Ashford PSY301 Assignments Latest 2021 February (Full)

PSY301 Social Psychology

Week 2 Assignment   

Academic Accountability

To prepare for this activity, please review The plagiarism spectrum: Instructor insights into the 10 types of plagiarism (Links to an external site.). Part of scientific research includes conveying knowledge (about theory, research, etc.) to others in an ethical manner, avoiding plagiarism (review the Plagiarism Guide (Links to an external site.) for more). This is a key professional skill to develop. In this activity, you will practice using your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and applying in-text citations (review the APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) web page for more).

Review the following original and plagiarized passages:

ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S THOUGHTS

The correlational method can be very useful, but it must be used with caution. If knowledge of one variable (age) helps predict another (buying), does that mean that one causes the other? Not necessarily. It is possible that the first variable caused the second, or that the second variable caused the first, or that some other variable caused both variables. Without further research we cannot know which possibility is true. For example, a researcher might find a negative correlation in schools between the number of teachers monitoring hallway behavior and the number of acts of aggression in the hallway. It is possible that more teachers in the hallway caused lower aggression, but it is also possible that there were fewer teachers in the hallway in the face of aggression because they had left to avoid it. Knowing that there is a correlation between two events does not tell us which, if either, is the cause. In fact, it is quite common to have a third variable cause a correlation between two other variables. For example, sunburn and outdoor temperature are correlated. Does this mean that hot weather causes sunburn or that sunburn causes hot weather? Of course not. The summer sun causes both sunburn and hot weather. Cum hoc propter hoc—correlation does not imply causation.

Reference

Feenstra, J. (2020). Social psychology (2nd ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

REWRITE BY SOMEONE WANTING TO WRITE ABOUT THE ARTICLE AND ITS FINDINGS

“The correlational method can be very useful, but it must be used with caution.” If knowledge of one variable (height) helps predict another (weight), does that mean that one causes the other? Not necessarily. It is possible that the primary variable caused the secondary, or that the secondary variable caused the primary, or that some additional variable caused both variables. We cannot understand what chance is true without further studies. For example, ice cream consumption and violent crime are correlated. Does this mean eating ice cream causes violent crime? Or, does a spike in violent crime cause consumption of ice cream? Probably neither... rather, a common factor (e.g., heat) may be to blame for both. “Cum hoc propter hoc—correlation does not imply causation.”

Define academic voice and plagiarism.

Apply your knowledge of academic voice and plagiarism to the rewritten passage, locating and identifying errors.

Rewrite the passage appropriately using your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.).

Be sure to utilize strategies for Quoting, Paraphrasing, & Summarizing (Links to an external site.), avoiding direct quotes and appropriately utilizing in-text citations.

Demonstrate the importance of developing a strong academic voice for both your education and career.

What are some key features of academic writing that might be particularly relevant within your own program/intended career?

What types of plagiarism do you find most difficult to avoid? (See Turnitin, 2012).

What methods/strategies can you use to ensure that you avoid these errors in your own work?

PSY301 Social Psychology

Week 3 Assignment   

The Art and Science of Persuasion

To prepare for this assignment, please read the Harnessing the Science of Persuasion article.

Persuasion is oftentimes considered an art, but it is based on the psychological science of social influence. With knowledge of the key principles that undergird this process, you may become a savvier consumer. You may also find ways to implement these strategies effectively in your personal and professional life.

Before beginning your paper, select one of the six fundamental principles identified in Cialdini (2014).

Assemble at least three advertisements, commercials, or personal experiences/observations that illustrate this principle. Do not use examples from the course resources.

Submit your examples (paste ads into the document, include URL links, and/or provide a synopsis), along with a one paragraph description of each clearly indicating how the advertisement, commercial, or personal experience/observation illustrates the selected principle.

Then, in your paper,

Examine in depth how social psychological principles of persuasion are relevant, citing scholarly research (which may include course resources) on the specific principle you are addressing in your analysis.

Identify characteristics of the communicator, the message, and the target audience, considering key situational and contextual factors.

Produce a plan to intentionally enhance persuasiveness.

What are various alternative principles and/or techniques one might employ effectively?

Discuss ethical issues relevant to the collected examples, as well as your own persuasive plan.

Apply this insight to your own personal or professional life. Specifically, how might you utilize this insight moving forward?

The Art and Science of Persuasion paper

Must be three to five double-spaced pages at minimum (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.

Must include a separate title page with the following:

A header

Title of paper

Student’s name

Course name and number

Instructor’s name

Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).

Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.

Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.

For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.

Must use at least three peer-reviewed sources in addition to course readings. Additional scholarly sources are encouraged. Be sure to integrate your research smoothly rather than simply inserting it.

The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.

To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.

Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide.

Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.

PSY301 Social Psychology

Week 5 Assignment   

Final Paper

To conclude the course, you have the opportunity to choose a topic of interest to you and analyze it from a social psychological perspective. You will then write a literature review (see Bem, 2016), which is a scholarly paper, written in an objective and academic tone, focused on a particular subject. To do this, you must gather, review, and summarize relevant theory and research.

For example, if you chose to examine a proverb, such as “Opposites attract,” you would first find scholarly articles outlining the major predictors of attraction and testing this notion specifically. Begin your paper with a clear stance on the topic—yes, opposites do attract, or no, they do not—and then present the evidence in an organized fashion to support your thesis.

The topic of your literature review might come from the following list  download, or you may choose to identify a different area of interest. Scan your textbook for relevant concepts to explore. However, if you choose something other than the options below, you are encouraged to obtain permission from your instructor prior to writing/submitting the paper to ensure the suitability of your topic.

Here are some ideas you might choose to explore:

Accuracy of proverbs

Example: “Don’t judge a book by its cover” or “Beauty is a good letter of introduction.” In other words, what can one conclude based on appearance alone?

Example: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” or “Out of sight, out of mind.” In other words, do long distances or extended amounts of time strengthen relationship ties, or weaken them?

Example: “Birds of a feather flock together” or “Opposites attract.” In other words, are people attracted to similar or dissimilar others?

Impact of titles/labels

Example: How do team mascots (such as the Redskins or Braves) impact Native Americans (self-esteem, stereotype threat, etc.)?

Example: How do labels (such as smart/stupid, crazy or criminal, etc.) impact people’s mental processes and behaviors?

Altruism

Example: Does true altruism exist? What motivates people to help?

Explanatory style

Example: Do optimists experience better life outcomes than pessimists?

Persuasive appeals

Example: How do political campaigns utilize various techniques?

Self-esteem

Example: Is there a dark side? Can one be too confident?

School size

Example: Do students fare better in big schools or small schools? Why?

Reactance

Example: What is the theory behind “reverse psychology”?

Gender differences

Example: in aggression, sex, etc.

A form of prejudice

Example: fat prejudice, racial prejudice, etc.

Psychology and the law

Example: jury behavior, etc.

Other: If you have something else in mind, contact your instructor as soon as possible to ensure the topic is appropriate and to seek additional direction.

In your paper,

Analyze the social psychological literature for evidence that supports your thesis, providing a Synthesis (Links to an external site.) of your findings. Be sure to dispel refuting evidence.

Illustrate specific social psychological concepts using real life examples.

Examine relevant situational factors.

Identify social and cultural forces at work.

Indicate potential ethical considerations in research on this topic or application of insight.

The final paper

Must be seven double-spaced pages at minimum (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.

Must include a separate title page with the following:

Title of paper

Student’s name

Course name and number

Instructor’s name

Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).

Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.

Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.

For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.

Must use at least five peer-reviewed scholarly sources in addition to the course text.

The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.

To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.

Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide.

Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.