Case studies

week 4→ upload 4 case studies

  • respond to 3 of them

  • week 8 due

  • 400 words per case study

  • provide two part answer

  • identify most relevant psychological theories concepts and research that best explains and why you believe that

  • develop recommendations on how to address the issues

  • use the provided case study response form

  • rubric and resources on CANVAS

  • sunday 30th of march before midnight

  • 10% late penalty

  • extensions only in exceptional circumstances and supporting official documents

Case study 1: Tina and Jimmy → Stress

  • Tina is university educated and works as a contract manager in the public service

  • Jimmy he is a nurse

  • stress from driving a single car has given tina a persistent cold and has retreated from her usual walks with jimmy as well as socialising

  • bushfires close no reserves

  • they evacuate

  • all clear to return home

  • fire missed them

  • fire got their vegie patch and a shed with an old car

  • house suffered some heat damage

  • drank a bottle of wine and watched a favourite movie

  • Theories

    • Fight or flight response - preparing the house?

    • General Adaptation Syndrome

    • physiological basis of stress

    • coping

      • problem focused

      • emotion focused

Case Study 2: Alexis and Coen’s Wedding →Stress

  • couple for 20 years

  • high school sweethearts

  • wedding location damaged by the fires

  • devoured ice cream

  • uncertainty around the day as they have not chosen a new venue as they hope that the original will be done in time

  • construction made their commutes longer they listened to an interesting podcast to cope but it did not take away the situation nor the stress it added

  • constantly receiving calls from people related to their wedding

  • Coen developed a persistent cold which made him so fatigued that he could barely make it through his days at work

  • Theories

    • Fight or flight response - preparing the house?

    • General Adaptation Syndrome

    • physiological basis of stress

    • coping

      • problem focused

      • emotion focused

Case Study 3: Sydney to Canberra train Consortium → teams

  • high speed train between Canberra and sydney

  • teams involved in the project

    • Project management team in charge of purchasing trains, approving
      engineering plans, managing budgets, timelines and publicity;

    • Tunnel construction company building the actual tunnels;

    • South Korean train manufacturers;

    • Office of the NSW transport minister, who are funding the project and are
      ultimately responsible for the outcomes

  • an error in tunnel width occured because the manufacturers of the trains rounded their measurements down and the engineers assessing the tunnel width rounded up

    • this ordered the construction team to build tunnels that were too narrow for the newly ordered trains

  • some noticed the tunnel would be to narrow but thought it wouldn’t be an issue as someone else in the team would have checked the planc and compared them to the new train designs

  • limited communication between the construction team and the pdirecterroject management team

  • Management team made it clear that they should not be contacted by the construction team about small details

  • Management views the issue as trivial

  • Project management have acknowledged the issue but have blamed the incompetence of the construction team

  • They consider firing the management group and cancelling further
    work with the construction company, but most people are not enthusiastic about this option. After a long discussion, the Minister’s Office team become convinced that the first thing they should try is to continue on with the same project and construction teams but at the same time take a more active role as the Minister’s office to try and get the construction and project management teams to be more collaborative and productive.

  • Theories

    • social loafing

      • latane, williams and Harkins (1979)

    • Collective effort model

    • Social identity theory

    • Groupthink

    • Realistic conflict theory

Case Study 4: Simon → Can we change behaviour?

  • Simon is a senior public servant working for a commonwealth gov department

  • always enjoyed a drink with friends

  • drinking has become a way for him to unwind after a stressful day

  • sometimes a boozy lunch also helps take the edge off his afternoon meetings

  • drinking has become complicated

    • after 2-3 his mood sours

    • wife Carol refers to him as a ‘mean drink’

    • making him impatient and reckless at work leading to him making several bad decisions

  • he knows its not good for his health and is causing problems but views his life as unbearable without alcohol

  • has tried dry july

    • no reaction other than missing his use of alcohol

  • He tells himself that while drinking may be bad for his body and his relationship and his job, not drinking is “no way to live”

  • doesn’t want to deal with the stress of his job

  • after a particularly bad argument with his wife Simon breaks down at the thought of dying alone of liver disease and resolves to quit drinking

  • drinks a coke with lunch

  • uni mate invites him to the pub and he automatically agrees

  • the idea of not getting a drink at the pub feels wrong

    • 9 drinks

    • gets a cab home

    • wakes up feeling awful

  • Next day he goes to lunch with a senior colleague

    • colleague orders them a bottle of wine to share

    • Simon feels powerless to refuse the wine

  • Everyday there is a different reason to continue to drink

    • Simon feels less in control of his choice to drink or not drink

    • he believes after doing dry july he is capable of quitting

  • He confides in his wife

  • he asks her if she will help and she agrees

  • Theories week 7