Final Project General Psychology Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1. Identify basic research methods and ethical considerations in the study of behavior 2. Distinguish between selected theoretical orientations, processes, and concepts of behavior 3. Articulate the major principles of the main fields of psychology 4. Evaluate the credibility of psychological research 5. Apply knowledge of human behavior and development to real-world scenarios There are many factors that influence the perspective, behavior, and actions of individuals. You have learned about biological influences, social influences, developmental influences, and environmental influences. You have also learned how theories and research are important in understanding human behavior. One of the best ways to follow the path of an individual’s behavior is to read a biography about that person. For this project, you will be the “investigating researcher” who will explain the behavioral path of an individual you find interesting. This will include using the psychology theories you have learned to explain the many influences involved with guiding individual’s life, and outcome benchmarks of the person’s life. Your theory descriptions can come from your textbook or from credible online/hard-copy sources. Additionally, as a good researcher would do, this project will include a section on ethical concerns of limitations and biases. This aspect reaches back to research and the types of research used in an investigation. This includes looking at the type of data or information a biography presents; qualitative in nature as opposed to quantitative, ethical concerns regarding collecting the data or information, and human biases of telling the story accurately. You may have read a biography in the past that you can reference, or you can find short biographies online depicting the life of the person selected for this project. You can use one in-depth source for your biography, or find many short biographies to complete this Final Project General Psychology project. There are many famous historical biographies, but this project is not limited to fame. There are interesting artists, dancers, musicians, community leaders, everyday heroes, military soldiers etc. Find a person that you want to investigate as your case study. Choose a person with a published biography and write an 8-10-page case study investigation. Your case study should be formatted and presented according to the order below. Part 1: Biography and Influence (1.5 - 2 pages in length) A. Introduction 1. The introductory paragraphs of your paper should include: a. A hook or anecdote to engage the audience. b. A thesis statement/argument. i. What is your thesis or argument you are presenting about the person you have selected? Hook/thesis statement example: Running a marathon is no easy feat, many people would never dream of taking on such a task, but for Sammy Wanjiru running is a way of life. Great runners are not born running, so what makes them become champion runners? c. Three selected psychological theories. i. What three theories are you going to choose to support your argument? d. Limitations, biases, and ethical concerns. i. What limitations, biases, and ethical concerns do you think you will encounter? B. Chronological summary of biography subject 1. In the second half of the introduction to your paper: a. Give a quick summary of the biography of the subject you read. b. Include a vivid picture of your person’s history and developmental influences. i. What was happening in the person’s family at the time? What was the family dynamic like? Final Project General Psychology ii. What was the person’s family environment like? Were there any gender expectations put upon the individual? Example: If your selected subject was George Washington, the main focus of your summary could be on his being the first president of the United States and the life events that ultimately shaped him into that person. Part 2: Theoretical Perspectives (Suggested length: 5 - 6 pages) A. Select Psychological Theories (Suggested length: 2.5 - 3 pages) 1. Select three major theories within the field of psychology and provide a rich description and breakdown of each theory. These three theories will be used to develop the subsequent section of influences and outcomes of the biography subject. a. Choose three of the major psychology theories below: i. Biological ii. Evolutionary iii. Psychoanalytic iv. Behaviorism v. Cognitive vi. Humanistic and existential vii. Sociocultural viii. Socio-emotional development ix. Moral Development b. Your summary should explain the three theories and provide a robust overview of: i. The theories and facets of the theories. ii. Contributing psychologists. iii. Inspiration for the theories. iv. Studies and examples that help to showcase the theories. Example: Behaviorism-rewards vs, avoid punishment, B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning. People behave in certain ways to reap reward or to avoid punishment. For example: a basketball player might practice more to become a starter and to make more money. Final Project General Psychology B. Application of Theoretical Perspectives (Suggested length: 2.5 - 3 pages) 1. In this section, logically discuss the developmental influencing factors and life outcomes as related to each of the three theories selected. a. For each theory, provide key points of the theoretical perspective to support the application of the theory to the life events and outcomes of the person you selected. b. For each theory, give examples of your subject’s developmental influences and life outcomes to support the theoretical perspective. c. Make sure your theoretical perspective key points are clear and accurate, and necessary biographical examples are appropriately used. d. This section should include relevant examples regarding the theory and predictions of behavior based on the theory. Example: Here you will articulate how the relevant principles, processes, and concepts of behavior from evolutionary psychology explain the influencing factors such as the movement of wanting change during that time period and adapting to the new lands, climate and living conditions. Outcomes of George Washington’s life might include the evolutionary perspective of motivation of carrying on genetic lines, adaptation and being able to adapt to new environments etc. The outcome is to concur and dominate based on survival. Part 3: Biases and Ethical Concerns (Suggested length: 1.5 - 2 pages) Provide a critical review of the construction of your research (biography or biographies as evidence or documented data). Refer to the research and theoretical sections of your course if you need additional help. A. Identify and review biases and limitations in your research 1. Identify at least three biases/limitations and discuss the impacts on the credibility; at least one must be specific to your biography. a. Biases and limitation can include: i. The perspective of who wrote the biography. ii. Historical influences. iii. Missing data. iv. A comparison of qualitative vs. quantitative types of research. v. Source credibility. vi. Ethical concerns of collecting data. vii. Credibility of artifact data. viii. Memory recollection or subjectivity of the subject. ix. Societal views that could influence the author’s perspective. Final Project General Psychology x. The author’s credibility and association to the subject. xi. How the information was obtained (first-hand source or second hand). xii. Ethical violations against the American Psychological Association. b. Consider any research limitations, biases, or ethical problems that might be present in your research. c. This section must demonstrate scholarly work and be supported by credible resources (your text book and other professional sources). Example: In our example of George Washington, you may want to focus on the possible biases of the author of a biography on this figure who occupies such a primary role in the history of a nation. You might address the “mythological” proportions such a figure has taken in the culture of the author of the biography and how that could impact the way that George Washington’s life was presented in the biography; you might address the idea that historical data and stories (qualitative data) can get skewed over time, or only give one perspective; or you might discuss recollection and the idea that biographies are a collection of memories that do not always paint an accurate story. Part 4: Conclusion (Suggested length: 1- 1.5 pages) A. Synthesis of Material 1. The conclusion should synthesize the material and should be a restatement of the thesis, and the sections of your paper. Your conclusion should clearly include: a. The biography summation. b. The theoretical perspectives explored in your project. c. A review of the theories’ strongest theoretical agreements that exemplify particular behaviors of the subject. d. The ethical concerns and biases. e. A concluding thought. i. A concluding statement should link to the thesis statement in the introduction and state what you have learned from completing this project. The conclusion should leave the reader with a feeling of how the writer feels about the investigation of the biography. Part 5: Paper Guidelines A. APA Formatting and Page Length 1. Patten University requires all projects and papers to use APA style guides and Final Project General Psychology formatting. Your paper should be: a. 8-10 pages in length. b. This does not include the reference page or a title page should you construct one; tittle page is not required. c. Include a minimum of 5 references. d. Use APA in-text citing for all references. e. Include a properly formatted reference page and in-text citing that should match the reference page. 2. Refer to the following websites for help with APA requirements: a. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/ 56 0/01/ b. http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basi cs- tutorial.aspx 1. A title page and abstract is not required for project submissions. Because evaluators do not see student names when reviewing student work, it is important that students not include any personal identifiers in their project submissions. 2. Save your document as a PDF file. In Microsoft Word, you can use the Save As option to select PDF as your file format. 3. If your project requires a video, you should post the video to a free video hosting site like www.youtube.com, www.photobucket.com, or one of the other free webhosting websites. The following website maintains a list of video hosting sites; http://www.videohostings.com/. In the written materials that you submit as part of the assignment, you should include the title of the video and a link for the faculty member to use to grade your submission. 4. Upload the PDF file in your course. 5. Your assignment will not be returned to you, so keep a copy for your files.
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