PSY 108 Milestone Five Guidelines and Rubric: Draft of Stress Management Action Plan Submit a rough draft of your completed stress management action plan. Your instructor will give you specific feedback on this draft to prepare you for your final submission. Prompt: Use the resources that have been given to you in this course as well as at least two additional reputable resources that you find on your own to write a cohesive, academic paper outlining your stress management action plan that specifically includes the following critical elements: I. Introduction a) Explain stress and the relevancy of stress within the larger field of psychology and within your own life, using the terminology covered throughout the course. What is stress? Why is stress an interesting topic of study for psychologists? How does stress play a role in your own life? b) Summarize two different studies either from the list below or of your own choice around the topic of reducing stress that appropriately use the scientific method to explore human behavior. What specific elements of human behavior are the studies examining? What is the goal of each study, and how do they achieve that goal through their research or experiment? i. How Stress Influences Disease: Study Reveals Inflammation as the Culprit ii. How to Predict Who Will Suffer the Most From Stress iii. Stress Changes How People Make Decisions c) Compare the two studies of stress for their use of psychological principles and their empirical findings. What are the main psychological principles and concepts included in each study? If the authors discuss similar principles and concepts, note how the definitions or understandings of those things vary between the articles. How are the big conclusions or takeaways from the studies similar or different? d) Explain how these studies are relevant to your personal career interests. II. Personal Stress Experience a) Describe a minimum of three personal or professional goals and the ideal situation that would support accomplishment of your goals. Your ideal situation might include things related to your health, living situation, financial situation, or relationship status. For instance, if your goal is to buy a house, then an ideal situation would be that you continue to work and receive expected raises, allowing you to save money. b) Summarize your results and your interpretation of the Holmes and Rahe self-assessment. Did your results surprise you? Why or why not? c) Explain how the results of your self-assessment could potentially impact your ability to reach your personal or career goals. III. Analysis a) Relating back to the two studies you summarized in your introduction, consider how the findings relate to your own situation and personal stress levels. Can you learn anything from the conclusions of either study that you can apply in your own life? b) Summarize different ways in which you can minimize or manage stress in order to support your personal or career goals. Draw from resources you reviewed throughout the course. IV. Action Planning a) Rewrite the three personal or professional goals you identified in Section II-a as DAPPS goals (dated, achievable, personal, positive, specific). These three larger goals will inform your sub-goals for stress management. b) Consider the DAPPS goals you identified in Section IV-a, and identify three sub-goals that address ways you can better cope with stress as you work towards your larger goals. These three goals become your action steps. Like your three main goals, your sub-goals should be DAPPS. c) Explain how each supporting action step you identified relates back to psychological concepts and the stressors of your own daily life. How, specifically, will accomplishing each of these goals help to minimize your stress? What specific benefits do you think you will gain from achieving your sub-goals? V. Conclusion a) Summarize how learning to manage stress can support you in the achievement of your personal or professional goals. b) Assess how successful you expect your stress management plan to be based on the studies you used for this project. Guidelines for Submission: The paper should be at least 1,200–1,500 words in length, double-spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins, with citations and references in APA format. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions. Critical Elements Introduction: Relevancy of Stress Introduction: Study Summary Introduction: Comparing and Contrasting Studies Introduction: Application of Study Findings Personal Stress Experience: Goals Proficient (100%) Accurately provides definition of stress and discusses relevance to psychology and student’s life Accurately summarizes studies and provides ample detail Accurately identifies main principles and concepts in peer studies Discusses significance of studies to career interests with ample detail Thoroughly describes each goal and the situation with appropriate detail that would support goal accomplishment Needs Improvement (75%) Provides definition of stress, but lacks accuracy and relevance to psychology and student’s life Summarizes studies, but lacks accuracy and detail Identifies principles and concepts, but lacks accuracy Not Evident (0%) Does not provide a definition of stress Value 5 Does not summarize studies 5 Does not identify principles 5 Discusses studies, but fails to provide significance and detail Does not discuss studies 10 Describes goals, but lacks detail Does not describe goals 5 Personal Stress Experience: SelfAssessment Results Personal Stress Experience: Effect of Results Analysis: Application of Findings Analysis: Stress Reduction Action Planning: Personal and Professional Goals Action Planning: SubGoals/Action Steps Action Planning: Psychological Relevancy Conclusion: Summary Conclusion: The Goal Setting Process and the Scientific Method Includes detailed summary of Holmes and Rahe self-assessment and thoroughly discusses the results Explains possible impact of selfassessment results on personal or career goals and provides appropriate detail Discusses significance of studies to own life situation with ample detail Utilizes course resources to accurately summarize different ways student can minimize or manage stress in order to support personal or career goals Appropriately identifies, applies, and rewrites DAPPS goals from Section II-a Accurately identifies DAPPS subgoals that address ways student can better cope with stress as he or she works towards larger goals with specific details Explains how each supporting action relates back to psychological concepts and to the student’s daily life, and provides specific benefits that will be gained from achieving sub-goals Accurately summarizes how learning to manage stress can support the achievement of personal or professional goals and provides ample detail Explains in detail the level of success expected from the stress management plan Includes summary of Holmes and Rahe self-assessment, but lacks detail Does not include summary of Holmes and Rahe self-assessment 5 Explains possible impact of selfassessment results, but lacks detail Does not explain possible impact of self-assessment 10 Discusses studies, but lacks significance and detail Does not discuss studies 5 Utilizes course resources, but summaries lack accuracy Does not utilize course resources 10 Identifies DAPPS goals from Section II-a, but does not demonstrate application or that the goal was rewritten Identifies DAPPS sub-goals, but lacks detail Does not identify DAPPS goals 5 Does not identify DAPPS sub-goals 5 Explains supporting actions, but relation to psychological concepts is inaccurate and fails to provide benefits Does not explain supporting actions 10 Summarizes how learning to manage stress can support the achievement of personal or professional goals, but lacks detail Does not summarize how learning can support achievement 5 Explains the level of success expected from the stress management plan, but lacks detail Does not explain the level of success expected 5 Articulation of Response Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas Earned Total 10 100%