Positive Psychology Dispositional Optimism and Coping Essay
I need support with this Philosophy question so I can learn better.
Meaning of some terms:
“Meta-analysis” – a systematic review of
a focused topic in the literature that provides a quantitative estimate
for the effect of a treatment intervention or exposure.
“Effect
size” – a quantitative measure of the magnitude of the experimenter
effect; it measures the strength of the relationship between two
variables on a numeric scale. The larger the effect size, the stronger
the relationship between two variables.
The findings would be the
most important part as your essay would depend on this. There are a few
main findings for your understanding:
a. Dispositional optimism is positively associated with approach coping strategies
b. Dispositional optimism is negatively associated with avoidance coping strategies.
c. Effect sizes (strength of relationship) were larger for the distinction between approach and avoidance
coping strategies than for that between problem and emotion-focused coping.
d. Optimists may adjust their coping strategies to meet the demands of the stressors at hand
e. Optimism-coping relationship is strongest in English-speaking samples.
Analyse
the extent to which you would agree with the article’s position on
dispositional optimism. Apply relevant positive psychology theories and
findings to support your discussion.
This means, you may agree
with the article’s position (use related literature to support your
claims), but to a certain extent (usually not completely). The extent
you may not agree may be discussed with relevant evidence from related
literature. You MUST apply Positive Psychology theories/findings to
substantiate your claims/arguments.
Your discussion will include the following points:
1. The purpose of this meta-analysis
– Why was this done. See the meaning of meta-analysis to be able to understand the purpose of such a study.
2. Prior research and theory underpinning this article
–
For this, since the article is somewhat outdated (for me!), you need
not only refer to older article. You can refer to any related articles
(current or older) to support your arguments – agree or disagree (or
50/50!!!) with the study in question. What is important is a critical
analysis.
3. Evaluation of the major results
– The major results
of the current findings of this study in relation to other studies. You
must use related literature for this – otherwise how would you evaluate
if the findings are good/less good.
4. The implications of the
results, in a Singapore context, in terms of coping with the current
distress of the coronavirus outbreak.
– The implication of the
findings of this study – how does it help (or not help, you need to make
a case) the coping style/s of Singaporeans during this period. You
could even discuss different coping styles during the lockdown and now
that the rules are a little relaxed.