Prompt
Research in social psychology has changed a great deal in the past 100 years. An examination of modern research, as opposed to classic research, shows differences with regard to the theoretical orientation (e.g., genetics, sociocultural approach, and social learning theory), ethics, and the basic versus applied nature of the research. There are also differences between the classic and current research with regard to its influence on social behavior.
The task of this assignment is to select one classic research study in social psychology from a provided list. You will then locate a modern (within the last 10 years) peer-reviewed research study in the same subject area. The article you locate will be submitted for instructor approval. You will analyze these studies for their approach to social psychology, the influence of theories, research trends of the different time periods, the influence of the research on society, and how issues of ethics and ethical strategies differ across time.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
Introduction: For this part of the assessment, you will:
Briefly summarize the research question, results, and conclusions reached by the authors of each study you have chosen.
Describe the social psychological approaches used in each of the chosen studies and justify why you believe that authors of the studies used these approaches.
Analyze the studies for the theories and past research you believe were used by the authors of the studies that informed their approach.
Analyze the approaches used by the authors in each of the chosen studies for how they do or do not demonstrate how the field of social psychology has changed over time. In other words, how are the approaches used by the authors in each of the chosen studies similar or different? How do they demonstrate how the field has or has not changed over the course of its history?
Human Behavior: For this part of the assessment, you will analyze each of your chosen studies for how they might have influenced the development of human behavior in society.
Explain how the research trends in social psychology in the different time periods of both studies may have informed the direction of the research. In other words, how did the research trends of the time influence the researchers in developing their study? Be sure to support your response with appropriate evidence.
Assess how, once published and conveyed to the public, the results and conclusions reached by the researchers of the chosen studies may have influenced human behaviors.
Assess how the chosen studies were or were not aligned with the established research trends of the time, and how that may have affected how they were received by the public. Be sure to support your response with appropriate evidence.
Influence on Society: For this part of the assessment, you will evaluate the impact of the chosen studies in terms of how they have instigated social change and how they have benefited society. You should consider researching the historical context of the chosen study to support your responses.
Analyze the chosen studies for elements of the research that you believe may have been a benefit to society at any point in time and be sure to justify your response.
Analyze the chosen studies for elements of the research that you believe may have had a negative impact on society at any point in time and be sure to justify your response.
Explain possible ways that the results or conclusions of the studies could be applied to everyday life in modern society.
Evaluate the chosen studies for how they may have influenced events of social change (positively or negatively). Be sure to provide examples to support your response.
Describe a personal or professional experience in which elements of social psychological research could be applied to help influence change.
Explain how influential you believe social psychological research has been on changing behavior in society. If you believe it is not influential, explain why.
Ethical Considerations: For this part of the assessment, you will analyze each of the chosen studies for ethical issues that might be present, and examine how the time period may have influenced the ethical strategies of the researchers.
Analyze each of the chosen studies for any potential ethical issues that may be present in their research design. If there are no potential ethical issues, explain why. Be sure to consider issues with research design as well as the impact of the experiment on the participants.
Explain how well each of the studies follow the ethical guidelines of their respective time period and justify your response. In other words, how do the ethical guidelines of the time period of the study change, whether the studies should be considered ethical or unethical?
Recommend ethically appropriate strategies that could be utilized by the studies in order to address identified ethical issues. In other words, what changes could be made to the studies in order to make them align with more modern ethical guidelines?
