Final
Your Task: All year we have discussed the various ways in which psychologically research has been conducted within the various fields
of psychology. For your final assignment in this course, you are going to take the role of psychologist and conduct your own
experiment. Your goal is to research, test and report on one aspect of human behavior that has interested you in this course. You will
get two weeks to conduct your trials.
There are several options for this project. By the end of the first week you will need to have completed your abstract, topic idea,
introduction and/or hypothesis. I will be reviewing these components before we progress on to the next stage.
Writing the Final
Your Research Topic should contain the following parts:
Title - a brief precise phrase rendering the main problem of your Research Topic Proposal (up to 80 characters spaces included). It
should be noted that the title may change once you begin writing so do not spend excessive time creating a title.
Abstract - a clear summary of the work you have done, throwing light on purposes of the project and an understanding of the question
under consideration. The abstract should include an introduction, Purpose, Findings, and Conclusion. You need to have all
components/variables of your experiment correctly labeled. You will need to report on confounding variables and other items you would
have changed
Historical Background – a section where you describe your predecessors’ deeds in the field you are studying now. Note that all
information taken from different sources is to be referenced. Check your references for compliance with APA style guidelines.
Objective – an explanation of your paper’s value, naming concrete purposes to achieve resolution to the identified issue. Explain why
you chose your topic and what you learned from your experiment.
Technical Approach – a description of the actual work that was accomplished and the concrete ways of doing it (theoretical and
research basis). This should include key words you used in your research.
Bibliography – a reference list where you name all sources you have referred to or cited. Note that the items should go in an
alphabetical order.
Summation – your presentation needs to conclude your findings, statistics, charts, etc. You should use appropriate terminology. You
will need imagery, charts, or other presentable materials for your final product. Create it as if you were presenting to a group of
business folk. This project will be presented in front of the class, so organization and style will be factored into your grade. You will
present your findings on the day of finals
Abstract:
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND:
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT
RESULTS (APPROACH)
DISCUSSION/REFLECTION
(OBJECTIVE, ETC)
ORGANIZATION
Target: 5 Points
Acceptable: 4 Points
Average: 3 Points
Barely Acceptable: 2 Points
Unacceptable: 1 Point
Thesis or topic is clear
and explicitly stated.
The reader can
underline the purpose
of the study and why it
is important.
Connections to all historical
content are made, including
perspectives of the study.
Design is appropriate.
Methods provide
practical ways to
implement the
experiment.
Data analysis is done
correctly, reported
clearly and is complete.
Design is appropriate.
Methods provide
practical ways to
implement the
experiment.
Results are discussed in
terms of hypotheses,
theory, practical
implications, and future
research. Discussion is
logical.
Topic is clear, but not
explicitly stated. The
reader must search for
the thesis and
eventually finds words
to identify it.
Minor information or
connections are missing in
the background.
Design is appropriate.
Methods provide
awkward, but doable
implementation.
The topic or thesis is
alluded to, but never
clearly stated. The
reader must surmise
the thesis, but is able
to identify allusions.
Significant information is
missing.
The topic or thesis is
barely identifiable. The
reader can only make
an assumption that the
statements contain a
cohesive topic.
Major flaws or
misinformation is presented
There is no topic or
thesis identifiable. The
reader finds no words
or phrases that identify
a topic or thesis.
Design is appropriate.
Method is seriously
flawed.
Design could be more
appropriate. Methods
are limited if present at
all.
Data analysis is done
correctly. Report is
generally clear and
complete.
Data analysis has some
errors or is incomplete.
Clarity of report needs
improvement.
Data analysis has
numerous errors. The
report is hardly
coherent or sensible.
Design does not allow
adequate test of
hypotheses. There is no
method of
experimentation.
Data is analyzed
incorrectly. Report is
incomplete and is not
clear.
Most results are
discussed in terms of
most of the following:
hypotheses, theory,
practical implications,
and future research.
Discussion is usually
logical.
There is a logical
progression with
occasional breaks in
flow of content. Lack of
transitions disrupts the
flow for the reader.
Some results are
discussed in terms of
some of the following:
hypotheses, theory,
practical implications,
and future research.
Discussion often lacks
logic.
Logical progression is
present with
disconnected ideas. The
reader has difficulty
following the
development of the
topic.
Few results are
discussed in terms of
any of the following:
hypotheses, theory,
practical implications,
and future research.
Discussion lacks logic.
No reflective discussion
is found what so ever.
Logical progression is
limited and the ideas
have hardly any flow.
The reader follows the
information in a
fragmented manner.
There is no logical
progression in the
development of the
thesis or topic. Ideas
are disconnected and
disruptions in flow
confuse the reader.
The organization is
complete and logical
with a progression of
ideas leading to a
conclusion. Transitions
allow the reader to
follow the content
without disruption.
Not addressed.
Final Exam Ideas
Ideas:
 Psychological Analysis of the Dark Knight
 Character Analysis Digital Poster
o http://www.familystudies.uconn.edu/undergraduate/honors/posters/Dawn%20England%20poster.pdf
 Create your own personality assessment.
 Presentation – Psychological components and development factors of what makes a successful individual.
 Presentation – Psychological elements and developmental factors that lead to one becoming a serial killer.
 Do your own cognitive or developmental case study on a child. You can reference or mimic the visual cliff experiment, Piaget’s
studies on conservation, sensorimotor processes, egocentrism. If you want to do tests on an infant you can test reflexes (moro,
stepping, babinski, rooting). If you have access to infants you can run a test similar to the Yale baby lab.
 Run your own (ethical, legal, etc) psychological experiment.
o Do colors really impact moods? Conduct an investigation to see if the color blue makes people feel calm, or if the color
red leaves them feeling agitated.
o Can color cause physiological reactions? Perform an experiment to determine whether certain colors cause participants
blood pressure to rise or fall.
o Can certain colors improve learning? Design an experiment to see whether using a specific color of paper helps improve
students' scores on math exams.
o Can different types of music lead to different physiological responses? Measure the heart rates of participants in response
to various types of music to see if there is a difference.
o Does eating breakfast really help students do better in school? Compare test scores of students who ate breakfast to
those who did not.
o Do people who use the social media sites like Facebook or Twitter exhibit signs of addiction?
o Do action films cause people to eat more popcorn and candy during a movie?
o How much information can people store in short-term memory? A simple word memorization experiment is an excellent
and fairly easy psychology science fair idea.
o Do people rate individuals with perfectly symmetrical faces as more beautiful than those with asymmetrical faces?
o What is the Stroop Effect? What can the Stroop Test tell us about cognitive abilities? Run a test and give a report.
o Can smelling one thing while tasting another impact a person's ability to detect what the food really is?
o Are people really able to "feel like someone is watching" them?
o How likely are people to conform to the opinions of a group? This conformity experiments investigates the impact of group
pressure on individual behavior.
o Are there a gender differences in performance on math tests?
http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/conducting-psychology-experiments_5.htm