You are the coordinator of the new “Wellness Initiative” at Acme Widget. One goal of the Initiative is to teach employees some basic principles of psychology so they will better understand what—according to science—contributes to people’s feelings of stress, happiness and fulfillment. In addition, you plan to guide employees through some popular theories of happiness to examine how well the science of psychology supports them. To educate employees on these topics, you will create a new section for the employee handbook and a short video presentation.

Directions

First, use the resources below to learn how to evaluate scientific claims and to become familiar with the psychological concepts of emotion, positive psychology and stress.

Then, write a section for Acme Widget’s Employee Handbook on recognizing and dealing with stress. The section should:

Define the following key terms and concepts in your own words. If you paraphrase, cite the source appropriately.

stress

the three stages of stress (alarm, resistance, exhaustion)

the fight or flight response

the tend and befriend response

optimism

self-efficacy

hardiness

Summarize the body’s long and short term reactions to stress, including effects to the heart, nervous system, and hormones.

Explain why it is important to manage stress.

Provide at least two strategies for coping with stress.

Provide two contrasting examples of dealing with stress that come from your personal experience. Present your examples using the convention of disguising the subject’s name with language such as, “Bella (not her real name)…”.

Example One: Effective response. What was the situation? How did the person described respond, and why was the response effective? Use relevant psychological terms and concepts as they apply.

Example Two: Ineffective response. Again, describe the situation, what the response was, and why the response was not effective, using relevant terms and concepts.

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