Psy-4500:week 2 – assignment: analyze experiments

Warm-Up Activity 2.1: Forming Your Timeline for the Signature Assignment

This week you will begin your timeline by placing each of the discoveries described in your readings on a timeline. You can build your timeline in a Word document, or if you prefer, you may use one of the following tools to help craft your timeline:

• Timeline Creator
• Learning Tools, Timeline Tool

This assignment will eventually be submitted as part of your Signature Assignment (Week 8), and does not need to be submitted at this time.

Warm-Up Activity 2.2: Forming Your Career Journal Entry for Your Signature Assignment

BA psychology graduates are often eligible for psychology-related jobs with the Federal and State governments. Learn more about possible career choices in psychology related to this week’s topic at:

• American Psychological Association, PsycCareers
• Association for Psychological Science, Employment Network (Choose a field in psychology in the drop down box and career openings will appear)

As a result of your search, you should note in a personal career journal at least three career options related to the field of psychology that you studied this week.

For each option you list, include:

• The  job title
• The job description or type of work involved
• The education level required
• Your own interest in this type of career or further training in this area.

This task will eventually be submitted as part of your Signature Assignment (Week 8), and does not need to be submitted at this time.

Assignment

For this task, choose two experiments – one from Chapter 1, and another from Chapter 3. You will prepare two separate analyses. For each analysis, include the following:

• A brief summary of the study
• A one paragraph explanation of   the background in the field leading up to the study, and the reasons the researchers carried out the project
• The significance of the study to the field of psychology
• A brief discussion of supportive or contradictory follow-up research findings and subsequent questioning or criticism from others in the field   
•  A summary of at least one recent experiment (within the past two years) that is related to the seminal experiment (Hint: Excellent sources for recent research summaries are the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology and the Association for Psychological Science).
• A brief discussion of how the original research, and the research following it, contributed to the genetics versus environment debate in psychology.

Length: 3 – 3.5 pages

Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to the topic.  Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.  Be careful to adhere to Northcentral’s Academic Integrity Policy.