University of Baltimore
Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences
APPL 649.185 SPECIAL TOPICS:
SEMINAR IN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
Spring 2016
Instructor: / Dr. Sharon GlazerOffice Location: / Learning Commons (LC) 403
Telephone: / (410) 837-5905
Email: /
Office Hours: / Tuesday 3-4:30pm or by appointment
Class Days/Time: / Tuesday, 5:30-8pm
Classroom: / AC 222
Prerequisites: / Graduate standing or Permission of instructor.
Sakai
Copies of course materials, including syllabus, major assignment handouts, etc. may be found on Sakai. You are responsible for regularly checking the Sakai site for this course or direct emails (to your UBalt.edu email account; please be sure that my emails are not going to the junk folder).
Course Description
Survey of the organizational environment that affects cognitive processes and subsequent physiological, psychological and behavioral responses affecting individual and organizational performance. Topics include the role of the person, such as biology and personality; the role of the organization, such as workplace climate and work roles; and different types of individual and organizational stress management interventions that contribute to individuals' health and well-being.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course will examine different ways of conceptualizing stress and health, and related concepts. Students will:
· learn how the work environment affects employees’ physiological and psychological health and well-being,
· understand the nature of occupational health and stress (OHS) psychology,
· learn how to study OHS from an Organizational Development systems perspective,
· discover how OHS relate to employee well-being and organizational behaviors, and
· study different ways of adapting or treating occupational stress in order to ensure healthy people in healthy organizations.
Course Content Learning Outcomes (LO)Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
SLO 1. Define occupational stress, occupational health, stressors, strains, well-being, and social support.
SLO 2. Identify physical, psychological, and social stressors, their resulting physiological, psychological, and behavioral outcomes, and their implications for organizations.
SLO 3. Critically assess empirical peer-reviewed published research studies related to occupational stress and health psychology.
SLO 4. Apply concepts of occupational stress and well-being to quality of worklife programs.
SLO 5. Evaluate efficacy of coping strategies and stress management interventions for individuals and organizations.
REQUIRED READINGS
6th edition of the APA Publication Manual (available at library, better to have your own copy).
Book chapters and journal articles can be accessed through the library e-reserves on the course Sakai site. Sometimes article links are broken or not uploaded. Although I perform a quality check to ensure articles are present, sometimes they are not. Please download all articles early in the semester and notify me if any are missing. You are responsible for making sure you have a copy. Do not expect copies to be available during the next class period. If you were absent, check the Internet first for missing notes and handouts or please see me during office hours.
GENERAL METHODOLOGY: Discussion, lecture, cross-cultural team project, exams, paper, and weekly written reactions to readings.
EVALUATION/GRADING: Student learning will be assessed on one paper (30%), two exams (30%), VAP project (15%) and presentation (10%), on-time and informative QCCs (12%), and class participation in discussions (3%). All assignments must be completed by the specified due date and time below. Students earn their grades; they do not lose points from the total possible. An “A” grade indicates excellent performance, “B” indicates good, solid, above average performance, and “C” indicates average performance (meeting only some expectations). Any grade below “C” is typically unlikely in graduate programs, but if you find yourself earning in that range, please see me immediately (if I have not already reached out to you).
Assignments and Grading Policy
EVALUATION/GRADING:
Summary of points: /GRADING SCALE
30% / Paper / A= 93+% A- = 89.5-92.9%40% / Exams (25% for mid-term) / B+ = 87-89.49% B = 83-86.9%
12% / VAP project report / B-= 79.5-82.9% C+ = 77-79.49%
3% / Getting to Know You / C = 73-76.9% C- = 69.5-72.9%
12% / QCCs / D+ = 67-69.49% D =59.5-66.9%
3% / Participation / F = below 59.5%
Study Time
At this point in your college studies, you are expected to be independent learners who are also able to work with fellow classmates. For students who keep up with assigned readings and assessments will find it easier to keep up than those who do not read the assigned works on time. If one adheres to university traditions that suggest 3 hours of study for each hour of lecture, good grades should be expected.
LITERATURE REVIEW PAPER
A library research paper is due the last class day, May 3, 2016. Papers must be between 10-12 pages in length (not including title page and references) on any subject that examines occupational stress, health, and/or well-being. At least 5 (much more preferred) of the papers’ required 10 empirical references must come from the following journal list: Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, International Journal of Stress Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Occupational Medicine, Social Science and Medicine, Stress Medicine, Work and Stress.[1] Moreover, at least half the references must come from articles published after 2005. It is expected that students integrate a minimum of ten (10) empirical articles. (See grading criteria at end of syllabus) Note: ‘in press’ articles can be requested through ILL.
Writing a literature review paper will provide you with an opportunity to critically assess the current literature on any topic related to occupational, stress, health, and well-being and to discuss areas for future and further study. You must have a thesis statement and theoretical foundation(s) for your paper. When you write your literature review, also think of what is missing in the literature that needs further study or a different angle for studying stress. For example: The study of stress has generally considered ‘organizational commitment’ to be an outcome variable (Leiter, 1988; O’Driscoll, Ilgen, & Hildreth, 1992). However, there is reason to believe that organizational commitment is a moderator of the relationship between individual level strains and organizational outcomes (Begley & Czajka, 1993; Jamal, 1984; 1985). Therefore, in this paper, the placement of organizational commitment in occupational stress frameworks is examined.
**Keep copies of all your articles until the end of May 2016; I may ask to see them.
Papers must follow the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual (6th ed.) format and must be submitted first via Turnitin.com (on Sakai) by 5:00pm with a hard copy (print out) and checklist submitted to instructor by 5:30pm on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. The date and time serve as the postmark. Hard copy papers received between 5:35pm and 5:45pm will warrant a 2-point deduction. For papers submitted thereafter, but before midnight will be reduced by a total of 5 points. After midnight, your paper will be reduced by 8 points. Electronic and hard copy papers will not be accepted after 4pm on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 and will earn a grade of zero. Papers that are not submitted through the Turnitin.com portal on the Sakai site for this course will receive a grade of zero. There is a 24/7 hotline if you experience any problems uploading your assignments. 24/7 Toll-Free Phone: 1.855.501.0856 or 24/7 Email:
Writing resources: Buy a copy of the APA Publication Manual (6th ed.). Please refer to my piece on “A guide to writing a literature review paper” on the Sakai site. It references the 5th edition of the APA Publication, though you are responsible for complying with the 6th edition. See also: http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc/Writing/Fussy.htm
https://www.regent.edu/admin/stusrv/writingcenter/files/APA%206th%20Edition%20Quickview.pdf
Review of Drafts: I will accept drafts of papers no later than 2 weeks before the final paper is due. I would be happy to meet with you to discuss your paper during office hours (time allotted based on number of students visiting during office hours). Grading criteria are attached. Please use it before submitting to me for review. Plagiarism is not tolerated even when presenting a draft. If your draft is incomplete, please specify what aspect of it you are seeking feedback.
EXAMS
Students will have two essay exams. Dictionaries are not permitted. The mid-term will be worth 25%. The final exam[2] (worth 15%) will require you to demonstrate your overall knowledge of “Stress.” Thus, it will be a cumulative exam. Exams will assess your explicit knowledge learned through readings, course discussions, project work, and course activities. Students are required to bring with them the large size (8½” x 11”) blue books for the exam(s). No make-up exam will be permitted, unless you provide a valid official note from a physician, lawyer, or academic administrator regarding your absence. If you miss the exam, you will receive a score of zero. Please note that the class will meet during the scheduled final exam period. All students must be present. Failure to attend will reduce your final exam grade by 15 percentage points.
VIRTUALLY ABROAD PROGRAM
Intercultural Team Project Report. All teams will upload their final reports by 5:00pm ET (on both Campus Obert and Sakai; 1 copy per team on Sakai) and submit 1 hard copy per team by 5:30pm ET on February 23, 2016 to their instructors from both countries. (See grading criteria on the assignment tab of Sakai). On Week 1 (1/26), students will be assigned to teams.
Getting to Know You. At the start of the VAP, students will respond to 2 scenarios. Each student must independently prepare and submit on February 2, 2016 a ~2-page typed (Times New Roman, 12 pitch font, 1” margins all around) summary of what you learned about your teammates. In particular, present your understanding of all your teammates’ responses to the 2 “getting to know you” prompts and how you think culture and personality influenced theirs and your responses. Also, summarize your team’s plans (project timelines, roles, and milestones) to complete the assignment on time. Grading criteria: 80% content, 10% formatting, 10% grammar/syntax.
WEEKLY /QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/CRITICISMS (QCCs)
To facilitate student learning, each article will have an assigned leader who will be required to pose challenging or clarifying questions, comments, or criticisms. The lead must post the challenging and clarifying QCCs on the Discussion Forum on Sakai no later than Thursday 11am before the reading assignment is due the following Tuesday. For example, a student lead assigned to Beehr (1998) that is due Feb. 2, 2016 will be required to upload his/her challenging and/or clarifying question by 11am January 28, 2016. The goal is give students time to respond by Monday before 8am. A lead’s failure to submit a challenging/clarifying QCC will warrant a -1 (minus 1) for the week’s assignment (not just a zero).
Each week students will submit at least 1 typed comment, criticism, or question pertaining to each of the assigned readings for the week, addressing the QCC(s) the lead posed. All non-lead QCCs must be submitted via Sakai by Monday 8am before the Tuesday class due. I will be reviewing the QCCs Monday morning and integrating them into the class session. Late QCCs will not be graded.
QCCs must be thoughtful. Do not ask quiz/test type questions, for which the answer can be found in the readings (for such questions you will not receive credit). It is imperative that students’ QCCs do not repeat others’. You are also allowed to take a different slant on the QCC if you find another area in the reading that you’d like to explore or if you have nothing new to add to what has already been presented. You must demonstrate your understanding of the material in your QCC by citing the page number that inspired your QCC (this requirement is for the lead too). All responses to others must be respectful and with evidence from course materials or other materials students might find through a literature search. Questions should challenge or enhance the materials read. Comments, such as, “I didn’t like this reading” are also not acceptable. Be specific. What was it about the reading(s) you liked or did not like? What did you learn that could be applied to a situation you did or anticipate to encounter? If you disagree with a point, then be proactive in your learning and do some basic literature research to help support your argument. If you do not understand something, again, try to do some library search to find an answer. There should be only 1 thread for each QCC.
The QCC assignment is essentially a give-away of points if you put forth thought and effort into the assignment. You will receive an overall percent for each assignment submitted, however you will receive a zero for the assignment if you are submitting an incomplete assignment for the week. (Note. Missing even 1 QCC can make the difference between a B+ and an A-). Late submission and handwritten QCCs will be acknowledged with feedback, but not graded. The purpose of QCCs is to ensure that you are learning the material, can contribute to lively discussion in class, and help me know with what you might have difficulty. Students must be prepared for active conversation, debate, and questioning in class. This class is at its best when students are an integral part of discussion. Respecting the time you put into developing your QCCs, I will give feedback on the thread (either in class or online) or on specific QCCs (some lengthy, some short); please take the time to look at my comments.
PARTICIPATION/DISCUSSION
Much of this class will be run in a seminar and activity format, therefore, it is imperative that students take an active role and participate in the course. Students are encouraged to participate in class activities in a variety of ways. Reading the assigned materials will prepare the student for discussion. Thoughtful questions are encouraged. Active learning projects require students to participate rather than be passive in the classroom and create an atmosphere of challenge and support that fosters curiosity and cognitive development. Note that when your fellow classmates actively participate, you are benefiting from their comments, remarks, and questions. Therefore, by not participating you are cheating your fellow classmates from learning from your own thoughts and experiences. Active learning should stimulate students’ critical thinking about issues. Be inquisitive; always ask questions. All questions related to class material are appropriate. If you have a question, you’re probably not alone. Grades are determined by preparation for class discussion and active engagement in class activities.