Level Of Stress Analysis

The average level of stress went from 5 to 4.2 and the PSS score went from 21 to 17 after the participant incorporate the stress coping mechanism into daily activities. The variation in the mean of stress level can be examined directly, such that the lower the mean, the less stress the participant experienced. The rating of the statements in the PSS, however, had to be converted into a different grading scale. Positively worded items (4 to 8) were reversely scored while negatively worded items (1 - 3) were directly scored. The converted scores were then added up. Obtained data showed that both of the average level of stress and the PSS score were somewhat lower post-intervention. In other words, there was a positive correlation between between …show more content…
In order to improve the validity in future researches, the participant should record the level of stress for more than three days before the intervention while the intervention could also be extended to one month or longer. Furthermore, since the participant was aware that whatever she was doing or thinking was going to be reported and studied, expectation bias might have come into play such that she rated her level of stress as well as the PSS score in a way she thought the study was expecting. Also, even though she was asked to record data right after the occurrence of negative events, there was no way to make sure whether or not she strictly followed the instructions. We can improve these errors through direct observation to keep track of her behaviors as well as applying more direct measurement of stress such as collecting saliva sample or blood pressure throughout the …show more content…
In an review article by Bushnell and colleagues (2013), pain was showed to have a negative effect on emotion and cognitive function since multiple brain regions such as somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula involved in both and emotional pain processing pathways. Observation of the real time function MRI also showed that training subjects to control the activity in multiple brain regions associated with pain modulation might actually alleviate the perception of pain. However, another research contradicted this study by saying that effortful reappraisal instead elevated the level of cortisol in the body, which in turn, could enhance the development of existing pain while reducing the pain threshold (Denson et al., 2014). With these contradicting findings and what we have concluded from this study, it is necessary to design further researches about the neural circuits as well as confirming which direction cognitive reappraisal influences the pain perception. Once a final conclusion is drawn, this method can then be applied in hospitals to help patients cope better with recoveries and chronic