Psychology 3312G-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.

 

Revised Jan 12, 2022

 

WESTERN UNIVERSITY

LONDON               CANADA

Department of Psychology

2021 - 2022

 

Psychology 3312G    Section 001

Stress and Coping

  • Calendar Description

 

This course explores theories and research on stress and coping. It examines biological, psychological, individual, and social factors that affect how people cope with stress on both acute and chronic timescales; positive and negative aspects of stress; resiliency; and critical evaluation of findings on coping and recovery.

 

            Antirequisite: HS4208A/B

 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. 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: PSYCH2820E or both PSYCH2800E and PSYCH2810

           

Course Weight: 0.5

            Lecture Hours: 3 per week

 

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.

  • Course Information

 

Instructor: Eric Collins, PhD

Office and Phone Number: Virtual (via Zoom)

Office Hours: By appointment (weekends and holidays excluded)

Email: ecollin9@uwo.ca (48-hour response on weekdays and 72-hours during exams)

 

 

Time and Location of Classes: Mondays, 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. on Zoom (link posted on OWL)

Upon Return to Campus: Mondays, 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in SSC2028

 

 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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.

  • Textbooks (Required)

 

Maté, G. (2004). When the body says no: The cost of hidden stress. Toronto, ON: Vintage Canada

 

McGonigal, K. (2015). The upside of stress: Why stress is good for you, and how to get good at it. New York, NY: Penguin Random House

  • Course Objectives

 

Throughout the term, we will explore various theoretical perspectives and research findings concerning stress and coping. We will examine sources of stress and investigate the personal and social determinants that affect our ability to cope. This course challenges the notion that stress is exclusively bad and highlights the new science of stress.

 

  • Student Learning Outcomes

 

Learning Outcome

Learning Activity

Assessment

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.

Students will expand their awareness of stress and coping, and as a result, gain a more sophisticated view of human health and healing 

 

 

Lectures

Readings

 

 

 

Essays

Knowledge of Methodologies.

Students will improve their understanding of the various quantitative and qualitative methods and methodologies presented in the relevant literature

 

 

 

Lectures

Readings

 

 

Essays

Application of Knowledge.

Students will learn to think critically about stress and coping and demonstrate an ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios

 

 

 

Lectures

Readings

 

 

Essays

Communication Skills.

Students will sharpen their writing skills and improve their ability to articulate complex concepts

 

 

 

Lectures

Readings

 

 

 

Essays

 

  • Evaluation

 

        Component

        Weight %

Participation

10

Quiz 1

10

Quiz 2

10

Midterm Essay

35

Final Essay

35

 

 

 

 

Participation (Forum Postings): Eight questions will be posted to the Forum on OWL throughout the term. Questions will be generated from weekly lectures and readings. Each student is required to contribute an original response to each week’s posting and provide a response to a fellow student’s original response. Each week’s original response and response to a fellow student’s response are worth a total of 1.25%. There are no part marks. “I agree” or “I disagree” are insufficient responses and will not be awarded marks. Students are expected to provide thoughtful responses that demonstrate critical thinking and an understanding of theoretical concepts. Each post must include a minimum of 4-6 sentences. Examples of original responses can be found on OWL in the Forum.

 

Quizzes: There are two online quizzes to be completed on OWL. Each quiz contains 20 questions, which are taken from the PowerPoints only (not the weekly readings). Quiz questions are formatted as a mixture of true or false, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, and matching. These quizzes will be proctored but will remain open book. Also, there will be a 20-minute time limit for each quiz (unless you have approved academic accommodations for extra time). Quiz 1 includes questions from weeks 1-4. Quiz 2 includes questions from weeks 5, 6, 8, and 9.

           

Midterm Essay: The midterm essay is a critical review (reflective essay) of When the Body Says No. The Cost of Hidden Stress (Maté, 2004). Essays are expected to be 4-6 pages (max), double-spaced, and formatted in APA style (7th edition). Please review the rubric for more information.

 

Final Essay: The final essay is an expository essay based on The Upside of Stress. Why stress is good for you, and how to get good at it (McGonigal, 2015). Essays are expected to be 4-6 pages (max), double-spaced, and formatted in APA style (7th edition). Please review the rubric for more information.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay components to pass this course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%

 

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

 

The expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:

 

70%     1000-level to 2099-level courses

72%     2100-2999-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

 

Note that in the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.

 

5.1 Policy on Missing Coursework

Tests must be written on the scheduled dates, unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration. Valid reasons include medical or compassionate reasons, internet access issues, and religious holidays, and must be substantiated by proper documentation (e.g., a medical certificate, which will be verified by the Office of the Dean). You may use the Self-Reported Absence System (SRAS) affecting course components worth 30% or less of the overall course grade. A student who misses a regularly scheduled exam for other reasons, or who cannot justify a claim, will be assigned a 0 for the exam. Make-up exam dates will be scheduled at your instructor’s discretion. In the event that a makeup assessment cannot be completed, that assessment may be re-weighted to a similar assessment (e.g., quiz).

Policy on Grade Rounding: Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every assessment within the course.

 

  • Assessment/Evaluation Schedule

 

Date

Assessment

Jan 16

Forum Posting 1

Jan 23

Forum Posting 2

Jan 30

Forum Posting 3

Feb 4

Quiz 1

Feb 6

Forum Posting 4

Feb 13

Forum Posting 5

Feb 19-27

Reading Week (No Assessments)

Feb 28

Midterm Essay

Mar 6

No Posting

Mar 11

Quiz 2

Mar 13

Forum Posting 6

Mar 20

Forum Posting 7

Mar 27

Forum Posting 8

April 1

Final Essay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Class Schedule

 

Week

Date

Lecture Topic

Readings (Chapters)

1

Jan 10

Introduction to Stress and Coping

Maté (1-4)

2

Jan 17

Biology of Stress and Trauma

Maté (5-8)

3

Jan 24

Theories of Stress and Trauma

Maté (9-12)

4

Jan 31

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Maté (13-16)

5

Feb 7

Diseases of Adaptation

Maté (17-19)

6

Feb 14

Positive vs Negative Coping

McGonigal (1-2)

7

Feb 19-27

Reading Week

 

8

Feb 28

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

McGonigal (3)

9

Mar 7

Intergenerational Transmission

McGonigal (4)

10

Mar 14

Social Support

McGonigal (5)

11

Mar 21

Treatment and Rehabilitation

McGonigal (6)

12

Mar 28

Resilience and Recovery

McGonigal (7)

13

Apr 4

Mental Health: Well-Being and Recovery

N/A

 

  • 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.

 

 

 

 

 

  • 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:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. 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

 

Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.

10.0 Contingency Plan for Return to Lockdown: In-Person & Blended Classes

 

In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the term 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

- 2021-2022 Calendar References

 

If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf

Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).

 

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.

 

 

13.0 Course Delivery with Respect to the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

Course delivery with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic

Although the intent is for this course to be delivered in-person, the changing COVID-19 landscape may necessitate some or all of the course to be delivered 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 assessments affected will be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.

 

When deemed necessary, tests and examinations in this course will be conducted using a remote proctoring service.  By taking this course, you are consenting to the use of this software and acknowledge that you will be required to provide personal information (including some biometric data) and the session will be recorded.  Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the technical requirements for this service.  More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca