Empirical Article Assignment

Find a peer- reviewed scholarly journal article that contains results that can be understood by undergraduate psychology students. Write a brief 2 page paper on how scientific process was used to conduct the study and evaluate the results.

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PSYC 499: Senior Capstone The Impact of the Social on the Individual

Class Syllabus Spring/2020

Class Cycle: Monday – Sunday Instructor: Tara West Contact Information: tara_lynne.west@sps.cuny.edu Office Hours: Mondays, 2pm – 3pm (or by appointment) NOTE: When emailing, please include your name and class in the subject line Course Materials:

• Lesko, W.A. (2012). Readings in social psychology: General, classic, and contemporary selections (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-205-17967. (Required)

• American Psychological Association (2019). Concise Rules of APA Style (7th ed.).

Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 978-1433832178. (Recommended)

Type of Course: Required

Field of Study: Psychology

Credits: 3 credits, undergraduate

Pre-requisites: Completion of all required courses (Level 2 and Level 3) and permission. Course Description: All students will complete a senior research project under the direction of a faculty mentor, with a topic within the track in which the student has completed at least three courses. This capstone project will build upon work done in previous courses, allowing students to apply methods of scholarly and/or action research to specific psychological issues. Projects may be completed in small research groups or individually. Course Summary: This capstone project will build upon work completed in previous courses, allowing students to apply methods of scholarly and/or action research to the field of Social Psychology, specifically the impact of the social world on individuals. Course Goals: The objectives for this course include: gaining a theoretical knowledge base about the interplay between individuals and their environments, gaining first-hand experience with the many steps involved with research, the interpretation of research, and the presentation of research, using APA formatting. Likewise, you will increase your familiarity with reading (and finding) primary sources. Although only a few of you may pursue careers as researchers, all of you are consumers of research. As such, a major goal for this course is to develop your capacity to critically think about, evaluate, and critique the scientific evidence that is often presented in journal articles, newspapers, magazines, and on television.

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Learning Objectives/ Outcomes: o Students should be able to:

• Conduct a review of research in a specific area of Psychology. • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of scientific research. • Interpret and generalize appropriately from research results. • Evaluate the appropriateness of conclusions derived from psychological research. • Use the concepts, language, and major theories of the discipline to account for

psychological phenomena in the context of social psychology. • Use reasoning to recognize, develop, defend, and criticize arguments. • Articulate how psychological principles can be used to explain social issues. • Tolerate ambiguity and realize that psychological explanations are often complex and

tentative. • Read and accurately summarize the general scientific literature of a chosen topic related to

the course theme. • Demonstrate effective writing skills in various formats and for various purposes (e.g.,

informing, defending, explaining, persuading, arguing, teaching). Program Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and historical trends in psychology.

• Understand and apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.

• Respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental processes.

• Understand and apply psychological principles to personal, social and organizational issues. • Weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, and reflect other values that are the

underpinnings of psychology as a discipline. • Demonstrate information competence and the ability to use computers and other

technology for many purposes. • Communicate effectively in a variety of formats. • Recognize, understand and respect the complexity of sociocultural and international

diversity. • Develop insight into their own and others’ behavior and mental processes and apply

effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement. • Emerge from the major with realistic ideas about how to implement their psychological

knowledge, skills and values in occupational pursuits in a variety of settings.

Final Grading (Total = 160 pts.): Ø Discussions: 8 @ 10 = 80 pts. Ø Senior Capstone Project Assignments: 80 pts.

§ Project Idea = 10 pts. § Outline & Reference List = 20 pts. § First Draft = 20 pts. § Final Drafts = 30 pts.

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Grading Chart of the SPS Psychology Department:

Letter Grade Ranges % GPA

A 93 – 100 4

A- 90 – 92.9 3.7

B+ 87 – 89.9 3.3

B 83 – 86.9 3

B- 80 – 82.9 2.7

C+ 77 – 79.9 2.3

C 73 – 76.9 2

C- 70 – 72.9 1.7

D 60 – 69.9 1

F < 60 0

ASSIGNMENTS

Discussions: During the first eight weeks of the course, you will be reading select articles from the assigned text, Readings in Social Psychology. Through class discussions, you will wrestle with concepts and issues that you encounter in the assigned readings and increase your own, and your classmates’, understanding of the interplay between individuals and their environments. Each week, you will be asked to post a reaction to a question (or questions), posed by me, about the readings that week and to comment on one another’s reactions. Your initial reaction (your “original entry/post”) should be between 300-500 words and must contain your own original thoughts. Specific guidelines for the Discussions can be found in the Discussion Board Instructions/Criteria area of the “Getting Started” section course site. Please note that you must utilize ALL resources for that week, and you must cite each of the individual sources, specifically (not simply the book). You’ll also be commenting on four other students’ original entries. Your responses to one another’s original entries will be in the form of comments or questions that demonstrate original thinking and move the conversation forward. Each comment should be at least a few sentences long (100 – 200 words). Brief responses or responses that are not substantive (meaning that they do not move the conversation forward) will not be awarded points. Unless otherwise noted, your reaction to the reading (original entry) is due each week by Due Date 1, usually Thursday (11:59p.m. EST) unless otherwise noted, and your comments on the other students’ original entries are due each week by Due Date 2, usually Sunday (11:59p.m. EST) unless otherwise noted. Please remember to respond to others’ comments/questions for your original entry. Do NOT wait until late in the week to post your reactions, and make sure you

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participate at least three times per week. It is ideal to post responses to others’ original posts no later than Saturday evening and all other responses (such as others' responses to your post) by Sunday afternoon/evening. Your grade for each Discussion will be assessed based on timeliness (all deadlines are met), the extent to which you followed the directions detailed in the Discussion Board Criteria, and the quality of the posts themselves (e.g., thoughtfully and respectfully engaged in the conversation; showed independent and critical thinking). Also, please post early; adding your comments to others' posts (or answering their questions for you), right before the DB closes, is akin to throwing your two cents into a conversation at the very end. These are discussion boards, hence, they are meant to be a back and forth exchange of ideas. If you post at the very end of the week, or all on one day, you will not receive full points for the discussion board, despite how great the post content. Likewise, if you do not post an original post on time, you also will not get credit for responding to others' posts. Senior Capstone Project Assignments: The culmination of your work throughout the semester will be a Final Project. Your project will be a 20-minute (maximum) audio-visual presentation (18 minutes minimum). Project Guidelines will be provided by Week 6. The exact topic, or focus, of your presentation will be determined through consultation with me, beginning in Week 7, and will be inspired by your readings and discussions of the text, and any readings that you complete independently (e.g., scholarly research articles referenced in the text or discovered through independent searches). To make the project more manageable and to give you the opportunity to learn from your classmates, you’ll be completing your final project in steps over the course of Weeks 8-14. Prior to submitting your Final Project, you will be drafting and submitting 1) your project idea; 2) an outline of your project with a reference list and 3) a first draft of the project. For each piece of the project, you will provide feedback to two other students (the points for your assignment include points for providing that feedback). The grade for each of your drafts will be based on the level of development appropriate to the stage of the project.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION Late Final Project Assignments:

Ø All Project assignments/drafts (and feedback on other students’ drafts) are due by 11:59pm EST on the due date stated in the syllabus. Please plan ahead as there are no extensions or exceptions made, even in the case of computer problems/glitches. Therefore, you should not wait until the last minute to upload your assignments.

Ø The policy of strict due dates applies to all pieces of the project because other students are counting on your timely submissions in order to do their parts (review your drafts, provide feedback, and receive your feedback in time to make use of it).

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Ø Should you…