Psychology 3312G-001 (Online for 2020-21)
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
Unless you have either the prerequisites 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.
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.
3 lecture/seminar hours; 0.5 course.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Jennifer Drummelsmith, MA
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: jdrumme2@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Rebecca Koessler
Office: TBD
Office Hours: TBD
Email: TBD
Time: Mondays 1:30pm-4:30pm (1330-1630)
Location: Online Synchronous
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.
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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
None, various assigned readings are required and accessible digitally through the UWO library.
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.4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning Outcome Learning Activity Assessment
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.
By the end of this course students will be able to
describe and differentiate modern theories of stress
and coping. Student presentations, lectures and required readings Midterm and final tests involving essay and short-answer questions
Application of Knowledge.
By the end of this course students will have some
understanding of interventions aimed at building
coping skills and how to apply information about
stress and coping to everyday life. Student presentations, lectures and required readings Individual student presentations Midterm and final tests involving essay and short-answer questions.
Communication Skills.
By the end of this students will have gained skills in
interpreting research/literature findings and
communicating that in a concise and accessible
manner. Student presentations Individual student presentations
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge.
By the end of this class, students will have gained stills
in critical analysis of research and increase their own
understanding of personal competence as well as
identifying their personal strengths and applying
those to a group context. Student presentations Individual student presentations
Autonomy and Professional Capacity.
By the end of this class, students will have gained
skills in identifying areas of interest, gathering related
research/literature and development of a
presentation. As well as improved ability to work
collaboratively and professionally with peers while
demonstrating personal initiative.
Student presentations
Individual student presentations
Assignment Weight of final grade Due Date and Description
Class Presentation 15% March 1- April 12, 2021. Each week there will be a group presentation (based on the weekly topic). Presentations will be 25 minutes in duration (strict time limit), with 3-5 minutes for questions. This means that for these weeks class will include approximately 30 minutes of student presentation in conjunction with approximately 2 hours of lecture. You will be asked to rate your group members anonymously on cooperation and contribution. Rubric will be provided.
Paper on
Presentation Topic 25% Due one (1) week after your presentation [strict deadline]. This is to be maximum 2500 words (minimum 2200 words) NOT including title page, abstract, and references. The paper is expected to follow APA publication guidelines. Rubric will be provided.
Midterm Exam 20% February 22, 2021- During Class Time, students will have 2 hours to complete the midterm, includes short answer and essay Questions.
Final Exam 30% TBD: During Final Exam Period, students will have 3 hours to complete the final, includes short answer and essay questions, exam material is cumulative and includes information covered in the student presentations.
Discussion Mini-
Papers 10% See Dates Below, every four weeks (approx.) you will be asked to write a mini-paper based on the assigned readings from one of the preceding weeks. These mini-papers will be maximum 1 page (approximately 500 words single spaced) in length. These “discussion” mini-papers should focus on your reflection and/or thoughts on the topics. Do not summarize the information, establish your own perspective or argument (each mini-paper is worth 2% and will be graded based on completion [around 500 words, less than 400 will result in a 0] and whether you established a perspective/argument or if you only summarized information). In addition, students will be required to compete a total of four peer reviews (two after the first mini-paper is completed, and two after the second mini-paper is completed). Using the rubric provided students will grade peer’s work. Completion and quality of these reviews will count towards a cumulative a total of 4% (1% for each peer review to a max of 4%) of your final grade.
PLEASE NOTE: Late or incomplete work will result in a 10% deduction per day late. For example: if an assignment is due December 1, at 12:00pm, as of 12:01pm it will be considered late and result in a 10% deduction. This will continue per day, so to continue the example, as of December 2, at 12:01pm it will be considered 2 days late and result in a 20% deduction. This means if you were to receive a grade of 90 out of 100 this would then become a 70 after applying the two day late 20% deduction. Due date
extensions will be granted with an approved excuse (either through academic counseling or a self-reported absence).
PLEASE NOTE: If you miss the mid-term or final exam you will need to have this documented appropriately (ex. Midterm: self-reported absence or an accommodation approved by academic counseling; Final: accommodation approved by academic counseling). Once this is received arrangements will be made for you to make up the missed mid-term or exam at an alternate time. This will follow the same format as the missed mid-term or exam but will be composed of different questions.
PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
PLEASE NOTE: Grades will not be rounded.
5.0 EVALUATION
Assignment Weight of final grade Due Date and Description
Class Presentation 15% March 1- April 12, 2021. Each week there will be a group presentation (based on the weekly topic). Presentations will be 25 minutes in duration (strict time limit), with 3-5 minutes for questions. This means that for these weeks class will include approximately 30 minutes of student presentation in conjunction with approximately 2 hours of lecture. You will be asked to rate your group members anonymously on cooperation and contribution. Rubric will be provided.
Paper on
Presentation Topic 25% Due one (1) week after your presentation [strict deadline]. This is to be maximum 2500 words (minimum 2200 words) NOT including title page, abstract, and references. The paper is expected to follow APA publication guidelines. Rubric will be provided.
Midterm Exam 20% February 22, 2021- During Class Time, students will have 2 hours to complete the midterm, includes short answer and essay Questions.
Final Exam 30% TBD: During Final Exam Period, students will have 3 hours to complete the final, includes short answer and essay questions, exam material is cumulative and includes information covered in the student presentations.
Discussion Mini-
Papers 10% See Dates Below, every four weeks (approx.) you will be asked to write a mini-paper based on the assigned readings from one of the preceding weeks. These mini-papers will be maximum 1 page (approximately 500 words single spaced) in length. These “discussion” mini-papers should focus on your reflection and/or thoughts on the topics. Do not summarize the information, establish your own perspective or argument (each mini-paper is worth 2% and will be graded based on completion [around 500 words, less than 400 will result in a 0] and whether you established a perspective/argument or if you only summarized information). In addition, students will be required to compete a total of four peer reviews (two after the first mini-paper is completed, and two after the second mini-paper is completed). Using the rubric provided students will grade peer’s work. Completion and quality of these reviews will count towards a cumulative a total of 4% (1% for each peer review to a max of 4%) of your final grade.
PLEASE NOTE: Late or incomplete work will result in a 10% deduction per day late. For example: if an assignment is due December 1, at 12:00pm, as of 12:01pm it will be considered late and result in a 10% deduction. This will continue per day, so to continue the example, as of December 2, at 12:01pm it will be considered 2 days late and result in a 20% deduction. This means if you were to receive a grade of 90 out of 100 this would then become a 70 after applying the two day late 20% deduction. Due date
extensions will be granted with an approved excuse (either through academic counseling or a self-reported absence).
PLEASE NOTE: If you miss the mid-term or final exam you will need to have this documented appropriately (ex. Midterm: self-reported absence or an accommodation approved by academic counseling; Final: accommodation approved by academic counseling). Once this is received arrangements will be made for you to make up the missed mid-term or exam at an alternate time. This will follow the same format as the missed mid-term or exam but will be composed of different questions.
PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
PLEASE NOTE: Grades will not be rounded.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
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 Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/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 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
Assignment Weight Due Date
Class Presentation 15% As assigned
Paper on Presentation Topic 25% One week after presentation
Midterm Exam 20% February 8, 2021- During Class Time
Final Exam 30% TBD: During Final Exam Period
Weekly Discussion Mini-Papers 10% As assigned (see scheduled below)
Exam format: For each exam, you will download the exam template from the “Assignments” tab on OWL at the start of the exam session. You must work from the template and save the responses to your computer. At the end of the exam time, you will upload your file to the appropriate Assignment. Please note that the exams will be conducted open book however you must work independently. All exam answers will be checked via Turn-It-In for plagiarism.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Date Topic Assigned Readings Assignment Due
January 11,
2021 Class Overview/ Review of Syllabus None
January 18,
2021 Stress and Coping, the Good and the Bad Handbook of Stress Science: Biology, Psychology and Health- Chapter 1 [Stress, Adaptation, and Health] None
January 25,
2021 Biological Factors of Stress and Coping · Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G., & Siegel, S. D. (2005). Stress and Health: Psychological, Behavioural, and Biological Determinants. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 1, 607-628. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144141 · Dunn, S. H. & Conley, Y. P (2015). A Systematic Review of Genetic Influences on Coping. Biol Res Nurs. 17(1), 87-93. doi: 10.1177/1099800414527340 None
February 1,
2021 Psychological Factors of Stress and Coping · DeLongis, A. & Holtzman, S. (2005) Coping in Context: The Role of Stress, Social Support, and Personality in Coping. Journal of Personality, 73(6), 1633-1656. (https://delongis-psych.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2017/12/Coping-in-context.pdf) · Dupere, V. & Perkins, D. D. (2007). Community types and mental health: A multilevel study of local environmental stress and coping. Ann J Community Psychol, 39, 107-119. doi: 10.1007/s10464-007-9099-y · Submission of top three presentation dates.
February 8,
2021 Individual and Social Factors of Stress and Coping Handbook of Personality and Health – Chapter 4 [Personality, Stress, and Coping] · Discussion Mini-Paper #1 Due
February
15, 2021 Reading Week NONE Reading Week
February
22, 2021 Midterm Test NONE Short-Answer and Essay Format (completed during class time)
March 1,
2021 Multicultural Perspectives (part 1) TBD · Group Presentation #1 · Peer review for Mini-paper #1 Due
March 8,
2021 Multicultural Perspectives (part 2) TBD · Group Presentation #2
March 15,
2021 Resiliency TBD · Discussion Mini Paper #2 Due
· Group Presentation #3
March 22,
2021 Posttraumatic Stress TBD · Group Presentation #4 · Peer review for Mini-paper #2 Due
March 29,
2021 Workplace Stress TBD · Group Presentation #5
April 5,
2021 TBD TBD · Discussion Mini paper #3 Due · Group Presentation #6
April 12,
2021 TBD TBD · Group Presentation #7
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence 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 offences. 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).
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
- For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form must be submitted before the exam/coursework deadline in order to be valid. It may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
- must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hoursafter the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
10.0 Contingency Plan for Return to Lockdown
In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the course that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.
11.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE
In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette:
- please “arrive” to class on time
- please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
- please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material
- to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
- In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
- In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
- Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting
The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:
- If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
- Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
- Self-identify when speaking.
- Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).
General considerations of “netiquette”:
- Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
- Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
- Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
- Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.
Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.
12.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services: 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
- 2020-2021 Calendar References
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
