Stress and the College Student

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Stress and the College Student

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Concept of "narrative"

• Narrative theory assumes that people make sense
  of their lives through the stories they tell
  about it.
• Essentially, people create their own meaning
  through their stories.
• Narrative theory stands in contrast to
  positivism, which predicts that scientific
  propositions can be applied uniformly toward the
  resolution of human problems.

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Story

• Here is a "true story" regarding exams at
  Cambridge University. It seems that during an
  examination one day a bright young student popped
  up and asked the proctor to bring him Cakes and
  Ale. The following dialog ensued Proctor I
  beg your pardon? Student Sir, I request that
  you bring me Cakes and Ale. Proctor Sorry, no.
  Student Sir, I really must insist. I request
  and require that you bring me Cakes and Ale.

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Story (contd)

• At this point, the student produced a copy of the
  four hundred year old Laws of Cambridge, written
  in Latin and still nominally in effect, and
  pointed to the section which read (rough
  translation from the Latin) "Gentlemen sitting
  examinations may request and require Cakes and
  Ale." Pepsi and hamburgers were judged the
  modern equivalent, and the student sat there,
  writing his examination and happily slurping
  away.

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Story (contd)

• Three weeks later the student was fined five
  pounds for not wearing a sword to the
  examination.

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Story (contd)

• Origins Readers Digest, 1950s
• Secondary source
• http//www.snopes.com/college/admin/cakesale.asp

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Another Story

• Introductory Chemistry at Duke has been taught
  for about a zillion years by Professor Bonk
  (really), and his course is semi-affectionately
  known as 'Bonkistry'. He has been around forever,
  so I wouldn't put it past him to come up with
  something like this. Anyway, one year there were
  these two guys who were taking Chemistry and who
  did pretty well on all of the quizzes and the
  midterms and labs, etc., such that going into the
  final, they had a solid A. These two friends
  were so confident going into the final that the
  weekend before finals week (even though the Chem
  final was on Monday), they decided to go up to
  UVirginia and party with some friends up there.
  So they did this and had a great time. However,
  with their hangovers and everything, they
  overslept all day Sunday and didn't make it back
  to Duke until early monday morning.

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Story (contd)

• Rather than taking the final then, what they did
  was to find Professor Bonk after the final and
  explain to him why they missed the final. They
  told him that they went up to UVa for the
  weekend, and had planned to come back in time to
  study, but that they had a flat tire on the way
  back and didn't have a spare and couldn't get
  help for a long time and so were late getting
  back to campus.
• Bonk thought this over and then agreed that they
  could make up the final on the following day. The
  two guys were elated and relieved.

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Story (contd)

• So, they studied that night and went in the next
  day at the time that Bonk had told them. He
  placed them in separate rooms and handed each of
  them a test booklet and told them to begin. They
  looked at the first problem, which was something
  simple about molarity and solutions and was worth
  5 points. "Cool" they thought, "this is going to
  be easy." They did that problem and then turned
  the page. They were unprepared, however, for what
  they saw on the next page. It said

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Story (contd)

• (95 points) Which tire?

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Story (contd)

• Origin The "which tire" story has actually been
  around for years.
• However, there really is a Professor Bonk at
  Duke.
• Secondary source
• http//www.snopes.com/college/exam/flattire.asp

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Story (contd)

• Date Thu, 15 Feb 1996 From James F. Bonk I
  would have to classify the story as being
  somewhere between UL and fact. It is based on a
  real incident, but it has been embellished. For
  instance, I have only been teaching at Duke for
  37 years, not zillions of years! The incident
  happened long enough ago that I am not able to
  recall accurately the exact details anymore. This
  version is such a good story that I have decided
  to "let the legend grow". The story has been on
  Internet about 3 years now and I have been
  informed that well over 5000 people have seen it.
  A number of people have contacted me about the
  story. It has been a fun and educational
  experience for me to be involved. For instance, I
  recently received a non-traditional analysis of
  the probabilities that the students will pick the
  same tire. Thanks for your interest. Best
  wishes. Jim Bonk

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Traditional causes of college stress

• Lifestyle change
• Shift toward total responsibility for personal
  nutrition, hygiene, etc.
• Loss of external structures (e.g., parents
  reminding one to study).
• Grades, obsession with
• Course overload and debt fear
• Sense of time urgency trying to graduate
• Academic performance
• Shifting friendships

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Some simplistic approaches for dealing with
typical stressors

• Limit coursework.
• Improve your communication with romantic partners
  and/or friends.
• Seek new friends Join a club, etc.
• Schedule work family time (let them know what
  times you'll be busy).
• Make a four-year professional plan and financial
  projection.

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Simplistic interventions (contd)

• Address perceptions Ask yourself what's the
  worst that could happen.
• Focus on the positive occasionally "smell the
  roses," enjoy aesthetic experiences.
• Use time management techniques such as listing to
  get a realistic "grip" on what's up in the air.

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More generic suggestions

• Use relaxation techniques
• Exercise regularly
• Schedule with a fitness buddy and pretend you're
  going to class
• Eat right

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Friendships

• Shyness - difficulty in making assertive requests
  with others
• Lack of self-disclosure - low likelihood of
  forming close friendships
• Excessive or inappropriate self-disclosure
  -increased probability of tumultous or
  conflictive relationships
• Concept of interpersonal boundaries

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Boundaries

• Minuchin (1974)
• Rigid Boundary
• Disengaged relationships may form
• Isolation, autonomy
• Limited warmth, support

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Boundaries (contd)

• Clear boundary
• (normal range)
• Allows relationships to form which balance
  feeling of closeness with sense of personal
  autonomy

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Boundaries (contd)

• Diffuse boundary
• Enmeshed relationships may form
• Sense of mutual support
• Limited independence, autonomy
• Romantic partnerships with this kind of boundary
  may help if conflict becomes difficult to bear

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Six pages about sex

• Greenbergs treatment of sexual topics boils down
  to a single idea There is a great discrepancy
  between what is commonly thought and said about
  sexual matters, vs. the view afforded by
  scientific research and statistics.

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LudiMania

• Greenberg partially quotes the Colors of Love
  model (Lee, 1973), a model with
  literary/philosophical value. Greenberg's point
  is that different people have different
  expectations.
• If I act according to my expectations, yet I
  haven't told you what those expectations are
• you are likely to be very (unpleasantly)
  surprised.

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Triangular Model of Love

• Sternberg (1986, 1988)
• Intimacy the closeness two people feel and the
  strength of their bond
• Passion romance, physical attraction, sexual
  intimacy
• Decision/commitment cognitive factors deciding
  that one is in love and committing to stay in the
  relationship
• See Flash presentation

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Inclusion of Other in Self (IOS)

• The IOS Scale test (Aron, Aron, Smollan, 1992)
  can be used to determine the degree of intimacy
  between two partners.
• Closeness may be accompanied by more conflict and
  greater "intensity."
• Partners may feel dissatisfied if expectations of
  closeness are not met.
• It also illustrates somewhat the nature of
  interpersonal boundaries in friendships and
  familial relationships.
• See Flash presentation

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References

• Aron, A., Aron, E. N., Smollan, D. (1992).
  Inclusion of other in the Self Scale and the
  structure of interpersonal closeness. Journal of
  Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 596-612.
• Lee, J. (1973). The colors of love An
  exploration of the ways of loving. Don Mills,
  Ontario, Canada New Press.
• Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy.
  Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press.
• Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of
  love. Psychological Review, 93, 119-135.
• Sternberg, R. J. (1988). Triangulating love. In
  R. J. Sternberg M. L. Barnes (Eds.), The
  psychology of love (pp. 119-138). New Haven, CT
  Yale University Press.