psychology of assignments

Faculty Resources

Assignments.

The assignments in this course are openly licensed, and are available as-is, or can be modified to suit your students’ needs. Selected answer keys are available to faculty who adopt Waymaker, OHM, or Candela courses with paid support from Lumen Learning. This approach helps us protect the academic integrity of these materials by ensuring they are shared only with authorized and institution-affiliated faculty and staff.

If you import this course into your learning management system (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), the assignments will automatically be loaded into the assignment tool, where they may be adjusted, or edited there. Assignments also come with rubrics and pre-assigned point values that may easily be edited or removed.

The assignments for Introductory Psychology are ideas and suggestions to use as you see appropriate. Some are larger assignments spanning several weeks, while others are smaller, less-time consuming tasks. You can view them below or throughout the course.

You can view them below or throughout the course.

Discussion Grading Rubric

The discussions in the course vary in their requirements and design, but this rubric below may be used and modified to facilitate grading.

Candela Citations

• Assignments with Solutions. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Pencil Cup. Authored by : IconfactoryTeam. Provided by : Noun Project. Located at : https://thenounproject.com/term/pencil-cup/628840/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

Resources: Course Assignments

Assignment: Learning

Conditioning project.

STEP 1 : Your assignment is to choose one of your OWN behaviors that you would like to modify, using the conditioning principles you learned about in the text. Consider bad habits you might be interested in changing, such as biting your nails, procrastinating, not exercising, etc. You can utilize principles of classical or operant conditioning, recruit others to help you, employ successive approximations and shaping and modify schedules of reinforcement in order to improve your life.

You must spend at least 10 solid days devoted to this project in order to see solid results.  Please get started right away.

STEP 2 : Write a 2-3 page paper (500-800 words) about your project that explains your project, the type of conditioning you used, and the methods and procedures used to execute your project. You should explain the process of shaping the behavior and utilize any or all appropriate vocabulary. Finally, include a discussion of the results and an analysis of recommendations for improvement or future changes.

CC licensed content, Original

• Conditioning Project. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

General Psychology Copyright © by OpenStax and Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Browse Course Material

Course info.

• Prof. Jeremy Wolfe

Departments

• Brain and Cognitive Sciences

As Taught In

• Cognitive Science

Learning Resource Types

Introduction to psychology, assignments, the general idea.

Over the course of the term, you need to write three different kinds of papers and revise one of them.

Each of these will be about 6 pages long (about 1800 words). The revision will be a bit longer.

On the server, there is a folder associated with each lecture and/or chapter. In the folder you will find pdfs of an article or two (sometimes a URL pointing to an article). The contents of the folder will be described on the handout for that lecture/chapter. The handouts are also on the web. Your work for each of the papers begins with one (or more) of these articles. What you do with the article(s) will depend on the kind of paper you are writing. (See below).

General Requirements: Sources

• Each of the first three papers must use at least one of the articles posted on the server.
• Each of the first three papers must use at least two sources beyond what is on the website.
• Those two sources must be published in the scholarly literature or in book form (College level textbooks are fine for one of the two sources. No…you can’t use Gleitman.)
• If you are in doubt about the scholarly nature of a source, ask your TA or ask the librarians (good reason to go to a library workshop).
• A random webpage found by ‘Googling’ cannot be counted toward the two scholarly resources; BUT it might be useful. You can use such sources. You can cite them (give the URL). You just can’t rely on them exclusively.
• Electronic versions of scholarly publications (like most of what I have put on the server) are just fine.
• When in doubt, ASK.

General Requirements: Writing

Always, always make sure you are using your own words. Direct quotation can be used but only very sparingly. It is rarely needed in this sort of writing. Direct quotes should be “in quotes” of course and a proper citation should be given. What we really want to avoid are papers where you read a paragraph and then write a paragraph that is a close paraphrase of your source. Changing “I discovered” to “She discovered” is not “using your own words”. Read your sources. Take notes on your sources. Think about the material. Then write something of your own. If your paper is a pastiche of near quotes, we are going to give you a really bad grade. You have been warned.

Citation: We are not particularly concerned about the form of citation that you use. I suggest following the model used in Gleitman. You put an author and year marker in the text at the relevant point (Wolfe, 2004) and a suitable bibliographic reference at the end of the paper.

Wolfe, J. M. “Writing Assignments for Intro.” Psych. Journal of Course Requirements 12, no. 4 (2004): 403-405.

The critical requirement is that we should be able to find the source of any facts and ideas that you gleaned in your reading. Again, when in doubt, ask.

The Four Papers

Paper 1: Writing for the Public ( PDF )

Paper 2: Taking the Next Step ( PDF )

Examples of Good and Bad Writing ( PDF )

Paper 3: Rewriting the Textbook ( PDF )

Paper 4: Revision ( PDF )

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CSN Library Services

Get the facts, psychology assignments 101.

Research assignments for CSN psychology classes can be among the most varied and challenging you will encounter. For certain class assignments your instructor will ask you to locate empirical research to help you examine a specific assigned topic. You may have to examine peer-reviewed journals. Occasionally, you are asked to select your own topic based on something you care about. You may have to prepare an oral presentation in addition to the paper. You may have a group project component to the assignment – or some combination of all of the above. It is always a good idea to start by first carefully reading your assignment and ask what exactly does my instructor want? How long does the paper or presentation have to be? What types of resources are required or permitted. Do you need books, peer-reviewed journals, DSM-5 , free-web sources? Is there a date range for acceptable resources? What are your due dates? Are there multiple due dates for the different components of the assignment? Is a draft expected? Be sure to ask your instructor if you are unsure of anything in the assignment. Most important – start preparing early in the semester!

If you have a group project, you should all take time to organize goals and tasks. Appoint a group leader. Exchange contact information, review due dates, create a calendar, and find an online workspace. For oral presentations, prepare visual aids in advance and rehearse for timing. You will also want to gather your APA information and review the title, pagination, in-text, and reference page formats.

Investigate

In psychology, ongoing research accomplished by behavioral scientists establishes valid scientific conclusions or claims. As part of the psychological research process, scientists in the field carefully evaluate the methods, evidence, and resulting conclusions reported. The research is then accepted or rejected – along with any claims made. It is only after this rigorous process that academic or professional journals publish certain research reports. These authoritative published research reports should form the core of your research investigations for most assignments. Additionally, you may need to use the DSM-5 , the cornerstone of diagnostic classification in mental health, to locate professional definitions of specific disorders and current treatments. Your best bets for basic psychology research include:

• ProQuest Central – An interdisciplinary collection of full-text articles from outstanding academic/professional journals. APA citations are available for every article in ProQuest . Be sure to filter for date range. While especially strong in the behavioral sciences, the interdisciplinary selection of scholarly articles found in ProQuest can also offer new ways of seeing problems, ideas or theories in other related fields.
• PsycARTICLES – A database of full-text peer-reviewed articles published by APA and affiliated journals. Includes current journal coverage as well as historical content.
• DSM-5 – The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition. A handbook used by healthcare professionals in the US and around the world as the authoritative guide to the definitions and diagnosis of mental disorders. Our online DSM-5 Library includes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , the Handbook of Differential Diagnosis , and the DSM-5 Clinical Cases . Be sure to see a Librarian if you need assistance using this resource.

As you read reports of research in your topic area, be sure to focus on the hypothesis and ask yourself why the study is important to your topic? Ask who are the subjects, how and why were they selected? How was the study conducted and under what conditions? What were the results of the study and was there anything inconclusive? Ask your instructor if you encounter problems in understanding the research presented and its relevance to your topic. For effective online searching, you may also Ask a Librarian for help finding good keywords to express your topic, and for assistance in using these resources and recommendations for others.

For anyone working in psychology, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the definitive style guide. APA format can be challenging, and, as you work gathering resource citations generated in an online environment, it is important to be consistent with your reference page citations. Using a database like ProQuest or PsycArticles will allow you to locate scholarly resources from across various disciplines in the behavioral sciences, while at the same time maintaining consistency from citation to citation. If you’re also consulting and then citing information from resources found in the DSM-5 or other databases, go online to the APA Style Guide located under Research Help on the Libraries webpage – or check the APA Style Quick Guide found in paper in each campus Library. We also have a complete sample APA paper found by clicking Research Help , then How to Cite , and Additional Citation Resources on the Libraries webpage. APA uses a system of DOI’s or Digital Object Identifiers to help the reader identify the exact article used. All DSM-5 online information has a DOI associated with it. For assistance with editing or formatting an APA assignment, visit a CSN Writing Center or a Campus Library . We are all happy to help!

Understanding psychology starts with an understanding of scientific research methods. In order to be valid, opinions and claims all have to start with a scientific perspective of skeptical analysis of evidence and an understanding of how knowledge grows from the chain of research. For you, it all starts with Psychology 101, the classes that follow that course, and working your way through these first assignments.

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• Glossary / Lexicon

An assignment refers to a task or activity that is given to an individual or group to complete, typically as part of a study , research, or therapy program. Assignments can be used in various settings, such as in educational, clinical, or research settings , and can be designed to measure different aspects of behavior , cognition , or emotion .

Examples of assignments in psychology include:

• Behavioral assignment: A task or activity that is designed to measure or change a specific behavior. For example, a behavior therapist may give a child with ADHD an assignment to practice sitting still for a certain period of time each day.
• Cognitive assignment: A task or activity that is designed to measure or change a specific aspect of cognitive functioning, such as memory, attention , or problem -solving. For example, a researcher may give a group of participants an assignment to complete a memory test .
• Emotional assignment: A task or activity that is designed to measure or change a specific aspect of emotional functioning, such as emotional regulation or empathy . For example, a therapist may give a patient with anxiety an assignment to practice deep breathing exercises .
• Self-reflection assignment: A task or activity that is designed to encourage self -reflection and introspection , such as journaling, or meditating.

Assignments can be used in various forms of treatment , such as in cognitive-behavioral therapy , or as part of research studies , as well as in educational settings. They are an important tool for measuring and understanding behavior, cognition, and emotion, and can be used to help individuals improve their functioning and well- being .

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