HEALTH, STRESS, AND COPING

DEVELOPMENT OVER THE LIFE SPAN

Your textbook is Psychology, 9th edition, by Carole Wade and Carol Tavris (Longman Publishing, 2007). The text is available at the SCCC Bookstore or you can search for an online bookstore.

Read CHAPTER 14, DEVELOPMENT OVER THE LIFE SPAN in the Wade &Tavris text.  Include the Summary at the end of the chapter.

STUDY ACTIVITIES

Choose ONEactivity from each section.  When you have completed your Study Activity, submit your written report using a Lesson Identification Form.

Section 1 (one page)

1.    Erik Erikson has stated that the child-rearing practices of a society are a reflection of the values of a society.  What do you think of this statement?  What values do you think the child-rearing practices in America today reflect about our society?  What values do you see as reflected in the way you were raised?

2.    Conduct a conservation exercise with at least 3 children between the ages of 3 and 11 years old.  Using a tall, thin glass and a short, squat glass (like those shown in the photograph on page 533).  Pour the liquid from one into the other and ask each child if there is the same amount of liquid in each glass.  Ask which glass holds more liquid.  Does your experience validate Piaget’s theory regarding conservation?  (You can also try this exercise using two sets of seven blocks which are different sizes, or using two pieces of modeling clay, one piece flattened and the other in a ball)

Section 2(one page)

Your text observes that divorce is troubling, difficult and painful for children.  Discuss the negative effects a divorce might have on a child between the ages of two and twelve.  Assume that the child lives with the mother and visits the father on Sundays.  How might the experience differ for a child who is male vs. a child who is female?

Read CHAPTER 15, HEALTH, STRESS, AND COPING in the Wade &Tavris text.  Include the Summary at the end of the chapter.

STUDY ACTIVITIES

Choose ONE activities from each section.  When you have completed your Study Activities, submit your written report using a Lesson Identification Form.

Section 1 (one page)

1.    Hassles are a fact of life; they are sources of frustration, annoyance, and irritation. In this activity, you are asked to analyze 3 hassles in your life (e.g., traffic hassles, work hassles, relationship hassles, etc.) and apply some of the suggestions your text gives for handling the commonplace hassles in your life.  Analyze your hassles by:

(a) looking at how you perceive the event

(b) defining your style of coping

(c) examining your personality or personality traits that hinder your ability to cope
with hassles

(d) listing potential alternatives to your style, perception, or personality that could
help you cope better with the hassle.

2.    Write an article to be submitted to the campus newspaper for publication entitled:  Stress Off-Campus: The Unique Experience of the Correspondence Course Student.

Section 2(one page)

1.    Evaluate yourself.  What short-term manifestations of stress do you have?  If you are symptom free, what short-term manifestations of stress do you know of in another person?  What longer-term manifestations do you have or do you know of in another person?  Be honest in your evaluation.

2.    Is your explanatory style primarily optimistic or is it pessimistic?  Explain your response with examples of your own coping behaviors in at least two significant life challenges.