PSY 105 Written Assignment Fall 2013
• In a nutshell, this assignment requires you to write an essay using the starter papers (these are included on Blackboard in the Course Reserves Folder) PLUS 1 scientific psychological article that you will find on your own using the Ryerson library system.
• Write a 1,200 word written assignment. The word count includes the entire paper so the total number of words included in the Title page, text pages, and References page, all taken together, must not be less than 1,200 words and must not be more than 1,300 words. A penalty of 5% will be assigned to any paper that is either above or below the acceptable word count range.
• Include the word count on the Title page of your paper.
• Make sure to answer all the questions listed for the topic you choose.
• Do not use quotes in your paper. Papers including a direct quote will be penalized a 5% penalty. Paraphrasing is an acceptable practice. The idea with paraphrasing is to write about the ideas/concepts/findings presented by the original authors in the article, but you write about it in your own words, without transplanting the original language.
• When you paraphrase, you must still cite the original authors appropriately. You should acknowledge all sources in your essay using correct referencing.
• Your assignment must be handed in as BOTH a paper copy and as an electronic copy.
o The paper copy must be submitted directly to Dr. Vettese at the beginning of class on the due date.
o Also, an electronic version of your assignment (identical to the printed copy you hand in) must also be submitted to turnitin.com on the due date.
o Attach the printed copy of your TurnItIn receipt to the end of your printed paper.
o An assignment will be considered handed in only when both the printed copy and the electronic copy have been submitted. A penalty of 10% per day will be imposed on a late assignment. This means, your paper will be marked late unless both the printed copy and the electronic copy are turned in on (or before) the due date. No extensions will be granted on the assignment, unless there are legitimate documented emergency circumstances.
• Consider this assignment to have two major objectives: Objective (1) is presenting accurate, complete, and thoughtful responses to the issues mentioned in the chosen topic, and Objective (2) is doing so in a written form that is clear, coherent, and consistent with APA format for referencing sources.
• You are expected to work on this assignment independently. Present your own work. Plagiarism is a serious offence. Dr. Vettese will thoroughly investigate any instance in which a paper’s responses are extremely similar to other papers, articles, or online content. Additionally, you cannot use written work you yourself did in another course. This assignment must be an original presentation of your justified thoughts, bolstered by the empirical research.
• In a nutshell, this assignment requires you to write an essay using the starter papers (these are included on Blackboard in the Course Reserves Folder) PLUS 1 scientific psychological article that you will find on your own using the Ryerson library system.
• Write a 1,200 word written assignment. The word count includes the entire paper so the total number of words included in the Title page, text pages, and References page, all taken together, must not be less than 1,200 words and must not be more than 1,300 words. A penalty of 5% will be assigned to any paper that is either above or below the acceptable word count range.
• Include the word count on the Title page of your paper.
• Make sure to answer all the questions listed for the topic you choose.
• Do not use quotes in your paper. Papers including a direct quote will be penalized a 5% penalty. Paraphrasing is an acceptable practice. The idea with paraphrasing is to write about the ideas/concepts/findings presented by the original authors in the article, but you write about it in your own words, without transplanting the original language.
• When you paraphrase, you must still cite the original authors appropriately. You should acknowledge all sources in your essay using correct referencing.
• Your assignment must be handed in as BOTH a paper copy and as an electronic copy.
o The paper copy must be submitted directly to Dr. Vettese at the beginning of class on the due date.
o Also, an electronic version of your assignment (identical to the printed copy you hand in) must also be submitted to turnitin.com on the due date.
o Attach the printed copy of your TurnItIn receipt to the end of your printed paper.
o An assignment will be considered handed in only when both the printed copy and the electronic copy have been submitted. A penalty of 10% per day will be imposed on a late assignment. This means, your paper will be marked late unless both the printed copy and the electronic copy are turned in on (or before) the due date. No extensions will be granted on the assignment, unless there are legitimate documented emergency circumstances.
• Consider this assignment to have two major objectives: Objective (1) is presenting accurate, complete, and thoughtful responses to the issues mentioned in the chosen topic, and Objective (2) is doing so in a written form that is clear, coherent, and consistent with APA format for referencing sources.
• You are expected to work on this assignment independently. Present your own work. Plagiarism is a serious offence. Dr. Vettese will thoroughly investigate any instance in which a paper’s responses are extremely similar to other papers, articles, or online content. Additionally, you cannot use written work you yourself did in another course. This assignment must be an original presentation of your justified thoughts, bolstered by the empirical research.
Essay Topic: Increasing Happiness
Article #1: Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131.
Article #2: Hsee, C. K., & Hastie, R. (2006). Decision and experience: Why don’t we choose what makes us happy? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10(1), 31-37.
Part A. Introductory Paragraph (about 200 words). Begin with a general statement about happiness and how it is important to people. Make this statement specific by finding and adding in statistics that indicate more detail about happiness (such as: that not everyone is happy and that many people want to increase their happiness.) For example, you could look at online and see research-based websites about happiness such as http://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/~ediener/faq.html. (Please do not use Wikipedia or other non-research-based websites.) Then include in your Introductory paragraph specific statistics you find; for example, the website from Dr. Diener at the link above says that only 5-10% of people indicate they are at the top level of life satisfaction. Or at http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lif_hap_lev_not_ver_or_not_at_all_hap-level-not-very-all-happy it states that 12% of Canadians rate themselves as currently not very (or not at all) happy, for another example. Note: These are just examples of what a good introductory paragraph includes—you can find other statistics instead—anything that supports your general idea that happiness is important. Finish your Introductory Paragraph with a purpose statement usually best written as “The purpose of this paper is…” For this topic, the purpose will be to describe the causes of happiness using established research and then to propose your own study to investigate how to increase happiness.
Part B. Now describe the articles (about 300 words per article). After you have read both starter articles for this topic (in the Course Reserves Folder)…
- First describe what you learned from reading the paper by Hsee et al., addressing these issues:
o Why do people sometimes make decisions that actually decrease their happiness, although they are trying to make themselves happy? In your answer, explain how both prediction biases and failures to follow predictions relate to this type of decision-making. Give a specific example of a prediction bias, explaining how it can lead to decisions that do not make people happy. Similarly, give a specific example of a failure to follow predictions, explaining how it can lead to decisions that do not make people happy.
o Based on this article, what should people do in order to make decisions that will maximize their happiness?
- Now describe what you learned from reading the paper by Lyubomirsky et al. In particular, please address these issues:
o What is the hedonic treadmill as it relates to happiness? Do Lyubomirsky et al. agree or disagree with the idea of the hedonic treadmill? Why do the researchers have the opinion they do about the hedonic treadmill?
o How can happiness be increased according to Lyubomirsky et al.? Make sure to be specific, including details and well-explained examples.
C. Next, propose your own study on happiness (about 250 to 300 words). Now it is time to think about proposing your own study idea about how to increase happiness. To do so, you can start with an idea mentioned to the articles you read above and adapt this idea into your own particular interest. Or you can come up with an idea entirely on your own that was not mentioned in the articles you read. Either way, find a published article related to the idea you want to propose in your own study idea. (The published article you find does not have to be an experiment—it could be a survey or an observation or a review article. But the study you propose in Part C below must be an experiment). To find an article, you can look at the references given in the articles you read and pick one of those. Or you can go online into the Ryerson library system and search for an article. Once you have found and read your article, write about what you learned from the article. Based on the article you found, how can happiness be increased?
Article #1: Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131.
Article #2: Hsee, C. K., & Hastie, R. (2006). Decision and experience: Why don’t we choose what makes us happy? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10(1), 31-37.
Part A. Introductory Paragraph (about 200 words). Begin with a general statement about happiness and how it is important to people. Make this statement specific by finding and adding in statistics that indicate more detail about happiness (such as: that not everyone is happy and that many people want to increase their happiness.) For example, you could look at online and see research-based websites about happiness such as http://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/~ediener/faq.html. (Please do not use Wikipedia or other non-research-based websites.) Then include in your Introductory paragraph specific statistics you find; for example, the website from Dr. Diener at the link above says that only 5-10% of people indicate they are at the top level of life satisfaction. Or at http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lif_hap_lev_not_ver_or_not_at_all_hap-level-not-very-all-happy it states that 12% of Canadians rate themselves as currently not very (or not at all) happy, for another example. Note: These are just examples of what a good introductory paragraph includes—you can find other statistics instead—anything that supports your general idea that happiness is important. Finish your Introductory Paragraph with a purpose statement usually best written as “The purpose of this paper is…” For this topic, the purpose will be to describe the causes of happiness using established research and then to propose your own study to investigate how to increase happiness.
Part B. Now describe the articles (about 300 words per article). After you have read both starter articles for this topic (in the Course Reserves Folder)…
- First describe what you learned from reading the paper by Hsee et al., addressing these issues:
o Why do people sometimes make decisions that actually decrease their happiness, although they are trying to make themselves happy? In your answer, explain how both prediction biases and failures to follow predictions relate to this type of decision-making. Give a specific example of a prediction bias, explaining how it can lead to decisions that do not make people happy. Similarly, give a specific example of a failure to follow predictions, explaining how it can lead to decisions that do not make people happy.
o Based on this article, what should people do in order to make decisions that will maximize their happiness?
- Now describe what you learned from reading the paper by Lyubomirsky et al. In particular, please address these issues:
o What is the hedonic treadmill as it relates to happiness? Do Lyubomirsky et al. agree or disagree with the idea of the hedonic treadmill? Why do the researchers have the opinion they do about the hedonic treadmill?
o How can happiness be increased according to Lyubomirsky et al.? Make sure to be specific, including details and well-explained examples.
C. Next, propose your own study on happiness (about 250 to 300 words). Now it is time to think about proposing your own study idea about how to increase happiness. To do so, you can start with an idea mentioned to the articles you read above and adapt this idea into your own particular interest. Or you can come up with an idea entirely on your own that was not mentioned in the articles you read. Either way, find a published article related to the idea you want to propose in your own study idea. (The published article you find does not have to be an experiment—it could be a survey or an observation or a review article. But the study you propose in Part C below must be an experiment). To find an article, you can look at the references given in the articles you read and pick one of those. Or you can go online into the Ryerson library system and search for an article. Once you have found and read your article, write about what you learned from the article. Based on the article you found, how can happiness be increased?
Now it is time to design your own research experiment that will help researchers further understand how to increase happiness. (Please note that the experiment you propose must be a psychological study—it must involve behavior and/or mental processes. The experiment must also be ethical as well as practical to do in the real world and.) After you have chosen the idea you would like to study in a research setting (you will not actually be doing this study—your task is simply to think of a possible study), answer the following questions about your proposed study:
- What specific question—or hypothesis—will your experiment be examining? How does your specific question relate to the articles that you read for your topic?
- Who will be the participants in your study (e.g., women and men at university, or elderly persons in hospital settings, or another sample), and why will you choose these participants? Describe specifically how you will obtain your sample of participants, making sure to note whether the method would be random selection or a volunteer sample and why.
- What will be the Independent Variable in your study? What will be the Dependent Variable in your study? What will participants assigned to your Experimental Group do in the study? What will participants assigned to your Control Group do in the study?
- What results do you predict (you are just guessing here—because you will not do the actual study) that you will get? If you got those results, how would they make a contribution to researchers’ understanding of what causes happiness to increase?
- What specific question—or hypothesis—will your experiment be examining? How does your specific question relate to the articles that you read for your topic?
- Who will be the participants in your study (e.g., women and men at university, or elderly persons in hospital settings, or another sample), and why will you choose these participants? Describe specifically how you will obtain your sample of participants, making sure to note whether the method would be random selection or a volunteer sample and why.
- What will be the Independent Variable in your study? What will be the Dependent Variable in your study? What will participants assigned to your Experimental Group do in the study? What will participants assigned to your Control Group do in the study?
- What results do you predict (you are just guessing here—because you will not do the actual study) that you will get? If you got those results, how would they make a contribution to researchers’ understanding of what causes happiness to increase?
D. Write a conclusion paragraph. Conclude by summarizing the purpose of your paper, then briefly (a few sentences only) what you found out in reading the articles during Part B of the paper, and then briefly, why your study (proposed in Part C) would be important to conduct. Your last sentence of the paper should be a general statement indicating that since happiness is a major concern for many people, it is imperative that high-quality research continues to be conducted on this topic (you can say this idea in different words).
FAQ for Written Assignment PSY105
(1) How do I put my assignment together?
a. A formal essay style should be used. You can use the word “I”, but you should be presenting your informed opinion that is justified based on the empirical evidence.
b. Include a title page (that gives the title of your paper, your name, PSY105 as your course plus your section of PSY105, Dr. Vettese as your instructor, the date, and the word count for your paper). Also include a References list (here you will list, in APA format, all the articles you used in the paper. There will be two (or more) articles listed—the two starter articles you are given plus the one you find on your own, if you use one to help you design your own experiment. You can use more than these three articles but it is not required to do so and will not affect your mark).
c. Please staple your paper—thanks.
a. A formal essay style should be used. You can use the word “I”, but you should be presenting your informed opinion that is justified based on the empirical evidence.
b. Include a title page (that gives the title of your paper, your name, PSY105 as your course plus your section of PSY105, Dr. Vettese as your instructor, the date, and the word count for your paper). Also include a References list (here you will list, in APA format, all the articles you used in the paper. There will be two (or more) articles listed—the two starter articles you are given plus the one you find on your own, if you use one to help you design your own experiment. You can use more than these three articles but it is not required to do so and will not affect your mark).
c. Please staple your paper—thanks.
(2) What format should I use?
a. Double-spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman font (or equivalent) with 1 inch margins all around.
b. Use APA format for referencing. This is a psychology course, and thus you are expected to use the conventions for editorial style as specified by the American Psychological Association (APA) for this writing assignment. This means…
• Number your pages in the upper right-hand corner
• Include a reference page. In APA style, the title on the reference page is “References”, NOT “works cited” or “bibliography”.
• Use proper within-text citations (for common questions, see the weblinks below)
a. Double-spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman font (or equivalent) with 1 inch margins all around.
b. Use APA format for referencing. This is a psychology course, and thus you are expected to use the conventions for editorial style as specified by the American Psychological Association (APA) for this writing assignment. This means…
• Number your pages in the upper right-hand corner
• Include a reference page. In APA style, the title on the reference page is “References”, NOT “works cited” or “bibliography”.
• Use proper within-text citations (for common questions, see the weblinks below)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/03/ (for citing sources within your paper)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/07/ (for citing articles in your References)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/08/ (for citing books in your References)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/07/ (for citing articles in your References)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/08/ (for citing books in your References)
(3) What kind of study should I propose in Part C of my paper?
a. You should propose an experiment (refer to your textbook Chapter 2 to recall what this means). Descriptive research is not acceptable. This means that a survey, for example, is not the right kind of study to propose.
b. The experiment should be ethical (meaning participants are not harmed in any way). The experiment should involve psychology (mental processes and/or behavior.) The experiment should be possible to do in the real-world
c. As long as you are proposing an ethical, practical, psychological experiment that represents your own idea, then you are welcome to suggest any idea of interest to you.
(4) What article should I use for the one article that I have to find on my own, and how do I find it?
c. You must use a scientific article from an academic psychology source, NOT newspaper or magazine reports or websites. A scientific article is one in which the authors are describing the results of studies.
d. There are no right or wrong psychological scientific articles to use—you will find that there are many for each topic, and you can simply pick the one that sound interesting to you and that you want to write about. Your mark does not depend on which article you choose, so feel free to choose an article of interest to you.
e. Many psychology journals are available either electronically or in hard copy, through the library. The best way to access academic journals is not to google them; rather, the way to access them is through the library, which gives us free internet access to hundreds of academic journals. To find appropriate articles, search through the PsycInfo database that Ryerson University has access to.
To do this, go to the Ryerson library main page at http://www.ryerson.ca/library/
Then click “Articles”, then “Articles by Name (A-Z)”. Next, there will be a link to “PsycInfo” – click there and search for topics that you are interested in. A good way to do this is through the Advanced Search button. Here, use major terms that you are interested in (e.g., happiness and exercise). Put each major term on a line (put 2-word major terms such as eating disorders in quotes on the same line – “eating disorders”) and indicate that you are looking for those words to occur in the Abstract. Then connect the words with the AND option. The next step is to either refine the search further (e.g., add other search words and do another advanced search), or if you are pleased with the search, you can start reading through the listed articles’ summaries. When you come across one that you find interesting, you can download it (for free). You should not be paying for articles; any online request for payment is an error for enrolled students. Most articles can be acquired this way; occasionally, you will stumble across an article that Ryerson doesn’t have online. If so, the way to procure this is to go in person to the Ryerson library. If Ryerson does not have the article at all, you will use the Inter-Library Loan service.
a. You should propose an experiment (refer to your textbook Chapter 2 to recall what this means). Descriptive research is not acceptable. This means that a survey, for example, is not the right kind of study to propose.
b. The experiment should be ethical (meaning participants are not harmed in any way). The experiment should involve psychology (mental processes and/or behavior.) The experiment should be possible to do in the real-world
c. As long as you are proposing an ethical, practical, psychological experiment that represents your own idea, then you are welcome to suggest any idea of interest to you.
(4) What article should I use for the one article that I have to find on my own, and how do I find it?
c. You must use a scientific article from an academic psychology source, NOT newspaper or magazine reports or websites. A scientific article is one in which the authors are describing the results of studies.
d. There are no right or wrong psychological scientific articles to use—you will find that there are many for each topic, and you can simply pick the one that sound interesting to you and that you want to write about. Your mark does not depend on which article you choose, so feel free to choose an article of interest to you.
e. Many psychology journals are available either electronically or in hard copy, through the library. The best way to access academic journals is not to google them; rather, the way to access them is through the library, which gives us free internet access to hundreds of academic journals. To find appropriate articles, search through the PsycInfo database that Ryerson University has access to.
To do this, go to the Ryerson library main page at http://www.ryerson.ca/library/
Then click “Articles”, then “Articles by Name (A-Z)”. Next, there will be a link to “PsycInfo” – click there and search for topics that you are interested in. A good way to do this is through the Advanced Search button. Here, use major terms that you are interested in (e.g., happiness and exercise). Put each major term on a line (put 2-word major terms such as eating disorders in quotes on the same line – “eating disorders”) and indicate that you are looking for those words to occur in the Abstract. Then connect the words with the AND option. The next step is to either refine the search further (e.g., add other search words and do another advanced search), or if you are pleased with the search, you can start reading through the listed articles’ summaries. When you come across one that you find interesting, you can download it (for free). You should not be paying for articles; any online request for payment is an error for enrolled students. Most articles can be acquired this way; occasionally, you will stumble across an article that Ryerson doesn’t have online. If so, the way to procure this is to go in person to the Ryerson library. If Ryerson does not have the article at all, you will use the Inter-Library Loan service.
(5) Additional Information
a. Keep electronic copies of your Written Assignment! In the unlikely event that your written assignment cannot be found, you will be required to produce a copy within 24 hours.
b. There are numerous resources for writing help at Ryerson University, including the Ryerson Writing Centre, which offers free one-on-one tutorials on all aspects of written work (e.g., grammar basics). More information about the Writing Centre is available on its website: http://www.ryerson.ca/writingcentre/ The Writing Centre is located in LIB 272B, 350 Victoria Street and can be contacted at: 416-979-5000 EXT. 2891
c. Please keep in mind that to pass a Liberal Studies course (such as PSY105), you must receive a passing grade on the Written Assignment.
a. Keep electronic copies of your Written Assignment! In the unlikely event that your written assignment cannot be found, you will be required to produce a copy within 24 hours.
b. There are numerous resources for writing help at Ryerson University, including the Ryerson Writing Centre, which offers free one-on-one tutorials on all aspects of written work (e.g., grammar basics). More information about the Writing Centre is available on its website: http://www.ryerson.ca/writingcentre/ The Writing Centre is located in LIB 272B, 350 Victoria Street and can be contacted at: 416-979-5000 EXT. 2891
c. Please keep in mind that to pass a Liberal Studies course (such as PSY105), you must receive a passing grade on the Written Assignment.
No comments:
Post a Comment