Applying Psychology
Assignment 2 is aimed at getting you to reinforce and think more deeply about big concepts we’ve learned during the second part of the course. I want you to show me that you are developing a capacity to think about and use the course content in creative and useful ways.
In this assignment, you’re going to be using concepts from the course to help you understand
- events from your life history or (b) possible scenarios in your future career. In other words, you will be reflecting on events of relevance to your life, but from a psychological perspective.
Format, Length, & Style Requirements
You will submit a single document that consists of:[unique_solution]
- one title page
- two brief papers
- one references page
Format & Length. Your full assignment must be submitted on My.Seneca as a single Word file (.doc or .docx) or PDF file (.pdf). Note that a PDF file is your safest bet if you want all formatting to be correct in your submission. Use APA style for formatting, citations, and references in your assignment, including your title page. (see http://seneca.libguides.com/apa)
Each of your papers should be 12 -point Times New Roman or Calibri font, double spaced, and with margins of 2.54 cm (1 inch). Each of your 2 papers is required to be approximately 2 double-spaced pages—over or under by a few lines is okay. Each paper should start on a new page within the same document and should include a brief but descriptive title at the top of the first page (e.g., My Experiences with the Fundamental Attribution Error).
Sources. Use the key textbook chapters as your source. You must use APA format to cite the textbook where you’re required to do so and reference it in the references section. If you are citing information from the textbook where the textbook authors cite another source, you would cite it as such, for example: (Smith & Donaldson, 1983; cited in Wood et al., 2017). If you do this, you must reference both the primary and secondary sources. Do not use any general online websites about psychology in this assignment. This includes Verywell Mind and Simply Psychology (i.e., do not take information from these sources to use for your paper—I shouldn’t see them cited or referenced).
Style. Each paper should be clearly written and coherently structured. In other words, your writing will need to be easy for the reader to understand and should be laid out in an organized fashion. Note that we are not using any quotations from your readings or elsewhere in this assignment—all your writing must be in your own words.
Darcy Dupuis – Seneca College
Applying Psychology Assignment 2
Topic Requirements
For your 2 papers, please select any 2 of the following topics to write about. Getting specific and focusing on learning from readings and class are critical to this assignment, so make sure to base your writing on something specific you’re learning, like a research study. Do not merely report your pre-existing views of what constitutes some topic such as conformity—use the textbook extensively to develop your thinking and support your writing). Here are your possible topics:
- Conformity
- Obedience
- Social facilitation OR Social loafing
- Groupthink OR Group polarization
- The five-factor model of personality
Content Requirements: Skill Development and Course Content
In each of your papers, you should do the following:
- You must correctly use APA formatting to cite and reference the information included in your two papers. It’s your responsibility to do the work needed to understand how to use APA correctly (see http://seneca.libguides.com/apa).
- Your papers must demonstrate an understanding of the key course content. Your papers should have a logical flow, beginning with a clear description of what your paper is about. You may then define and develop the central concept(s) using the course textbook as your source. Think about how the text conveys the meaning of the concept or topic and try to do so in a similar fashion. For example, are there any terms, ideas, or examples used in the text to explain your chosen topic? Are there any research studies or examples noted in the text that help you to clarify the concept for your reader? In any case, make maximum use of the course resources—never base your paper largely on your own ideas without building those ideas upon the course content! No quotations.
To demonstrate sound understanding papers should also be clearly written, with coherently structured sentences, strong grammar, and word choice that adequately conveys your intended meaning. If your writing is unclear, it will be more difficult for me to see that you “get it”. Imagine writing for your best friend or your uncle, supposing of course that the chosen person has no experience with the psychology (what would you need to say so that they understand all concepts?).