Psychology Questions and Paper
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Week1LectureNotsTeacherCommentsSyllabus.docxLecture Notes 1
Psychology and Everyday Life: Motivation and Emotion
Introduction
Today we embark on an adventure. The adventure is the relationship of how psychology can be applied to our everyday life and experiences. First, psychology needs to be defined. Merriam-Webster (2011, para. 1) states that it is the "science of mind and behavior" or "the mental or behavioral characteristics of an individual or group." With this definition, we can begin to discover the many ways psychology is incorporated into who we are as an individual, how we navigate relationships, ideas surrounding mental health and wellness, and how we view the world around us. Within the next seven (7) weeks discussions and classroom assignments will involve these topics and ways for you to apply principles of positive psychology to your personal, professional, and academic experience. To that end, let us begin by highlighting what positive psychology is thought to be about in today's terms, and proceeding to what constitutes motivation and how it impacts our emotional states.
Positive Psychology
According to Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000, page 1, para 4), the field of positive psychology is about the positive subjective experiences of a human being. These may include "well-being, satisfaction (in the past), and contentment; hope and optimism (for the future); and flow and happiness (in the person)". Not only can these intrinsic qualities be attached to an individual's experiences, but they can be applied to communities as well. The essence of this new trend of thought is countering the medical model of dysfunction and disease in the realm of mental health. Basically what Selgiman and Csikxzentmihalyi are indicating is when we look for and apply the strengths we maintain as human beings these can produce the groundwork for positive motivation and change as an individual and the world we live in.
Motivation
When we talk about motivation, the thought that may cross our minds is when we are motivated we are engaging in an activity to meet a certain goal or achieve a specific action. For example, Andy would like a new job and he is looking at various options he has to choose from. However this is not where the motivation actually began. The beginning of Andy's motivation began years ago when he decided he wanted to become a firefighter and went to school to accomplish that goal.
When faced with a motivating factor such as Andy's case, humans, in general either respond intrinsically or extrinsically. According to the Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology (2011) an intrinsic motivator enables "competence, autonomy, and relatedness" or gives the individual a deep sense of satisfaction without any type of outside influence or incentive. On the other hand, an extrinsic motivator involves an "activity that leads to a separate outcome such as a reward, approval from others, or the avoidance of a punishment" (Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology, 2011, page 1, par 1). In both of these scenarios motivators can be either positive or negative. Going back to our example it is sometimes difficult to tease out the actual motivating factors that influence us into making a change such as what Andy is considering. What is more important to recognize is that there are motivators we encounter every day and that with each one, we can stop and consider choices.
States of Emotion
An emotional state is the way we react to certain stimuli and how we control or regulate it in a way that allows us to live life at in an acceptable manner. There are seven (7) emotions that we experience as human beings and according to the Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology (2011, para. 4) they are "biologically based psychological entities characterized by short-lived coherent patterns of perception, experience, physiology, and communicative action." In other words, our biological makeup causes the brain to take in information that we perceive and associate it with our experiences either past or present. We then display a physical reaction to this process. These physical reactions cause a release of hormones, which occur to protect us from harm or to help us engage in positive action (Lazarus, 1991).
Stress
The concept of stress may conjure a negative image sometimes shown as a person whose hair is standing on end and their eyes are wide and wild looking. However, some stress is actually beneficial for us and goes back to our previous ideas of motivation and emotion. At a certain level of motivation we have a physical response called arousal. This arousal response is the primer to the body recognizing that it will need to take some type of action. We can liken this to a sprinter in a race. The sprinter is on the starting line and before they actually hear the starting gun go off they are alert and aware that this will take place. They may be sweating already, saliva initiating in the mouth, heart rate increasing, and so forth. Their reaction is all in anticipation of the stimulus (the gun going off) to begin a race. A trained runner understands this concept and knows how to tap into that energy to get the edge on the other runners. They may even mentally prepare themselves to be at that optimum level of stress arousal even before they are in the starting block (Janelle & Hatfield, 2008).
On the other hand and according to a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association (2007), Americans are in a "pressure cooker" of stress with 77% experiencing some form of negative physical response to the stressors they had been exposed to. Their findings also concluded that women are more susceptible to the negative effects of stress as are those who are single and those in lower economic status. Moreover, there is scientific evidence that stress over the long haul or chronic stress can be harmful to our mental state as well as our overall physical health. An article titled "Stress: It's Worse Than You Think" (Carpi, 1996) suggests that stress can increase the amount of hormones such as dopamine and epinephrine that are released in the body and how these affect what is called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters flow through every aspect of the body and with the hormonal input that stress may create can put strain on blood vessels supplying blood to the heart and as well as impact the overall immune system thus possibly disabling the body's ability to fight infection. All in all, it is important to recognize stress and learn how to manage it more effectively.
Stress Management Self-Assessment
The Stress Management Self-Assessment (Stress Management, 1997) addresses possible health risks due to stressors the individual may have incurred over the past year. The basis of this assessment is founded on the research of Holmes and Rahe (1967) and the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. The instrument is not intended to identify medical disease or the propensity for a mental or physical issue. However, it allows individuals that take the assessment to think about their experiences and how they can take steps to reduce stress in their life or learn how to manage it more effectively if the stress cannot be resolved. As you move forward in the class you will learn ways to accomplish this action.
References
American Psychological Association. (2007). Stress in American. Retrieved August 19th, 2011, from http://search.apa.org/search?query=&facet=classification:Stress&limited=true§ion=pubs
Carpi, J. (1996). Stress. Psychology Today, (29), 1). Retrieved August 19th, 2011, from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=12&sid=3f8aaccc-0595-4b09-bdf0-ef824744bce4%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=9601043745
Emotion. In Encyclopedia of Psychology. Retrieved September 9th, 2011, from http://www.credoreference.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/entry/estappliedpsyc/emotion
Holmes, T. H., Rahe, R. H. (1967). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, (11, 2). Retrieved August 19th, 2011, from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/detail?vid=3&hid=3&sid=05563918-9847-4746-add0-c74580c82d40%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh&AN=1968-03998-001
Intrinsic motivation and self-determination. In Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Retrieved September 9th, 2011, from http://www.credoreference.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/entry/estappliedpsyc/intrinsic_motivation_and_self_determination
Janelle, C. M., & Hatfield, B. D. (2008).Visual attention and brain processes that underlie expert performance: Implications for sport and military psychology. Military Psychology, (20), 39-69.DOI: 10.1080/08995600701804798 http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=47&hid=9&sid=46ecbeb8-078c-4000-a29c-
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Motivation and emotion: Biological bases. In Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology. Retrieved September 9th, 2011, from http://www.credoreference.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/entry/hodderdpsyc/motivation_and_emotion_biological_bases
Psychology. (2011). In Merriam-Webster.com.. Retrieved September 9th, 2011, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychology
Seligman, M. E. P., Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology. American Psychologist, 55, 1. Retrieved September 9th, 2011 from Academic Search Complete database.
Stress management assessment. (1997). Stress management. Retrieved August 20th, 2011, from http://www.stress-management.net/stress-test.htm
© 2013. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
Assignment Psychology for Life Paper
Due Date: Oct 08, 2017 23:59:59 Max Points: 100 Details:
Complete an interactive stress quiz located at one of these Stress Management websites:
http://www.stress.org.uk/individual-stress-test/ or
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_82.htm
Write a 500-750-word “Psychology for Life” Paper in GCU style. Please include two to three references from the readings or videos for this week. Apply appropriate citations in the body of the paper. Look at examples in the Writing Center or the Purdue OWL to assist you.
Use the questions below to help outline your paragraphs:
1. What did the self-assessment tell you about your level of stress? Were you surprised by the results? Explain.
2. How does stress impact the body? How do you recognize “signs” of stress?
3. The readings for this Module discuss the relationship between motivation, emotion, and stress. After taking the quiz, do you have a new perspective on this dynamic? Describe some times that your motivation and emotion have been affected by stressors in your life.
4. Describe two ways that you can change stress symptoms you notice.
5. Describe how understanding the psychology of stress is applicable to everyday life. Discuss topics such as relationships with others, work, school, etc. How might understanding psychology help you in your everyday life?
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
PSY100.T1PsychologyforLifePaper_2-2-15.docx
Psychology in Everyday Life
Duration: 7 daysTopic : Psychology and Everyday Life: Motivation and Emotion
Description:
Objectives:
1. Describe motivation and states of emotion.
2. Assess personal level of stress.
3. Describe how psychology is integrated into aspects of everyday life.
Topic Material:
Lecture Note1. PSY-100 Lecture 1
Read Lecture 1.
Electronic Resource1. Topic 1 Optional Readings
Utilize the attached document to supplement your learning for this topic.
PSY100.T1OptionalReadings.docx 2. Topic 1 Required Readings
Utilize the attached document to complete assignments and discussion questions for this topic.
PSY100.T1RequiredReadings.docx
Additional Material1. Psychology for Life Paper
Read "Psychology for Life Paper" document to complete the assignment.
PSY100.T1PsychologyforLifePaper_2-2-15.docx
Teacher’s Announcements
This week we will be discussing stress and how it impacts our day to day lives.
A few things to note about this class:
· In your initial response to DQ1 and DQ2 each week you must have a reference each week (you will need to have an in text citation and list the source in proper format as a full reference at the end of the DQ)
· Pay special attention to announcements each week, as some weeks we have GCU style papers and others there may be power point presentations or worksheets due.
· You will need access to Microsoft PowerPoint for this class.
· There is a “final paper” for this class, due in week 6. This is a research paper that you will need to work on a little bit each week.
Here is your checklist for Week 1:
Print a copy of your syllabus and my contact information
Check out the Instructor Add Ons (yes, there is stuff in there for you!)
Post your Bio on the class wall and get to know your classmates!
Check into your Individual forum every time you log into class (this is where I message you if you are missing work)
Complete all course readings for week 1 (there is no e-book for this course)
Class Discussions
· Post DQ#1 by Wednesday & DQ#2 by Friday
· Post substantive participation responses throughout the week (minimum of 2 posts on each of 4 separate days, for a total of at least 8 substantive participation posts)
· All in all, between your answers to DQ1 and DQ2, and your 8 participation posts you should have a total of at least 10 posts in the forum weekly.
Assignment due Sunday
· Psychology For Life Paper (MUST be in GCU style with properly formatted citations)
