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Final Paper Topic- Conformity within religious cult gropus. Why do these groups feel the need to obey and conform to the head of the group and its other members? You will dig deeper into a topic of your choice by applying material from the course to a “real world” context in an original and creative way. You can choose to analyze a book (e.g., novel, short story), film, television show, or group that you belong to (past or present), for concepts relevant to the course. The purpose of the project is to gain a fuller understanding of the material by applying it to a specific and unique context, and to demonstrate that understanding. The project will take the form of both a Paper and an A/V Presentation. For your project, you’ll be following American Psychological Association (APA) Style, and you will cite at least two peer-reviewed journal articles regarding the course concepts in addition to using the textbook. You are encouraged to use CUNY OneSearch (which you can access via the Newman Library tab of BlackBoard) to find relevant research articles to support your use of the course material. Please keep in mind, however, you are NOT to do research on the “real world” context; the context should be something that requires no citation (if it is an experience from your life), or else simply a single citation that references the context itself (e.g., film, tv show, novel). The paper must be 3-5 typed, double-spaced, 12-point serif font (e.g., Times New Roman), pages of text. It must also include a reference page, which DOES NOT count toward the page-length requirement. All margins must be set at one inch. The A/V presentation will be 3-5 minutes long. Some Guidelines for the Project: 1. You will need to define the chosen concept(s) and explain how they operate (discussing research findings if applicable). In addition to defining the relevant terms, you will also tell us something about how the concept operates (e.g., Who tends to exhibit it? Under what circumstances? What are the consequences? Etc.). All relevant terms/concepts discussed must be defined, and the source of the definition (e.g., textbook and/or peer-reviewed journal article) must be cited. Be sure to use proper citations and APA style for all definitions, theories, findings, etc. See http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx for a tutorial. 2. You will need to describe your chosen “real-world” context. In the process of defining your chosen concepts and explaining how they operate, you will show us the concepts in action via your “real world” example. Give enough detail to show how your “real world” context contains examples or applications of the concepts you are discussing. Choose just one context (one specific novel, television show, movie, group you belong to, etc.) to use throughout your paper. This way, you'll be able to focus your discussion on a context that we can learn a little bit about, demonstrating the complexity of the people and/or the situation (as opposed to taking one topic, such as discrimination, and applying it to five different contexts). Be sure to properly quote and cite any sources that are used as your example (e.g., novel, film, television show). 3. You will need to connect your chosen concepts to the “real world” context. You need to explicitly state why or how your “real world” application is an example of the concept you chose. The connection of your context to the concept (e.g., definition, specific research findings) should be stated outright and not assumed. All original claims you make in your paper should be substantiated with evidence, and any claims you make that are not your own original thoughts, ideas, or observations must be cited. 4. It is suggested, but not required, that you connect your paper to cultural perspectives. How does the application reflect a particular cultural perspective, compare with other cultural perspectives, or operate differently depending on cultural context, etc.? 5. You should choose a fairly major social psychological concept, theory, or topic that is described adequately enough to lend itself to application. The fact that a topic or concept arose in the course does not make it necessarily a social psychological concept (e.g., heart disease may be discussed in the context of applications to health, but it, in itself, would not be considered a social psychological topic) or a major course topic. Keep in mind that you need to be able to say something interesting about whatever concept(s) you choose. For example, under what circumstances is this phenomenon more or less likely to occur? What are the causes and consequences? Consult with your instructor if you are having difficulties or have any questions about a topic you are considering. 6. This is a formal writing assignment. Do not write as if you are talking to your friends. Be sure to avoid the use of contractions, slang (unless it is relevant to the topic of your paper), and other informalities. Try to avoid the use of “I” or “we” (unless you are writing about a personal experience as your example). Your paper will be graded on clarity and organization. If you need any assistance in this area, it is highly recommended that you make use of the writing resources at SPS, particularly the SPS Writing Fellows. There are probably very few people who could not benefit from the assistance of a Writing Fellow. 7. Choose a unique context. Avoid using a context discussed in the textbook or in the discussions. Think of your own unique context. If a context comes up only briefly in a discussion or the text, it might be acceptable as long as there is plenty of room for you to add your own unique thoughts. Do not simply repeat what you read in the text or discussions. Additionally, try to avoid using a context that has already been discussed online in blogs, etc. (e.g., “12 Angry Men” and “Lord of the Flies” are two movies that have been discussed ad nauseam in various Social Psychology blogs, forums, etc.), and avoid doing research on the example to see what others have said about it. Come up with your own ideas and connections. Check with your instructor if you are not sure if your context is appropriate to use. 8. Watch for grammatical and typographical errors. Proofread your papers. There should be minimal typographical mistakes. Use your word processor’s grammar and spell check functions. If you have difficulty with grammar, punctuation, or other writing issues, it is highly recommended that you seek assistance from the SPS Writing Fellows. 9. The Papers must be 3-5 double-spaced pages of text, in any serif typeface (e.g., Times New Roman; please note the difference between serif and sans serif typefaces), 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. Three full pages of text is the minimum requirement, and I recommend that you aim for four full pages. If you go over five pages, I may stop reading, but you will not necessarily lose points (please try to keep it under five pages, however). You will, however, lose points if your paper is under three full pages of text. References of all sources cited belong on a separate page and do not count toward the page-length requirement (additionally, if you choose to include a title page, abstract, or image, etc., these DO NOT count toward the page length requirement; you must include your name on your paper, but any headings you include [e.g., name, course number, school professor], do not count toward the page length requirement). FAQ Question: Should we discuss as many concepts as possible, or do we just pick one concept from our text and apply it to the specific “real world” context? Answer: The idea is not to use as many concepts as possible, but you also don't need to limit yourself to one concept. Instead, the idea is to demonstrate that you understand a concept(s) in depth, by applying it/them to a real-world (or fictitious) context (e.g., one movie, film, tv show, or context from your own life such as your family, friendship/relationship, work or school context). If you were to choose a movie that you knew had examples of discrimination, that would be great. You'd discuss how discrimination showed up and operated in that movie, relating it to what you learned in class. You might end up discussing conformity and self-esteem (for example) as well, and will likely address prejudice and stereotyping, but you wouldn't try to maximize the number of topics you could include because you only have 3-5 pages and you want to be able to say something interesting about whatever topic(s) you discuss. So you could approach this from different directions. You could say, "I'm really interested in discrimination; I'm going to try to find a film or book that portrays it well and relate my example to the findings I read about in the text" (and then possibly find that you had additional relevant concepts to discuss that were illustrated in the film), or you could say "I'm really interested in this particular film/book and I know that there's a lot going on that's relevant to social psychology; I'll discuss what I think is particularly interesting that ties into what we've learned in class." Similarly, you might remember that there were a lot of relevant dynamics between people in your high school, and you might choose to discuss conformity, attraction, and persuasion that you witnessed in that context. There's no single right way to do this - the important part is that you apply material from the text to a single, unique “real world” context/example, sharing your original thoughts and demonstrating your understanding of the material. Social Psychology, 10th ed. 80220_fm_ptg01_hr_i-001.indd 4 30/01/16 12:37 PM Want to turn C’s into A’s? Obviously, right? But the right way to go about it isn’t always so obvious. Go digital to get the grades. MindTap’s customizable study tools and eTextbook give you everything you need all in one place. Engage with your course content, enjoy the flexibility of studying anytime and anywhere, stay connected to assignment due dates and instructor notifications with the MindTap Mobile app... and most of all…EARN BETTER GRADES. TO GET STARTED VISIT WWW.CENGAGE.COM/STUDENTS/MINDTAP 80220_ifc_ptg01_hr.indd 1 13/01/16 8:12 AM Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due