Health - Stress - Managing Stress
cognitive
behavioural
social support
- Created by: sian
- Created on: 05-06-11 13:40
Meichenbaum (1972)
Aim: To compare SIT with standard behavioural systematic desensitisation and a control group on a waiting list Method: Field Experimet, assessed before and after treatment-self-report. Blind-situation, assessors did not know which condition Sample: 21 students aged 17-25 who responded to adverts for treatment of test anxiety Design: matched-pairs design, random allocation, gender controlled, anxiety levels matched Procedure: Test anxiety questionnaire. IQ test-given baseline score and put into groups. SIT group-8 therapy sessions, 'insight' approach, positive statement & relaxation techniques. Sys Des- 8 therapy sessions, progressive relaxation training, practise relaxation while imagining anxiety-causing situations. control-told on waiting list, receive therapy later Key Results: Performance on testsimproved in SIT groups, significant difference between therapy and control groups. SIT showed more reported improvement. Both therapy groups showed improvement compared to control. Conclusions: SIT more effective in reducing anxiety to those who are anxiety prone. More effective than systematic desensitisation, adds a cognitive component
Meichenbaum (1972)
COGNITIVE
Evaluation Points:
- reductionism vs. holism
- individual vs. situational
Method Issues:
- less control of extraneous variables (low validity)
- can't be sure that changes in DV are due to changes in the IV
useful applications into helping people with anxiety problems. contributes to our understanding of human phenomenon
ignores other complexities of human functioning, deterministic. ignores emotion and freewill in humans
Budzynski (1970)
Aim: to see if previous research on biofeedback as a method of reducing tension headaches was due to the placebo effect or whether biofeedback was an effective method of reducing tension headaches Method: Experimental, patients trained in the lab & data collected using EMG machine. Psychometric test of depression Sample: 18 pps who replied to ads in a local newspaper in Colorado. Underwent psychiatric tests and medical exams to ensure no other reason for headaches. 2m16f aged 22-44 Design: independent design. randomly assigned groups. groupA-biofeedback sessions, relaxation training & EMG feedback. GroupB-relaxation training, psuedofeedback, tape recording of other biofeedback. Controlled use of noise. GroupC-control group, told they were on waiting list for treatment Procedure: 2 weeks-patients recorded headaches rating 0-5 every hour. A&B 16 sessions over 8 weeks. A told that 'clicks' reflected muscle tension. B told to concentrate on varying clicks. C had no training-told they would in 2 months. After 3months A&B given EMG test & questionnaire Key Results: A's muscle tension lower than B at end and 3months after. A's reported headaches less than B&C and baseline questionnaire showed A had more reduction in symptoms than B. Both reported better social relationships. Drug usage decreased more in A than B Conclusions: biofeedback effective way of relaxation and reduce tension headaches/ stress management
Budzynski (1970)
BEHAVIOURIST
Evaluation Points:
- determinism vs. free will
- nature vs. nurture
Method issues:
- low ecological validity
- sample bias
good reliability. number of practical applications, some that have been very effective. allows us to understand nurture side of debate
all research conducted in controlled artificial environments. deterministic, assumes humans are passive to classical and operant conditioning
Waxler-Morrison (1993)
Aim: to look at how a woman's social relationships influence her response to breast cancer and survival Method: quasi-experiment with women diagnosed with breast cancer. info gathered using questionnaire and 18 interviews & examination of medical records. women naturally fitted into categories based on their existing social support network Sample: 133 women under 55 years referred to clinic in Vancouver diagnosed Design: independent design of women with different levels of existing and ongoing social networks Procedure: patients sent a questionnaire on their demography and existing social networks, educational level, who responsible for, perception of support. Psychometric test of social network. Details of diagnosis abstracted from medicalrecords Key Results: 6 aspects of social network linked with survival: marital status, friend support, friend contact, total support, social network and employment. Qualitative data showed that practical help was concrete aspect of support. Conclusions: prospective aspect (choosing sample, asessing networks) removed biases of retrospective studies. Marriage and employment significantly related to survival. the more social networks and support, the higher the survival rate. pps stress reduced.
Waxler-Morrison (1993)
SOCIAL
Evaluation Points:
- nature vs. nurture
- psychology as a science
Method issues:
- can't demonstrate casual relationships because IV not directly manipulated
- Socially desirable answers in questionnaire
shown to have stronger effect than dispositional factors. adopts scientific methods of research so can explain many phenomenon
underestimates people in social situations. supeficial 'snapshots' of behaviour, ignores development. low ecological validity
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