Archive for month: October, 2018

For your Study Proposal assignment you will apply knowledge of theory and research in the study of biological psychology by writing a study proposal and providing a detailed summary outline of the research plan. This topic should be of your choosing and builds on the information you identified on research methods currently used in the field which you completed in Unit 5.For this assignment propose a study plan in which you will research the hypothesis for a research problem of your choosing relevant to biological psychology. Format your paper using the following headings as well as the Study Proposal Template (linked in Resources):Submit Methods of Research assignment by Sunday of Unit 7.You may choose to save this learning activity to your ePortfolio in the Professional Showcase binder for SOUS Program Outcomes 1 2 4 5 6 and 7.Memory acquisition involves different areas of the cortex depending on the type of information presented. Our ability to remember events and how to perform tasks affects our ability to work interact with others and understand the world around us. To complete this discussion answer the following question about memory’s contribution to how we perceive the world:Submit your discussion post by Wednesday.By Sunday respond to at least two other learners’ initial posts.Your responses to other learners are expected to be substantive in nature and to reference the assigned readings and other theoretical empirical or professional literature to support your views and writings. In your response do at least one of the following:Periodically information will be posted in this space for the good of the class.This forum was created to provide a convenient space for you to ask questionsquestions about particular assignment and discussion activities questions about the course in general questions about expectations. If there is something that you feel you could use help with please post your question here. Most likely some of your classmates will have the same concern so your post may help several learners. If you feel your question is private please use the Messages tool found under Notifications.

Assignment 1: LASA # 2: PowerPoint Presentation

Utilizing the information you compiled for your
literature review paper, and the feedback you received from your instructor
about the literature review, prepare a 10-15 minute Power Point presentation on
your topic, summarizing the key points and conclusions. Be sure to direct this
presentation to an audience in the community. For example, if your paper
pertained to a topic in developmental psychology, direct your presentation
toward parents, or a parentingcenter. If your topic pertained to substance abuse, direct it
toward a community service agency which may use this information for educating
teens or parents about preventing drug use, or current clients about treatments
and facilities available. Please state in your presentation the specific
audience toward whom your presentation is aimed. Include a reference page in
APA format, as well as speaker notes and an audio file with your presentation.

Your slides should provide answers to the following
questions:

What was your topic?

What question did you hope to answer by completing this
literature review paper? Explain the practical implications of the conclusions
of the literature review and the audience to which they are directed.

Given the results of your literature review, what is/are
the prevailing argument(s)? In other words, which of those is supported by the
existing evidence? Be sure to include full coverage of the arguments, including
strengths and weaknesses of each of them, supported by your findings from
reviewing the relevant articles.

Did the researchers consider multicultural factors in
their studies? If not, what factors may be involved? What multicultural factors
should future studies include?

What ethical issues are related to your topic and/or
discussed in the studies you reviewed?

How do the conclusions of your literature review relate
to the various specialization areas in psychology? Tie them to as many as apply
from the following areas: biological, cognitive, developmental, social,
personality theory, psychopathology, and applied psychology.

How can the conclusions of your literature review inform
the population towards whom your presentation is directed? How can they apply
this information to their daily lives? What advice or take home message can
you provide to your audience based on the research you reviewed?

What research question could you ask in order to further
develop this area of study?

Why is your research question important and relevant to
the current work being done on your topic?

Your presentation should also follow these guidelines:

It should be approximately 10-15 minutes in length.

It should be clear, concise, and professional.
Writing should be free of spelling and grammatical errors; it should conform to
current APA style (including any in-text citations).

It should include graphs, tables, figures, or images
illustrating your ideas.

There should be a final slide listing references in
current APA style.

The bulk of the text should be placed in the Notes pages
of each slide. Keep the amount of text on the slide, itself, to a minimum.

You should record an audio file of your oral
presentation. You should also type the text of the speech you would give while
showing these slides to an audience should be typed into the Notes area.
If you are unable to use the audio feature, the Notes text will suffice.

You can refer to the Power Point tips document provided
in the Doc Sharing section of the course.

Submit your presentation to theM5:
Assignment 1Dropbox byWeek
5, Day 5.

Assignment 1 GradingCriteriaMaximum
Points

Describes topic and explains the practical implications
of the conclusions of the literature review with clarity and detail.

Describes the audience to which the presentation is
directed.20

Revises the literature review based on feedback from the
instructor.

Presentation of information is clearly focused on the
specific audience.

Explains the prevailing argument(s), including their
strengths and weaknesses, supported by findings from relevant articles.

Synthesizes key points established in and through the
literature review.40

Elaborates on multicultural factors relevant to the
topic and to the studies reviewed.

Discusses how the findings can be extended to a more
diverse population or additional multicultural factors that should be included
in future studies.40

Discusses relevant ethical issues related to the topic
and to the studies reviewed.

Describes how they were or could be addressed in the
research.20

Relates the conclusions of the literature review to at
least two specialization areas in psychology.40

Applies the conclusions from the literature review to
specific populations or issues.

40

Provides well-reasoned conclusions, and pointed towards
areas for future research.

Provides suggestions for future work that are
appropriate and have an applied focus.36

Introduction has an opening, provides come background
information, and states the topic.

Transitions between slides are present.

16

Design of presentation (i.e. background, pictures, text
etc.) is clear, appropriate for the assignment, balanced and compliments both
the writing and speaking throughout the presentation.

16

Any written portion (including writing on the slides and
in notes) follows conventions of spelling and grammar throughout. Errors
are infrequent and do not interfere with comprehension.24

Using APA format, accurately paraphrased, quoted, and
cited in many spots throughout when appropriate or called for. Errors present
are somewhat minor.8

Assignment 1: Description of Research Methodology
Due Week 2 and worth 150 points
In this assignment, you will write an essay about the research methods and ethical implications of a social psychology study. You will get information about the study from one of the entries in the SPARQ “Solutions Catalog”, which is a web site maintained by Stanford University at https://sparq.stanford.edu/solutions?&&. SPARQ is an acronym for “Social Psychological Answers to Real-world Questions.” Each entry in the Solutions Catalog names a problem, and then offers a solution to that problem, based on a research study in social psychology.
To keep this assignment short and manageable, your only sources for this assignment should be from the SPARQ site and your course materials, such as your textbook. There is no need for you to cite any of the course materials. Therefore, no additional citations or references are needed, beyond those from the SPARQ site.
In this exercise, you will choose one of the entries in the SPARC site, and then write a two to three (2-3) page paper that meets the following requirements.

Begin your paper with a short introductory statement that clearly identifies the article from the SPARQ site that you are using, as well as the corresponding research article.  Model your statement after the following example:

The article I selected from the SPARQ website is entitled “Boost Grades by Reframing Failures” (Wilson, n.d.), which summarizes a research article (Wilson & Linville, 1982) on the topic.

Please note that there are two APA “in-text citations” in this example. The first citation “(Wilson, n.d.)” is an in-text citation for the SPARQ article. The SPARQ articles are undated, which means that there is no date of publication reported. The “n.d.” designation is an abbreviation for “no date”.
The second citation “(Wilson & Linville, 1982)”, is an in-text citation to the original research article. We are asking you to cite this paper for practice in using APA, but are not requiring you to read the original paper. Normally, you should cite only those articles that you actually read and used, but we’re making an exception here for the purposes of practice.

Briefly summarize the main details of your chosen social psychology research study. Identify the main research method(s) used in the study (e.g., case study, experiment, observation, etc.).
Explain whether or not you believe the research methodology that the researchers used in the study was the most appropriate for the study. Provide a rationale for your response.
Discuss whether or not you believe the research methodology used in the study is the one (1) method that provides researchers with the most information in general. Explain the main reasons why or why not.
Explain the major ethical implications of the selected study (e.g., informed consent, debriefing, etc.). Describe the main reasons why you believe the study was or was not ethical. Provide a rationale for your response.
The final section of your paper will be a reference section that contains a corresponding reference for both of the in-text citations in your introductory statement (see point #1, above). In APA-style citations, in-text citations must match up with a reference in the reference section. You can model your reference section after the following:

Wilson, T. D. (n.d.). Boost grades by reframing failures.  Retrieved from https://sparq.stanford.edu/solutions/boost-grades-reframing-failures
Wilson, T. D. & Linville, P.W. (1982).  Improving the academic performance of college freshmen:  attribution therapy revisited.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42 (2), 367-376.

These examples follow the APA conventions for an Internet article, and a professional journal article, respectively.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Describe research methods that are used for studying social psychology.
Develop an increased understanding of the dynamic between society and individuals.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in social psychology.
Write clearly and concisely about social psychology using proper grammar and mechanics.

Much of what we tend to focus on when we study social psychology are topics that often have a negative connotation such as conformity, prejudice, aggression or obedience. A huge component of the study of social psychology; however, focuses on prosocial behavior – behaviors that focus on compassion and helping others. For this activity, you will focus on this more uplifting aspect of social psychology. Topics that fall under the area of prosocial behavior include altruism, helping, bystander intervention, empathy, and compassion, among others.
For this exercise, pick one day and seek to structure your thoughts and behaviors entirely around helping others. With each interaction or action you take, pause to think and ask yourself “is there a way I might help another here?” Hold a door for someone, offer your seat, share a smile, give a sincere compliment, show empathy to another, attempt to be more patient or understanding, etc. Your efforts should be in social settings that involve interactions with others (rather than something such as donating to a charity for instance). The goal is to be as thoughtfully prosocial in your interactions throughout the day as possible.

At the beginning of the day, jot down your general mood, feelings, attitude, etc.
Then throughout the day, whenever possible, carry a small notebook with you or make notes in an app on your phone to jot down meaningful encounters or experiences as you attempt to engage in prosocial behaviors.
At the end of the day, again reflect and take notes on how you feel, your general mood, feelings and attitudes, etc.
In a 5-7 slide PowerPoint presentation, not counting title or reference slides:

Summarize your experience. Describe the prosocial behaviors you engaged in, others’ reactions to these behaviors, and your assessment of any changes in mood, attitude, good fortune, or anything else of note you experienced.
Review what you have learned about human behavior in social settings this week in your readings and CogBooks activities. Connect what you learned or experienced through your day of conscious, prosocial behavior with the terms, concepts, and theories from your research. Integrate at least two academic sources (your assigned readings/resources can comprise one of these sources), citing any references used in APA format.
Describe any new insights you gained through this experience about your interactions with others on a daily basis, including any behaviors you wish to change or to continue.
Use the features of PowerPoint to your advantage to communicate your ideas – include pictures, audio recorded narration, speaker’s notes, video, links, etc. as appropriate to enhance your ideas.
Include an APA formatted title slide and reference slide. APA components such as an abstract, headings, etc. are not required since this is a PowerPoint presentation.

Submit your presentation as an attachment in the Week 7 Assignment Prosocial Behavior link in the Assignments area of the classroom no later than 11:55 pm EST Sunday of Week 7.