The homework assignments for this course will all be related to your Research Proposal Paper.  Through the homework you will build a research proposal step by step so that by the end of this course you will be able to compile your homework into a research proposal.  The first step in this process is to decide on a topic. I would like you to find a crime problem in your neighborhood, city, workplace, etc. that you believe you could develop a solution to.  You are free to choose any crime issue, regardless of whether it has been addressed formally or not. Unit 1 Assignment: Complete and submit Developing a Research Proposal Question 1 through 3. Question #1 will be the topic that you chose to complete the rest of the questions for the remainder of this course along with your research proposal. 1. What topic would you focus on if you could design a social research project without any concern for costs? What are your motives for studying this topic? 2. Develop four questions that you might investigate about the topic you selected. Each question should reflect a different research motive: description, exploration, explanation, or evaluation. Be specific. 3. Which question most interests you? Would you prefer to attempt to answer that question with quantitative or qualitative methods? Why? The homework assignments for this course wi ll all be related to your Research Proposal Paper. Through the homework you will build a research proposal step by step so that by the end of this course you will be able to compile your homework into a research proposal. The first step in this process i s to decide on a topic. I would like you to find a crime problem in your neighborhood, city, workplace, etc. that you believe you could develop a solution to. Y ou are free to choose any crime issue, regardless of whether it has been addressed formally or not. Unit 1 Assignment : Complete and submit Developing a Research Proposa l Question 1 through 3 . Question #1 will be the topic that you chose to complete the rest of the questions for the remainder of this course along with your research proposal. 1. What topic would you focus on if you could design a social research project without any concern for costs? What are your motives for studying this topic? 2. Develop four questions that you might investigate about the topic you selected. Each question should reflect a different researc h motive: description, exploration, explanation, or evaluation. Be specific. 3. Which question most interests you? Would you prefer to attempt to answer that question with quantitative or qualitative methods? Why ? The homework assignments for this course will all be related to your Research Proposal Paper. Through the homework you will build a research proposal step by step so that by the end of this course you will be able to compile your homework into a research proposal. The first step in this process is to decide on a topic. I wou.

1. The homework assignments for this course will all be related to
your Research Proposal Paper. Through the homework you will
build a research proposal step by step so that by the end of this
course you will be able to compile your homework into a
research proposal. The first step in this process is to decide on
a topic.
I would like you to find a crime problem in your neighborhood,
city, workplace, etc. that you believe you could develop a
solution to. You are free to choose any crime issue, regardless
of whether it has been addressed formally or not.
Unit 1 Assignment:
Complete and submit Developing a Research Proposal Question
1 through 3.
Question #1 will be the topic that you chose to complete the rest
of the questions for the remainder of this course along with your
research proposal.
1. What topic would you focus on if you could design a social
research project without any concern for costs? What are your
motives for studying this topic?
2. Develop four questions that you might investigate about the
topic you selected. Each question should reflect a different
research motive: description, exploration, explanation, or
evaluation. Be specific.
3. Which question most interests you? Would you prefer to
attempt to answer that question with quantitative or qualitative
methods? Why?
The homework assignments for this course wi
ll all be related to your

2. Research
Proposal
Paper.
Through the homework
you will build a research proposal step by step so that
by the end of this course you will be able to compile your
homework into a research
proposal.
The first step in this process i
s to decide on a topic.
I would like you to find a crime problem in your neighborhood,
city, workplace, etc.
that you
believe you could develop a solution to.
Y
ou are free
to choose any crime issue, regardless of
whether it has been addressed formally or not.
Unit
1

3. Assignment
:
Complete and submit Developing a Research Proposa
l Question 1 through 3
.
Question #1 will be the topic that you chose to complete the rest
of the questions for the
remainder of this course along with your research proposal.
1. What
topic would you focus
on if you could design a social research project without any
concern for costs? What are your motives for studying this
topic?
2.
Develop four questions that you might investigate about the
topic you selected. Each
question should reflect a different researc
h motive: description, exploration, explanation,
or evaluation. Be specific.
3.
Which question most interests you? Would you prefer to attempt
to answer that question
with quantitative or qualitative methods? Why
?
The homework assignments for this course will all be related to
your Research

4. Proposal Paper. Through the homework you will build a
research proposal step by step so that
by the end of this course you will be able to compile your
homework into a research
proposal. The first step in this process is to decide on a topic.
I would like you to find a crime problem in your neighborhood,
city, workplace, etc. that you
believe you could develop a solution to. You are free to choose
any crime issue, regardless of
whether it has been addressed formally or not.
Unit 1 Assignment:
Complete and submit Developing a Research Proposal Question
1 through 3.
Question #1 will be the topic that you chose to complete the rest
of the questions for the
remainder of this course along with your research proposal.
1. What topic would you focus on if you could design a social
research project without any
concern for costs? What are your motives for studying this
topic?
2. Develop four questions that you might investigate about the
topic you selected. Each
question should reflect a different research motive: description,
exploration, explanation,
or evaluation. Be specific.
3. Which question most interests you? Would you prefer to
attempt to answer that question
with quantitative or qualitative methods? Why?
PSY 790 Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric: Literature

5. Review
In Module Two, you submitted a paper on potential resources.
For this milestone, you will take this information and develop a
literature review. In your capstone
research proposal, you will develop a well-organized research
concept paper that lays the foundation for a solid plan to
implement research. You will address a
relevant problem that aligns with your focus within the field of
psychology. You may choose a problem that reveals a gap in our
understanding and requires you
to provide an explanation of psychological phenomena and
variables. Or it may be an applied problem that directly
involves the psychological well-being of
individuals, communities, or organizations. One major section
of this proposal is a literature review. If you refer to your Final
Project Guidelines and Rubric
document, you will see that this is one of the required sections
of your proposal. Completing this milestone will provide you
with a solid foundation for your
capstone project.
Prompt: Analyze the scholarly debate on the theory and research
related to your research questions or intervention. The literature
review should not be a
collection of summaries. Rather, it should be organized
according to the message you want to convey, and it should
appropriately synthesize the literature into
your message. This suggests that you will draw from multiple
sources in order to best communicate your points. Organize
your review so that it provides a logical
argument for the background of your proposed research and how
your research fits into the big picture.
In your submission, be sure to include the critical elements
listed below.

6. • Clearly state your research questions or intervention.
• Evaluate how your chosen topic fits into the field of
psychology.
• Synthesize previous scholarly research related to the topic,
research questions, or intervention.
• Compare and evaluate the studies and resources discussed in
the literature review.
• Connect gaps in the overall research to argue for the necessity
of the chosen research questions or intervention.
• Discuss how the existing body of research helps the chosen
research questions or intervention address real-world problems
and implications for the
general public.
• Organize the literature review according to your message and
synthesize the literature into the message.
• Include a conclusion that ties together the literature addressed
and reiterates the connection to the research questions and the
main argument.
• Ensure that the submission has no major errors related to
citations, grammar, spelling, or syntax.
Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your paper must be submitted as a
five- to seven-page Word document with double spacing, 12-
point Times New Roman font, one-
inch margins, and at least three sources cited in APA format.

7. Critical Element Meets Expectations
(100%)
In Progress
(80%)
Does Not Meet Expectations
(0%)
Value
State Research Question Clearly states the research questions or
intervention
Does not clearly state the research
questions or intervention
5
Evaluate Topic Fit to Field Evaluates how the chosen topic fits
into
the field of psychology
Evaluates how the chosen topic fits
into the field of psychology, but
evaluation is cursory or contains
inaccuracies
Does not evaluate how the chosen topic
fits into the field of psychology
5
Synthesize Research
Findings

8. Synthesizes previous scholarly research
related to the topic, research questions,
or intervention
Synthesizes previous research related
to the topic, research questions, or
intervention, but not all research is
scholarly or peer-reviewed
Does not synthesize previous scholarly
research related to the topic, research
questions, or intervention
10
Evaluate Studies Compares and evaluates the studies and
resources discussed in the literature
review
Compares the studies and resources
discussed in the literature review, but
does not effectively or accurately
evaluate them
Does not compare or evaluate the studies
and resources discussed in the literature
review
15
Address Research Gaps Connects gaps in the overall research
to
argue for the necessity of the chosen
research questions or intervention
Connects gaps in the overall research

9. to argue for the necessity of the
chosen research questions or
intervention, but some relevant or
pivotal gaps were not addressed
Does not connect gaps in the overall
research to argue for the necessity of the
chosen research questions or
intervention
20
Review Contribution of
Existing Research
Discusses how the existing body of
research helps the chosen research
questions or intervention address real-
world problems and implications for the
general public
Discusses how the existing body of
research helps the chosen research
questions or intervention address real-
world problems and implications for
the general public, but discussion is
cursory or has gaps in logic
Does not discuss how the existing body of
research helps the chosen research
questions or intervention address real-
world problems and implications for the
general public
15

10. Organize and Align
Literature Review to
Message
Organizes the literature review according
to the message and synthesizes the
literature into the message
Organizes the literature review
according to the message and but
improvements can be made in the way
the literature is synthesized into the
message
Does not organize the literature review
according to the message or synthesize
the literature into the message
20
Develop Synthesizing
Conclusion
Includes a conclusion that ties together
the literature addressed and reiterates
the connection to the research questions
and the main argument
Includes a conclusion that ties the
literature addressed and reiterates the
connection to the research questions
and the main arguments, but

11. connections are unconvincing or
conclusion does not effectively connect
to literature
Does not include a conclusion that ties
together the literature addressed and
reiterates the connection to the research
questions and the main argument
5
Articulation of Response Submission has no major errors related
to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization
Submission has minor errors related to
citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization with room for
improvement
Submission has major errors related to
citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization
5
Total 100%
PSY 790 Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric: Literature
ReviewRubric
Running Head :Parasympathetic Nervous System & Touch
1
Parasympathetic Nervous System & Touch

12. Parasympathetic Nervous System & Touch
Sandy Pennington
Southern New Hampshire University
Parasympathetic Nervous System & Touch
Research Introduction
The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for
maintaining ordinary processes which are vital for a normal life.
Some of the key functions of the parasympathetic nervous
system include regulating digestion, sexual arousal, lowering
the blood pressure and slowing the heart rate. The
parasympathetic nervous system, therefore, plays an important
role when it comes to ensuring that the body is well monitored
and is able to carry out its normal daily activities (Colman,
2006). This paper is going to examine the parasympathetic
nervous system and touch; which will be subdivided into, lovers
touch, touch through cuddling and touch through massage.
Lover’s Touch
The reproductive organs are receive parasympathetic
innervation from the spinal cord. Via the pelvic nerve, the
sacral parasympathetic pathway send these signals to the target
organs. When the postganglionic neurons are activated in the
target parasympathetic ganglia, dilation of penile and clitoral
arteries occurs. The corresponding smooth muscles of the
cavernous sinusoid relax which lead to expansion of sinusoidal

13. spaces (Purves, Augustine, Fitzpatrick, et al., 2001). As a
result of this, blood in the aforementioned tissue is increased
which in-turn leads to a drastic rise in pressure and expansion
of the cavernous spaces thus achieving arousal. The
parasympathetic nervous system also raises the heart rate and
excites the brain.
Touch through cuddling
When cuddling, the physical touch works to activate pressure
receptors within the body. Immediately, signals are sent to the
vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is an important element in the
parasympathetic nervous system. It acts as a safety valve when
the body or brain is suddenly overexcited or put under
heightened stress. When cuddling, the vagus nerve relaxes and
the feeling is carried all along the body. As a result of the nerve
relaxing, blood pressure drop and one feels calm and secure.
Touch through massage
Many a times, stressful situations affect individuals. During the
stressful period, stress hormones are released resulting in
physiological changes such as increased heart rate, quickening
in breathing, muscle tension and sweating. Knowing how to use
the parasympathetic nervous system to control anxiety and
stress promotes long lasting sobriety by reducing the urge to
turn to addictive substances (Diego & Field, 2009). When the
parasympathetic nervous system is activated, changes in the
body occur rapidly. Once the parasympathetic nervous system is
activated to decrease activity, calmness and relaxation is
achieved. Through massage, the parasympathetic nervous
system works to reduce the body’s blood pressure and the heart
rate. Massage stimulates the sensory and proprioceptive nerve
fibers of the skin and underlying tissues (Diego & Field, 2009).
Through the PNS, the stimuli is dispersed to the target body
part. This achieves a soothing effect that enhances relaxation.
Massage often causes the skin and muscles to dilate through
receptor stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system.

14. What happens when the parasympathetic nervous system gets
activated?
As one progresses in recovery, worry and anxiety tend to creep
in. The environment, such as deadlines, family issues, may at
times induce stress. When the stress hormone is released
physiological changes occur. These responses are better known
as fight or flight responses. We will look into this response
when the parasympathetic nervous system is activated. The
response is meant to be a survival tactic that allows mammals to
react fast to a situation that was threatening. Unfortunately, the
same response to non-life threatening stressors that trigger high
anxiety levels receive the same fight or flight responses from
the human body. Stress contributes to high blood pressure and
anxiety. The parasympathetic nervous system works to relax and
slow down the body’s response. It counter-acts the effects of the
sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system
once activated has rapid changes to the body. The brain
continually releases corticotropin and adrenocorticotropic
hormones that keep the body on high alert until it perceived that
the danger is over. When the threat is deemed over, the hormone
levels decline and the parasympathetic system works to inhibit
the stress response by slowing down high energy activities
within the body. When the parasympathetic system is activated,
it enhances relaxation to the mind and body. Activation of the
parasympathetic system can be learnt. When achieved,
individuals’ moods are lifted, the immune system is
strengthened and blood pressure lowers to a normal rate. Some
of the techniques that can be used can be; getting a massage,
spending time in nature, meditation, exercise, hobbies, among
numerous others.
What benefits do we get?
There are several benefits that can be derived from
parasympathetic nervous system when activated. The benefits
include: Improving self-esteem and reducing stress and anxiety.
Improving self-esteem occurs when the hormones are released

15. and they calm the body, therefore, the body is able to sense
security and safety. Studies have been able to show that lovers
who often cuddle and hug each other tend to have high self-
esteem (Colonnello, 2016). Improved self-esteem can be
observed from social interaction and connection and image that
is portrayed within the public. Reduced stress and anxiety, on
the other hand occur when one is hugged or cuddle to feel
better. The brain will naturally produce dopamine which makes
the body to relax, dopamine will reduce the pressure and make
one feel relaxed (The Autonomic Nervous System, 2016).
Dopamine and Oxytocin when released as a result of a hug, they
tend to lower the level of cortisol in the body which increases
stress or anxiety.
To sum it all up, activation of the parasympathetic nervous
system has a long effect on the health of an individual. This is
because one is able to trigger the release of important hormones
that benefit or improve the health of an individual. A good
example of health benefit would include: better heart health and
increased immunity. Lack of it has been found to have some
health effect on some individuals as they cannot cope in certain
stressful situations and also, they tend to have problems with
their self-esteem. Therefore, activities such as cuddling,
massages, and touching of lovers is an important part of one’s
health.
Reference
Colman, A. M. (2006). Oxford dictionary of psychology. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Colonnello, V. (2016). Oxytocin and Self-Consciousness. PMB
Med.

16. Diego M. A, Field T, (2009). Moderate pressure massage elicits
a parasympathetic nervous system response. Int J
Neurosci. 119(5):630-8. doi: 10.1080/00207450802329605.
Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, et al., (2001).
Neuroscience. 2nd edition. Sunderland (MA): Sinauer
Associates.
The Autonomic Nervous System. (2016). Regulation and
Intergration, 529-534.
.