PSY 530 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
The focus of social psychology is to understand how a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others. Unlike sociology, social psychology takes the perspective of the individual rather than the group and examines what makes us engage in behaviors such as aggression, attraction, altruism, self-justification, social cognition, and social perception. With its roots in Gestalt psychology, social psychology puts its emphasis not on physical reality, but rather on an individual’s perception of the world around them. Historically, this field has played an important role in understanding the causes of, as well as treatments for, social issues such as reducing violence, increasing helping behaviors, and assisting people in living healthier and safer lives.
The purpose of this assessment is to recognize the value of social psychology on society throughout its history as a field. You will also analyze research for how it changes or does not change based on the time period when it was conducted.
This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:
? Analyze social psychological research for how the field has changed over the course of its history
? Assess the impact of social psychological research trends for their influence on human behavior
- ? Analyze elements of social psychological research for their influence on improving social welfare
- ? Evaluate the influence of social psychological research on society for its efficacy for social change
- ? Analyze ethical issues in social psychological research for determining appropriate strategies for use in scientific researchThe project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Five, and Seven. The final product will be submitted in Module Nine.PromptResearch in social psychology has changed a great deal in the past 100 years. An examination of modern research, as opposed to classic research, shows differences with regard to the theoretical orientation (e.g., genetics, sociocultural approach, and social learning theory), ethics, and the basic versus applied nature of the research. There are also differences between the classic and current research with regard to its influence on social behavior.The task of this assignment is to select one classic research study in social psychology from a provided list. You will then locate a modern (within the last 10 years) peer-reviewed research study in the same subject area. The article you locate will be submitted for instructor approval. You will analyze these studies for their approach to social psychology, the influence of theories, research trends of the different time periods, the influence of the research on society, and how issues of ethics and ethical strategies differ across time.
- Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
- Introduction: For this part of the assessment, you will:
Briefly summarize the research question, results, and conclusions reached by the authors of each study you have chosen.
Describe the social psychological approaches used in each of the chosen studies and justify why you believe that authors of the studies usedthese approaches.
- Analyze the studies for the theories and past research you believe were used by the authors of the studies that informed their approach.
Analyze the approaches used by the authors in each of the chosen studies for how they do or do not demonstrate how the field of socialpsychology has changed over time. In other words, how are the approaches used by the authors in each of the chosen studies similar or different? How do they demonstrate how the field has or has not changed over the course of its history?
- Human Behavior: For this part of the assessment, you will analyze each of your chosen studies for how they might have influenced the development of human behavior in society.
- Explain how the research trends in social psychology in the different time periods of both studies may have informed the direction of the research. In other words, how did the research trends of the time influence the researchers in developing their study? Be sure to support your response with appropriate evidence.
- Assess how, once published and conveyed to the public, the results and conclusions reached by the researchers of the chosen studies may have influenced human behaviors.
- Assess how the chosen studies were or were not aligned with the established research trends of the time, and how that may have affected how they were received by the public. Be sure to support your response with appropriate evidence.
- Influence on Society: For this part of the assessment, you will evaluate the impact of the chosen studies in terms of how they have instigated social change and how they have benefited society. You should consider researching the historical context of the chosen study to support your responses.
Analyze the chosen studies for elements of the research that you believe may have been a benefit to society at any point in time and be sure to justify your response.
- Analyze the chosen studies for elements of the research that you believe may have had a negative impact on society at any point in time and be sure to justify your response.
- Explain possible ways that the results or conclusions of the studies could be applied to everyday life in modern society.
- Evaluate the chosen studies for how they may have influenced events of social change (positively or negatively). Be sure to provide examples tosupport your response.
- Describe a personal or professional experience in which elements of social psychological research could be applied to help influence change.
Explain how influential you believe social psychological research has been on changing behavior in society. If you believe it is not influential,explain why.
- Ethical Considerations: For this part of the assessment, you will analyze each of the chosen studies for ethical issues that might be present, and examine how the time period may have influenced the ethical strategies of the researchers.
- A. Analyze each of the chosen studies for any potential ethical issues that may be present in their research design. If there are no potential ethical issues, explain why. Be sure to consider issues with research design as well as the impact of the experiment on the participants.
- Explain how well each of the studies follow the ethical guidelines of their respective time period and justify your response. In other words, how do the ethical guidelines of the time period of the study change, whether the studies should be considered ethical or unethical?
- Recommend ethically appropriate strategies that could be utilized by the studies in order to address identified ethical issues. In other words, what changes could be made to the studies in order to make them align with more modern ethical guidelines?
- Milestones
In Module Three, you will submit your study selections and summaries, in which you will select a classic and modern research study for your final comparative - Milestone One: Study Selections and Summaries
analysis. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Similarities and Differences Chart
In Module Five, you will submit your similarities and differences chart to help you begin to compare and contrast your selected classic and modern studies. Use the similarities and differences chart in the Milestone Two Learning Aid document to format your submission. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Rough Draft
In Module Seven, you will submit your rough draft of your final paper. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
- Final Submission: Research Study Comparative Analysis
In Module Nine, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
Milestone
Deliverable
Deliverables Module Due
Three Five Seven Nine
Expert Solution Preview
The purpose of this assessment is to recognize the value of social psychology on society throughout its history as a field. In this assessment, students will analyze research for how it changes or does not change based on the time period when it was conducted. The assessment will address various course outcomes such as analyzing social psychological research for how the field has changed over time, assessing the impact of social psychological research trends on human behavior, evaluating the influence of social psychological research on society for its efficacy in bringing about social change, analyzing ethical issues in social psychological research, and determining appropriate strategies for use in scientific research.
For this assessment, students are required to select one classic research study in social psychology from a provided list. They will then locate a modern (within the last 10 years) peer-reviewed research study in the same subject area. The chosen articles will be submitted for instructor approval. Students will analyze these studies for their approach to social psychology, the influence of theories and past research on their approach, how the approaches used demonstrate the changes or lack of changes in the field of social psychology over time, and how they might have influenced the development of human behavior in society.
Additionally, students will evaluate the impact of the chosen studies in terms of how they have instigated social change and benefited society. They will also assess the ethical issues present in the chosen studies and how the time period may have influenced the ethical strategies of the researchers. Students will recommend ethically appropriate strategies that could be utilized to address the identified ethical issues.
In conclusion, this assessment provides students with an opportunity to analyze and evaluate the changes in social psychology research over time, assess its impact on human behavior and society, and consider the ethical considerations involved in conducting such research. By completing this assessment, students will deepen their understanding of the field of social psychology and its implications for society as a whole.