Reference no: EM132384160 , Length: word count : 1500
PSY1BNB INTRODUCTION TO BEHAVIOURAL NEUROSCIENCE 1B
Lab Report 2019
The stress of an oral presentation: A role for mindfulness?
Studying at university can be stressful. Especially when you’re asked to stand up in front of your class mates and give an oral presentation. For most people, speaking in front of an audience is challenging and will activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis. This activation will increase levels of the stress hormone, cortisol in our bodies (Kudielka et al., 2009).
Cortisol can help us to respond to stressful challenges, but what are the factors that affect the magnitude of the HPA-axis stress response? Can personality factors affect our stress response?
Research has demonstrated that individual differences in mindfulness, which is the sustained and receptive attention to what is taking place in the present, is associated with the cortisol response to psychosocial stress (Brown et al., 2012). Is it possible that mindfulness plays a role in the cortisol response to the oral presentation in PSY1BNB?
For the lab report this year, we will be measuring a personality factor called trait mindfulness (Brown & Ryan, 2003) to see if individual differences in this variable are associated with the HPA-axis response to the oral presentation assessment. We will take two saliva samples to measure cortisol levels (Hellhammer et al., 2009).
We’ll take the first sample during a regular workshop class – this will be our baseline sample. We’ll take the second sample about 20 minutes after your oral presentation – this will be our stress sample.
Matt and Nina will use a laboratory technique called ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) to measure the cortisol concentrations in the samples. Then together we can analyse these data to determine if trait mindfulness plays a role in the response to the stress of the oral presentation. You can then use these data to write your 1500-word lab report.
To get you started, here are some of the variables that we are going to consider.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: An independent variable is the variable that is changed or controlled in a scientific experiment. For our experiment, the independent variable is “stress” (i.e. the oral presentation).
DEPENDENT VARIABLES: A dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured in a scientific experiment. We will have several dependent variables;
1) Trait mindfulness (we will use the mindful attention awareness scale, MAAS from Brown & Ryan, 2003);
2) Subjective stress (we will measure how stressed your feel, on a scale of 1-9; 1 means not stressed at all, 9 means very stressed);
3) Cortisol (this is how much cortisol that we measure in your saliva in the baseline and stress samples).
Introduction (~500 words)
The Introduction should outline the rationale for your work and specify the hypothesis being tested.
Consider that the Introduction will have 4-5 brief paragraphs and be about 500 words in length. This means that you can discuss four or five major points, so choose them carefully.
To help you get started with the introduction ask yourself the question; why did you conduct the work?
Try to follow the scientific method.
1) Describe a series of observations.
2) Ask questions; are there unanswered questions that need to be addressed? Do existing data lead to a paradox that has not been
resolved?
3) Develop a hypothesis (Hypothesis: Statement or theory that is assumed, possibly tentatively, as an explanation for a given fact or series of observations).
4) Make predictions (it is not always necessary to state the predictions).
5) Describe how you have tested the hypothesis. The structure of the introduction is also relatively standard. Start by writing four or five topic sentences (defining the content of each paragraph described below), then ensure that each topic sentence defines the content of the entire paragraph. Use the paragraph as the unit of composition.
1. Paragraph 1. Start with a paragraph outlining the global context of the work. Make sure to define the important terms in order to put your research in context. You might start with a very general statement such as: “The physiological response to stress is….”; “Appropriate regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis stress reponse is…” The body of the paragraph will typically have three to five sentences.
2. Paragraph 2. Define relationships between the broad context of the work (Paragraph 1) and the specific physiological or behavioral responses being studied. Here, you might consider the physiological and/or broad psychological factors that influence the cortisol response to psychosocial stress.
3. Paragraph 3. Provide further background, narrowing the focus to the specific system or response that is being studied. Here, you might consider how the specific psychological factor (i.e trait mindfulness) might influence the neuroendocrine stress response. Try starting the paragraph with, “A number of findings have indicated…”, “Recent findings suggest that…”. In the body of the paragraph, point out any
unanswered questions based on previous findings, or any paradoxes. If a paradox exists, explain alternative hypotheses, “These findings suggest that either A) … or B)…”.
4. Paragraph 4. State your hypothesis clearly. “We hypothesize that…” Then describe how you tested the hypothesis. “In this study, we investigate…”
Method (~250 words)
The method section will be the most straightforward section to write. The purpose of the method section is to describe how you conducted the experiment. The method section typically has several subsections
1) Participants: What was your study population?
2) Materials: This section will tell the reader the equipment and tools that you used in the experiment. This section will need to include the trait mindfulness scale and a brief desciption of what we used to collect and measure cortisol.
3) Procedure: The procedure subsection is the third subsection. It gives the reader a summary of each step in the experiment. This summary must be concise, precise, and logical. Don’t burden the reader with too much detail but give enough so the reader can follow what is being done.
Results (~250 words)
The purpose of the results section is to objectively present your key results, without interpretation, in an orderly and logical sequence using both text and illustrative materials (Tables and Figures). In the workshop class in week 8, we will guide you through the data analysis. We’ll use a paired samples t-test to decide if there is an effect of the oral presentation stress on cortisol (baseline versus stress samples). We’ll use a correlation analysis to decide if there is an association between trait mindfulness and the subjective stress response and the cortisol response to the oral presentation stress. In this class we will also give suggestions for how you might present the data graphically. For these reasons, it is very important to attend the workshop class in week 8.
Discussion (~500 words)
The discussion section is probably the most important part of the lab report. In this section you’ll make conclusions about the data, provide some explanation for findings that are consistent/inconsistent with your hypothesis, alert the reader to any potential limitations of the experiment, and highlight the wider implications of what you have found. Discussion sections can be difficult to write, but it is also the most
fun and creative section of the lab report.
Here is some advice from the book How to write and publish a scientific paper by Robert A. Day, ISI Press, Philadelphia.
1. Throughout the discussion, try to present the principles, relationships, and generalizations shown by the results. Bear in mind that in a good discussion, you discuss—you do not recapitulate the results.
2. Point out any exceptions or any lack of correlation and define unsettled points.
3. Show how your results and interpretations agree (or contrast) with previously published work.
4. Don’t be shy; discuss the theoretical implications of your work, as well as any practical applications.
5. State your conclusions, as clearly as possible.
6. Summarize your evidence for each conclusion.