Question

Preparation Select an area in your field or other area of interest and explore how psychological research has had an impact in solving practical problems in that field. Areas of applied research in psychology include: •Business. •Criminal justice. •Education. •Forensics. •Health. •Mental health treatment. •Public safety. •Sports. •Technology. You might like to search topics in the Journal of Applied Psychology, a scholarly journal in the Capella University Library. It is a good resource both to explore topics and to find articles for your selected topic. Note: The American Psychological Association's Research in Action Web site (linked in the Resources under the Required Resources heading) is also a good resource to explore for topics and articles. Please note that if you use articles from this Web site, they are considered professional but not scholarly sources of information, because they are not peer-reviewed. You can use one of the articles from the site as one of your resources, but you will also need information from two scholarly articles. Select one topic of interest. For example, you might be interested in one of the following topics: •How supervisor training impacts development of future leaders in the workplace. •How research on jury bias has been used to improve courtroom proceedings. •How research in sports performance has been used to improve athlete performance. •How research in product design is used to improve human performance. •How research in product design is used to improve workplace safety. •How research on the effectiveness of a violence prevention program can be applied in the workplace. •These are only a few examples, and you are not limited to these topics. Directions Write a 4–5-page assessment (not including title page and references page) that addresses a human factor problem to which a solution has been researched and applied. Make sure to complete the following: •Present information from three sources of information (at least one professional and at least two scholarly sources) on a topic in applied psychology. •Summarize psychology research findings that have been applied to solve a specific problem or make a specific improvement. •Describe the methods used in the research. •Apply findings from research to solve practical human factor problems. •Describe how the application benefits human health or well-being. •Include a title page and references page (not part of the 4–5 pages of content).

Answer 1

Exercise: A dangerous obsession

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that requires physical effort and is aimed at maintaining or improving physical fitness as well as overall health and wellbeing. Exercise reduces the risk of developing heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It helps maintain an ideal body weight and helps build and maintain muscles, bones, and joints. Exercise helps reduce depression and anxiety and improves psychological well-being.

Exercise addiction is a condition that develops when an individual gets anxious everytime he/she skips an exercise session and treats it as a big deal. Such individuals are addicted to the feeling of euphoria caused by the rise in concentration of norepinephrine and serotonin, and secretion of endorphins by the pituitary gland during strenuous exercise. Exercise junkies push the pedal so hard that they don't realise when it's hurting.

Exercising for long hours, preferring exercising over any other things in life and at odd hours, continuing exercise despite pain, injury or against medical advice could be prominent early signs of exercise addiction. This could lead to built up of toxic metabolites in the muscles which could prove dangerous. Tremendous stress is placed on the joints and bones. Muscle breakdown could occur. Excessive exertion can exert too much pressure on our heart and blood vessels, which can lead to heart and blood vessels problems like tachycardia, angina, irregular cardiac rhythm, aneurysm, bleeding, even myocardial infarction and stroke.

Overexercising can weaken one's immune system and leave one feeling tired. Free radical damage, ongoing sun exposure and a high protein diet which often goes with excessive exercise can lead to early ageing in both men and women. In extreme cases the menstrual cycle may cease.

Exercise addiction may also lead to dysfunctional relationships. A person starts avoiding social interaction and turns to exercise instead. This leads to conflict in relationship. An individual's career could also be affected because the obsession to exercise becomes so much that one stops concentrating on work.

Overexercising is often linked to anorexia nervosa, body dysmorphic disorder, and depression. Individuals here cannot think of a life without exercise and have anxiety attacks if they go without exercise even for a day.

Exercise dependency treatment includes some form of talk therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which focuses on exploring negative or maladaptive patterns in thinking, feeling, and acting and changing these to more productive, helpful patterns. The goal of the treatment would be not to give up exercise altogether, but learning to develop and maintain healthy, non-compliance workouts that serve to improve and not harm one's physical and mental well-being. Activities like yoga and meditation help clients pull back on strenuous workouts. Behavioral strategies like contingency management-which rewards abstinence from a type of exercise or maintaining lower levels of a once-addictive behavior have been found to be effective. Building a supportive social circle is another key in long-term recovery. Expanding one's hobbies and interests to include non-fitness related interests is important.

Finally addiction of any kind, even if it is related to fitness, is toxic to one's well-being. Unfortunately, many addicts are in denial and don't see anything wrong with their behavior. Identifying and quantifying the problem is the first step towards solving the issue. In conclusion, health is not just about physical fitness, but it is also mental and spiritual well-being. Therefore it is important that a person knows where to stop.