Description: The application paper is a chance for you to apply theories and experiments you’ve learned about in Cognitive Processes to your own life. The paper should be relatively short (2-3 pages; 700-1000 words) and include 3 parts.
First, introduce a situation or incident from your own life. Be sure to include enough detail that the reader understands the situation but do not include unnecessary information.
Second, present a theory and related experiment that is relevant to your real-life situation. The theory and experiment must be from the textbook or from class lectures. Remember that theories and experiments are different from concepts, so make sure the topic you have chosen is actually a theory with a related experiment. You only need to include one theory with one experiment. For the theory, describe the representation and process. For the experiment, include the task, independent variables, dependent variables, and results of the experiment. Accuracy and thoroughness are important in this section.
Third, reflect on how your life situation is relevant to the theory or the experiment. It is not enough to simply say “My real-life situation is consistent with the experiment.” Instead, you should think about the relationship between your world experience and the experiment or theory. Consider the following types of questions in this section of the paper: Is your real-world observation consistent or inconsistent with the theory/experiment? What does your observation tell us about the theory/experiment? How does the experiment/theory explain your real-world situation? What does the theory/experiment suggest as an explanation for your observation? Does your real-life observation suggest a follow-up experiment? Do you agree or disagree with the theory based on your real-life experience? This section should reflect that you carefully and thoughtfully considered the relationship between your life and principles in Cognitive Processes.
I strongly recommend that you write the application paper as soon as you have an AHA! moment when you see the connection between something discussed in class and your own life. If you follow this advice, the paper will almost write itself (except the typing).
A note about Plagiarism
This class will be using Turnitin, a plagiarism detection system. The ease of using the Internet has made it very easy for students to “cut and paste” material into papers that they are writing. You will submit the Application Paper that you write in this class to Turnitin, a service that identifies “matched text.” I will then interpret the originality report, based on your writing capability and writing style. Note that all submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.
