. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 47, 193-226.*
Neufeld, R.W.J., Townsend, J. T., & Jetté, J. (2007). Quantitative response time technology for measuring cognitive-processing capacity in clinical studies. In R.W.J. Neufeld (Ed.), Advances in clinical
cognitive science: Formal modeling and assessment of processes and symptoms (pp. 207-238). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.*
Neufeld, R.W.J. (to appear). Modeling stress effects on coping-related cognition. In J Houpt & L. Blaha (Eds.). Mathematical modeling of perception and cognition: Essays in honor of James T. Townsend. New York: Taylor & Francis.*
________________________________________________________
*To be scanned, and transmitted electronically to Psychology 4390F via OWL (and possibly 3312F listserv).
**Available on Google Scholar, through on-campus account access or lib.uwo.ca. Proxy access if off-campus
Additional Resource Materials (on 2-hour reserve at Weldon Library):
Cohen, S., Kessler, R. C., & Underwood Gordon, L.(Eds., 1995). Measuring stress: A guide for health and social scientists. New York, Oxford University Press.
Gray, Jeffrey A. (1987) The psychology of fear and stress. 2nd Ed..
Ice, G. H. & James, G. D. (Eds., 2007). Measuring stress in humans: A practical guide for the field. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lazarus, R. S. & Folkman, C. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
Lazarus, R. S. (1999). Stress and emotion: A new synthesis. New York: Springer.
Neufeld, R. W. J. (1989; Ed.). Advances in the investigation of psychological stress. New York:Wiley.
Neufeld, R. W. J. (1982; Ed.). Psychological stress and psychopathology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
Objectives are to provide students with an appreciation of the main substance, theoretical approaches, measures, and methods of study, in the field of stress-and-coping science— with reference to material ranging from historical perspectives, to contemporary theory and research strategies. A collateral objective is to highlight specific subject matter, used in the field of stress and coping, that nevertheless generalizes to other areas of science, and with appreciable longevity. Ideally, students will increase their skills for critical thinking, in ways that transcend the present course topics, and duration.
5.0 EVALUATION
Participation, 10%; Class presentation, 10%; Paper on presentation topic, 25%; mid-term test, 20%; Final test, 35%
Note that presentation topics are chosen by the student, in consultation with the professor and teaching assistant [e.g., nature of and evaluation of popular “stress management techniques”; biological substrates, and measures; stress-susceptibility extremes (e.g., selected Psychiatric Anxiety Disorders)].
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
October 1. Submission of 3 proposed titles of presentation topics, in order of preference, each accompanied by a 75-word description.
Student presentations are to be scheduled (below).
October 15. In-class test. Format: short-answer, and essay; 1-hour duration, based on lecture and readings.
Final Examination: Final examination week. Format: short-answer, and essay. Based on lecture and readings. 2-hour duration; examined material is cumulative.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Instructor Topics: September 10 to October 8, 2015
A.) Overview, and historical perspective. Also, Discussion of possible student-presentation topics.
B.) Concepts, Distinctions and Classes of Events, with an emphasis on levels of theory, types of research, and methods of measurement.
C.) Toward Rigorous Definitions of Stress, and Stressors.
D.) Stress, Stressor, and Coping Transactions as a process: Game-theoretic and Dynamical systems considerations.
E.) Mechanisms of Stress Effects on Information Processing.
Student Presentations: November 5 – December 3 (No class October 29).
Topics are to be proposed and approved by the instructor. Presentations themselves are organized along the lines of a conference symposium. There are six presentations of 25 minutes each, per class., including 5 minutes for questions and discussion. In fairness to all, strict adherence to time restrictions is essential.
A keynote reading on the topic is to be assigned the week prior to the presentation. A pdf of the reading should be sent to Ms. Faith Hennessy (fhenness@uwo.ca), who will circulate it to the 3312F OWL site (and possibly 3312F listserv). If a pdf is not possible, the paper should be provided to Ms. Hennessy, who will scan it, and circulate it to the class listserv. Note that keynote readings must be other than those specifically assigned in this outline.
One week after the presentation, a two thousand, five hundred word (including references and abstract) electronic version of a paper on the selected topic should be sent to the class, via Ms. Hennessy (above) or her substitute (TBA), with a hard copy handed into the instructor. In addition, a copy must be submitted through the course webct. The paper should follow APA publication guidelines, including a brief Abstract, references, and possibly Appendix, as is appropriate (all within the word limit).
Example Topics (Note that in the case of broad topics, these will have to be trimmed down: (e.g., “Military Stress”, pared down to “Military Stress and Interpersonal Relations”, or “Military Stress, and Cognitive Efficiency”):
Military Stress; The vagal nervous system, and implications for stress management; Stress-management, and physical exercise; Stress management and meditation; Stress management and relaxation exercises; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Note that the American Psychiatric Association DSM IV-TR and DSM-5 enumerating anxiety disorders, is available online from UWO library services); Psychoimmunoneurology (Stress and disease, e.g., cardiovascular disorder; cancer); Stress and motor-vehicle-operation risk; Vagal nervous system, and stress management; Biological animal models of stress inoculation, and rearing (e.g., work of Professor Michael Meany, McGill University); specific issues in the measurement of stress; parameters of stressing situations.
Please tender 3 topics; efforts will be made to assign your most (more) preferred topic, but in the case of a tie(s), random assignment will be invoked. It is necessary that there be no deviations from the assigned schedule. We will try to assemble in each session, topics on a similar theme. Where relevant you should try to integrate material from lecture and reading material into your topic.
For relevant dates, please see Lecture Schedule below.
LECTURE SCHEDULE (Order of Instructor Topics and Student Presentations will be as stated above but dates of note are as follows):
September 10: Overview;
September 17: Historical Perspectives; Concepts, distinctions, and classes of events.
September 24: 1st half; Concepts, distinctions, and classes of events (continued);
2nd half: Discussion of proposed topics with the instructor and teaching assistant, who will be available to answer general and specific questions.
October 1: Submission of 3 proposed titles of presentation topics, in order of preference, each accompanied by a 75-word description.
October 8: Assignment of approved topics (with possible adjustment and feedback), and scheduling of presentations.
October 1 to October 8: Remaining topics by instructor.
October 15: In-class test. Format: short-answer, and essay; 1-hour duration.
Final Examination: Final examination week. Format: short-answer, and essay. 2 hour duration; examined material is cumulative, and includes reference to material from student presentations.
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
SUPPORT SERVICES
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
