Psychology 475
Final Paper Assignment
Due Dates for Final Paper:
Outline for final paper introduction
Oral report on final project
Final paper due
Thursday, December 2nd
Tuesday, December 7th & Thursday, December 9th
Monday, December 13th by 5pm
Note: Outline is due at the start of class on 12/2. The final paper is due by 5:00 pm to 252C Psychology
Building on 12/13. Papers turned in after 5:00 pm will be considered late and grades will be penalized as
usual (five points per day, including weekends).
Overview:
The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to write a full-length APA style research
paper on the topic of your choice. In order to complete the assignment, you will research your topic,
develop a set of hypotheses, test your hypotheses using one of the available datasets, and write up the
paper.
For your final paper you have two options: 1) you may write an entirely new paper on a topic different
from those in your short papers, or 2) you may revise and expand one of your short papers.

If you choose to write a new paper, simply follow the steps below – no additional work is
required.

If you choose to revise one of your short papers, you will need to include the following with your
final paper: 1) the original short paper being revised (with instructor/TA comments), 2) the paper
comment sheet from the short paper being revised, and 3) a 1 page explanation of how you
revised and expanded the short paper, addressed instructor/TA comments and feedback, etc. You
will need to add additional references to your literature review and add additional hypotheses and
analyses to meet the final paper requirements detailed below. If you did not save your original
short paper and comments, then that paper cannot be revised for the final paper.
Procedure:
The following are suggested steps for completing your assignment. They are not required but probably
represent the easiest and least time consuming way to produce a good paper.
1. Select a dataset. You may choose any of the datasets available, even if you have used it in a previous
paper. To find information about the dataset, refer to the full codebook in your coursepack.
2. Pick a general topic. Choose a topic that can be examined with the dataset that you have selected.
You should also note the variables that you are interested in using from the dataset, although you
probably do not want to commit yourself to a particular analysis plan prior to doing a literature review.
3. Research the topic. You will want to familiarize yourself with the important research questions that
are currently being asked about your general topic, as well as the findings that have resulted from past
studies. In your final paper, you should review between 4 and 6 articles. You will have time to start
finding your literature in class on 11/23.
4. Formulate your hypotheses. For this paper, you should plan on running at least three statistical
tests. This means that you will need one hypothesis that is broad enough to need three tests to answer it
(agreeableness and well-being will be positively related, and you test the relation between agreeableness
and self-esteem, depression, and life satisfaction), or you should have a “set” of three hypotheses that are
all related to your general topic. Be sure that a) your predictions are logical given the previous research,
b) your predictions can be addressed by the dataset, and c) your predictions are testable.
5. Generate the outline of the introduction of your paper (1-2 pages). The general outline of your paper
introduction should be thorough and polished because the more work you put into it, the better feedback I
will be able to give you on how to improve your paper. Your outline should include all important
theoretical concepts, research cited to support your argument, and your hypotheses. Before writing your
outline, you should have picked a dataset, read at least the abstracts of your articles, and determined your
hypotheses. A sample outline is attached at the end of this document. The outline is due on Thursday,
December 2nd at the start of class. If you do not turn in the outline of the introduction, your final
paper will be penalized 10 points.
6. Run analyses. You are now ready to run the analyses to test your hypotheses. You will have time to
do this in class (on 12/2), and you should come prepared to do so (i.e., know what tests you’ll run and
what variables you’ll use). If your findings are not significant, it is recommended that you do not run a
different set of analyses. Your paper is not graded on whether you get significant results, and if you do
run new tests, it is likely that your analyses will not match your introduction (thereby hurting your grade).
7. Write your introduction. You can now write your introduction. Include the usual four sections:
opening, literature review, transition, and hypotheses. Be sure that your hypotheses are stated in the
correct form. If you would like me to look over a draft of your introduction before the final paper is due,
I am happy to do so. However, you must give me any drafts by Tuesday, December 7th.
8. Prepare your oral presentation. You will present your project to your classmates in a 5 minute oral
report. In your oral presentation, you will give a brief overview of the previous literature and describe
your hypotheses. Indicate which dataset you are using to test your hypotheses, and whether the results
support your predictions. Finally, give one or two comments on the implications of your study. You do
not need to use any visual materials in your oral report (e.g., PowerPoint, overheads). Be sure not to go
over 5 minutes for your oral report. I will time everyone and cut you off after 5 minutes in order to be
sure that everyone in the class has a chance to give their presentation. Half of the class will give their
presentations on Tuesday December 7th, and the other half on Thursday, December 9th. Your oral
report is worth 5% of your final grade.
9. Write the final version of your paper. You should now be ready to write the long paper. It should be
typed, and double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. It should be 8-10 pages long, not including the title
page and reference page (which are not included in your total page count but are required for the
paper). The final version of the paper is worth 30% of your final grade. Your paper should include
the following sections:
Title page
Abstract (1 page)
10 points
Introduction (3-4 pages)
20 points
Method (1-2 pages)
20 points
Results (1-2 pages)
20 points
Discussion (3-4 pages)
20 points
Reference page
10 points for Formatting and Style
Topic: Achievement motivation and career success
Dataset: Ivy College Men
Related Readings:
McClelland (1961)
Winter (1996)
Winter (1965)
Winter, McClelland, & Stewart (1982)
Hypotheses
Example 1: High achievement motivation will be related to career success in a number of domains. More
specifically, I predict that achievement motivation will be positively correlated with income, early
success, and career satisfaction.
Example 2: I predict that men with a high status occupation would have had higher achievement
motivation in college than men who had a low status occupation. In addition, I predict that there will be a
positive relationship between achievement motivation and income. Finally, I predict that achievement
motivation will be positively related to career satisfaction, ten years after college graduation.
Outline:
I. Opening
II. Review of Literature
A. Define achievement motivation (from lecture and Winter (1996))
B. Generally, how nAch is important
1. Winter, McClelland, & Stewart (1982): Liberal arts competence measures relate to later life
outcomes
C. Achievement motivation has been found to be important in many career related domains
1. Winter (1965) & Winter (1996): High achievement motivation is related to being an
entrepreneur.
2. Winter, McClelland, & Stewart (1982): Achievement motivation predicts becoming a doctor
3. McClelland (1961): Achievement motivation is positively related to upward mobility.
III. Transition
A. Because high achievement motivation has been found to be associated with becoming an
entrepreneur and a doctor, it is likely that it will be associated with other high status careers as
well.
B. Furthermore, high status careers are associated with higher pay rates, and thus it is likely that men
high in achievement will have high levels of income. In addition, achievement motivation is
associated with upward mobility, and this relationship is probably reflected in income.
C. Finally, men with a high need for achievement are likely to have high career satisfaction because
work is an important source fulfilling their achievement needs.
IV. Hypotheses
A. men with a high status occupation would have had higher achievement motivation in college than
men who had a low status occupation.
B. positive relationship between achievement motivation and income.
C. achievement motivation will be positively related to career satisfaction, ten years after college
graduation.
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