Free Paper with a Response to Jerome Kagan's Essay On Stress

The term stress refers to the reaction that a person may attain in relation to the changes in a particular stimulus, which may disturb either his/her physical or mental environment (Baqutayan, 2015). There has been numerous publications and research developed in the past to determine the effects of stress on people. An example of such research is summarized by a publication authored by McEwen and McEwen (2016), which is a response to Jerome Kagan’s publication on stress. This essay is a summary of the McEwen and McEwen (2016)’s research hypothesis and research design used to test the hypothesis of the research, the methodology of the research used in the article, as well as the types of descriptive and inferential statistics. The essay is also a research to one of more topics that were discussed in class.

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Summary of the Research Hypothesis and Research Design

The hypothesis of the research was that there is a need for a more profound comprehension of the epigenetic influences in an organism’s life that contributes to both positive and negative outcomes of stress. The development of this hypothesis was derived from the need for the concept of stress to be described through biological terms. Such are the terms that are linked to a larger framework of the process of allostasis. This also includes the purpose of allostasis in the adaptation of the brain as well as the body’s positive and negatives experiences in an organism’s life. The term allostasis is used to describe the process of attaining of homeostasis via the modulation of both the positive as well as negative outcomes of stress (Ganzel, Morris & Wethington, 2010).

This phenomenon, as described by the hypothesis, can be fulfilled via the alteration of the HPA in the axis hormones, cytokines as well as the automatic nervous system (Stephens & Mary, 2012). It can also take place as a consequence of the alteration of other bodily systems that are primarily adaptive in the short term. Through the attainment a well-defined biological framework, it would be remarkably easy to organize as well as connect both human and animal types of research on stress. This is specifically in the determination and comprehension of the concepts of allostatic load, allostatic overload as well as toxic stress. In addition, this would aid in highlighting the situations that affect an organism’s health as well as its capacity to cope up with various regular challenges in its environment.

The research design used in the publication of the research is the meta-analysis research design. This is a form of research that employs the use of multiple scientific studies in the development of a single research study (Haidich, 2010). The fundamental tenet behind using this form of research design is that there is a common truth that can be referenced from all the other identified statistical research publications. In reference to the featured empirical article, the authors of the publication compiled the findings of different publications developed by various researchers in the past and used them to create a single report. The report was then used to support the hypothesis employed in the research.

The Methodology Used in the Article

The method used by the authors in the development of the featured publication is the qualitative research methodology. This method is fundamentally focused on performing an exploratory research. In a research study, the method is used to attain a deeper understanding of the various underlying factors, opinions, motivators as well as reasons for the attainment of a phenomenon during a research exercise. Its usage aids in the development of possible insights into a problem and in the development of new ideas as well as a hypothesis for a possible quantitative research.

In the publication, the usage of the qualitative research methodology by McEwen and McEwen (2016) can be evidenced through the connection of Kagan’s ideas with ideologies from other researchers focused on stress in organisms. For instance, when communicating about toxic stress, McEwen & McEwen (2016) discusses that it entails the activation of similar psychological responses to stress when an organism experiences various major life changing events. Through the use of qualitative research methodology, McEwen and McEwen (2016) connects this argument with Shankoff, Boyce and McEwen (2009) arguments. According to (Shankoff, Boyce, and McEwen, 2009), the accumulation of childhood experiences with minimal supervision of an adult can contribute to the early harm in a child’s brain development.

Descriptive and Inferential Statistics

The featured article has employed inferential statistics and not descriptive statistics in its analysis. Descriptive statistics employs data in providing the various descriptions of sample population during a research study. The data from the descriptive statistics can either be expressed through numerical calculations or in the form of graphs and tables. One the other hand, inferential statistics on a research employs inferences as well as predictions about a sample population, founded on a sample of data acquired from the population in question. McEwen and McEwen (2016) uses inferential statistics from different authors whose research findings support Jerome Kagan’s findings in his essay pertaining stress.

Conclusion

In conclusion, stress refers to the reaction that a person may attain in relation to the changes in a particular stimulus, which may disturb either his/her physical or mental environment. The research study publication developed by McEwen and McEwen (2016) proposes the need to develop a more profound comprehension of the epigenetic influences in an organism’s life that contributes to both positive and negative outcomes of stress. The methodology used for research in the study is the qualitative research methodology. In a research, the method is used to attain a deeper understanding of the various underlying factors, opinions, motivators as well as reasons for the attainment of a phenomenon. In addition, McEwen and McEwen (2016)’s publication uses inferential statistics in its analysis.

References

Baqutayan, S. S. (2015, March). Stress and Coping Mechanisms: A Historical Overview. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2), 479-488. doi:10.5901/mjss.2

Ganzel, B. L., Morris, P. A., & Wethington, E. (2010). Allostasis and the human brain: Integrating models of stress from the social and life sciences. Psychological Review, 117(1), 134–174. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0017773

Haidich, A. B. (2010). Meta-analysis in medical research. Hippokratia, 14(Suppl 1), 29–37.

McEwen, B. S., & McEwen, C. A. (2016, July). Response to Jerome Kagan’s Essay on Stress (2016). Perspectives on Psychological Science: Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 11(4), 451-455. doi:10.1177/1745691616646635

Stephens, & Mary, A. C. (2012). Stress and the HPA Axis: Role of Glucocorticoids in Alcohol Dependence. Alcohol Research Current Reviews, 34(4), 468–483. Retrieved November 28, 2016, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3860380/