PSYC 335 Applied Personality Project Instructions
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The Applied Personality Project requires you to critically analyze personality information found in the popular media in relation to empirical research, personality theory, and your own life. You will demonstrate that you are an intelligent consumer of personality research and can think critically about personality theory, assessment, and research in relation to your daily life.
The Applied Personality Project consists of four components. To properly format your assignment, you MUST use the Components as headings, AND all subheadings within each component as the headings and subheadings align with the grading rubric criteria:
I. Component 1: Summary and Analysis of Popular Media Article or Current Event
You will start by locating a popular media article, video, or current event (i.e., within the last 6 months) that is relevant to personality psychology. Relevant topics may include personality theory, assessment, use of assessment results, personality disorders, or personality research. Your article or current event must have been published (or occurred) within the last six months. For this component of the assignment, you will use information found in the popular media. This includes articles or events distributed via social media, blogs, videos (e.g., Ted Talks), television shows, newspaper reports, magazines, and similar sources.
For example, the LA Times published an article of identical triplets separated at birth in a secret psychology study to understand the relative influence of nature and nurture in personality development (“The surreal, sad story behind the acclaimed new documentary, ‘Three Identical Strangers’”: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-three-identical-strangers-documentary-20180702-story.html). An article such as this would be appropriate for your target article/event.
Provide a 1 to 3-page summary that addresses the following questions using the following subheadings:
*Please note the following suggestions as you select your media piece:
The initial media piece is an introduction to the topic you will analyze.
The media piece does not have to be a psychology blog, from a psychology journal, website, etc.
It could be a social media piece, a commercial, a TV show, etc. Your ability to analyze the information in media, draw a connection to personality based on what you have learned, and then find research articles that tie everything together is what will demonstrate your understanding of personality and ability to apply what you have learned.
Whatever media piece you select, make sure you can critically assess the information in the popular media piece and be able to answer the questions in the assignment instructions. For example, one student was concerned with how medically prescribed drugs can alter personality, and his media selection was a commercial for a new drug. He analyzed the commercial specifically the small print of the detrimental effects of the drug, then built his final project around that topic making the connections to how prescription drugs can result in addiction and impact personality. Another student was interested in the impact of Covid19 and social separation on personality and for their media piece she used a 20/20 episode that she used as her media piece, while another student used an episode of “ABC’s What Would You Do?”. So, do not limit yourself in your selection!
Think of something you have read or seen lately that piqued your interest. It could be a blog/vlog post, a video on TikTok, something in the news on pop culture, or an episode of your favorite TV show, etc. You just need to ensure it is appropriate for the course/assignment, and then use critical thinking, logic, and a solid rationale to connect your media piece to personality and personality research, and adequately meet the criteria for each of the components.
A) FOCUS – What is the focus of the article/event? Be specific
B) RELEVANCY – Why is this article/event relevant now? Be specific
C) RELATION TO PERSONALITY – What is the relationship between this article/event and personality theories, concepts, assessments, or applications? Be specific and cite your sources
D) KEY CONCLUSIONS/QUESTIONS/ISSUES – What are the key messages, conclusions, questions, or issues relevant to this article/event? Be specific
E) UNANSWERED QUESTIONS – What questions remain unanswered in relation to this article/event? Be specific
Additional Requirements:
You may include additional insights in your analysis, but you must use the above headings and address these key questions.
You must provide a hyperlink to the article/event that you are focusing on; if the article/event is not online, you must provide a complete citation so that the instructor can view your article/event.
II. Component 2: Research Article Application
The next step is to find an empirical, primary-source, research-based, journal article that is directly relevant to your article/event. Empirical, primary-source articles are original reports of research published in scholarly journals (such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology). You will use the UMGC library database to find primary-source, empirical research. To find a relevant article, you will use personality terms, ideas, or theories discussed in your article/event as keywords in your library database search.
PLEASE NOTE: It is your responsibility to make sure that the journal article you select is appropriate. If you are unsure about the relevance of your article, contact your instructor for approval. Articles must meet the following criteria:
Primary research – Articles should report the results of an original research study (no meta-analyses, summaries, editorials, or theoretical articles).
Refereed – Articles must come from peer-reviewed journals found in the UMGC library.
Personality focus – Articles must be relevant to personality psychology.
Recent – Articles must have been published within the last 10 years.
For example, the following would be a relevant primary-source, empirical journal article for investigating Five-Factor Model traits as predictors of stress experience.
Zacher, H., & Rudolph, C. W. (2021). Big Five traits as predictors of perceived stressfulness of the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Individual Differences, 175, Article e110694. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110694
Write a 3 to 5-page summary, analysis, and application of the journal article that addresses the following questions using the following subheadings:
A) PURPOSE -What is the purpose of this research article?
B) METHOD -How did the researchers investigate their research question? Be detailed and specific
C) CONCLUSIONS -Are the conclusions of the study appropriate? Has the author overemphasized or under-emphasized any findings? etc. Be specific.
D) VALUE -How does the research bring value to the field of personality psychology?
E) ALIGNMENT WITH ARTICLE/EVENT -Do the conclusions of this research align with the message of your article/event? Explain and support your answer.
Additional Requirements:
You may include additional insights in your analysis, but you must use the above headings and address these key questions.
You must upload the article or provide the permalink to the research you select, or you must provide a complete citation so that the instructor can view your article/event.
III. Component 3: Connection to Personality Theory
The third step is to analyze your popular article/event in relation to three different personality theories that we explored throughout the course. For each theory, you will want to explore the relevance (or lack thereof) for understanding your article/event.
Write a 1 to 3-page analysis for each of your three theories that include the following information for each, using the following subheadings:
A) THEORETICAL OVERVIEW – Brief overview of theory (up to two paragraphs with appropriate citations)
B) SUPPORT OR ALTERNATE UNDERSTANDING – Discussion of how the theory either supports and explains your article/event OR how the theory offers an alternate understanding of your article/event (cite appropriately)
C) VALUE – Analysis of the value of the theory for understanding personality in the context of your article/event
IV. Component 4: Personal Reflection
The last step is to reflect upon the popular article/event, research, and personality theory in relation to your own life.
Write a 3 to 5-page reflection and analysis that addresses the following questions and uses the following subheadings:
A) PERSONAL RELEVANCE -How is the material in this article/event relevant to your life?
B) PERSONAL LESSONS -What can you learn from the personality theories or research relevant to this article/event (cite appropriately)?
C) PERSONAL CHALLENGE -Does the article/event or research challenge any of your old opinions? Or does it challenge you to form any new opinions?
D) PERSONAL APPLICATION -How can you apply what you have learned about personality research or theory to better understand your life? What is the practical value to understanding personality research or theory?
E) PERSONAL CONCERNS -What concerns do you have about the article/event, personality research, or personality theory?
*You may include additional insights in your reflection, but you must address these key issues.
V. Assignment Guidelines
Structure your assignment utilizing APA style; this includes title page, heading, subheadings, in-text citations, reference page, and general paper format (1-inch margins, double-spaced, 12-point font, etc.). An abstract is not required. (Excellent guidance on utilizing APA style can be found in our classroom’s Course Resources -> Writing Resources.)
Your paper MUST be properly formatted. You must organize your paper, and use the appropriate headings and subheading used in the instructions. Papers without the appropriate headings and subheadings will be returned for proper formatting before being graded.
Submit as a single document in either Microsoft Word, PDF, or RTF format.(i.e., do not submit each component of the paper separately)
Include three to five references and at least one must be a research article utilized in your analysis.
Your final paper should be approximately 10 to 20 pages double-spaced
Review the criteria set forth in the accompanying grading rubric. This will further facilitate your understanding of expectations for successful assignment completion.
Once you have reviewed the assignment instructions and grading rubric, reach out to me if you have questions or need additional guidance.
VI. Assignment Format
Utilize the following headings & subheadings to organize the body of your paper:
Summary and Analysis
A) Focus
B) Relevancy
C) Relation to Personality
D) Key Conclusions/Questions/Issues
E) Unanswered Questions
Research Application
A) Purpose
B) Method
C) Conclusions
D) Value
E) Alignment with Article/Event
Personality Theory
Theory 1: (name the theory, discuss theoretical overview, support or alternate understanding & value)
Theory 2: (name the theory, discuss theoretical overview, support or alternate understanding & value)
Theory 3: (name the theory, discuss theoretical overview, support or alternate understanding & value)
Personal Reflection
A) Personal Relevance
B) Personal Lessons
C) Personal Challenge
D) Personal Application
E) Personal Concerns
Include three to five references (one should be the research article utilized in your analysis).
Your final paper should be approximately 10 to 20 pages (not including your Title and Reference pages):
Title page (1 page)
Body of paper
Summary and Analysis (1-3 pages)
Research Application (3 -5 pages)
Personality Theory
Theory 1 (1-2 pages)
Theory 2 (1-2 pages)
Theory 3 (1-2 pages)
Personal Reflection (3-5 pages)
Reference page (1 page)
