Write research paper assignment by using the following instructions, research question, hypothesis, sources, tips and plan:
INSTRUCTIONS: Written Assignments: For the first written assignment (first draft), students will choose one of the topics discussed in class, summarize key messages and develop a research question and/or hypothesis. You are free to link this to any socially relevant topic and orient your reflection towards
1) the individuals involved (their motives, goals, cognitive mechanisms, and emotions)
2) the situation in which they find themselves (the threat and opportunities present in the environment), and
3) the interaction between the individuals and the situation (are the actors and situation compatible? How do they influence each other?)
Title: “Exploring the Social Behaviors and Attitudes of Individuals Affected by Astrology”
WRITING PLAN:
1. Review the topics discussed in class and select one that aligns with your interests and that you feel you can analyze effectively within the context of the assignment requirements.
2. Summarize Key Messages: Summarize the key messages related to your chosen topic from the class discussions or relevant academic sources. Identify the main points and arguments that have been presented.
3. Develop a Research Question and/or Hypothesis: Based on the key messages you have summarized, formulate a clear research question and/or hypothesis that you will address in your assignment. Ensure that the question is specific, relevant, and aligned with the assignment objectives:
– Research question: “What are the differences in social behaviors and attitudes between individuals who strongly believe in astrology and those who do not?”
– Hypothesis: Beliefs in astrology impacts individuals’ behaviors and attitudes by heuristics
– Independent Variable: astrology beliefs
– Dependent Variable: social behaviours & attitudes affected by astrology
4. Link to a Socially Relevant Topic: Connect your chosen topic to a socially relevant issue or current event. Consider how the topic impacts society, individuals, or specific communities. This connection will provide context and relevance to your assignment.
5. Structure your Reflection: Organize your reflection according to the three specified areas – individuals involved, the situation they are in, and the interaction between the two. Analyze the motives, goals, cognitive mechanisms, and emotions of the individuals, as well as the threats, opportunities, and dynamics of the situation.
Tips:
– BE SPECIFIC: “What functions do attitudes fulfill?” is not a research question, but rather, something you are able to answer by reading your textbook. Instead, try to look for specific real-world scenarios where u can apply these concepts e.g. “Social tuning: changes in political attitudes among immigrants”. This would touch topics such as social tuning, social identity, the self, and attitude change…. ANY topic is fine as long as you can associate it with concepts discussed in class.
– THE KEY PILLARS: Introduction, IV, DV, 1-2 research question(s), 1-2 hypotheses. A very easy way to come about literature in your topic is to define what is the relationship you want to study (which IV, which DV?) and then look for contextual factors (moderators) and psychological processes (mediators) that can explain differences in results. This is only a suggestion, but not compulsory.
– Related to the first point, make sure your hypothesis is something that can be testable! While you will not be conducting your own study for this paper (this is not an empirical paper, but a literature review), make sure that your hypotheses can be tested with the selection of papers you will eventually provide in your second assignment. This does not mean you already need to have a literature review done now, but if hypotheses are clearly defined, with an IV and a DV, it should not be a major challenge to find relevant literature when the second assigment is due.
– Keep your research question relevant to social psychological research 😉 Your research question should ideally look for some psychological phenomenon discussed in class, embedded in a particular social context. The social context can also be your “moderating variable”, meaning the factor that answer the “when?” question regarding. the relationship between the IV and the DV.
Sources:
1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886916307826
2. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article–file/1680353
3. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark–Hamilton-2/publication/276460103_Astrology_as_a_culturally_transmitted_heuristic_scheme_for_understanding_seasonality_effects_a_response_to_Genovese_2014_1/links/55c21f7308aeb975673e39a6/Astrology–as–a–culturally–transmitted–heuristic–scheme–for–understanding–seasonality–effects–a–response–to–Genovese-2014-1.pdf?_sg%5B0%5D=started_experiment_milestone&origin=journalDetail&_rtd=e30%3D
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