MPS667 All Modules Discussions (March 2019)

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 1 Discussion

DQ1 Introduction

Please take a moment to introduce yourself. Where are you from? What are your hobbies? What are you hoping to learn from this course?

DQ2 Sources of Stress

2a. Based on the background materials, differentiate at least 3 different sources of stress in the 21st century.

2b. Explore how these 3 sources of stress can affect the psychological and social well being of an individual.

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 2 Discussion

DQ1 Three types stress

1a. Based on the background materials, differentiate between acute, episodic & chronic stress.

1b. Explore at least one example of acute, episodic & chronic stress in your own life.

DQ2 Eustress versus Distress

2a. Based on the background materials, differentiate between eustress and distress.

2b. Explore the factors that lead towards the experience of eustress and provide some examples of eustress in your current life.

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 3 Discussion

DQ1 Stages of Stress

1a. Based on the background materials, explore the 3 phases of the General Adaptation Syndrome in response to stress.

1b. Based on the background materials, elaborate on at least 3 examples showing the impact of experiencing stress on the brain and the body. Please specify the names of the brain regions affected by stress in your discussion postings.

DQ2 Coping with the Physiological Impact of Stress

2a. Based on the background materials, explore at least 3 methods to help counteract the physiological effects of psychological stress on the body.

2b. After reviewing the 3 methods to help counteract the physiological effects of psychological stress on the body, discuss the challenges of making changes to your own habits, lifestyle and behaviors to implement these stress coping methods.

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 4 Discussion

DQ1 Types of Coping

1a. Based on the background materials, differentiate between the Emotion Focused and Problem Focused Coping Strategies.

1b. Based on the background materials, elaborate on at least 3 different types of adaptive/positive coping skills or methods and how successful or unsuccessful you have been to previously implement these in your own life.

DQ2 Effects of Coping Strategies

Based on the background materials, elaborate on at least 2 research results showing the impact of coping strategies on various populations or settings.

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 5 Discussion

DQ1 Methods of Measuring Coping

1a. Based on the background materials, compare and contrast at least 2 different instruments designed to measure psychological coping. For example, what are the types of questions or scales that are found with each of the 2 different coping measure instruments?

1b. If you were revising a measurement of coping skills instrument, please list at least 5 additional questions you would ask. Why are you asking these 5 additional questions?

DQ2 Screening for Psychological Coping

After reviewing the background materials, elaborate the importance of using psychological coping instruments to screen individuals who are entering into a highly stressful occupation (ex. medical doctor, police officer, lawyer, social worker, elementary school teacher etc.). In other words, if a psychological coping instrument can identify low ratings on some coping skills, how can this information be used to inform the support and training for the person entering to a highly stressful occupation?

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 6 Discussion

DQ1 Emotional Regulation versus Emotion Suppression

1a. Based on the background materials, compare and contrast the strategies of emotion suppression versus emotional regulation.

1b. Based on the background materials, explore the research findings about the impact of using emotional regulation upon the psychological well-being of individuals.

DQ2 Emotional Regulation Training

2a. Based on the background materials, elaborate on how emotional regulation can be trained to young children help cope with stress.

2b. Explore on at least 3 challenges of being able to train emotional regulation to young children or your family members

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 7 Discussion

DQ1 Cognitive Reappraisal

1a. Based on the background materials, differentiate between emotional regulation versus cognitive reappraisal in coping with stress

1b. Explore at least 2 everyday real-life situations where cognitive reappraisal would be an effective method of coping with stress. Please provide examples

DQ2 Cognitive Reappraisal Training

2a. Based on the background materials, elaborate on how cognitive reappraisal can be trained to teenagers to help cope with stress.

2b. Explore on at least 3 challenges of being able to train cognitive reappraisal to teenagers

MPS 667 Stress and Coping in Health Psychology

Module 8 Discussion

DQ1 Gratitude

1a. Based on the background materials, explore the research on how having a mindset of gratefulness (i.e. the attitude of gratitude) can help with coping with everyday stressors.

1b. Explore some key factors that may prevent individuals to seek a mindset of gratefulness to help manage stress in their lives.

DQ2 Lessons Learned

After learning from all the modules in this course, elaborate on how the different coping methods you have learned in this course can be used to improve your own coping methods or the people around you (ex. children, family, co-workers).