Social psychological theory

Social psychological theory

Assignment Details:
Format: You will write a short paper, approximately 2-3 pages in length (650-800 words), based on a
social psychological theory or concept and apply it to your life experiences. The paper must be typed,
and double-spaced so I have room to make comments. The title of the document must include the letter
(A or B) and/or the name of the topic you choose. You should type your name and topic on the first
page of the paper
Content: The paper must incorporate three components: 1) description and explanation of the theory or
concept, 2) relevant example from your life experiences, and 3) application of the concept to your
example.
1) An explanation of a social psychological theory or concept discussed in lecture and text. Your description should be clear and detailed enough that someone not taking this course would be
able to understand your description and gain a clear understanding of the theory or concept. This is
your opportunity to show how well you comprehend the course material. ? Text and lecture are the
only sources you will use for these papers. Rules regarding correct referencing of sources must be
followed. No direct quotes. You must paraphrase information from text and lecture, and reference or
cite the source. Do NOT use internet sources (e.g., Wikipedia, Changingminds.org). Using unauthorized
sources or committing plagiarism will result in a grade reduction. See the attached tutorial for avoiding
plagiarism. For this course, we will use a modified APA style citation: To cite the text include the
author’s name and the page number (Franzoi, p. 95). To cite from lecture, use the word lecture
followed by the chapter number and page number
2) A description of a personal experience or observation that illustrates or exemplifies the theory or
research.
Choose something from your own experience that relates to the social psychological theory or concept.
You may use your observations of other people (e.g., friends, family, acquaintances), but change
identifying information. You cannot borrow experiences from our text, other texts or from the
internet. It should be an example you or someone you know experienced. Do not use examples of
famous people or from the news, unless you clear it with me. Using such examples without prior
permission will result in grade reduction. Both topics should have relevance for most people, so you
should be able to find examples from your own life, or from the lives of people you know.
3) An application of the theory or concept to the personal experience or observation.
Explain how your personal example illustrates the theory or concept. Be specific about how all parts of
the theory or concept apply to your example. If some parts of a theory or concept do not apply to your
example, you should also discuss how it does not fit your experience. You must make explicit
connections or links between the social psychological concepts and your example.
Plagiarism is misrepresenting someone else’s writing or ideas as your own. The defines plagiarism as:
“At one extreme end, plagiarism is the word-for-word copying of another’s writing without enclosing the
copied passage in quotation marks and identifying the proper citation. At the other end of the
spectrum, plagiarism is the casual inclusion of a particular idea or term which one has obtained from
another’s writing or speaking, and which is presented as one’s own opinion or idea So plagiarism is not
just copying information word for word from a source, it also includes using a sources ideas without
giving the source credit.
You are not allowed to use direct quotes for this paper. You must paraphrase the information and
reference the source. Paraphrasing is rewording information from a source into your own words. A
good paraphrase communicates the ideas of the original, but uses your own language. Paraphrasing is
not just a matter of substituting a few words into the original or merely rearranging words (Scott, Koch,
Scott, & Garrison, 1999). A paraphrase, because it uses ideas from the source, must give the source
credit (Dunn, 1999). Paraphrasing without citing the source is plagiarism (Scott, et al., 1999).
CHOOSE ONE: Both topics come from Chapter 3 and relate to the self. Notice that words that include
self as a prefix use a hyphen, e.g., self-awareness, self-esteem, self handicap, self-monitor. Text
Lecture Topic A: Private and public self-consciousness (self-awareness) ? Self-consciousness and self awareness
are closely related concepts, so you must read about both in order to discuss this topic. Self awareness
describes a temporary state of awareness, whereas self-consciousness describes a habitual
state, like a trait. ? The questionnaire on p. 73 in the text is designed as a measure of the levels of
private and public self-consciousness. Complete the questionnaire, compute your score (instructions on
p. 74), and report your score for both private and public self-consciousness. Compare yourself to the
average scores for colleges students (private = 26, public = 19). Is your score above average, near the
average, or below average? The higher (or lower) your score is compared to these averages the more
(or less) you have the trait. Compare and contrast private and public self-consciousness. Discuss what
people high in private self consciousness tend to think about and how this may affect their behavior. Do
likewise for people high in public self-consciousness Identify possible consequences of having high
levels of the two types of self-consciousness. Using yourself as an example, discuss whether you tend
more toward high or low private and public self-consciousness (or fall near the average) Give examples
of thinking and behavior that illustrate your level of private and public self-consciousness and clearly
explain how they fit the concept of self consciousness. This may include examples of situations that lead
you to be more privately or publicly self-aware.
p. 72-75 Ch. 3
Topic B: Self-monitoring ? The questionnaire on page 95 in the text is a measure of self-monitoring, and
should help you better understand what high and low self-monitors are like. Complete the
questionnaire, compute your score and report your score. Researchers often use a cut off score to
Classify people into high and low categories. A score of 9 or below is low self-monitoring, 10 or above is
high self-monitoring. If your score, however, is near that cutoff (e.g., 8-11) you are near the average on
self-monitoring. ? Define and describe self-monitoring. Your description should include a comparison of
high and low self-monitors, what their motives are, and give examples of typical behaviors for each.
Identify at least one advantage and one disadvantage for each extreme self-monitoring level (high and
low). Using yourself as an example, discuss whether you tend more toward high or low self monitoring
(or fall somewhere in between). Give examples of your attitudes and behavior that illustrate your level
of self-monitoring, and clearly explain how they fit the concept of self-monitoring. This may include
examples of when you are more or less likely to engage in self-monitoring attempts.
p. 94-96 Ch. 3

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