Applied Final Project: Cross-Cultural Psychology in Action Proposal
This assignment will leverage your curiosity. It will tap into your ideas for applying cross-cultural psychology in daily life. It will invite you to explore how to connect those applications to others within your community.
The Cross-cultural Psychology in Action Proposal is an integrative assignment in support of the three learning outcomes for the course:
compare and contrast cultural behaviors along the individualist and collectivist continuum to inform personal growth, communicate effectively, solve problems, make decisions, and interact with individuals, communities, and organizations
analyze elements and contextual factors that affect self and social cultural identity to value diversity and different perspectives
communicate effectively across cultures to support tolerance and acceptance within various socio-cultural contexts
The Cross-cultural Psychology in Action Proposal (CPAP)
Objective: Create a Cross-cultural Psychology in Action proposal, demonstrating how a cross-cultural psychology construct/theory can be applied in a practical manner to bring about a positive impact for others. Examples of practicality include educational program, video, podcast, intervention, etc.
To achieve this, you will build your knowledge of the construct/theory, and then create a proposal for putting your cross-cultural psychology product into action. Because this is not a formal empirical study, and no data is to be collected, you are presenting a proposal for your Changing the World product, program, or intervention.
*A formal study –where the proposed materials and/or procedures are put into practice, monitored, and evaluated– requires ethics approval from the UMGC Institutional Review Board. Those actions reach beyond the scope of this course.
Instructions: Below are all the steps you will need to take in order to create your CPAP*:
Review what we have covered in class.
Choose one or more cross-cultural psychology constructs or theories that you would like to explore and apply in your life.
Find a minimum of 2 scholarly research articles from the past 10 years from the UMCG library to support your proposal.
Create the proposal, i.e. educational program, video, podcast, intervention
Write and submit for grading an APA formatted proposal document.
*More details for each step are addressed in Requirements.
Rubric: The following rubric informs on the distribution of points assigned to each section of the paper. A more detailed rubric accompanies the assignment within course content.
Applied Final Project Point Allocations
Points
Psychology in Action Proposal
TOPIC
5
Appropriate selection
5
Definitions
5
Depth/Application of Concepts
5
Creativity: Approaches to the Action Plan
5
Accuracy: Assertions supported correctly
CONTENT
20
Introduction & Literature Review
8
Methods: Participants
15
Methods: Materials and Procedures
10
Results
10
Discussion
FORMAT
1
Title Page
4
APA Style
7
Writing Mechanics
100
Total points possible
Requirements: The Cross-cultural Psychology in Action Proposal assignment is structured to encourage research, creativity, and the development of your Action idea.
Understanding many students taking this class may not be psychology majors, or not taken a research method course, the details and guidelines offered below take this into account. They move you through the proposal design and writing process. You need not be a research design guru, however the assignment should be leveraged to elevate your critical thinking and to invite a deeper understanding of the intricacies of empirical research.
If it is helpful, you can frame the goal of the assignment as follows:
You have just learned there is a Cross-cultural Psychology in Action Scholarship being offered! Cool! The scholarship is a full ride. If won, it will pay for your future course work AND reimburse for tuition directly tied to courses required for your degree from UMGC. AWESOME! The scholarship sponsors are seeking proposals for new ways to bring cross-cultural psychology into the daily lives of others. They have created three categories for application: products, programs, and interventions.
Products (e.g., video, podcast script, audio production, storyboard, children’s book, etc.),
Programs (e.g., community, ’building…insert construct…in teens’)
Intervention (e.g., counseling, workplace, senior citizens)
Winners in each category will receive a full scholarship. Competing applicants can submit a single proposal that clearly falls into one of the categories. Proposal submissions must…
Introduce a clearly defined construct that will be leveraged (e.g., acculturation, diversity, culture-bound)
Leverage the applied construct via a thoughtful product, program, or intervention.
Have purpose… the product, program, or intervention must have a clear goal / outcome
Be designed for a target audience
Be neatly and concisely presented in an APA formatted document containing
Introduction
Literature Review
Proposed Action (Purpose and Goals)
Methods
Participants
Materials
Procedures
Results
Discussion
References
Reading this, you smile. You think, ‘I am preparing a proposal for my PSYC 354 class that matches the scholarship’s goal perfectly! I definitely have some ideas! I am going to follow the Applied Final Project’s Project Stages and Writing Guidance my instructor has given me. With this scaffolding I am going to write a proposal for submission and win!!!’
Project Stages
Review what we have covered in class. Brainstorm Reflect on the readings and think about topics that captured your attention, invited contemplation, or led to moments where you paused and envisioned how the lesson connected to yourself and others. Grab a piece of paper. Write down these topics. Next write down ideas that come to mind that offer examples of how the construct/theory can be applied in a practical manner to bring about a positive impact for others.
2. Choose one or more cross-cultural psychology constructs or theories that you would like to explore and apply in your life.
Research using the UMGC Library: Once you have decided what construct/theory you wish to put into action, begin conducting literary research. Dig into the empirical literature to learn what studies and theoretical insights are available to inform your Action design. And, learn about your target population (who your project is dedicated to). You must use a minimum of two (2) scholarly research articles in your literature review.
Create the proposal. Map out and build your Action. Informed by your research on the construct/theory, and the need by your target population, design your Action.
Write and submit for grading an APA formatted proposal document.
Write-up Guidance:
The following guidance provides a scaffold approach to writing your CPAP proposal. Within the guidance you will find expectations for each section of the paper are outlined and are accompanied by occasional suggestions for success. Please read this guidance carefully before you begin working on your project.
Structure your paper utilizing APA style (7th Edition); this includes heading, in-text citations, reference page, and general paper format (1-inch margins, double-spaced, appropriately sized sans serif or serif fonts – e.g., 12 Times Roman, etc.). More detail on this is provided at the end of this instruction set. ????
Cross-cultural Psychology in Action Proposal
Introduction
In your Cross-cultural Psychology in Action introduction (approx. 1-2 pages):
Briefly present the construct(s) or theory that inspires the cross-cultural psychology in action (CPAP) proposal you are presenting. Operationally define relevant concepts in order to anchor how they will be employed throughout the proposal and how they are employed in the CPAP design.
Detail the rationale for the program/intervention
Why is the use of the cross-cultural psychology construct(s)/theory interesting to you?
What inspires your CPAP (Is it original or a continuation of existing cross-cultural psychology practices?)
Why is your CPAP program/intervention important?
** Begin your introduction immediately below the Part 1:… heading. Do not create a heading titled, “Introduction.”
Literature Review
The project, whether a product, program, or an intervention, should be grounded in the empirical literature. A core component of your proposal paper will be a thoughtful review of relevant literature. Articles discussed should not be simply summarized (i.e., excerpts from abstracts). The scholarly research articles and other supporting resources, should be carefully incorporated into your writing, building a case for why your project matters and why your approach makes sense.
In the literature review show (in approx. 2 or more pages):
you are familiar with the field (a brief summary of the origins of the construct(s) or theory
you understand current research on the topic
the strengths and weaknesses of different product/program/intervention approaches
your ideas have academic basis (empirical grounding, not pseudoscience)
How are you building on the work of others?
Proposed Action
Present the objectives for your CPAP product/program/intervention. Discuss (in approx. 1 or more pages):
Goals of your CPAP
Opportunities your CPAP generates
Methods
Along with a brief literature review, you will include an evaluative component. To achieve this a modified Methods section will be leveraged. Use APA appropriate heading levels formatting.
In this section you will briefly discuss:
Participants (approx. 1/2 + page) – for whom is your Action designed? Provide appropriate demographics and descriptive details so it is readily clear why you have selected this group or groups to receive the CPAP.
Materials – (approx. 1/4 + page; length will depend on the number, nature, and purpose of specialty materials used)
Detail your plan to use any special materials (e.g., existing surveys, instructions to be given to participants, a music compilation you developed). If materials will be used, describe their origins, design, function, and purpose.
If no special materials are required, this can be addressed by making the statement, “No special materials are required in this CPAP.”
Procedures – (Page length will depend on the procedures required to use your product, or steps in your program/intervention.)
Detail and showcase how you are putting cross-cultural psychology into action.
If you have designed a product – how and when is your product used? Outline special instructions for use.
If you have designed a CPAP program/intervention
What does the program look like?
What procedures will be followed? (Think here of the 5 W’s + H –> who, what, where, when, why, and how.)
For example, how will things like surveys, observations, interviews, coaching, or journaling be employed?
Why are these the best methods to offer your CPAP program/intervention?
How much time will be required to implement your CPAP?
Obstacles or wrinkles (acknowledge challenges that might be encountered in developing the program/intervention and how you could overcome them)
Results (approx. 1/2 page +)
Briefly share your ideas on how you will know whether your CPAP is successful. What will success look like? [You are not required to formally discuss statistical evaluations of success.]
Discussion (approx. 3/4 page +)
In this section of the proposal address:
the rationale for why you think your plan will have the desired outcomes
the potential barriers and risks, ethical considerations, and implications of the project
If the goals are achieved, what does it add to the science of cross-cultural psychology?
If successful, what are the next steps to improve the CPAP?
References
References will begin on a new page and will follow the Discussion section of your proposal. Include in this reference list only the articles cited within the body of the proposal. Include the References page number in your Table of Contents (i.e., Reference…..#). If you have questions about how to format the references, please refer to your copy of the APA Publication Manual, the UMGC writing resources provided within the course, the UMGC Library Get Help: Writing and Citing, the UMGC Writing Center, or ask your instructor for assistance.
Help Structuring the Document
Project writeup: The writing of the paper will employ APA formatting standards. Because the elements of the proposal are somewhat unique for our purposes, the foundational breakdown of the Applied Final Project is as follows. You may add Level 3 and 4 headings as you deem necessary to clearly communicate the unique qualities of your Action product / program / intervention.
