PSY 100 At-Home Writing Assignments—Fall 2007
During the semester you must complete three of the five at-home writing assignments. These papers
require you to use information presented in this course in an applied and personal manner. There is one
at-home writing assignment per unit of the course and each one needs to be submitted online on the
same day as the exam for that section.
Papers should be typed in Times New Roman 12-point font. Papers should be double spaced and
uploaded into RamCT by the start of the class period that they are due. Late papers will not be accepted
and internet problems are not an excuse for failing to meet the deadline. Each of the three papers you
choose to complete will be worth 50 points and should not exceed 4-5 pages. Reminder: Plagiarism is a
form of cheating and will be treated as such. Writing assignments containing large amounts of published
material without proper citations or writing assignments containing large amounts of material from
other student papers will be considered plagiarized and the student(s) will lose all 150 at-home writing
points. Determination of plagiarism is at the instructor’s discretion.
Writing Assignment #1: Due Wednesday September 5th, 2007
Research methodology is essential to everything that a psychologist does. The only way to truly
understand human behavior and mental processes is to study it empirically. Scientists often rely on
triangulation (the use of multiple methods to test the same phenomenon) or replication (repeating a test
multiple times to improve confidence in the finding) to explore the process they are interested in. By
using these techniques, psychologists are often able to advance understanding of a phenomenon that
sparked their initial curiosity. Your job is to practice being a research psychologist in order to better
understand what most psychologists do.
First, you should pick a behavior or mental process that sparks your curiosity. This can be
something you notice yourself doing, an annoying quality of a younger sibling, an aspect of romantic
interests that confuses, or any other human process that you’ve experienced. Examples are endless so
try not to get caught up in “finding something” or “knowing what to study.”
With your topic in mind, design two separate research projects that will shed more light on that
area of human behavior. These projects should each use different methodologies (triangulation) when
trying to explore your topic of interest. You will also need to explain: 1) which methods you chose; 2)
how you will sample and from what population; 3) the advantages and limitations of the data you would
be able to collect because of your chosen methodology; and 4) why you chose those methods and
samples.
Be sure to be descriptive in your writing and be careful to not omit necessary information. Think
seriously about your topic and try to imagine yourself doing these research projects. By acting like a
researcher, you can in many ways become a researcher. Much of what psychologists do involves
planning and imagining research before it takes place in order to foresee limitations and results. Good
luck.
Writing Assignment #2: Due Wednesday September 26th, 2007
Sensation and Perception are essential to normal human functioning. Without the constant
interaction between body and mind, much of our world becomes confusing, incoherent, or even nonexistent. In fact, several commonly occurring disabilities are nothing more than a problem involving
sensation, perception, or communication between the two. For example, several learning disabilities are
the result of our brains grouping information incorrectly, ignoring specific stimuli, or having trouble
integrating two or more sensations. By knowing more about both sensation and perception,
psychologists can better understand what may be happening with some types of disabilities or
limitations. Your job is to demonstrate your understanding of sensation and perception processes by
discussing how the same limitation can occur because of different causes.
First, chose two human sensory disabilities or malfunctions that are interesting to you or that
you have personal experience with. This could be anything including the bizarre (phantom limbs,
auditory hallucinations, etc), the commonly occurring (deafness, autism, etc.), or the incredibly rare
(prosopagnosia, loss of vestibular sense, etc.). Once again, the possibilities are staggering so do not rely
on my examples for your topic.
With each of your malfunctions in mind, describe the behavioral and mental outcomes that
accompany each of those disabilities. Imagine and describe what your daily routine would look like.
Also, explain at least two different potential causes for the disability. For example, blindness could be
either sensation based or perception based so you would explain how both of those could occur and
where the problem would be. If necessary, explain how the different causes would relate to different
behaviors, mental processes, or perceptions. Finally, explain how those types of sensation or perception
problems could be fixed (assuming the technology exists).
Be sure to be descriptive in your writing and be careful to not omit necessary information.
Think seriously about your topic and try to imagine yourself experiencing these difficulties. After
completing the first section, conclude by answering these questions: 1) if you had to lose one of your six
senses, which would you choose? 2) Why would you choose that one? 3) Which of your six senses are
you least willing to lose? 4) Why is that one so important to you?
Writing Assignment #3: Due Friday October 19th, 2007
Mental illness is an issue that impacts the life of every person on this campus in some way or
another. Some students have been diagnosed themselves while others have friends or family who have
at least one of the wide variety of disorders that have been categorized. Everyone knows someone with
these types of problems, and 1 out of 6 will experience mental illness firsthand during their lifetime. At
the same time, very strong criticisms and a wealth of valid research has questioned the diagnosis,
treatment, and even existence of some forms of ‘mental illness.’ Your job is to examine two separate
cases involving potential mental illness and try to determine if the behaviors and mental processes are
indeed atypical, unjustified, maladaptive, and/or disturbing. For this assignment, you should not justify
or condemn behavior based on personal affiliations, religious views, moral opinion, or a desire to be
politically correct. Your assessment and recommendations should be based on objective, rational, and
empirical arguments grounded in psychology.
First, watch video # that tells the story of a young girl with a “transgender issue” and answer the
following questions: 1) Is this girl suffering from a mental illness? 2) What makes you come to that
conclusion? 3) If we assume that she does have a mental illness, is hormone replacement therapy or a
sex change operation a valid treatment for her disorder? 4) Once again assuming she has a disorder,
what other treatments would you recommend for this type of problem? Why? 5) Is “less than an hour”
long enough for the psychologist to determine if she is fit for the hormone treatments? Why or why not?
6) Do you see any other factors that could be potentially confounding, skewing, or motivating the
outcome of this situation that should be taken into account? What are they?
Your second case is one that you provide from popular culture. It could be an actor, super villain,
pop star, video game hero, or news anchor. All that matters is that the person in question has been
labeled as “crazy” by someone else (this does not have to be a mental health professional). Give a brief
background of relevant behavior and mental process and then answer the following questions: 1) Is that
person suffering from a mental illness? 2) What makes you come to that conclusion? 3) If we assume
that s/he does have a disorder, what are the best types of treatments for the disorder? Why? 4) Do you
see any other factors that could be potentially confounding, skewing, or motivating the labeling of that
individual as mentally ill? What are they? 5) Is the accuser and everyone else for that matter, falling
victim to any of the cognitive biases we have discussed in this class (hindsight, confirmation, false
consensus, etc.)?
Be sure to be descriptive in your writing and be careful to not omit necessary information. Think
seriously about your cases and assessment; try to imagine yourself doing this with real people’s lives.
By examining the quirks of human behavior we can better understand both function and malfunction
and the similarities that exist between the two. Good luck.
Writing Assignment #4: Due Wednesday November 7th, 2007
Human memory is an amazing area of psychological science. The normal human brain processes
billions of pieces of information daily and filters things quite effectively. We have separate memory
parts that allow us to use information for a short time without committing it long term or that enable us
to store information for a lifetime and access it at will. We can store more information than every
computer on the planet combined. With such powerful systems also come large mistakes, errors, or
problems. In fact, every memory contains some component of fiction; some memories are entirely false.
Your job is to evaluate the truthfulness of your own memories.
First, chose one memory from your lifetime; it should be either your earliest childhood memory
or some type of flashbulb memory (car accident, first kiss, natural disaster, etc.). Every person has an
earliest memory (although the age differs dramatically) and everyone has experienced some form of
major life event that left a flashbulb image on their brain so doing this should not be difficult.
With your memory in mind, briefly describe the moment and what you remember of it. Pay
particular attention to who was there, what was going on, what the room looked like, the exact words
that were said, etc. Use your imagination to help you visualize the scene; relive the experience several
times if necessary to improve your description of the moment. Try to use your own memory to retrieve
that time period rather than deferring to relatives or friends that were also present.
After you have a very solid memory and description of the event written down, critically analyze
the memory for aspects that don’t make sense or that could be the result of false memory or
misinformation. For example, do you remember watching a cartoon that didn’t start until years later or
do you visualize the scene from a perspective that is different from your actual location during the
moment (i.e., 3rd person perspective)? After you have a list of questionable details, ask a friend or
relative that was also present to recount the moment. Does their memory differ from yours? Can they
confirm or refute any portions of your memory (especially those that made the list of questionable
details)? Conclude by discussing how much of the memory you think was false and why you think that.
Writing Assignment #5: Due Friday November 30th, 2007
Fall break is an excellent opportunity for most students to go visit family, take an extended
vacation, or just get some much needed distance from their roommates. Many of you were forcibly
removed from the residence halls while others picked up extra hours at work. Regardless of what you
did, your normal routine likely changed and you probably had experiences that were less common from
everyday life. Your job is to relate material you’ve learned in this course to events that took place during
fall break.
First, describe one or more events that took place in your life during fall break. This could be a
ski trip with friends, a huge family gathering for Thanksgiving, a traumatic fight with your significant
other, or a hectic double shift at work. Examples are only limited by the length of your vacation so
finding something to talk about shouldn’t be difficult.
With the event(s) in mind, discuss at least seven psychological principles or phenomenon that
relate to your fall break experience. This could be anything from motivation to eat lots of food to
sensory adaptation for your nephew’s constant sniffing. Briefly explain how each principle is
demonstrated in that situation and include discussion of any other related topics that may also be
playing a role. Your discussion should be thorough rather than just a passing mention of each principle.
The goal is for you to demonstrate understanding and the ability to use “psychologist glasses,” not to
simply show the ability to list vocabulary terms and loosely relate them to ambiguous situations.
Be sure to be descriptive in your writing and be careful to not omit necessary information. Think
seriously about your event and try to dissect every aspect in terms of psychological processes. By
studying a specific situation it often becomes clear that psychology is the study of everything in all
places. The field applies to all that humanity does and can explain a lot of what we experience in
everyday life. Good luck.
At-Home Writing Assignments
1. People are interested in many different topics ranging from aggression to politics to religion and
many more (as illustrated by our in class discussions). During our talk about the history of
psychology we identified a key change in thought that shifted us from philosophers to psychologists.
By applying this concept we can see that some topics lend themselves more readily to being a
psychological science than others. Identify a topic of interest to you and write a paper that answers
the following.
a. What is the topic of interest?
b. Why are you interested in this topic?
c. Approximately how long has this topic interested humans?
d. Using the same key point that was emphasized during the history of psychology discussion,
determine if your topic of interest is suitable for psychological investigation.
e. What is it about your topic that makes it suitable or not suitable for psychological
investigation?
f. How do you think a researcher would go about investigating this topic in a
psychological investigation?
g. Based on what you can find in the textbook has this topic been investigated by psychologists?
h. Explain why you think it has already been investigated (or not been investigated by
psychologists).
2. During our discussion about research methods we identified numerous procedures used by
psychologists. Select a topic of personal interest to you and explain how you could use 3 different
methods (survey, case study, naturalistic observation, experiment, archival, etc), to investigate this
topic (1 must be an experiment).
a. The following are general and apply to any method you might select, thus they need only be
answered one time.
i. What is your research question?
ii. What is the Independent Variable?
iii. What is the Dependent Variable?
b. Experiment – for the experiment portion answer the following
i. What does an experiment tell you about the relationship of your variables that no
other procedure can tell you?
ii. Why is this important?
iii. Describe a procedure for how you would employ a double blind procedure
iv. Describe a procedure for how you would employ random assignment
c. For each of the other 2 methods you selected answer the following
i. What is a key characteristic of this method?
ii. What is a strength of this method?
iii. What is a weakness of this method?
iv. Why is this method practical or impractical for your research question?
v. Describe how you would employ this method to investigate your topic?
3. During our discussions about social psychology we emphasized that it impacts everyone at all times.
Find an article from a local print news media source (Collegian, Rocky Mountain Times, Denver
Post, etc.) and answer the following.
a. The following are general and need only be answered one time.
i. Where did you find your article? Example: Denver Post, August 2 page A3
ii. Briefly, using no more than a quarter of the page, summarize the article.
b. Identify 3 principles from social psychology that could apply to the article and answer the
following for each of the principles.
i. What is the name of the principle you have identified?
ii. What does this principle mean or how does it work?
iii. Explain how this principle applies to what occurred in the article.
iv. How might this principle be guarded against to prevent what happened in the article;
or how might this principle be used more often to replicate what happened in the
article?
v. Give an example of how this principle has affected your own life.
4. Do something you enjoy. Watch a movie, read a book, go skiing, enjoy a strange dream, take a
cooking class, whatever you want to do. Then answer the following.
a. Briefly describe what you did.
b. Identify (name) 5 principles or things from Sensation & Perception or Consciousness that we
talked about in class or the book talks about.
c. For each principle describe what it is and how it works.
d. For each principle explain how it applies to what you did.
5. You will use principles we discussed during the operant conditioning segment to condition a friend
(roommate, sibling, etc.) to engage in a behavior of your choosing, then extinguish the behavior.
The behavior must not cause them harm or embarrassment. For example you could condition your
friend to hold out their hand (expecting gum) every time you reach into a certain pocket.
a. For the the assignment answer the following.
i. What was the operant behavior?
ii. Describe the conditioning procedure (including # of trials) you used on your friend.
iii. Identify (name) the reinforcer and schedule you used.
iv. What is a strength of this reinforcement schedule?
v. Describe the procedure (including # of trials) you used to extinguish the behavior?
vi. It can be argued that operant conditioning could be used to change the behavior of a
politician without them being aware you changed their behavior. Is this feasible?
Why or why not? What would be necessary for this to work?
6. Classical conditioning may be used to make someone afraid of an object (as demonstrated by
Watson and Little Baby Albert). Identify something you are afraid of and imagine that you learned
this fear because of classical conditioning. Answer the following.
i. What did you identify as being afraid of and how long have you had this fear?
ii. Using your example identify (name) what the CR, UCR, NS, CS, and UCS are. Do
not simply write out CR = conditioned response, NS = neutral stimulus. Using your
example tell me what each of these is – maybe in your example the neutral stimuli is
a butter knife.
iii. Assuming a classical conditioning explanation, describe the procedure by which you
may have learned this fear.
iv. Explain why we can be taught some things more easily than others (hint – biophobia).
v. According to your answer just above should your example be something that can be
easily learned to fear?
vi. How might you use learning principles to overcome a fear (need not be only classical
conditioning)?
vii. How likely is it that you actually learned this fear through classical conditioning?
How do you know?
7. In 1.5 – 3 typed double spaced pages tell me what your favorite topic was that we covered in class,
what you learned about it, and how you have or will apply what you learned to your life.
Homework #2
Behavior Change Plan
This homework should be between 400 and 600 words long. It must be turned in through RamCT; no
paper copies will be accepted. DO NOT upload an attachment; rather, after composing and saving your
essay on a word processor of your choice, copy it and paste it into the submission box in RamCT. This
is due 10AM, Friday 28 September. Students taking extensions must upload their paper before 10AM,
Monday 1 October. At the top of your homework must appear the following (fill in the appropriate
information where italicized):
Your Name
PSY100 Section ??
Date
Homework #2 – Behavior change plan
For this assignment, think of a behavior you wish to modify. Choose a specific behavior that is not too
complex or general; for example, choose to increase your frequency of vegetable intake, rather than to
“get healthy.” Following the guidelines below, create a realistic behavior modification plan. Refer to
the Operant Conditioning module as needed.
Your introduction should state clearly which specific behavior you wish to modify, and your goal. It
may be non-existent (you never eat vegetables), or it may exist in a limited form (you eat vegetables
inconsistently, or in very small amounts). You may also think of a behavior that you would like to
completely eliminate, such as smoking. If the behavior you wish to modify already exists, describe its
current frequency and duration. (3pts)
Next, describe how you plan to go about changing the behavior. Include the following:
1. Break down the goal into at least three steps. (First, you will attempt to eat some amount of
vegetables each week. Then, you will eat at least three servings of vegetables per week. Finally,
you will reach your goal of eating at least one serving of vegetables per day). This will allow you
to reinforce successive approximations toward your goal (shaping). (3pts)
2. Identify at least three reinforcers (getting to make a phone call, watching a movie, etc.) that are
likely to work for you. Make sure not to choose reinforcements that you will give yourself even if
you don’t earn them, such as eating dinner. In your plan, how and when will you earn the
reinforcers? You must describe at least one positive reinforcer and one negative reinforcer. (3pts
each)
3. Identify one positive punishment and one negative punishment that will help you stick to the plan.
Punishments often need to be enforced by someone else. For example, one woman had a jar of
money she used for fun activities and eating out. Every time she didn’t stick to her plan, her
husband would take $20 out of the jar and donate it to her least favourite charity (negative
punishment). An example of positive punishment would be having to clean the toilet if you don’t
stick to your plan. Be sure to clearly identify which type of punishment each example is. (3pts each)
Describe how you can enlist social support to keep honest and accountable for following through with
your plan. (2pts)
Conclude by talking about the likelihood that you will implement the behavior plan, and your prediction
for success. Identify any potential barriers or problems, and talk about what you would need in order to
overcome the barriers. (2pts)
Homework #3
Use a Mnemonic
This homework should be between 400 and 600 words long. It must be turned in through RamCT; no
paper copies will be accepted. DO NOT upload an attachment; rather, after composing and saving your
essay on a word processor of your choice, copy it and paste it into the submission box in RamCT. This
is due 10AM, Friday 5 October. Students taking extensions must upload their paper before 10AM,
Monday 8 October. At the top of your homework must appear the following (fill in the appropriate
information where italicized):
Your Name
PSY100 Section ??
Date
Homework #3 – Use a Mnemonic
Choose one of the mnemonic techniques from the list below and apply it to something you are actually
trying to remember. For example, you might use the Method of Loci to remember a shopping list, or to
remember words or concepts for a class you are taking. Another possibility would be to introduce
yourself to ten new people, using the Image-Name technique to remember their names. Test yourself at
least one day after you applied the technique to see whether you were able to retain the information.
Though the examples used below are shorter, for your assignment, memorize at least eight items or
concepts.
Turn in a description of how you have applied the method you have chosen. For example, if you chose
the Keyword Method for learning new names, tell us the ten names of the new people you met and
describe specifically how you applied the Keyword Method for learning their names. If you chose the
Method of Loci, describe the specific locations and words in the order you memorized them, etc.
Describe how long it took you to apply the technique and how long you were able to retain the
information. Describe difficulties and advantages of the method you chose, and tell us how you might
be able to use it or another mnemonic in the future.
* * * * * * * * * *
Choose one of the following mnemonic methods for this assignment:
1. Classic Pegword Method (for ordered or unordered lists of about 10 items or concepts):
First, memorize key words that can be associated with numbers. Typically, the following
associations are made: 1 = bun, 2 = shoe, 3 = tree, 4 = door, 5 = hive, 6 = sticks, 7 = heaven, 8 =
plate (or grate or gate), 9 = line (or spine), 10 = hen. Next visualize an image of the items you
need to remember interacting with the key words. For an abbreviated example, imagine that I
have to remember to get a pocketknife, bugspray, campsuds, and a cliff bar from REI. I would
picture a pocketknife stabbing violently into a bun, bugspray being sprayed into and filling a
shoe, a tree with actively sudsing flowers and bottles of campsuds hanging off the branches, and
slamming a cliff bar into a door hard enough to make it explode (remember that the more bizarre
your images, the easier they will be to remember). This method is especially useful for situations
in which you need things to not only be remembered but to be associated with a number.
2. Bodypeg (for ordered or unordered lists of any number of items or concepts, sometimes
over 100): This method requires more initial preparation than the former, but allows for the
memorization of very long lists. You must first associate numbers with parts of your body—how
many you do depends on how many things you wish to memorize. Which body parts you choose
is up to you. To give you an idea of what it might look like, the beginning of my personal
bodypeg list is as follows: 1 = big toe, 2 = balls of feet, 3 = heel, 4 = ankle, 5 = calf, 6 = knees.
To use this method, you need to create images associating the items you’re trying to remember
with the appropriate part of your body. Some people do this by imagining vivid tattoos, but it is
more common (and more helpful) to have a more vivid interaction. For example, using the REI
list from the first method, I might imaging a pocketknife stabbing my big toe while I used the
balls of my feet to spray bugspray. Unfortunately, my heel slipped on some campsuds and I fell,
spraining my ankle. I then taped cliff bars to my ankle as a makeshift splint.
3. The Method of Loci (for any number of items, names, etc.):
Select any location that you have spent a lot of time in and have easily memorized. Imagine
yourself walking through the location, selecting clearly defined places--the door, sofa,
refrigerator, shelf, etc. Imagine yourself putting objects that you need to remember into each of
these places by walking through this location in a direct path. Again, you need a standard direct
path and clearly defined locations for objects to facilitate the retrieval of these objects. For
example, if you had to remember George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Nixon,
you could imagine walking up to the door of your location and seeing a dollar bill stuck in the
door; when you open the door Jefferson is reclining on the sofa and Nixon is eating out of the
refrigerator.
4. The Image-Name Technique (for remembering the names of about 10 new people you have
met):
Simply invent any relationship between the name and the physical characteristics of the person.
For example, if you had to remember Shirley Temple's name, you might commit her name to
memory by noticing that she has "curly" (rhymes with Shirley) hair around her temples.
5. Chaining (for ordered or unordered lists of about 10 words or ideas):
Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember cues the next idea you need to
recall. For example, if you had to remember the words Napoleon, ear, door, and Germany, you
could invent a story of Napoleon with his ear to a door listening to people speak in German.
Thinking & Writing #1 - Research
Due at class time, Thursday, 13 September
Instructions (read carefully, there are no make-ups):
Submission:
1. Turn in a hardcopy in class on 9-13-07
AND
2. Turn in to RamCT as an attachment and paste it in the text box. As before, no Word 2007 docs.
* Hand drawn graph/s do not need to be in electronic format. The grader will use your hardcopy.
Course objectives as they relate to this assignment:
Be safe/comfortable: Ask your UTA when you have questions (any questions!).
Have fun: Entertain creative ideas. Pick something you like.
Learn something: Demonstrate your new knowledge; show off your smarts.
Assignment:
Choose a psychological situation/behavior/process from your life. This situation should pose
interesting psychology questions, and those questions should only be answerable via scientific method.
You will design and implement a FAKE psychology research experiment to study what you choose.
Step 1 (probably about a page):
Introduce the big picture: What is scientific method, and what is it good for? Use examples from class,
the book, etc., to clearly define scientific method so the reader knows what you’re up to. This is not
easy- identify your thoughts first, then outline your thoughts (do not turn this in, obviously), then start
writing.
Step 2 (probably about a page):
Introduce the example phenomenon from your life (for instance, “The entire family goes berserk when
my father grinds his teeth on his fork at dinner”). Define it clearly in psychological context, and
demonstrate why you must use scientific method (which you just conveniently described to the reader)
to investigate the phenomenon. For example, you might introduce your personal example, and then
enumerate ~3 reasons why you need scientific method.
Step 3 (probably about half a page):
Describe your fake psychology experiment. That is, detail the scientific method you’ll use to examine
your phenomenon. This must include a clear definition of your variables. For example, if your
psychological phenomenon is “The entire family goes berserk when my father grinds his teeth on his
fork at dinner,” then you must define abstract concepts like “berserk” and “fork grinding.” Even
“family” must be defined- you obviously can’t use your family over and over again, so you might need
to recruit more naïve participants for your study.
Also, you should include items such as, but not limited to: what method/s are you using and why, the
IV & DV, how you’ll collect the fake data, what form will the fake data be in, and what statistics you’ll
need to describe the fake data.
Step 4 (probably a half to full page):
Graph your data (again, you will make these data up). Use excel, for example, or simply hand draw
your graph/s. Any graph must be a visual demonstration of the behavior you observed during your
experiment. For example, in “The entire family goes berserk when my father grinds his teeth on his
fork at dinner” phenomenon, a graph may look like this:
Anxiety inventory scores
Anxiety scores for grinding & no grinding groups
100
Fork Grinding
80
60
40
20
No Fork Grinding
0
Time 1
Time 2
Time 3
Time 4
Observations
This example graph is “medium data.” You might want to start with an easier, “light data” graph,
where you simply compare the grinding and no-grinding groups (average times 1-4 together and show
the fork grinding vs. no fork grinding anxiety scores). You could also include a “heavy data” graph at
the end that further explains your story. This graph might have the scores for Mom, Dad, sister, and
brother at each observation time. The simplicity or complexity of graphs is endless! Your job is to use
graphs to demonstrate your knowledge of the psychological phenomenon, scientific method, and your
chosen experimental method.
Step 5 (probably about a page):
Interpret your data in context. Were you able to prove/disprove anything about your phenomenon? In
the above graph, for instance, it appears people really did have higher anxiety all four times they were
exposed to fork grinding. Always using a psychological perspective, explain what the experiment
shows and how it fits with relevant psychological principles, etc. For instance, you might talk about 3-4
psychology principles and how they explain (or don’t) your data.
Finally, what’s “wrong” or missing from your experiment? What should you do differently next time?
Thinking & Writing #2 – Memory
Instructions: Read carefully. Sorry, no make-ups.
Due Tues, Nov. 6th at class time
Assignment:
We will analyze how our memories have changed over the past few months, using
appropriate terminology from the book, lecture, etc. Mistakes of memory can be large
(a false memory of spilling a punch bowl on a bride’s dress) or small (forgetting the
name of someone you sat next to on the first day). Memory mistakes are normal, and
we investigate them to learn more about how memory operates. Have fun!
Basic outline (form your ideas with this)
1. How did you think YOUR memory worked?
Probably half to 1 page
2-3 paragraphs
2. Compare your two memories from class
Probably about a page
4-8 paragraphs
3. Things you forgot
Probably 1 page
4. Things you added
Probably 1 page
5. How do you think YOUR memory works now?
Probably 1 – 2 pages
Detailed outline (use this to make sure you cover everything)
1. Before this class, how did you think YOUR memory worked?
Include personal, anecdotal evidence
2. Compare time 1 (August) and time 2 (now) memories of the 1st day (this means you
point out both similarities & differences)
For example, compare times 1 & 2 for:
Completeness
Accuracy
Tone (did/do you like/hate class?)
Personal relevance of items you listed
Etc. Use book for more ideas!
3. Mechanisms of memory: Things you forgot (retrieval errors)
Which time (1, 2, both) did you fail to retrieve information?
Why did you fail to retrieve? For example,
Poor encoding
Not enough rehearsal
No hierarchy for memories
Interference
Etc. Use book for more ideas!
4. Mechanisms of memory: Things you added (errors of commission)
Which time (1, 2, both) did you erroneously add information to your memories?
Why did you make these mistakes?
False memories
Rehearsal of incorrect memory
Semantic mistake
Misinformation
Shaky hierarchical memory structure
Etc. Use book for more ideas!
5. After learning about memory, how do you think YOUR memory works?
This section must be in the language of psychology
Were your impressions of your memory (first section) true or false? Compare.
What are some false memories you may have?
How would you know?
Now that you know more, how will you use your new memory skills (please do not use
this power for evil)?
Perhaps outline a plan for building a hierarchy of memories for your next test
Perhaps describe factors such as effort or intelligence and the role they play in memory
THINKING (& writing) #3
Instructions: Read carefully. Sorry, no make-ups.
Due Sun., Dec. 9th by midnight
No Word 2007 docs
Turn in (all 3):
a) Hardcopy to Marc’s office
b) Attachment on RamCT
c) Text box on RamCT
Your job is to examine two separate cases involving potential mental illness. One will be your
“crazy” subject and one should be “normal.” Your crazy subject should be someone you do NOT
personally know (super villain, video game character, actor). They could be “slightly crazy” or “really
crazy.” All that matters is that the person in question has been labeled “crazy” by anyone else (who
needn’t be a mental health professional). Your normal subject should be someone you DO know well
(family member, teacher, co-worker, roommate). In fact, they should be the “best” person you know;
they should be an example of someone with no psychological pathology whatsoever (that you know of).
Think seriously about your cases and assessment. Try to imagine yourself doing this with real people’s
lives as though it were your job.
Section 1.
Provide a mental health history for each person, using whatever data you decide are appropriate.
This history has nothing to do with your opinion, thoughts, feelings, etc. It is like the medical history
your doctor takes, but focuses on psychology. It includes observable behavior only, explained in
psychological jargon (you will need your book), that you could put in the patient’s file as a reference for
other mental health workers.
Probably ½ to 2 pages per case; recall there is a quality of ideas requirement, not a length of
writing requirement.
Mentally compare your two case histories very carefully. What patterns are there in the crazy case, the
normal case, or both? What “typical” patterns are NOT present? List some IDEAS for yourself before
you start “writing” the next section.
Section 2.
This section should very clearly define the variables of “crazy” and “normal” over the course of
about 2-3 pages. Carefully think about the best way to describe both terms. Carefully organize your
IDEAS before you begin to “write.” Finally, support your ideas with proper details from the book. Just
as suggestions, you may want to address items such as: 1) Is a subject suffering from a mental illness?
How do you know? 2) What are the best types of treatments for the disorder? 3) Do you see any other
factors that could be potentially confounding, skewing, or motivating the labeling of the individuals as
mentally ill? What are they? 4) Is the accuser, and everyone else for that matter, falling victim to any
cognitive biases (hindsight, confirmation, false consensus, etc.)? 5) What are exceptions to crazy and
normal? 6) Are all individuals polarized to be one or the other, do we vacillate between the two, or are
we simultaneously both? 7) When you were writing the psych history for the crazy patient, did you go
looking for crazy behaviors? Likewise, did you look for normal behaviors in the normal case?
Clearly there are myriad topics you might bring up during your discussion. Stay on topic.
Students who earn ‘A’s will effectively communicate intelligent thoughts (we only happen to be
using the written word as the vehicle of communication!). Find some logical ideas, present them clearly,
support them well, THEN start “writing.” Have fun!
Writing Assignment #1, Designing Research
DUE IN CLASS on Sept. 10, 2007
For the sake of this paper, your audience will consist of colleagues who are research psychologists that
have asked you to submit ideas for original investigations. They are looking for interesting studies to
conduct this year, but resources are limited. Propose two studies according to the directions below, and
make a case for why your studies should be chosen.
See the “General Guidelines” posted on RamCT, as well as the section on Writing in the syllabus.
This assignment consists of two parts. For part 1, design a psychological experiment about a human
behavior that interests you. Do not use examples discussed in class or the text. In your paper, clearly
describe these components (in an order that makes logical sense to you):
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the general behavior of interest, and how or why you became interested in it
the independent and dependent variables in your experiment
operational definitions of the I.V. and D.V.
your hypothesis
how you would assign participants to experimental and control conditions, and why you would
choose that method
the advantages and disadvantages of the experimental method, including the strengths and
limitations of your specific experiment
why this is an important study to be conducted
For part 2, design a correlational study to investigate another research question. Include these components in a
logical order:
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the general behavior of interest, and why it has captured your attention
the two variables of interest
your hypothesis
how you would measure the variables of interest (how you would obtain the necessary
information about the variables)
the advantages and disadvantages of the correlational method, including the strengths and
limitations of your particular study
why this is an important study to be conducted
Writing Assignment #2: Understanding Gender Roles
DUE: September 26, 2007
Many scholars have observed that our society has traditionally socialized men and women
differently. For this assignment, you will need to think about your childhood (elementary school, or
earlier, if you remember), and in particular, how your parents, peers, and the larger culture were
influential as you developed a gender role.
If you would rather not write about yourself, you may interview a willing volunteer and write
about his or her experiences. Just use the person’s first name and provide his or her email address and
phone number, in case we need to verify the information.
Use the following as a general outline for your paper:
1. In your childhood home, how were gender roles modeled? In other words, were there certain
tasks that females did, and certain tasks that males did, or were all tasks shared equally?
Think about the examples on p. 125, and others: driving, cooking, picking up the check,
mowing the lawn, buying wedding presents, childcare, dusting, writing thank-you notes,
washing the car, etc.
2. Describe your early environment with respect to gender socialization. What kinds of toys,
decorations, clothing, etc. were in your home? Were things pink, blue, or other colors?
Were there trucks, dolls, balls, games, etc.? How did your parents dress you? If you had
siblings of the other sex, how did your parents’ expectations of your behavior, dress, and
interests (e.g. chores, emotional expression, curfews, extra-curricular activities) differ with
respect to gender? If you didn’t have opposite-sex siblings, how do you predict that your
parents would have interacted differently with a child of the opposite sex? If you grew up
interacting with two parents, how did their expectations differ? In other words, did your
father have different expectations than your mother with regard to your gender-related
behavior?
3. Consider Social Learning Theory (p. 126). Write about how your parents, teachers, peers,
and siblings rewarded or punished you for acting in traditionally masculine or feminine ways.
What happened (or would have happened) if you crossed the imaginary gender line (a boy
wanting to take ballet, or a girl wanting to play football)? What happened to other children
who tried to act in non-stereotypical ways? How did the social consequences change as you
went from elementary school to junior high and high school?
4. Speculate about how your gender role would have been different 50 years ago. If this were
the year 1957 instead of 2007, what would be different about your behavior, and your
culture’s expectations of you as a woman or man? Would you rather find yourself living in
the 1950s or in 2007 with respect to gender expectations, and why?
Writing Assignment #3: Modifying Behavior Using Operant Conditioning
DUE: October 15, 2007, in class. Please staple the pages together.
For this assignment, think of a behavior you wish to modify in yourself or another person.
Choose a specific behavior that is not too complex or general; for example, choose to increase your
frequency of vegetable intake, rather than “to get healthy,” or choose to increase your daily study time
by 10%, rather than “to be a better student.” Include the following points in creating a realistic behavior
modification plan using operant conditioning principles. (You do not actually need to implement the
plan for the purposes of this paper.) Use this structure as a general outline, but write in complete
sentences and paragraphs, and use your own words.
A. Describe the specific behavior you’d like to change, and your goal:
 the behavior you wish to modify, and why you’ve chosen this particular behavior
 the current frequency or duration of the problematic behavior
 the final goal in terms of frequency or duration of the target behavior
B. Describe how you will go about changing the behavior:
 break down the goal into at least three smaller steps
 identify at least two positive reinforcers, two negative reinforcers, two positive punishments, and
two negative punishments (refer to Table 22.3), and describe how you will use the
reinforcements and punishments to modify your behavior
 describe which schedule of reinforcement you will use, and why
C. Conclude your paper by talking about motivation and implementation:
 describe your level motivation for actually making this change
 identify the barriers or problems you would likely encounter if you were to implement the plan
 describe how a Behaviorist would deal with the anticipated barriers
Note: Read module 22 before you do this assignment. Additionally, make sure the reinforcers and
punishments you choose are very meaningful to the person whose behavior is being modified. For
example, going to the gym may be a reinforcer to one person but a punishment to another. Think like a
behaviorist!
Writing Assignment #4: Measuring Personality
Due Monday, November 12 or Wednesday, November 14 in class (staple pages together)
For this assignment, you will first need to go to one of the three websites listed below. Choose one of
the free personality tests, take the test, and evaluate the results. Caution: Some of the sites ask you to pay for
results. You do not need to take a test that requires payment for results; there are plenty of free tests on these
websites. Please make sure the test you take has to do with a personality factor, rather than IQ, achievement,
relationships, etc.
www.wizardrealm.com/tests/personality.html
This website does not require you to register or log in. If you choose this site, take the “All About You” test
which is related to the “Big Five Personality Factors” you’ll read about in Module 46.
http://www.queendom.com/tests/personality/index.html
You’ll be required to register on this website in order to take a personality test. There are many tests on this
site that address topics we’re discussing in class, such as locus of control, optimism, and extroversion. Take
one that provides abridged results for free.
www.advisorteam.com/user/ktsintro.asp
On this site you can take the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (like a short version of the Myers-Briggs). You’ll
be asked to register with the site. The abridged results are free.
Now, address the following questions in your paper. Assume that the reader of this paper has never studied
personality or how it is measured, and the person does not know you.
1. Describe the Test and the Results. Which personality test did you take? Which website was it on, and
which aspect of the personality did it supposedly measure? In your own words, summarize the
general results.
2. Evaluate the Test and the Results.
a. Do the results seem to be a true reflection of your personality as you perceive it? As others
perceive it? Explain.
b. Were the results specific, or very general? In other words, do you think the Barnum Effect
applies in this case? The Barnum Effect (referred to on page 621 of the text) refers to the fact
that many popular “tests” result in such general personality descriptions that they could apply
to nearly anyone. Horoscopes also demonstrate the Barnum Effect by describing your
“untapped potential” or suggesting that you are an “independent thinker.” Were the results of
the test you took overly general? Explain.
c. Describe what is meant by reliability and validity as related to psychological
measurement (see pages 447 and 448 of your text), and discuss the validity and
reliability of the test you took.
3. Make a Recommendation. Based on your answers above, would you recommend that people take this
test to learn more about themselves? Why or why not? Suggest additional, perhaps better, ways that
people can learn about their personalities.
4. Consider the “person-situation controversy:” Module 46 discusses the person-situation controversy.
Pick two of your typical personality traits – those that are, on average, fairly consistent – and describe
how they are influenced by situations. In other words, describe how your average traits look different
when someone examines your specific behaviors from situation to situation.
Writing Assignment #5: Rare Psychological Disorders
DUE: Wednesday, November 28, 2007
For this paper, you should first find information about a rare psychological disorder, and then
answer the questions below. The disorder you will investigate should correspond to your birthday, as
follows:
January: Trichotillomania
February: Cyclothymia
March: Selective Mutism
April: Conversion Disorder
May: Gender Identity Disorder
June: Dissociative Fugue
July: Somatization Disorder
August: Body Dysmorphic Disorder
September: Factitious Disorder
October: Kleptomania
November: Depersonalization Disorder
December: Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Write a paper which includes at least the points below. Write your paper as if the reader is someone
who has never taken a psychology course and knows nothing at all about psychological disorders.
1. At the top of your paper, include your name, the disorder, and the website(s) and/or other
sources you used. Describe the source in such a way that we can find it easily.
2. Describe the disorder:
 What are the main symptoms of the disorder? You may summarize the basic
symptoms in numbered or bulleted form.
 Who typically has this disorder? Consider age, gender, culture, etc.
 How common is the disorder?
 What causes this disorder? Summarize the various theoretical viewpoints.
 What treatments are recommended? How successful are they?
3. As a member of the DSM committee, would you include this disorder in the next edition (DSMV)? In other words, do you believe this set of behaviors constitutes a psychological disorder, in
the way we have defined it in class? Explain your position.