Stress research

It seems that the stress RI topic is posing the most problems in terms of finding suitable background research for your write-ups.

Some general comments:

1) It is hard to find stuff specifically on things like GSR (skin conductivity) and heart rate because these tend to be viewed as primarily biology rather than psychology. However, most psychology books will contain an overview of how the stress response works on a biological level.

2) Health psychology has a strong crossover with these areas, but do not put too many of these studies in if not directly relevant. For example, you are not studying immune function, so go easy on that. If you are looking at heart rate, studies like the Friedman and Rosenman (1974) study of heart disease could be used.

3) I have tended to warn against including stress reduction stuff. However, there are exceptions - some stress reduction studies are closely linked with your research. For example, the technique of biofeedback uses measures such as GSR and heart rate in an attempt to teach people to relax.

4) The SQA handout only has referenced to studies by Selye, but this in itself should give you a clue to what is expected. If anyone wants to look at Selye's book 'The Stress of Life' (1956) I have a copy, it is an easy read and you could probably find a good quote or two.

5) A lot of the research that I have found on the internet is very applied, i.e. it concerns using the concepts for practical purposes. This is ok, and in fact I think it would be very good if you worked in some applications of your research, perhaps towards the end of your intro and again in the discussion section.