Adjusting to Life

Chapter 1:

Human Adjustment

McGraw-Hill © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Outline - Chapter 1

Exploring Adjustment

Subjective Well-Being and Adjustment

The Scientific Approach to Adjustment

Resources for Improving Adjustment

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Learning Goals - Chapter 1

1. Identify key concepts that provide a foundation for understanding adjustment

2. Describe factors related to subjective well-being

3. Characterize scientific foundations of the study of adjustment

4. Discuss resources for improving adjustment

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EXPLORING ADJUSTMENT

What Is Adjustment?

Contexts, Diversity, and Adjustment

Thinking Critically About Adjustment

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What Is Adjustment?

Growth involves learning, expanding your awareness, accepting new challenges, and coping effectively

Adjustment = psychological process of adapting to, coping with, and managing the problems, challenges, and demands of everyday life

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Contexts, Diversity, and Adjustment

Contexts refer to the historical, economic, social, and cultural factors and settings that influence us

Culture = behavior patterns, beliefs, and other products of a group of people, that are passed on from generation to generation

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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory - people’s lives are influenced by five environmental systems:

–microsystem (immediate living setting and people)

–mesosystem (connections between microsystems)

–exosystem (other social settings influence microsystem)

–macrosystem (culture in which individual lives)

– chronosystem (patterning of events and transitions over life- time)

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Contexts and Diversity

Cross-cultural studies compare a culture with one or more other cultures

Ethnicity is rooted in:–Cultural heritage

–Nationality characteristics

–Race

–Religion

–Language

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Contexts and Diversity

Race = classification of people according to biological characteristics (such as skin color)

Gender = psychological and sociocultural dimensions of being female or male

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Thinking Critically About Adjustment

Critical thinking involves thinking reflectively, productively, and evaluating the evidence

Being a critical thinker requires being:

–open-minded and curious

– intellectually careful

– skeptical

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Adjustment Strategies Involving Critical Thinking

1. Describe and interpret behavior carefully

2. Identify values and challenge assumptions about behavior

3. Examine influence of context and culture on behavior

4. Seek multiple points of view

5. Appreciate individual and group differences

6. Engage in self-reflection to improve self-knowledge

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Review - Learning Goal 1

–How can adjustment be defined?

–What are contexts? What is Bronfenbrenner’s model?

–How can culture, cross-cultural studies, ethnicity, and gender be defined?

–What is critical thinking?

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SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING AND ADJUSTMENT

Are Rich People Happier?Who Is Happy?

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Subjective Well-Being

Subjective well-being is the scientific term for how people evaluate their lives in terms of their happiness and life satisfaction

Diener (2003) reported that college students in 41 countries rate life satisfaction and happiness as very important or extremely important

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Are Rich People Happier?

Extremely wealthy people are not happier than people who can only purchase what they need

Those who strive the most for wealth have lower subjective well-being than those who do not

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Who is Happy?

Characteristics of happy people:

–good social relationships

–mentally healthy and cope effectively with stress

–high levels of creativity, self-esteem, optimism, extraversion, and self-control

–good citizens at work

– spirituality and faith

–altruistic

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Happiness in College Students

Diener & Seligman (2001) found that compared to less happy college students, happy college students were:–highly social

–more extraverted

–had stronger romantic and social relationships

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Adjustment Strategies For Happiness and Life Satisfaction

1. Recognize that no single factor produces happiness

2. Develop good social relationships

3. Learn how to cope effectively with stress

4. Involve yourself in activities you enjoy and value

5. Develop purposefulness in your life

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Review - Learning Goal 2

–Does subjective well-being depend on wealth?

–What characteristics are linked to subjective well-being?

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THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO ADJUSTMENT

Psychology and Adjustment

Adopting a Scientific Attitude

Using the Scientific Method

Experimental and Correlational Research

Being a Wise Consumer of Research Information

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Psychology and Adjustment

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior = everything people do that can be directly observed

Mental processes = thoughts, feelings and motives that each person experiences privately

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Adopting a Scientific Attitude

Adopting a scientific attitude means:

– thinking critically

–being curious

–being skeptical

–being objective

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Using the Scientific Method

Theories and hypotheses play key roles in the scientific method

Theory = broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempt to explain certain observations

Hypothesis = prediction that can be tested

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Using the Scientific Method

The scientific method has four steps:

1. Conceptualize the problem2. Collect research information (data)3. Analyze data4. Draw conclusions

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1-25Adjustment Strategies

for Writing to Improve Your Health

1. Write on issues and concerns; reveal your emotions

2. Just start writing without worrying about formalities

3. Write whenever and wherever you feel like writing

4. Keep your writing to yourself

5. Writing will help you see things in perspective

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Experimental Research

Independent variable - manipulated, influential experimental factor

Dependent variable - factor that is measured to determine change in response to changes in independent variable

Experiment = procedure in which one or more factors believed to influence the behavior being studied are manipulated while all other factors are held constant

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Experimental Research

Experimental group - group whose experience is manipulated

Control group - group treated like experimental group except does not receive manipulated factor

Random assignment - when researchers assign participants to experimental and control groups by chance

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1-28Figure 1.4 Random assignment and experimental design

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Correlational Research

In correlational research, the goal is to describe the strength of relationship between two or more events or characteristics

Correlation does not equal causation

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1-30Being a Wise Consumer of

Research Information

Important to take responsibility for evaluating reports on psychological and adjustment research

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1-31Adjustment Strategies

for Understanding Adjustment Research

1. Distinguish between group results and individual needs

2. Don’t overgeneralize from a small sample

3. Look for answers beyond a single study

4. Don’t attribute causes where none have been found

5. Evaluate the source of the information

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Review - Learning Goal 3

–What is psychology?

–What are the characteristics of scientific attitudes toward information?

–What is the scientific method? How can theory and hypothesis be defined?

–What characterizes experimental research? What characterizes correlational research?

–How can individuals become wise consumers of information about psychological and adjustment research?

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RESOURCES FOR IMPROVING ADJUSTMENT

Mental Health ProfessionalsNational Support GroupsSelf-Help BooksThe Internet

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Mental Health Professionals

Clinical and counseling psychologists - evaluate and treat people with psychological problems

Psychiatrists - medical physicians specializing in treating abnormal behavior

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National Support Groups

National support groups are supportive, educational groups that address a single life problem or condition shared by their members

–participation is voluntary

–members typically serve as leaders

–professionals rarely have an active role in the groups’ activities

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Self-Help Books

Self-help books have become an important source of psychological advice for millions of Americans

High quality self-help books can benefit individuals with problems

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1-37Adjustment Strategies For Selecting a Self-Help Book

1. Select a book that makes realistic recommendations

2. Examine evidence reported in the book

3. Select a book that recognizes that a problem is caused by a number of factors and has alternative solutions

4. Select a book that focuses on one problem

5. Don’t be conned by slick writing

6. Check out author’s educational credentials

7. Be wary of authors who complain about the conventional knowledge of mental health experts

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The Internet

Mental health topics are among the most frequently searched topics on the Internet.

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Adjustment Strategies for Finding the Best Information on the Internet Involving Human Adjustment

1. Adjustment strategies for evaluating self-help books often apply to websites

2. Evaluate credibility of the website

3. Avoid websites that are purely commercial

4. Be wary about information from websites

5. Protect your privacy

6. The Internet is not a substitute for professional help

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Review - Learning Goal 4

–Where can people can find mental health professionals to help them adjust more effectively?

–How are national support groups involved in human adjustment?

–What role do self-help books play in human adjustment? What are some cautions in their use?

–How extensively do individuals use the Internet to obtain information about human adjustment?

–What are some cautions in using the Internet for mental health information?