PSYCH 255 – APPLYING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER
“KEEPING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REAL”
Background
Social psychological research—especially research in social cognition—is often criticized as being
far removed from the realities of everyday life. Researchers tend to be ambivalent with respect to
this criticism, however. On the one hand, they enjoy the certainty that lab experiments can provide.
On the other hand, some recognize that this approach tends to treat human thought and behavior
as if they occur in a vacuum, independent of everyday influences.
In this assignment, your job is to document a real-world application of something you have learned
about in this class. The best papers will not only accurately illustrate a phenomenon that you have
learned about, but will also discuss the importance of understanding that phenomenon (e.g., how
does knowing what causes this phenomenon help you? how will knowing about this phenomenon
affect your behavior in the future?).
Details
Your assignment is to illustrate that the phenomena studied by social psychologists does have realworld relevance and significance. Specifically, your assignment is to find an real-world example
of a social psychological phenomenon that you have learned about in this class and write a 3-4
page paper (double spaced) that discusses the phenomenon and its relevance to everyday life.
Your paper should include…
• A definition and description of the phenomenon (e.g., “The Fundamental Attribution error
is…it occurs because…it tends to happen more when…).
• An explanation of how your example illustrates that phenomenon (e.g., “I noticed that I
committed the Fundamental Attribution Error when I…”).
• A discussion of the broader implications of your example (e.g., “Now that I know what
the Fundamental Attribution Error is, I will…so that…I hope this helps me by…”).
Choosing an Example
Your example must involve an everyday life occurrence. You can choose an example from your
own life or from something in popular media (e.g., novels, TV shows, newspapers, YouTube, etc.).
The important thing is that the example, if it is not from your own life, involves something that
could happen to you. If you have any questions about this assignment or are unsure if you have
found a suitable example, please email me and set up time to talk through your example.
Examples of topics students have written on in the past…
Fluency
A student noticed that they were less likely to take classes from professors with difficult to
pronounce names. They reasoned that because the names were not fluently processed, they
perceived these professors’ courses as more difficult and less interesting. They discussed
how this could present challenges for people with unique names and how the college could
encourage students to take classes with such professors.
Ingroup Favoritism
An international student realized that they were far more likely to seek out friendships with
fellow international students over American students. He discussed the implications this
had for their social life and how they could challenge themselves to expand their group of
friends.
Growth Mindset
After poor performance on several midterms, a student who identified as having a Fixed
Mindset realized that they may perform better on their finals if instead they changed their
mindset to be more Growth oriented. They discussed the implications for their study habits
and how this impacted their outlook on their academic abilities and performance.
Evaluation
Your assignment will be evaluated on the following criteria.
• Description of phenomenon is accurate and thorough (30%)
• Example is an apt illustration and is from an appropriate source (25%)
• Discussion of your example’s implications is insightful and demonstrates that you
understand how social psychological phenomena affect your life (30%)
• Writing is of high quality (i.e., has impeccable spelling, grammar, organization, and clarity;
15%)
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