One of the core objectives of this course is that you can articulate the personal relevance of the course material. While I know that this course has moved rapidly, I’d like you to take a few minutes to reflect on the topics that we have covered. For this assignment, I want you to identify four (4) principles you learned in this course; explain each one including any relevant research and relate it to your own life. Your selection is personal, I recognize that, but the four principles should come from different topics within the course.
Your essay requires an introduction, discussion of the four examples, and a conclusion. All four of your examples should come from DIFFERENT categories of psychology.
Your essay should include a discussion of the general theme of personal relevance through clear and detailed discussions of each principle. Each principle should describe specific evidence (studies, theories, or the text). Use diverse, non-overlapping principles that represent different topics from the course and be sure to relate exactly how they prove relevant to your life with specific examples. The relevance may be personal or it may be in response to the social events of the times, but give me examples. It is not enough to say memory is important and I use it everyday! That isn’t a principle nor is it an example of relevance.
You should think of this assignment as your final examination – and in fact, if you were in my face-to-face class you would have this question to respond to as part of your final exam. If you were writing this course in my classroom, you might be able to reference your notes and your text book – but no other outside sources. I want you to treat this assignment in that same way – the only sources you may use are from your notes, your textbook, or materials I presented here on Canvas.
WHAT I MEAN BY PRINCIPLES:
By principles, I am referring to specific principles and NOT just general topic areas. Some examples include:
plasticity or twin or adoption study
change blindness or a theory of sleep or dreaming
operant conditioning or shaping
gender role socialization
elaborative and maintenance rehearsal. If you are writing about psychological disorder, you may address determining normal and abnormal, or you may select a specific disorder and discuss the symptoms, development or treatment.
