Discussion Questions Argumentative

• Instead of being able to swim underwater as Garfield would like in his perfect world, what would your perfect world look like? Name at least five things that would exist in your perfect world. Explain. Now name your top 5 stressors. Would any of these stressors be decreased or even eliminated if your perfect world existed? Or is there no correlation between your perfect world and your top stressors? Explain. • Which do you think is more stressful: one major stressor (i.e., death of a loved one) or several minor stressors that occur at the same time (i.e., getting stuck in traffic, losing your keys, failing an exam, etc.)? In other words, are major life changes more stressful than daily hassles? Or is it the other way around? Explain. • How would you define stress? Complete the statement “To me, stress means … ” Explain. • Do you agree or disagree that some of the “bumps” in the road of life are self-induced?

What are some stressors that people bring on themselves? Explain. • Sometimes there’s a fine line between eustress and distress. When do you think something that was eustressful becomes distressful and/or vice versa? In other words, how can you tell if a stressor is eustressful or distressful? Explain. • Do you agree or disagree that perception is key in terms of determining whether a stressor is eustressful or distressful? Explain. • Do you agree or disagree with the Yerkes-Dodson Principle? Is it really possible to have too little stress in your life? Explain. • Which type of stressor (physiological, sociological, psychological, or philosophical) do you think is most common among most people? Which do you think is the most detrimental or has the potential for creating the most stress for most people? Explain. • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0wYoBBEFQw and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Week 2 (Ch 3-4)
Discussion Questions

• Which dimension of health do you believe is the most important? Explain. • Do you agree or disagree that our health is related to our stress levels and/or vice versa? In other words, do we tend to be more stressed when any of the dimensions of our health is lacking? Explain. • Do you agree or disagree that the dimensions of health are interrelated? In other words, do you agree that a health behavior or stressor affects multiple dimensions? Explain. • Why do you think there’s a disparity between stress levels of children/adolescents and their parents’ perceptions of their children’s stress levels? Explain. • Why do you think more women than men feel stressed? Explain. • Why do you think both thin and overweight students reported that stress affected their academic performance more so than normal weight individuals? • Why do you think smokers reported that stress affected their academic performance more so than non-smokers? • Why do you think Americans are more stressed than people in other countries? • Why do you think more women than men reported that stress affected their academic performance? • Why do you think men, more so than women, deal with stress by engaging in risky behaviors? • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsuHavd37gA and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Week 3 (Ch 5-6)

Discussion Questions

• Which of the ABCs of Human Needs creates the most stress for most people when it is not met? Explain. • Regarding Maslow’s Hierarchy, do you agree that the largest and lowest levels of needs would create the greatest amount of stress if those needs are unmet? Or do you think that the degree to which we feel stressed may be proportionate to the extent to which the need is unfulfilled? Explain. • Do you agree or disagree with the items that are on the SRRS? Do you agree with the order in which they’re listed? What other stressors, if any, should be added to the list and in what order should they be placed? Explain. • Regarding the SRRS, which do you think is more important in terms of predicting illness: LCU score (or stressors) or perceptions of those stressors? In other words, is it possible to have a ton of stressors but not feel stressed or have very few stressors and yet feel stressed? Explain.

• Do you agree that our past experiences influence our perceptions, which influence whether or not we get stressed in a particular situation? Explain. • Do you agree that it’s not the hours that we work that causes us stress but how we spend those hours? Explain. • Are there any stats on job stress that surprised you? Explain. • Do you agree with the statement that “stress has nothing to do with how many hours you work and everything to do with how you feel during those hours?” • Do you believe that technology has increased or decreased our stress levels? Or has it had no impact on our stress levels? • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MSK9ndey3Y and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Week 4 (Ch 7-8)

Discussion Questions

• Do you agree that our perceptions and thoughts are closely tied to and influence our feelings and emotions? Explain. • Do you agree with the quote “It is ultimately the body that remains the battlefield for the war games of the mind”? Explain. • In your opinion, how strong is the mind/body connection? What physiological reactions have you experienced in response to your stressors? Explain. • Do you agree that managing stress effectively should be considered just as important to one’s physical health as diet and exercise? Explain • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EIxGrIc_6g and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Week 5 (Ch 9-10)
Discussion Questions

• Do you agree with the idea that our personality, to a large extent, predicts how we deal with stress? Explain. • Do you agree that the most difficult component of personality to change is our values? Explain. Do you agree that the least difficult is our behaviors? Explain. • Which influencing factor of our personality development do you believe is the most influential? Explain. • Of the characteristics found among people who manage stress effectively, which do you think is the most important? Are there other characteristics that should be added to the list? Explain. • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvx1nUYy8s0 and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Week 6 (Ch 11-13)
Discussion Questions

• Do you agree that we don’t habitually think creatively because the emphasis in our society has always been on logical thinking? Explain. • Do you agree that anger and fear are the two emotions that are the most powerful in terms of causing the stress response? Explain. • Do you
agree with the statement “It’s the mind, not the body that creates most of the fear, stress and dissatisfaction we experience in our lives”? Explain. • Which cognitive restructuring technique do you believe has the strongest influence? Explain. • Which anger mismanagement style do you think is the unhealthiest and/or creates the most stress? Explain. • Which recommendation for dealing with anger do you believe is the most important? Explain. Is there another recommendation for dealing with anger that you believe should be added to the list? Explain. • Which defense mechanism do you believe is the unhealthiest and/or creates the most stress? Explain. • Do you agree with the order of the stages of grieving? Explain. Is there another stage that should be added? Explain. • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgeOaygSgIY&NR=1 • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Lecture 7 (Ch 14-15)
Discussion Questions

• Do you agree that our patterns of communication are influenced by our culture? Explain. • Do you agree that 90 percent of communication is nonverbal? Explain. • Which nonverbal communication do you believe is the most powerful? Explain. • Which listening skill do you believe is the most important? Explain. • Are there other listening skills that you think should be added to the list? Explain. • Which communication difference between the genders do you think is the most detrimental and causes the most stress? Explain. • Are there other communication differences between the genders that should be added to the list? Explain. • Which communication tip do you think is the most important? Explain. • Is there another communication recommendation that should be added to the list? Explain. • What do you think: Have we become slaves to, rather than masters of, time? Explain.

• Which scheduling or prioritization technique do you believe would alleviate a lot of stress for most people? For you? Explain. • Which cognitive restructuring technique regarding time management do you think is the most important? Can you think of another one that should be added? Explain. • Which time management recommendation from the “Additional Recommendations” section is the most important? Explain. • Are there other time management recommendations that you think should be added to the list? Explain. • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjh3pEnLIXQ, watch and participate in the relaxation technique. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention? To what extent were the techniques relaxing to you?

Week 8 (Ch 16-17)
Discussion Questions

• Of all the benefits of exercise, which do you believe is the most significant? Explain. • Do you agree that feelings and emotions are tied to our eating habits? Explain. • In your opinion, which nutritional recommendation is the most important? Explain. • Is there another nutritional recommendation that you think should be added to the list? Explain. • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Qv3JTF0tc&feature=related and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Week 9 (Ch 18-20)

Discussion Questions

• Do you agree with the Columbine High School student? With which part do you especially agree? Explain. • What would you say are the top three natural highs for most people? Why? In other words, which natural highs do you think are the most influential or have the strongest impact for most people? Explain. Is there another natural high that should be added to the list? • Which of the recommendations for doing the relaxing techniques do you think is the most important? Why? • Should relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, be taught in the public schools? Explain. • Do you believe that coping techniques (communication skills, cognitive restructuring, etc.) and relaxation techniques (diaphragmatic breathing, meditation, etc.) are equally important or do you think that one is more important than the other? Explain. • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNHS0dCVw8g and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?

Week 10 (Ch 21-25)
Discussion Questions

• Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more powerful than knowledge.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain. Do you agree with the quote, “Knowledge without imagination is like a car without fuel”? Explain. • Practice one of the relaxation techniques (mental imagery, diaphragmatic breathing, etc.) with and without relaxing music. Take your before and after pulse for 10 seconds. Did the relaxing music cause a greater drop in your pulse? Did it seem more relaxing with the music? • Given all the benefits of massage therapy and the fact that insurance companies are trying to support prevention efforts, do you think that health insurance companies should cover, to some extent, the cost for massages? What percentage? Explain.

• When commenting on the class at the end of the quarter, a previous student wrote, “This type of information to me seems superfluous and only needed by those who are actually entering a psychology profession. If a person really needs to take a class in order to relax, then they have problems that a class is not going to cure.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain. • It’s thought that people from the Eastern part of the world are more receptive to meditation than we are (and therefore are better at it than we are). Why do you think this may be so? • Do you agree that music can have a profound effect on our emotions? Explain. • Do you agree that music without lyrics is typically more relaxing than music with lyrics? Explain. • Comment on anything stated in the lectures or choose a question from another week.

Video
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCtLTVFlhz4&feature=related and watch. • Comment on this video. Do you agree or disagree with anything that was said? What especially caught your attention?