Question

Find an article on Google Scholar. Then write a few sentences identifying the (1) methodology and (2) theory that the article uses.

Statement of the problem and the research questions:

-What is being studied and why?

-Does the reader know what is being studied? Is /Are the issue(s) clearly stated? Are there well-formulated research questions?

-Is there sufficient justification given for the -study? Why is this question worth pursuing? -is the background information, including review of literature, adequate?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Article – (Rethinking stress: The role of mindsets in determining the stress response. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4), 716-733.)

When faced with a stressful situation, the physiological stress response consists of an activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS)

Types of responses:

• Fight or flight response (snap decision to make when faced with stress)
• Rest and digest response (calms the brain after the stress has been dealt with)
• Relaxation response. (Body and brain functions begin to come back to normal after the stress has passed. This is a coping mechanism.

Therefore, “stress response,” results in the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), a parasympathetic withdrawal, and increased activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

In the article, the researchers attempt to find out to what extent to subjects think that stress is either enhancing or crippling and the context of those thoughts. Some individuals work better under pressure while some work best in a peaceful environment.

The article describes an experiment when people are put in stressful situations. One group is shown videos about how stress can make one productive. The other group is shown clips that prove stress is counter-productive. Both psychological mindsets are then used as a context to analyse the actions, thoughts and behaviour of the subjects. These tests proved that a small amount of stress is a distinct quality in the determination of the level and type of stress response. The description of these tests and the observations, make it easy for the reader to understand the study.

The background information for each subject isn’t entirely adequate to ensure that there are no confounding variables for each person. Perhaps a traumatic past, personal issues, temperament etc are not really considered for each person. However, the research design and the experiment itself is quite pragmatic. If such experiments are accurately conducted, it surely covers the queries of the research question. Such questions are worth pursuing because they give specialists a clear understanding of stress and the psychological problems associated with it. Such studies only end up increasing human knowledge of the mind and help cure issues optimally in the future.