PSY111 Foundations of Psychology for the Health and Human Services

PSY111 Foundations of Psychology for the Health and Human Services

Assessment 2: Short answer exercise

HEALTH, STRESS AND COPING

Task: For this assessment, you must complete ALL parts of BOTH (2) exercises. Each of the 2 exercises is broken into smaller tasks.

This assessment will allow you to develop your skills in selection of material, comprehension and application of theory, and referencing and presentation. Both parts of the exercise explore the topic of Health, stress and coping (Topic 5).

Presentation: Each of the 2 exercises should start on a separate page and have clear headings (e.g. Task 1, Task 2, etc.) to indicate which questions are being answered. You do NOT need to provide the actual full question for each task, just a heading such as Task 1. You should provide one reference list (with the references you have used for BOTH exercises), at the end of the whole assignment.

Important notes:

Please remember that this is a psychology assignment, so you should try to include principles and theories of psychology wherever appropriate (demonstrate what you have learned in this subject), and use appropriate psychology sources (e.g. psychology textbooks, psychology journal articles) to support your answers.

Please remember to also refer to the detailed information about this task including the marking criteria and standards in your Subject Outline.

EXERCISE 1: HEALTH BEHAVIOURS AND MOTIVATION

This exercise requires you to demonstrate your research skills, comprehension and critical thinking. Our behaviours stem from our intentions. Whilst intention certainly does not always translate into behaviour, it is a necessary first step. This can be applied to whether our intention to engage in healthy behaviours results in us actually doing so. When you are choosing articles for this exercise you may choose to focus on your own profession, for example if you are an Oral Health student you may wish to explore what the theory says about oral hygiene/oral health behaviour.

Task 1

Identify two journal articles that explore how the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) can be applied to health behaviours. Under the heading Task 1, please cite them using APA format (i.e. give the full citations no need to provide summary of the articles). You will also need to include them in your reference list. (No word limit expected to be approximately 100 words)

Note: Theory of Planned Behaviour is an extension of Theory of Reasoned Action.

Task 2

Explain the relationship between the Theory of Planned Behaviour and health behaviours. You may wish to utilise your 2 chosen articles for this, or other sources. (250 words)

Task 3

Why dont our good intentions always result in action? Thinking critically, outline some of the limitations of applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to health behaviours. (250 words)

EXERCISE 2: PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

In order to complete this exercise, you will need to access and read the following article:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00050067.2010.482109

Author: Helen M Stallman

Title: Psychological distress in university students: A comparison with general population data

Task 1

IN YOUR OWN WORDS, explain the rationale of the study (i.e., why was the study conducted, why was it important to study the issue). (150 words)

Task 2

IN YOUR OWN WORDS, describe the findings of the study. (150 words)

Task 3

IN YOUR OWN WORDS, describe what protective factors against mental health problems were identified in this study. (100 words)

Rationale (from the Subject Outline)

This assignment will allow you to:

• demonstrate your comprehension of key psychological concepts and theories (Learning Outcome 1)

• develop your literature search skills (sourcing, reading and evaluating scientific research articles and academic literature) and your academic writing, referencing and critical thinking skills (Learning Outcome 2)

• demonstrate that you can apply psychological theories and concepts to relevant issues and real world situations (Learning Outcome 3)

Marking criteria (from the Subject Outline)

Criterion 1: Selection of material

Use of relevant, credible and authoritative sources

Criterion 2: Comprehension & application of theory

Evidence of comprehension of sources relating to the relevant psychological concepts (including psychological theory and research findings). Evidence of appropriate application of psychological theory and concepts to real life situations or examples.

Criterion 3: Critical thinking; evaluation and analysis of psychological literature

Evidence of critical thinking and evaluation of the literature. Links between the literature and the implications it has on the topic/area are clearly explained.

Criterion 4: Referencing and presentation

Overall presentation of the assessment item conforms to the formatting requirements (e.g. word limit, line spacing) of the exercise and the seventh (7th) edition of the APA referencing style manual. Appropriate spelling, grammar and use of punctuation. Clarity and conciseness in written expression

Feedback/marking sheet