Discussion: Social Psychology, the Workplace, and Organizations
Theory plays an important role in the scientific process: Research results and intervention outcomes can lead to theory development. Specific hypotheses are then deduced from the developed theory and lead to more research and interventions designed to test the theory. This continuous cycle in the scientific process is critical for the advancement of knowledge. Applied social psychologists are particularly interested in applying knowledge gained in the scientific process to the design and delivery of interventions to address real-world social and practical problems.
For this Discussion, you will examine a social psychology intervention, and explain your position on its contribution to theory development. You will also evaluate the intervention’s potential utility for application, and describe at least one strength and at least one weakness of the ethical protections used in the intervention.
To Prepare:
Read Article A and Article B, which both describe a workplace intervention. If your last name starts A through L, use Article A to write your initial post. If your last name starts M through Z, use Article B to write your initial post. You will need to read both articles. One article will be used to complete your initial post and the other article will be used to complete your response post.
By Day 4
Post an explanation of your position as to whether the intervention in your assigned article contributes to theory development. Next, evaluate the intervention’s potential utility for application in diverse workplace environments. Then, describe a strength and a weakness of the ethical protections used to safeguard the intervention’s recipients.
Support your response with reference to this week’s Learning Resources and other relevant scholarly literature.
Here are the required reading: My last name starts with H so you need to use article A
Required Resources
Required Readings
Article A
Kaplan, S., Bradley-Geist, J. C., Ahmad, A., Anderson, A., Hargrove, A. K., & Lindsey, A. (2014). A test of two positive psychology interventions to increase employee well-being. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29(3), 367–380. doi:10.1007/s10869-013-9319-4
Article B
Kirk, B. A., Schutte, N. S., & Hine, D. W. (2011). The effect of an expressive-writing intervention for employees on emotional self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, affect, and workplace incivility. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41(1), 179–195. doi:10.1111/ j.1559-1816.2010.00708.x
Kimmel, A. J. (2008). Ethical issues in social psychology research. In C. Sansone, C. C. Morf, & A. T. Panter (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of methods in social psychology (pp. 45–70). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. doi:10.4135/9781412976190.n3
Lodzinski, A., Motomura, M. S., & Schneider, F. W. (2017). Intervention and evaluation. In J. A. Gruman, F. W. Schneider, & L. M. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (pp. 69–93). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
