Schlehofer
Psych 306
Psyc 306: Social Psychology
WAC Formal Writing Assignment:
Social Psychology Goes to the Movies
Dr. Schlehofer
Purpose: Social psychological theories, concepts, and principles provide explanations for
human behavior in a myriad of contexts. Movies are not only fun to watch, but also provide
us with an opportunity to capture human behavior on film. For this assignment, you will
watch a movie and provide a social psychological explanation of a scene (or scenes) from the
film.
Instructions: Watch one of the movies indicated below. All should be easily obtainable in a
local video store. After watching the movie, write a paper in which you apply four different
concepts or theories learned in this course to a scene or scenes in the movie.
Your paper should: (1) fully describe the relevant scene(s) from the movie you chose (assume
your reader (me) has seen the movie, but provide enough information so that the reader can
identify the scene); (2) fully describe each of the four social psychological concept, theories, or
principle you are applying; and (3) explain how each concept relates to the scene you
identified. **It is also possible that a scene violates a social psychological theory; if you
choose, your paper can also describe how a scene fails to conform to predictions from theories
learned in class.
Movie Choices:
Independence Day
Footloose
Shrek
Needful Things
Crash
Meet the Parents
12 Angry Men
The Breakfast Club
Minority Report
ET
Beauty and the Beast
Something New
North Country
Titanic
A League of Their Own
Ray
Pretty Woman
Harold and Kumar Go To
White Castle