This essay is
meant to help students develop the ability to describe psychological principles
in writing, and communicate to friends, family members, and the general public
how psychological science can help us to understand events, social issues, or
situations we experience in our everyday lives.
Similar to the weekly discussion posts, this is a longer essay
explaining to someone who has not taken psychology how the concept can help us
to understand specific events situations (1-2 pages single-spaced). The
concept(s) that you write about in your essay must be something that was
covered in one of the assigned textbook chapters.
Some ideas
would be to use your own personal experience, find news articles or op-eds
(articles expressing an opinion) describing current events or issues that need
to be addressed, television shows, films, music, literature, or other media
sources. You will start by explaining
the real-world example so readers have enough background information to
understand the issue, situation, or event. Next, you will explain the concept
that you are applying to the real-world example, and discuss how that concept
helps us to understand the example you found.
In your essay
you should:
1.
Provide
background information about the real-world example. If you’re using a personal
example, what was your experience like and what are the details that the reader
should know that will set up your use of the psychological concept in your
essay?
2.
Define
and describe a concept in psychology that was covered in the textbook that
relates to the example in the media. The
purpose is to demonstrate in writing your understanding of the concept, and
explain it well enough that someone who has not taken the course can understand
it. For example, if you’re writing about a time when you forgot something
important, what is the type of forgetting you experienced? How does it differ from other types of
forgetting? What does it tell us about the process of how memory is encoded,
stored, and later retrieved?
3.
Clearly
explain how the concept can be applied to your real-world example.
**Essays will be automatically
checked for plagiarism, so if you submit another student’s essay, an essay
purchased online, or pasted text from other sources you will receive a zero for
the assignment and it will be reported to the department.
Please do not use AI tools such as
ChatGPT to complete your essay. It is not your original work and since it
scrapes the internet for the definitions of concepts it will likely lead to a
loss of points on your essay because the concepts in the textbook are different
from what is found in open sources online. See City Tech’s policy on
plagiarism in the syllabus**
Sample media
sources:
You may choose
any of the following articles as the basis of your essay if you do not have a
personal example of your own. However,
do not just summarize the article! Be sure to follow the instructions and
relate it to a concept covered in class.
Modern-day mental health: Brain imaging
identifies different types of depression
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brain-imaging-identifies-different-types-of-depression/
Rhythm of Breathing Affects Memory and Fear
http://neurosciencenews.com/memory-fear-breathing-5699/
Can Magic Mushrooms
Cure Addiction?
https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/487523/can-magic-mushrooms-cure-addiction/
When
Opioids Make Pain Worse
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/03/03/586621236/when-opioids-make-pain-worse
The Complex Lives of Babies
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/06/the-complex-lives-of-babies/487679/
Your
Attachment Style Influences The Success Of Your Relationship
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/your-attachment-style-influences-the-success-of-your_us_58b7d6a8e4b051155b4f8bdd
Here’s
What It Really Means To Be Intersex
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/intersex-hanne-odiele_us_58875dabe4b096b4a2347790
The
Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress
https://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/
Micro-Progress and the Magic of Just Getting Started
What smartphone photography is doing to our memories
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/3/28/17054848/smartphones-photos-memory-research-psychology-attention
Racism
Is Literally Bad For Your Health
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/28/560444290/racism-is-literally-bad-for-your-health
Undocumented and Stressed
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/26/study-finds-undocumented-colleges-students-face-unique-challenges
Instead of detention, these students
get meditation
https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/health/meditation-in-schools-baltimore/index.html
How Researchers Learned to Use
Facebook ‘Likes’ to Sway Your Thinking
The Bias That Explains Why Americans
Fear Terrorism More Than Guns
http://www.nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/01/why-americans-are-so-scared-of-terrorism.html
Terror
attacks receive five times more media coverage if perpetrator is Muslim, study
finds
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world-0/terror-attacks-media-coverage-muslim-islamist-white-racism-islamophobia-study-georgia-state-a7820726.html
The Science
of Why Cops Shoot Young Black Men
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/science-of-racism-prejudice
Examples
of films that can be related:
Get Out (Stereotyping and Prejudice):
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2867770905/
Memento (Memory):
http://www.imdb.com/videoplayer/vi1368785177?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_1
