Individual Coping and Adjustment Paper

Due: See Syllabus
Submit papers through TurnItIn on Blackboard

Throughout this class, we will be discussing the psychology of personal adjustment and one important way to understand it is through your own self-reflection and analysis. You will write a paper focused on your own psychological process of adjusting to the challenges of life. This paper needs to be an integration of your lived experience through the frame of the concepts and theories of psychology. So while this assignment sheet looks like a list of things for you to address, your paper needs to be a single integrated narrative.

First, take the following self-assessments from chapter 3:

1. How much are you stressed? I scored 1179, which is an average
2. Are you type A or B? I scored 12 yes and 12 No
3. The locus of control scale I scored 12
4. Are you an optimist or pessimist? I scored a 30

Then provide a description of 3 specific examples of challenging situations.

1. One challenge needs to come from childhood
The divorce of my parents

2. One challenge needs to come from adulthood
Finding the right job for me

3. One challenge must be one you are experiencing right now
Buying a house

For each past situation, you will need to analyze:
Which is divorce and finding a job

1. how you managed/coped with the situation (both positive and negative)
2. what would you have done same/differently
3. what concepts from psychology applied to that situation? You can also use assessments that you have taken from other chapters

For your current challenge, you will need to analyze
Which is buying a house

1. how are you currently managing that situation?
2. based upon what we have been learning in class, what coping styles will you keep using and what will you do differently to adjust to this challenge in a more psychologically effective way?

To meet the requirements of this assignment, the paper needs to integrate content and information from class (think about the discussion boards), the book (think about concepts, theories and the self- assessments). Your paper should not be more than 6-7 pages (APA format, double spaced) and will be submitted through TurnItIn on Blackboard. Your paper requires a reference page and accurate citations noted in APA format throughout the paper.

Grading Rubric

Depth of exploration of each of the challenges 20
Using concepts or theories from the readings, class and self-assessments 30
Effectiveness in integrating your lived experience with psychology concepts 30
Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar 20
Total 100

My discussion board entries if needed, use as help:

Week 2
1) Identify what you perceive to be one of your greatest strengths and weaknesses. How, if at all, does this strength and weakness relate to your expectancies about what you will be doing in five years? How attainable are these expectancies? What, if anything, will need to happen for you to realize your expectancies?
I have several strengths but the important strength to me and that I consider the best strength are listening, give advice, you can trust me, and fight for what’s right. I am close to reaching my goals as a clinical Psychologist. Next year, 2021 after my master’s in counseling and clinical Psychology, I will start my pre-doctoral internship in Tennessee, Vanderbilt. If you plan to work in a counseling or clinical environment, you must have the ability to listen and advise. Regardless of your feelings and opinions, and I think I am good at that, and I am still learning to improve my strength. You must be able to advise because clients will need your advice and will expect answers. My weakness is that I have a hard time to forget some of the stories, and I go above and beyond to solve them, to the point of exhaustion. I must learn to put my feelings aside and think rational and focused on a solution for the client and, at the same time, make sure I do not get exhausted. I also like to give advice but have a hard time to accept criticism. I know that I still have a lot to learn and understand before being a licensed clinical psychologist and I will continue to improve my strength and learn to cope with my weaknesses.
2) What pattern of behavior would you expect from a person with a strong ID and a weak Superego? Give a general description of such behavior, an explanation of why it is occurring, and a specific example of such behavior.
Id, ego, and superego create our human behavior. Where id creates the demands, the superego adds the morality to the action which is taken: superego confines both id and ego for the consequences of our efforts. The id is the biological drive and the superego is the moral compass. Example: If a person gives in to the id’s demands, the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt. Example: You eat a bunch of candy and ice cream and you know you should work out but you don’t. After a couple of hours, you feel bad about the decision that you made and regret that you did not go work out. In other words: The id will try to get you to do things like eat a lot of chocolate and not go work out, and the superego is trying to get you to make the right decisions and be an upstanding person.
3) Complete the self-assessment in the chapter: “Will you be a hit or miss? The Expectancy for Success Scale”. How did you score? What do you think of your results?
I scored a 95 and that is exactly who I am. I am not perfect, nor do I do everything right. I fell before but I got up and fixed what needed to be fixed that is why I am successful in anything I want to achieve. I do not give up and I do not get tired of it. I have a positive expectancy and I am glad I do. I am very motivated to finish my master’s and get my Ph.D. as fast as I can. I set this goal in 2015 and I am almost where I need to be. I am someone that does not give up nor changes her dreams. I stick with what I put in my head and follow-through, regardless of what others think because I do this for me to help the woman that struggle with their marriage. I am not going to stop at 95 and I will continue to improve myself and never stop!
Week 3
1. Video:
First, I want to say that the video was fascinating and I had heard about it but never really watched it. My dad always said,” Each time you stress yourself and your heart, you, one day of your life will be reduced.” I never understood that because I was young, but as more as I think about it and after watching that video, I understand the meaning of what my dad meant by saying that. In the video, Robert Sapolsky is right when he says that the stress response is more damaging than the stressor; the actual stress factor that got you stressed out. I have to admit that I had an issue with stress and calming down afterward. I did not have an off switch, but I started thinking about what my dad said and I start coping with my stress and stressor and not let people or things make me mad or stress me out so quickly. It is not easy but it is manageable and I taught my daughter the same and my husband that there is no reason to stay mad or get mad or stress yourself about things that we can not change or we can change in time and with patients without stressing ourselves out. Robert Sapolsky made a good point when he said that animals stress out because the animals are fighting for their lives while we get stressed out because we in traffic or someone is driving slower than you. The critical difference is that we humans do not do it out of physiological reasons but we keep falling for it and do not have an off switch. There is no reason to stress yourself for no reason if that makes sense. I had to learn the hard way because I stressed myself for no reason and one day my heart was hurting so badly that I thought I am about to get a stroke. People believe that only older people can get a heart attack or stroke but forget that our body will react to anything we put it through. I have seen women of the age of 24 have suffered from a stroke and my sister almost had one too. If I get stressed out or use to get stressed out, it was usually about school or individuals where I knew that they were wrong for what they were doing. School was and is still very important to me and it is not going to change. I know we all have to make money but money does not rule the world for me, my health rules my world and that is why I start coping and learning to calm down and not even think about the stressors and deal with it. I always tell myself that the devil is a liar and that if I can not change the situation or whatever reason I had and got stressed out about, I dealt with it and believe me over time it solved itself. That is why Robert Sapolsky meant by saying we keep falling for it, but there is no reason to stress yourself for no reason.
2. 9/11
I was 14 years old, and I was working in a flower boutique, and I was working on a big wedding order. I was living in Germany at that time and I was not familiar with the world trade centers. I just saw from the distance that the people from the other stores were running and gathering around TV’s and when my supervisor at that time walked in, she told me what had happened. I was young; I did not understand what was going on. The next day at school, they were talking about the World Trade Center and what happened. I was shocked that there are people out there that would hurt others for no reason. I felt very sad for the people that had to go through that and I remember that all Military Bases went on RED, which means that the control and ID check is on alert. They were checking anyone and everyone, which before 9/11, that was not the case. They brought in more policies and rules. Fort Bragg has a new system that everyone that wants to get on post or works on post has to show a military ID/DOD card or a REAL CARD, which is a government ID or driver’s license with a STAR on the right-top corner. The security and safety of people is important, and I agree with the way that they are handling the military bases. It is not safe to just let anyone and everyone just to come on post. If you not affiliated or do not work on post, you should not be on post. I do not feel safe knowing that everyone can just go on a military base. You start to watch your surroundings more and I have to admit, even though I am Persian, I do not like to be at public events or in public where there is a lot of people around that I do not know. I get very nervous and want to go home as soon as I can. I like to get my things done in a timely manner and get out of public places like the zoo’s or marathons. We should not take life for granted and always make sure that we appreciate life and what we have.
3. Coping Paper
I will write everything down and make notes and start the paper as soon as I can. What I like about this class is that Dr. Tran is more interested in our opinion and thoughts, which helps me to learn and be creative and think more about the questions and answers I give. I can wait to start the paper.
Week 4
Describe the physiological responses that they might be experiencing before, during (especially), and after a test and how they might interpret this arousal.
Studies have shown that students that do not suffer from test-anxiety score better then the one suffering from it. The Spielberger test attitude inventory was used to measure anxiety in 150 students rotating through the clerkship. Students completed questionnaires after the MCQ and SP examinations. Mean examination scores and anxiety levels were compared. Based on questionnaire scores, students were divided into 3 groups: low, moderate, and high anxiety. The MCQ and SP examination scores were analyzed to determine if male/female anxiety-level affected test performance (Jo-Ann Reteguiz (Links to an external site.)). It shows that anxiety can affect the preformance of a test taker and it can cause the individual to fail just because of the fact they are experiencing the symptoms of anxiety. It can affect the performance, the test score and the future on an individual that is why anxiety should not be taking slightly and should be addressed, if the test taker or student has severe anxiety or moderated anxiety so that they can take the test again if they start experiencing anxiety while taking a test. They will feel sick and start feeling nausea and the blood pressure might go up or down, depending on the individuals health. Mine usually goes down.
Discuss the thoughts that might be going through their heads and how their beliefs and attitudes may affect their thinking.
The attention span is not working and they lose focus and tent to blackout and think about the time and the failure more than how to focus and pass the test. The concentration level turns down rapidly and they are more afraid of failing than passing. They latterly stop thinking or do not know what the answers are anymore. I had a moment like that in my life when I had to take my math exam and I blacked out. I was grateful for the instructor I had at that time and she understood and stopped my time so that I could come down and step out for a minute and after that, I got myself together and passed. I know that If I had to continue with the way I was feeling, I would have failed because I could not focus anymore. I was thinking about so many other things that could happen that I forgot that I have to finish the test. The time that is clicking is not helping either. They are more worried and continuously checking the time instead of focusing on the text itself.
Describe how their test-taking behavior may be affected by anxiety.
Test anxiety is a feeling of distress, agitation that is associated with test-taking, which can impacts your ability to learn, preform or study on a test or exam. There is positive anxiety that is natural and it helps you keep you alerted physically and mentally but too much may cause physical distress, emotional upset, and concentration difficulties.
Finally, what coping strategies would you recommend to them and why?
The student or test-taker should approach the test or exam with more confidence, they should be prepared, if not prepared more then other usually do. That means work double. Make sure that you choose a comfortable location or computer for taking the test or exam, sitting next to the instructor might get you nervous, choose your seat wisely. Do not rush and take your time, focus more on positive thinks before starting your test or exam. Relax the day of your test and try to focus and work on your concentration before your test or exam. Do some excercise and stretch good and only tell yourself positive things and delete negative aspects. Make sure that you get good rest and do not let others stress you out or talk negative things
Reteguiz, J.-A. (2006, May). Relationship between anxiety and standardized patient test performance in the medicine clerkship. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1484796/
Week 5
Describe the reasons you either do or do not drink. Also write about why you believe others make the alternative choice (i.e., to drink if you do not drink, not to drink if you do drink).
I do drink, but I do not have to drink. I drink on different occasions like celebrations or specific holidays. Sometimes I sit outside with my husband and, I have a glass of wine, but I am not a drinker, drinker if that makes sense. I do not drink until passing out or not knowing what I am doing. I use to drink a lot between the ages of 20-26 years (in Germany you can start drinking with 18). I still did not drink to the point that I wasn’t able to function. I drink because it is fun sometimes and some dishes taste good with a glass of wine, white or red. I am not a liquor person and, I do not drink too much because I do not like to feel the result the next day and, I have a life and children that I have to take care of. I am currently pregnant, so no drinking at all not, even a sip. That is a no go for me during pregnancy. I do not drink because I sometimes don’t feel like it, I got responsibilities that I have as a mother and, I have a job and school and, that is reason enough for me not to drink a lot or at all. I mentioned that during any pregnancy, I stopped drinking and, it does not bother me at all. I occasionally drink, so; there is no reason for me to get drunk every day. I do not see the point of getting drunk or drink every day.
What are your thoughts on the legalization of marijuana for either medical or recreational use?
Where I come from, marijuana has been legal since I was born and, it never changed so, I have nothing against it. As long as people leave others alone and mind their business, what is the big deal! I have been living around people that smoke and, we or I never had any issues. They still work and take care of their responsibilities. There are people out there that do not do it out of health reasons or recreational reasons; they do it to forget their problems and, that is the mistake that a lot of people are doing and it looks like marijuana is the issue but is not marijuana is the individual that consumes to avoid problems or think about concerns that they do not want to deal with. That is just my personal opinion. As long as you work, you take care of your kids or your responsibilities and act normal in society, why would people be against it. There is way more issues and harder drugs that we should be worried about then marijuana, in my opinion. It is not a big deal once you lived with it for so long. Amsterdam and Berlin are to go places for marijuana in Germany and the Netherlands. I think that alcohol is a more significant issue, where people can not function at all and, they get aggressive and sick, but I have not seen that in people that use marijuana. As long as there is an age restriction, people are adults and should know what is right and what is wrong. We all make choices in life and, if people want to smoke or drink, let them, as long as they do not cause any harm or trouble.
Complete the self-assessment in the chapter: “How do you know if you are hooked?” How did you score? What do you think of your results?
My score was all No, and, I was not surprised. Right now, I m not drinking anyways, and, before that, I did not drink every day or every time someone else was drinking or offered me a drink. I do not like drinking like that, and it is just not something I like doing every time I get a chance. I am glad I do not drink so much and do not have to drink to the point of unconsciousness, which I think is ridiculous.