Group Plan

Travis D. Casper

EDAC 635

Dr. Bo Chang

2/11/2020

Theory Literature Review: Stress as an emotion in learning

Name	Commented on
Travis D. Casper

Main Theoretical Points

The emotion of stress occurs in human life on a daily basis.  My review here will emphasize five areas where stress is seen as particularly hard on one’s life-long learning: education, connections with people they are courting, contentment with their existence, differences between the sexes, and during a remunerative decline. As highlighted by Misra & Castillo, 2004; Watson & Watson, 2016),

“there are many origins where tension can happen in life comprised in areas such as education, sentiments of sadness, the workplace and in trying to find work, within one’s household and within society, and within one’s physical health, especially since it exhausts one’s energy and is a serious reason behind a student not doing well in their scholastic pursuits” (Karaman, Lerma, Vela, and Watson,2019).

Lazarus & Folkman (1984) emphasize that “Stress refers to  a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources” (Karaman, Lerma, Vela, and Watson,2019). Furthermore,

“Utilizing an educational tension list and an educational indicator list, Pozos-Radillo, Preciado-Serrano, Acosta-Fernandez, Aguilera-Velasco, and Delgado-Garcia (2014) accentuate the importance of the connection between scholastic tension and common tension in activities such as test taking, homework, and class participation  Moreover, In addition, researchers have found significant differences between male and female students’ levels of scholastic tension (Backovic ́ et al., 2012; Misra & McKean, 2000; Rahardjo et al., 2013), accentuating major differences between male and female students’ in college student development” (Karaman, Lerma, Vela, and Watson,2019).

Karaman, Lerma, Vela, and Watson,2019) continue on by stating that

“Placement of jurisdiction relates to how people explain their personal experiences and events. Rotter (1966) divided the concept of placement of jurisdiction into two dimensions: within and outside. Within placement of jurisdiction refers to the extent to which people attribute outcomes to behaviors within the person and elements, whereas  outside placement of jurisdiction refers to outside elements such as fate or luck. Students who believed that success and failure were dependent on the control of powerful others, destiny, luck, or chance were more stressed compared with students who believed that success and failure were dependent on their own capacities, behaviors, or attributes. One of the most major elements in college students’ scholastic and intellectual health outcomes involves life satisfaction given its relationship to happiness, psychological well-being, and meaning in life (Segrin & Taylor, 2007; Vela et al., 2016). Life satisfaction refers to perceptions of quality of life as well as positive and negative affect (Diener, Luca, & Oishi, 2001) (pp.43-44).

Vultaggio & Friedfeld (2013) make the following contribution to my topic by stating that

“Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of the participants are rising college freshmen or sophomores, while the others are rising juniors or seniors. (Two students just graduated from college.) On an “overall stress” scale of 1 to 7 (“not stressful at all” to “incredibly stressful”), the average rating from our participants was 4.95, with 71 percent choosing 5 or higher. This indicates that while the process is not stressful for all, it is certainly stressful—and potentially very stressful—for many. Some participants expressed a lack of information as a source of stress in the admission process. Others pointed to the workload in the fall semester of senior year as compounding their stress. Several participants named the application essays as a specific source of stress. Notably, those participants who received early admission to college tended to report lower stress levels. Possible explanations for why “Financial aid applications and deadlines” and “Paying for college” were not ranked more frequently as stressors for participants with less than $50k household income include limited/lack of information about college costs; an assumption that they would take on loans and/or incur debt; or anticipation of significant need-based aid.  The second noteworthy finding was that 16 percent of the higher-income students (>$150K) ranked “Financial aid applications and deadlines” and “Paying for college” as admission stressors (pp.7-8).

Garett, Liu and Young (2017) stated that the

“results of their study was as follows: Stress was elevated during examinations periods. Females reported a greater stress level than males. Increased stress level was significantly associated with lower sleep quality and greater negative emotions (fear, anger). Exercise was an effective stress copying strategy while other coping methods (Internet usage, meditation and self-isolation) were associated with higher stress. Social media usage did not influence stress level. Future stress management programs for freshman need to consider gender differences and may focus on sleep, exercise and decreased general Internet usage (p. 331).

Diaz, Guo, Johnson, and Wang (2011) said

“their study investigated the perceived economic stress among college students and focused on the differential impacts perceived by both genders and four grade levels. We surveyed 560 undergraduate students to assess their perceived economic stress, especially on employment conditions, economic outlook, and financial burden. Our results reveal statistically significant differences of perceived economic stress among students of grade levels but not between genders. Our research indicates that both male and female college students perceive an equivalent magnitude of economic stress and senior college students perceive highest economic stress” (p. 536).

Coccia & Darling (2016)  states that

”A cross-sectional design based on the family ecosystem framework was used to examine how students’ time spent engaging in social interactions and personal behaviours was related to dating, stress and satisfaction with life. The data were extracted from the Parental Indulgence of Emerging Adults study and consisted of 534 students at a southeastern university. The findings indicated that the amount of time involved in non-verbal social interactions, such as texting and social networking, along with solitary activities, such as watching TV and studying, was negatively related to students’ life satisfaction. In comparison, being in a relationship and talking to people on the phone were positively related to students’ life satisfaction. These results have implications for family and health professionals along with university wellness centres that facilitate student health by incorporating preventative measures to help students deal with their stress (p.28).

Karaman, Nelson, and Vela (2018) emphasize that

“prior research (Coccia & Darling, 2016; Dave, Tripathi, Singh, & Udainiya, 2011; Kaya et al., 2015) has found academic stress to be related to life satisfaction, social connectedness, and locus of control. Coccia and Darling (2016) found stress to be negatively correlated with life satisfaction. In another study, Civitci (2015) indicated that college students’ perceived stress and life satisfaction were significantly related, and college belonging played a moderator role between stress and life satisfaction. Therefore, it is vital for researchers to continue identifying factors that may influence students’ life satisfaction in order to possibly predict and prevent psychological distress and potentially capitalise where the positive indicators may lead” (pp.375-376).

Applications

As can be clearly seen here in the research presented in the section above, these five main points have a tremendous impact on several major aspects of a person’s existence. Depending on how well one handles or copes with the level of stress that they are dealing with in their existence, the tension exhibited by the person in regard to each area of their existence can either become a constructive motivator for them and help them do well in these aspects of their existence or a destructive influence that can sink the person into a myriad of pessimistic emotions leading to feeding a defeatist attitude that can be then exhibited by the person. For example, Vultaggio & Friedfeld (2013) discussed some aspects related to constructive tension and destructive tension and provided some ideas for both scholastic candidates and educational institution staff such as “admissions officers and counselors”(pp. 10-12) to pursue in order to help scholastic candidates better handle the tension that is inherent with petitioning for entrance into the educational institution(s) that they wish to attend (pp.6-12).

Reflection

As I have thought about what these books and articles are trying to convey as seen in the research presented at the beginning of this literature review, I personally like the ideas presented in the article by Vultaggio & Friedfeld (2013). I believe that if some form of these ideas could be utilized to provide constructive assistance to the person within each aspect of their existence, adapted of course to be relevant to each particular area mentioned in the theoretical points section above, then that person might have a much better opportunity to have a brighter life than they might have if nothing that has been said here in regard to these five areas of the person’s existence made any difference to them,

Process

As I attempted to engage in this assignment, I first went to the online resources of Bracken Library at Ball State University and specifically utilized the Academic Search Premier and ERIC databases to find information relevant to my topic. I then attempted to extract research findings from each article relevant to my five theoretical  main points mentioned at the beginning of this literature review. As I ponder the assignments in the future, it will be benefit not only my group members, but especially me personally to do what I possibly can to work ahead so that I/we don’t end up submitting any further assignments after the original deadline date, which ultimately affects every groups ability to learn from us.

Summary of Theoretical Ideas

Main Theoretical Ideas	How to apply ideas in practice.
Stress involved in scholastic pursuits	“Start early” on scholastic pursuits (Friedfeld & Vultaggio, 2013, p.10) and seek out constructive assistance from those people who could be most helpful to you.
Stress leading to sentiments of sadness	“Ask for help” (Friedfeld & Vultaggio, 2013, p.10) and seek out constructive assistance from those people who could be most helpful to you.
Stress within the workplace and in trying to find work	“Exhale”/Take a deep breath (Friedfeld & Vultaggio, 2013, p.10) and seek out constructive assistance from those people who could be most helpful to you.
Stress within one’s household/within society (i.e. seen as a screw up)	Apply the three ideas articulated just above this (Friedfeld & Vultaggio, 2013, p.10) and seek out constructive assistance from those people who could be most helpful to you.
Stress as part of one’s physical health	Apply the three ideas articulated just above this (Friedfeld & Vultaggio 2013, p.10) and seek out constructive assistance from those people who could be most helpful to you.

References

Acosta-Fernandez, M. Delgado-García, D. D., de los Ángeles Aguilera-Velasco, M., de Lourdes Preciado-Serrano, M., & Pozos-Radillo, B. E. (2014). 
          Academic stress as a predictor of chronic stress in university students. Psicologia                                  Educativa, 20(1), 47–52. https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1016/j.pse.2014.05.006

Backović, DV; Maksimović, J; Maksimović, M., Zivojinović, JI. (2012). Gender differences in                      academic stress and burnout among medical students in final years of education. Psychiatr                  Danub,. 24(2), 175-181. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22706416

Çakırogˇlu, O., Kaya, C., Melekogˇlu, M., & Tansey, T. N.,  (2015). Stress and life satisfaction of                 Turkish college students. College Student Journal, 49, 257–261.

Castillo, L. G. & Misra, R. (2004). Academic Stress Among College Students: Comparison of                     american and international students. International Journal of Stress Management, 11(2), 132–             148. https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1037/1072-5245.11.2.132.

Calvillo, M., Duque, O., Gonzalez, S. L., Hinojosa, K., Ikonomopoulos, J., & Vela, J.   (2016). The            relationship among individual, interpersonal, and institutional factors on Latina/o college                    students’ life satisfaction. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 15, 260–                                            276. doi:10.1177/1538192715592925

Coccia, C., & Darling, C. A. (2016). Having the time of their life: College student stress, dating and           satisfaction with life. Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation           of Stress, 32(1), 28–35. https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1002/smi.2575

Çivitci, A. (2015). The moderating role of positive and negative affect on the relationship between             perceived social support and stress in college students. Educational Sciences: Theory &                      Practice, 15(3), 565–573. https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.12738/estp.2015.3.2553

Dave, R., Singh, P., Tripathi, K. N.,  & Udainiya, R. (2011). Subjective well-being, locus of control,         and general self-efficacy among university students. Amity Journal of Applied Psychology, 2, 28–       32.

Diaz, M., Guo, Y. J.,, Johnson, V., & Wang, S.C.(2011). College students’ stress under current                economic downturn. College Student Journal, 45(3), 536–543.

Diener, E., Luca, R. E., & Oishi, S. (2001). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and life       satisfaction. In C. R. Synder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 63–73).       New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R.S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer.

Friedfeld, S. & Vultaggio, J. (2013). Stressors in college choice, application and decision-making --       and how to reduce them. Journal of College Admission, 221, 6–12

Garett, R., Liu, S., & Young, S. D. (2017). A longitudinal analysis of stress among incoming college    freshmen. Journal of American College Health, 65(5), 331–338. 
  https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1080/07448481.2017.1312413

Juneman, J., Rahardjo, W., & Setiani, Y. (2013). Computer anxiety, academic stress, and academic        procrastination on college students. Journal of Education and Learning, 7(3), 147-152.

Karaman, M. A., Lerma, E., Vela, J. C., & Watson, J. C. (2019). Predictors of academic stress among    college students. Journal of College Counseling, 22(1), 41–55. 
  https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1002/jocc.12113

Karaman, M. A., Nelson, K. M., & Vela, J. (2018). The mediation effects of achievement motivation    and locus of control between academic stress and life satisfaction in undergraduate                              students. British   Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46(4), 375–384. 
  https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1080/03069885.2017.1346233

McKean, M. & Misra, R. (2000). College students’ academic stress and Its relation to their anxiety,      time management, and leisure satisfaction. American Journal of Health Studies, 16(1), 41-51

Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement.      Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 80, 1–28. doi:10.1037/h0092976

Segrin, C., & Taylor, M. (2007). Positive interpersonal relationships mediate the association between    social skills and psychological well-being. Personality & Individual Differences, 43(4), 637–646.        https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1016/j.paid.2007.01.017

Watson,A. A., & Watson, . (2016). Coping Self-Efficacy and Academic Stress Among Hispanic            First-Year College Students: The Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence. Journal of College       Counseling, 19(3), 218–230. https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1002/jocc.12045.