Assignment: Applying Theoretical Interventions for Clients Experiencing Life Transition and Developmental IssuesCouple and family helping professionals have varying degrees of work. What they all have in common is that their clients represent the variety of human experience. Even those helping professionals with a specific clinical focus see variety in the ways in which specific issues manifest in different relationships. Part of the goal of your program is to expose you to varying scenarios so that when you are faced with differing client situations, you will have the evidence-based research knowledge, flexibility, analytical skills, and theory-integration practice to know the best course of action to take with a particular couple or family.For this Assignment, select and view one movie from the list provided in this week’s resources below. If you need assistance locating these movies, see this guide: Does the Walden Library have popular films or novels? Begin to conceptualize the couple's or family’s problem through your theoretical orientation, and identify interventions that you might use. Finally, begin to locate articles in the Walden Library that could be used to justify the interventions you selected.The Assignment (2–3 pages)Identify the movie you selected and the life transition and developmental issue present in the couple or family.Conceptualize the couple's or family's problem through your chosen theoretical orientation.Design a treatment plan including short- and long-term goals.Explain two evidence-based interventions you would use to address these couple’s or family’s issues and how you would use them.Note: The interventions may not emerge from your chosen theoretical orientation.Justify the intervention you selected with two evidence-based research articles.Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the resources for this course.

This is the week when you begin thinking about the framework that supports your study, and you begin to identify research questions. Although this is still early in your capstone process, the experience will help you appreciate how these elements are developed.To prepare:Further refine your paper to include a sample theoretical or conceptual framework and a sample research question. Include the following: Identify one theorist and theory. Explain the primary postulates of the theory and how they relate to your problem and purpose. Review two to three major research studies related to the framework and your study. Clearly explain how the theory or conceptual framework aligns with your problem, purpose, and research questions. What ties them together? Provide a research question.To complete: Make revisions to your capstone paper based on feedback. Include the sample framework and research question. Complete and submit this Assignment in complete APA style, following the “APA Course Paper Template With Advice (7th ed.)” document found in the Learning Resources.Notes on ReadingsButin provides several tips that are valuable in developing what many think is the most difficult task of the capstone: posing the best question (in particular, read page 122).In the selection by Thomas, pay particular attention to the various methods of narrowing your question. His questions, on page 18, no doubt reflect his experience in reading and rejecting hundreds of flawed research questions. Also note his guidance on the linear versus recursive plans on page 19. Prepare yourself for the recursive plan! Learning Resources Required ReadingsButin, D. W. (2010). The education dissertation: A guide for practitioner scholars. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.Chapter 3, “Focusing Your Research” (pp. 50–55 and pp. 58-61)Chapter 6, “Putting It All Together” (p. 122)Thomas, G. (2017). How to do your research project: A guide for students (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SageChapter 1, “Your Introduction: Starting Points” (pp. 7–26)Walden University Writing Center. (2015b). Modules: Introduction to references and citations. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/c.php?g=410047&p=2800022#s-lg-box-8571780Walden University Writing Center. (2015d). Walden templates: General templates. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/generalRequired MediaLaureate Education (Producer). (2016g). Dr. Research: Using feedback from others [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 1 minute.Accessible player --Downloads-- Download Video w/CC Download Audio Download Transcript

Breaking a Folkway (informal social norm)This assignment will make you more aware of the salience of the social norms which control our daily life. It is designed to encourage you to become more critically aware of your social environment.In the sea of norms in which we live, many norms governing behavior are followed so automatically that we have no conscious knowledge of them. The constraining nature of social norms is not perceived as long as one obeys. Norms are not all equally strict, nor do they all carry the same severity of sanctions. It is only when one attempts to do otherwise -- to be deviant -- that we become very aware of the existence of social forces. Some of the norms we take for granted are specific; for example, couples are expected to identify themselves as committed to one another, otherwise an unsuspecting single person might define the people as unattached and believe one of them is being flirtatious rather than just friendly. Other norms are vaguely defined; for example, friends are expected to be friendly, but there are no clear rules about what and when they should be doing to demonstrate their friendliness. If you believe that conducting this experiment may cause injury to yourself in some way, please contact me right away (within one week of the assignment being posted) to discuss an alternative project/ paper.Description of AssignmentYou must spend some time exploring your own culture. Your goal is to break an informal social norm in front of others, observe reactions (of others -- as well as your own), and use this data to discuss the impact of culture and social structure on our lives. This means that you must violate a folkway. Behaving out of the norm for you, as an individual specifically, does not constitute breaking a folkway (e.g. being talkative is not a folkway)!! Folkways are general expectations of behavior that are widely accepted, not simply matters of personal expression or style. Do NOT break any laws!! You can learn a lot from small acts of non-normative behavior. Feel free to break a folkway in a kind way (e.g. give away money to strangers). You may learn more from doing something that seems innocuous than from doing something that is obviously going to create a great deal of extra work for someone else (e.g. if a store-keeper reacts negatively to you making a mess that s/he will have to clean up – that is not an interesting finding!). Please keep in mind that this is not an invitation to be deceitful, harass, “punk”, or otherwise emotionally, psychically, or physically injure other/s.You should conduct your experiment (the same experiment – not different or modified ones) at least two times with different audiences; note -- this may vary depending on the norm you violate. You will want to violate the same folkway in 3 different settings to test the impact of social structure on people’s behaviors and feelings. While conducting the breach, try to keep your mind free of expectations and take the opportunity to explore the social world. As you break the norm notice how others respond to this break in normal daily behavior. Also pay close attention to how this experience makes you feel!! I strongly recommend keeping field notes of each time you breach your norm of choice.Rules for norm violating:Be safe. This rule overrides all other rules.You must violate the norm alone (no one else can be violating it with you). However, you can have a friend watch you and make observations.The behavior you choose may be non-normative across macro American culture or another culture.You may not harm anyone, including yourself. This includes getting yourself in trouble.You may NOT disrupt your other classes.You may NOT break any laws.GoalWrite an essay (2 full page minimum, double spaced, 1” margins, 12 pt. font, creative title!!) describing and analyzing your experience. The majority of your paper (~ 75%) should be devoted to your analysis. An excellent paper will use the data collected from the exercise to highlight the apparent and invisible cultural forces that shape our lives; utilize concepts from course readings to describe and explain your insights; meet the format expectations; and be well-organized and well-written (have clear paragraphs, an introduction and conclusion, avoid grammar and spelling errors). Please make sure to proof-read your work!!Writing directions:Your analysis is required to include a detailed discussion and application of the following concepts and theories as they relate to your norm breach:Part I: Breaking a normPick a (one -- ONLY ONE and stick with it) social norm to break. Break the norm around at least two different groups of people. Break the SAME NORM each time. The groups should differ in some identifiable way; they may differ in age, how well you know them, status, gender, et. al. Only break one norm each time. While violating the norm, act totally normally in every other way. Plan on taking field notes after each norm breaching experience. Include in this section identification of the norm you intentionally violated? Make sure to describe the norm (expected behavior) clearly and precisely.Part II: Reactions1) Describe your own and others’ reactions before, during, and after each violation.2) What sanctions (negative or positive) did you encounter? How did peoples' reactions to the breach differ? Were there differences by gender or class or age? How about social setting or time of day? What does this suggest about social behavior?3) Identify and discuss examples of how your experience relates specifically to (1) Cooley’s Looking Glass Self, (2) Mead’s Generalized Other, and (3) Goffman's Dramaturgical, theories PICK 2 OF THE 3 MENTIONED. Do not simply explain these theories -- make sure to use example/s from your experiment that demonstrate your understanding of each theory.Part III: ConclusionWhat – sociologically -- did you learn from this activity?? What did this experience teach you about social structure and conformity?? Again, make sure to utilize specific sociological concepts in your conclusion.Part IV: Works CitedInclude a works cited page for any sources used.CAUTION: Because this field exercise involves the conscious manipulation of other people's feelings and behavior, you must, I repeat MUST, consider others' feelings, think about the ethics of your behavior, and debrief those people effected by your behavior. In almost all cases, you will need to let them know that you were conducting in a "sociological experiment," that you are responsible for their feelings and behavior, and that they were being deceived. Because you are responsible, make sure your norm violation is well within the realm of ethics -- don't tread too hard. EXAMPLES (note – you are not limited to this list!! For more ideas, google “norm breaching experiment ideas”) Some of these may not be possible during the CoVid19 pandemic and social distancing mandates. Keep safety in mind.Elevator behavior – find an elevator that goes up more than three floors. Violate elevator normative behavior by facing the group in the elevator (as opposed to facing the door). Look at the group in the eyes!! If there is only one person in the elevator, try standing right next to them – instead of spaced away (the expected [normative] behavior)When you end a call on your phone, don’t say “goodbye” at the end of a conversation.Sit near someone at the library or cafeteria – and stare at them. Especially effective when person is sitting at a table alone (but don't provoke a fight!)Join a conversation with a group of students you don’t knowViolate personal space norms – with someone you know, stand much farther back than usual; someone you do not know, stand very close (not possible during social distancing)When riding in someone's car, sit in the backseat instead of the front passenger seat where you would normally sitWalk backwards across lighted and clearly marked crosswalksTalk at the same time as someone you are having a conversation with – instead of the normative taking turnsMake too much eye contact (stare) or too little, talk to others while looking at their shoes, stare at strangers walking past on the sidewalk, blink excessively.Example article: http://nortonbooks.typepad.com/everydaysociology/2011/01/holiday-shopping-breach.html (Links to an external site.)