The question
Name: ______________________ Date: ____________ Does social support buffer stress? (7 points)
Study
Source 1: Source 1
Introduction
Researchers asked whether support from a friend changes the body's response to a stressful task.
Participants
80 undergraduate students (ages 18 to 22) at a university in California.
Method
Students were randomly assigned to give a hard five-minute speech to a panel of judges either alone or with a supportive friend sitting in the room. Heart rate (beats per minute) was measured during the speech.
Results
Mean heart rate during the speech was 96 beats per minute in the friend-present group and 108 in the alone group. The difference was statistically significant.
Invented study for practice.
Study
Source 2: Source 2
Introduction
Researchers asked whether people under heavy daily stress get sick less often when they have more support.
Participants
600 working adults (ages 25 to 55) in Ohio.
Method
Participants reported their stress over the past year (high or low) and the number of people they could count on for help (few: 0 to 2; many: 3 or more). The researchers recorded the number of sick days each person took over the next year.
Results
Among people with low stress, sick days were similar for those with few supporters (4) and many supporters (4). Among people with high stress, those with few supporters took a mean of 9 sick days and those with many supporters took 5.
Invented study for practice.
| Stress level | Few supporters | Many supporters |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 4 | 4 |
| High | 9 | 5 |
Study
Source 3: Source 3
Introduction
Researchers asked whether a weekly support group lowers anxiety in parents caring for a child with a long-term illness.
Participants
120 parents of children with a long-term illness, recruited through a children's hospital in Ontario, Canada.
Method
Parents were randomly assigned to attend a weekly support group for eight weeks or to a waitlist group that joined later. Anxiety was rated on a 0 to 30 questionnaire before and after the eight weeks.
Results
Mean anxiety fell from 21 to 15 in the support-group parents and from 21 to 20 in the waitlist parents.
Invented study for practice.
(A) Propose a specific and defensible claim based in psychological science that responds to the question: does social support buffer stress? [1 point]
(B(i)) Support your claim using at least one piece of specific and relevant evidence from one of the sources. [1 point]
(B(ii)) Explain how the evidence from B(i) supports your claim using a psychological perspective, theory, concept or research finding learned in AP® Psychology. [2 points]
(C(i)) Support your claim using a different piece of specific and relevant evidence from another source. [1 point]
(C(ii)) Explain how the evidence from C(i) supports your claim using a different psychological perspective, theory, concept or research finding than the one used in B(ii). [2 points]