Project: Research Proposal on
Racism and Psychopathology
WHAT YOU’RE DOING
The assignment is to write a hypothetical conference paper. In actuality, it will be a proposal arguing for or against the hypothesis that racism is a mental disorder. It
will have no more than 7 pages, be double-spaced, and use a Times New Roman
size 12 font.
Further, the proposal/conference paper must include
sources to support your claim. Sources are to be cited according to
APA format. The work of Dr. Alvin Poussaint, among others, may be used as
a source. In addition, Students are to use sources such as ProQuest
Psychology Journals, ProQuest Criminal Justice Journals, the National
Institutes of Mental Health (nihm.gov), the National Institutes of Health
(nih.gov), and the apa.org. Much loved sources like Wikipedia and
about.com may
not be used as they are not peer reviewed sources.
ProQuest Psychology and Criminal Justice Journals are located in the
College’s Library databases. If you are unfamiliar with APA format, it is
in the APA Publication Manual which is required for this course.
EXAMPLE 1 (argument for)
You are a psychologist preparing a paper on racism. You will present
the paper at a conference next month. As a researcher you are aware of
the American Psychological Association’s position on racism, i.e., that it is
not a diagnosable pathology. Indeed, it does not appear in the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, you are not so
sure. Dylann Roof’s alleged racially motivated shootings this past summer
at a historically Black American Church in Charleston, SC may support your
position (Poussaint, 2002). The Nazi racial antisemitism that fueled the
Holocaust is another potential example (Page, 2014). Please present your
argument for racism as psychopathology.
EXAMPLE 2 (argument against)
You are a psychologist preparing a paper on racism. You will present
the paper at a conference next month. As a researcher you are aware of
the American Psychological Association’s position on racism, i.e., that it is
not a diagnosable pathology. Indeed, it does not appear in the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. You are in agreement.
Dylann Roof’s alleged racially motivated shootings this past summer at a
historically Black American Church in Charleston, SC may support your position.
Here, you would consider the fact that legal insanity is not a plausible
defense for individuals who behave immorally, but rationally. The Nazi racial antisemitism that fueled the
Holocaust is another potential example: Remember, no one who has been
prosecuted for “crimes against humanity” has been deemed “insane” (El-Hai,
2013; Williams, 2014). Some examples include Slobodan Milosevic, Hermann
Goring, etc. Please present your argument against racism as
psychopathology.
References
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders, 6th ed. American Psychiatric Publishing.
El-Hai, J. (2013). The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Goring, Dr.
Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII. Public
Affairs: NY.
Page, C. (2014) Are Racists Mentally Ill. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 June
2015. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-16/opinion/ct-racism-mental-illness-oped-0416-20140416_1_green-berets-jews-racism
Poussaint, A. (2002). Is Extreme Racism a Mental Illness? Western Journal of
Medicine. 176 (1):4. Retrieved 24 June 2015. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071634/
Williams, S. (2014). Of
men and monsters: “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” explores one of history’s
most troubling questions. Minnpost.com. Retrieved 24 June 2015. https://www.minnpost.com/mental-health-addiction/2014/04/men-and-monsters-nazi-and-psychiatrist-explores-one-historys-most-tr
HOW
TO DO IT:
Your
Proposal must include:
·
Hypothesis (statement or prediction
about the relationship between variables which, in this case include racism,
aggression and violence to explain behavior). You will need to begin
formulating your hypothesis by looking at previous studies. Looking at
previous studies will help you generate a new idea about a topic (in this case
the topic has already been assigned: racism, aggression and violent
behavior). You will form your “new idea” or hypothesis after
looking at what others have had to say (i.e., hypotheses of previous
studies.) Student will find previous studies in the Proquest Psychology
Journals Database which is located in the College Library’s online
Database. Previous studies will also be the sources you will cite/quote
as support for your hypothesis.
Hypothesis
must include criterion and comparison groups (see pp 24-25), or, treatment
and control group/condition (p. 27). The type of group depends on
whether or not your design is an Observation or an Experiment.
·
Further, the Groups you select will
make up your Sample. One group will represent the population of interest
(criterion or treatment group), while the other (comparison or control) is used
only for the purpose of comparison. This group is the “normal” group; its
members are exactly like the members of the criterion/treatment group except
they are normal. (For the Experimental Design, the Control Group does
not receive the treatment, i.e., the Independent Variable.)
·
Sample (this step involves selecting
and naming/identifying the group you will study. The sample population
must be representative of the population of interest [see p. 24 for
further information]).
·
Data collection method(s) you would
use (e.g., case study, self-report data, observation, experiment, or
mixed). For Self-Report Data your data may be the words or
statements made by your sample population participants; may be obtained through
questionnaires, interviews or video recordings. For Observation
your data may be observed reactions or responses to religious, ethnic or racial
groups. Reactions include positive responses (verbal agreement, smiles,
laughter, gestures such as thumbs up) to derogatory remarks about, or verbal or
physical assaults or threats of physical assaults made toward these
minorities. Reactions also include making derogatory remarks
about, or engaging in verbal or physical assaults on religious, ethnic or
racial minorities. Data also includes biological/physiological
measurements of increased blood pressure, heart rate, or hormone levels
(hormones such as epinephrine/adrenaline, and/or cortisol). Or data may
be brain activity and associated changes in blood flow. Data may be
obtained through ERP (event-related potentials) or EP (evoked potential) both
of which are accessed through EEG. Another way to obtain data is through
fMRI.
·
Research Design: (a) select
one and explain the information gained from it, advantages and disadvantages
of the design: Observational Research, Experimental Research; (b)
describe how it would look (i.e., for Observation: Hypothesis, number of
participants, criterion group, control group, positive or negative correlation,
uncorrelated. For Experiment: Hypothesis, independent variable, dependent
variable, treatment and control groups/conditions), (c) how it would
support your Hypothesis, (d) the biological or psychological theory you
would use to guide your study (see Chap. 2)
·
Citation of Sources (must use APA
format for listing references. Sources must be acknowledged.
To not credit sources is plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional.
Plagiarism carries a penalty of 0 or F for the Assignment, and may result in an
F for the course.
HOW TO WRTIE A HYPOTHESIS. MUST INCLUDE VARIABLES OF INTEREST, HOW ONE IMPACTS
ANOTHER, AND HOW THIS IMPACT EXPLAINS A BEHAVIOR OR PHENOMENON.
SAMPLE HYPOTHESES:
The preponderance of media images of
beauty influences female self-image from adolescence through late
adulthood. VARIABLES OF INTEREST:
numerous images, self-image over time
Physically abusive male spouses
typically play more hours of violent video games than their non-abusive
counterparts. VARIABLES OF INTEREST: abusive male spouses, violent video
games
Women suffering from Major
Depression demonstrate lowered cognitive functioning (diminished memory, poor
decision making, less comprehension) over time. VARIABLES OF INTEREST:
depression, cognitive functioning
Male rapists will score higher on measures of apathy and
lower on measures of empathy than their non-rapist counterparts. VARIABLES
OF INTEREST: rapists’ scores (apathy, empathy), non-rapists’ scores
(apathy, empathy)
