Psychology Final Exam Project – Spring 2013
Overview: Over the course of the year, we have and will talk about a wide range of topics. Some of
these topics we will explore in depth, while others will only be mentioned. This final exam project is an
opportunity for you to learn more about a topic of particular interest to you.
Objectives:
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To further develop research and essay writing skills, as well as your analytical thinking
To learn more about a specific concept in psychology
Enhance public speaking skills by teaching this topic to the class
Points: This paper counts as your semester one exam equivalent project and will be worth 20% of your
semester two final grade. A letter grade will be given.
Late Penalty:
ten percent will be deducted per day late
Requirements:
1. Four page research essay with separate Works Cited page in MLA format at the end
2. Teaching 10 minute lesson on your topic in a creative way
Due Dates:
Deliverable
Outline
Rough draft
Final draft (with marked up rough draft
attached)
Teaching
Due Date
Thursday, May 16
Wednesday, May 22
Tuesday, May 28
Tuesday May 28, Wednesday May 29, and
Thursday May 30
Final Essay Requirements:
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Title page with name, class (Psychology), Mr. Hughes, date, and title of your essay
Four pages, double spaced
12 point font, Times New Roman
Introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion
Separate Works Cited page in proper MLA format (does not count as one of your four pages)
Rough draft with my comments clipped to final essay
Sources:
Four different sources including resources below or websites you find.
Quotes:
o At least five, from at least three different sources
o May be direct (what someone said) or from a secondary source
Resources:
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Psychology Today
New York Times
Scientific American Mind
InfoTrac on Stanwich Library website
iConn.org on Stanwich Library website [these can be searched all at once]
o Psychology Collection NOVEMBER, 2012
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Academic OneFile 1980 - NOV, 2012
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This set explores what makes people "tick" from childhood to death.
This collection gives individuals a basic understanding of the study of
the mind, emotions and how the human mind develops -- and
diminishes -- over time. Your library's users will have instant access
to 200 subject-appropriate full-text periodicals.
Academic OneFile is the premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text
articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. With
extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social
sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects, Academic
OneFile is both authoritative and comprehensive. With millions of articles
available in both PDF and HTML full-text with no restrictions, researchers
are able to find accurate information quickly. Includes full-text coverage
of the New York Times back to 1995. Updated daily.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
o Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized
reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once
were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the
library or remotely 24/7. Because each library creates its own eBook collection,
the content you see may vary if you use the database at different libraries (your
school, your public library, or your office).
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InfoTrac Diversity Studies eCollection
iCONN Custom Newspapers - All Newspapers
Discovering Collection
o Discovering Collection offers easy access to award-winning content based on
national curriculum standards. Covering the core curriculum areas, including
history, literature, science, social studies, and more, DC provides a premium
selection of reference, primary sources, creative works, and multimedia, including
hours of video and audio clips. New to the database are popular topic pick lists
and an integrated national and state curriculum standards search with content
correlated to the standards.
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Educator's Reference Complete 1980 - NOV, 2012
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o Educator's Reference Complete is a selection of more than 450 full-text
academic journals, hundreds of full-text reports, and many premier
reference sources. Included content focuses on educational principles, child
development and psychology, and best practices in education. Majority of the
full-text titles included are also found in the ERIC database. The database is
updated daily and provides 24-hour access from school or home.
Expanded Academic ASAP 1980 - Nov 2012
o From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this
database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly
journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images!
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General OneFile 1980 - NOV, 2012
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A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics: business,
computers, current events, economics, education, environmental issues, health care,
hobbies, humanities, law, literature and art, politics, science, social science, sports,
technology, and many general interest topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with
images. Updated daily.
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General Reference Center Gold 1980 - NOV, 2012
o A general interest database that integrates a variety of sources - newspapers,
reference books, magazines, and trade publications. Find articles on current
events, popular culture, business and industry trends, the arts and sciences, sports,
hobbies, and more.
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Health Reference Center Academic 1980 - Nov 2012
o Multi-source database provides access to the full text of nursing and allied health
journals, plus the wide variety of personal health information sources in
InfoTrac's award-winning Health Reference Center. All in a single, easy-to-use
database, the material contained in this database is intended for informational
purposes only.
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Popular Magazines NOVEMBER, 2012
o Popular Magazines includes more than 1,000 of the most searched magazines
across our InfoTrac products. All the titles were selected based on actual
publication searches performed by library patrons. This database is 100% full text
and includes over 600 titles recommended by Bowker's "Magazines for
Libraries".
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Health and Wellness Resource Center and Alternative Health Module 1980 - Nov 2012
o Provides instant access to carefully compiled and trusted medical reference
materials. Includes nearly 400 health/medical journals, hundreds of pamphlets,
over 700 health-related videos from partner Healthology, Inc., and articles from
2,200 general interest publications in addition to a broad collection of Gale
reference titles. Material contained in this Resource Center is intended for
informational purposes only.
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Greenwich Library Databases
In-Essay Citations and Works Cited
Within your essay, you will need to cite all outside work using the MLA format.
In addition, you will be required to have a separate Works Cited page in MLA format for your essay to
show what outside information you included. Examples and formats will provided. If you have ANY
questions at all you should contact me.
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Email address:
o Mr. Hughes – chughes@stanwichschool.org
Note Cards:
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you are encouraged to use note cards to help organize your information
Class work:
In order to do well on this essay, it is imperative that you make effective use of class time. Essay work is
to be done in class and at home. Please make an effort to see me with any questions during class or
study hall. Disruptive behavior will result in a lower grade.
Grading:
letter grade based on the following criteria
Revision
Organization,
Introduction, Conclusion
Content
Grammar & Spelling
Citations & Works Cited
Classwork/Effort
Teaching
TOTAL
Points Possible
20
20
50
10
10
10
30
150
Points Assigned
Topics [*Note: The topic must be different from that of your fall project and also must be
approved by me.]
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How does stress affect the body? Strategies for coping with stress
How do optical illusions work?
Psychology of magic
Phobias, explanation, treatment
Why do we forget
Psychology of memory, reliability of eyewitness testimony
Learning a second language, how, benefits of being bilingual
Stages of life, pick a stage and explain a theory
o Infancy/early childhood
o Children
o Adolescence
o Early adulthood
o Middle age
o Elderly
Sex and gender differences, effect on development
With today’s technology, do teens today feel more connected or actually more alienated?
Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, other
Teenage cutting
Teenage suicide
Use and effects of a particular drug upon teens
Psychology of terrorism, what prompts someone to become one, how do they think, effects of
terrorism on victims
o Effect of torture
Psychological disorders, choose one to explain its diagnosis, effects and treatment:
o Anxiety: severe anxiety, such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder
o Mood disorders: severe disturbances of mood, such as, depression, mania, or
alternating episodes of the two (bipolar)
o Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders: a group of disorders characterized by
major disturbances in perception, language and thought, emotion and behavior
o Personality disorders
o Dissociative: normal memory, consciousness altered
o Impulse control disorders: kleptomania (stealing), pyromania (setting fires)
o Depression
o Autism/Asperger’s
Therapy: psychoanalysis, behavior, biomedical
o Music and art therapy
Psychopathy, sociopathy
Social psychology, interpersonal attraction
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o Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?
Personality styles and personality tests
o How is personality evaluated?
Social pressure, conformity
Differences in male/female communication
Differences in male/female leadership
What are the characteristics of a bully? What effect does it have on the perpetrator and victim?
ADD/ADHD
Teen depression/suicide
Mentally ill people are often dangerous and unpredictable
Is there a link between playing violent video games and aggression?
Effect of sexualization of girls
Psychological state of Hitler
Poverty and brain development on child development
Role of senses in memory
Is there scientific evidence for ESP?
There is a link between genius and insanity
Aggression and violence, causes and effects
Psychology of lying and deception, lie detector test
Effect of music on the brain
Mind/body connection
Sports psychology and athletic performance
Psychology of prejudice, racism
Extremes in intelligence, savants, mentally challenged, Down Syndrome
Are IQ tests culturally biased?
What is the process of grief, mourning, effects on psychology?
Psychology of eating disorders, self-image
How infants, children learn language
Human development: infancy – what happens in the brain; childhood – what happens in the
brain? Adolescence – what happens in the brain?
Smell and taste
Tactile senses
Hearing and sight
Psychological makeup of an historical or literacy or film character
Effect of war on the individual
Terrorism, causes, effects on victims
“brainwashing”, mind control – is it possible
Attraction to and experience of cults
Hostages, Stockholm Syndrome, Patty Hearst
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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Preventing teen smoking
Marketing psychology – choose a product
Conditioning and punishment
Classical conditioning
How does memory work
Types of intelligence, IQ test, its validity
What is creativity and what fosters it
Motivation and behavior, what drives each of us, intrinsic vs. extrinsic, hunger/food/sexual drive
False memories, unreliability of memory
Attention span, ADHD, ADD
Learning language as an infant
Effect of bilingualism on brain, benefits, effects
Teenagers and judgement
Causes and effects of child abuse
Parenting styles, trends in parenting
Social control and cults
Persuasion, propaganda and marketing by businesses or government
Behavior modification, “brain washing”
Leadership
Work and impact of a prominent psychologist (Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner, etc.)
Death & dying, grief, mourning
Hate crimes
Gap between environmental concerns and behavior
Role of psychologist, psychiatrist, psychiatric social worker or work of a residential facility
Insanity defense in a criminal trial
Anxiety
Note: You may choose another topic with teacher approval.
RUBRIC FOR FALL SEMESTER EXAM EQUIVALENT ESSAY
Categories
A
B
C
F
Revision
Essay shows
thorough and
thoughtful
revision from
outline and rough
draft based on
teacher and peer
feedback.
Essay
incorporates most
feedback from
outline and rough
draft based on
teacher and peer
feedback.
Essay demonstrates little
revision from outline and rough
draft based on teacher and
peer feedback.
Essay lacks revision
from outline and
rough draft based
on teacher and
peer feedback.
Essay shows
preparation, and
clear separation
from paragraph to
paragraph, but
does not always
flow from section
to section
Essay shows some preparation,
but paragraphs do not always
relate back to thesis
statement, and there is a lack
of decent topic sentences
Organization
Argument
Detail and
Supporting
Evidence
Essay has a clear
flow from start to
finish, topic and
transition
sentences
Student is able to
defend thesis
statement, with
specific details in
support of
argument
Student refers to
required number
of factors, and
uses appropriate
factors to support
thesis statement
Student defends
thesis statement
in most areas, and
provides
satisfactory detail
Student refers to
required number
of factors, but
does not always
use them
appropriately to
defend thesis
statement (use of
factors is
confusing)
Student refers to thesis
statement from time to time,
but argument is weak, and
there is a lack of detail
Student uses less than the
required amount of factors,
and paper is lacking sufficient
detail
Essay shows little
to no preparation
Student does not
have a thesis
statement, and no
argument is made
Student uses less
than the required
amount of factors,
and paper has very
little detail, and is
very difficult to
follow
Introductions and
Conclusion
Introduction is
clear, providing
insight into the
essay using the
“funnel”
technique,” and
includes a wellwritten thesis
statement
Introduction is clear,
and includes
adequate insight
into the paper. The
thesis statement is
properly placed, but
is awkward
Introduction is too short, and
does not provide enough
detail.
Introduction is
lacking any insight
into the paper, or
has not been
written
Conclusion is too
long, and includes
details that should
have been included
in a body paragraph
Conclusion is too short, and
does not seem to “wrap up”
the essay
Student uses a
variety of
sentence
structures
appropriately and
confidently; no
spelling errors
found
Student varies
sentence
structure, but
makes occasional
grammatical
errors; very few
spelling errors
found
Student’s writing is repetitive,
unclear, or has many
grammatical errors; multiple
spelling errors found
Essay Citations &
Works Cited
Student properly
cites all outside
sources within
essay and on
Works Cited page
in MLA format
Student cites
nearly all sources
within essay and
on Works Cited
page in MLA
format
Student does not
sufficiently cite sources within
essay and on Works Cited
page; MLA format not used
Numerous
omissions of in
essay citations and
on Works Cited
page; improperly
formatted
references used
Classwork/ Effort
Student
consistently takes
advantage of class
time to work
diligently on
essay; asks
questions and
seeks assistance in
and out of class.
Also, student
works consistently
Student makes
good use of time
to work on essay;
seeks some
assistance in and
out of class. Also,
student typically
makes effective
use of time at
home to make
progress on the
Student makes poor
use of class time to work on
essay; rarely seeks assistance
in or out of class. Also, student
does little quality work on
essay at home.
Student
consistently
disrupts class or
does not engage
with the work athand, thus making
little progress.
Little or no work is
done at home and
student does not
seek or is receptive
Conclusion is well
written
Grammar,
Sentence
Structure, and
Spelling
Grammatical
errors make the
paper hard to
understand;
numerous spelling
mistakes found
and effectively at
home to meet
deadlines and
produce best
possible work.
essay to produce
good work.
to help from the
teacher.