Social Psychology in Our World

Final Term Project (FTP): Social Psychology in Our World
Part 1: Project Information and Project Options

By the end of the semester, students will demonstrate their understanding of the course material by submitting a final term paper (5 pages in length + title page and a references page) which will discuss, analyze, and exemplify Social Psychology in Our World. This will be accomplished by selecting one project from a list of project options provided by your professor (presented below). The final term paper should showcase your understanding of the course concepts, ability to express your thoughts, ability to find, read, understand, and apply scientific research to your topic of choice, and demonstrate ability to follow assignment instructions.

The WHY: Project Purpose
The Final Term Project has been created for multiple reasons:

1. The most fundamental theme of this course is that Social Psychology and social psychological concepts are EVERYWHERE in our world. We are surrounded by Social Psychology in our daily life – from our interactions with other people, news events, social media platforms, and entertainment, to our daily, even most mundane, decisions that we make – social psychological concepts are at the heart of our daily existence. If, years from now, my students do not remember a single definition from this class, I want them to maintain a deep understanding and appreciation of the fact that social psychology IS OUR LIFE. It is not something that we just take a class in and then forget about. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IS OUR LIFE. It is the decisions that we make every day, the way we interact with others, it is how we perceive situations, how we respond to circumstances, what beliefs we hold, and how we function on a day-to-day basis. The FTP will allow students to demonstrate this fundamental understanding.

2. With technological advancements, a lot has changed in our daily existence. Our ability to access information quickly and easily is at an all-time high. Cable TV, streaming services such as Netflix, search engines such as Google, smart phones, social media platforms, and so many other sources are all providing an ongoing stream of information. However, with a never-ending and quick supply of information, comes the risk of MISINFORMATION. “Fake news”, inaccurate reporting, concerns about data breaches and hacking, and tainted opinions have placed us all at risk for exposure to inaccurate and misleading information, which currently, can place us all at risk for actual physical harm (e.g., inaccurate information about the pandemic and how the virus spreads can affect how people choose to protect – or not protect – themselves, which puts EVERYONE at risk). Since the FTP requires an inclusion of a valid, scientific, recent, peer-reviewed journal article related to your topic of choice, the project will teach students how to locate, read, understand, and use scientifically-based information rather than relying on unreliable, easily accessible information sources (such as social media or the first link that pops up on Google) that might be spreading misinformation.

3. We are all individuals and as such, have different strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone is great at multiple choice exams. Some individuals are much better at demonstrating mastery of course content via written means. The final term project, presented in written format as a final term paper, provides students with the opportunity to showcase mastery of course content in a format other than multiple choice exams for purposes of inclusivity and fairness.

The HOW: Project Structure

How Do I Start?
Below you will find a list of options that you can choose from for your project.
 You will pick only ONE option.
 Pick the option that works best with your current lifestyle, responsibilities, time constraints, interests, and your own, personal strengths. If you are very creative, pick the option that allows you to be creative. If you are more structured, pick the option that allows you to be structured. PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS.

MAJOR CAUTION: whatever you select to review / analyze MUST BE available for me to review via a FREE format (e.g., YouTube). I cannot accurately grade your discussion of something without seeing it. Realistically, I also cannot subscribe to or create numerous accounts (even if they are free) when the class has 70+ students in it. Please make sure that whatever you select is easily accessible for review and that it is free. My recommendation is YouTube because it is free and often contains either full episodes or snippets from shows and movies. Please read on for more information, but your References page will need to include a link to your media that I need to be able to easily access and review. If I cannot review your media, I cannot grade your paper and you will receive a grade of zero.

What Will I Be Doing?
 Watching, reading, listening to, and analyzing our world
 Searching for, or creatively presenting, social psychological concepts that you have learned about in the course via the medium that you choose to work with (see Project Options below)
 Writing an analysis in which you discuss and present TWO social psychological concepts that you were able to find or creatively present in your media of choice

Project Options – PICK ONE OPTION

1. Social Psychology in Blockbuster Movies
 Choose ONE full feature movie to watch. It does not matter what the movie is about or what kind of a movie it is (no inappropriate selections please…). If you want to re-watch one of your favorite movies, that is fine. If you want to watch something brand new to have a fresh perspective, that might be better – but it is not a requirement.

CAUTION: TWO movies that are OFF-LIMITS for this project: “Mean Girls” and “Crash”. DO NOT USE.

 Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find 2 social psychological concepts which you have learned about in the course, within the movie that you select. Select 2 short movie clips to present as your media. Each movie clip should demonstrate one of the social psychological concepts that you have found in the movie and that you will be discussing in your paper.

Example:
-movie clip #1: social psychological concept #1
-movie clip #2: social psychological concept #2

BOTH MOVIE CLIPS AND THUS BOTH CONCEPTS SHOULD COME FROM A SINGLE MOVIE. Blockbuster movies are long enough and complex enough that you should be able to find 2 social psychological concepts in ONE MOVIE.

CAUTION: the movie clips cannot be longer than 3 minutes each and MUST BE available for review via a FREE, non-subscription platform (e.g., YouTube).

2. Social Psychology on TV
 Choose a TV show to watch. It does not matter what the TV show is about or what kind of a TV show it is with a few exceptions – no reality TV, no game shows, etc. These are NOT good options for this project. This option is intended for popular TV series – drama, comedy, sitcoms, etc. If you want to re-watch one of your favorite episodes of a show, that is fine. If you want to watch something brand new to have a fresh perspective, that might be better – but it is not a requirement.

 Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find 2 social psychological concepts which you have learned about in the course, in an episode of the TV show that you select. Select 2 short clips to present. Each clip should demonstrate one of the social psychological concepts that you have found in the episode and that you will be discussing in your paper.

Example:
-episode clip #1: social psychological concept #1
-episode clip #2: social psychological concept #2

Since TV episodes are generally shorter than blockbuster movies, you can use two separate episodes of a TV show to find your two concepts, but both clips / concepts should be from the SAME show. If you can find 2 concepts in a single episode, that is fine as well. Whether you use one single episode or two episodes of a TV show, BOTH CONCEPTS NEED TO COME FROM THE SAME TV SHOW. Please do not mix and match different from different shows.

CAUTION: Episode clips cannot be longer than 3 minutes each and MUST BE available for review via a FREE, non-subscription platform (e.g., YouTube).

3. Social Psychology in the News
 Watch / Read the News. There is SO MUCH happening right now in terms of current events. Almost every story is filled with social psychology in some way. Find a story that resonates with you and that clearly demonstrates social psychological concepts in what it discusses and how it presents such information.
 Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find 2 social psychological concepts which you have learned about in the course, presented / evident in the news. It would be best to find these stories in print (e.g., get a news article online so you can save it for submission with your paper). If you use TV news stories, they must be available for my review.
 Since news stories are shorter than blockbuster movies, you can use two separate news stories to find your 2 concepts. If you can find 2 concepts in a single news story, that is fine as well.

Example:
-News story / article #1: social psychological concept #1
-News story / article #2: social psychological concept #2

CAUTION: The news story MUST BE available for my review. If it is in a print format (e.g., online news story in print format), secure a copy of the printed article. If it is in other media format (e.g., TV newscast), it needs to be available somehow for my review, and the same rules apply as with project options 1 and 2 – it cannot be a 20 minute news story. If the news story is in a print format and would take more than 3 minutes to read, you will need to point out the section that is most relevant to your discussion. If it is a newscast story, the clip cannot be longer than 3 minutes. Overall, regardless of the format of presentation, the media cannot take longer than 3 minutes to review.

4. Social Psychology in Memes – Those that Already Exist
 Scroll through social media, look on Google, etc. to find some memes. Memes have become a common way of communicating with others. They often provide humorous stress relief, a political commentary, or offer a unique point of view on a topic of interest.
 Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find at least 4 existing memes that demonstrate two social psychological concepts which you have learned about in the course. At least TWO memes should demonstrate the SAME concept, and at least TWO OTHER memes should demonstrate a SECOND, separate concepts.
 You want to find 2 separate social psychological concepts and demonstrate EACH concept using at least 2 memes (for a total of at least 4 memes in your paper).

Example:
-social psychological concept #1: meme 1, meme 2…
-social psychological concept #2: meme 1, meme 2…

As with the other project options, you will need to secure copies of the memes and have them available for review along with your paper. I would suggest copying and saving the memes right when you find them in case they are moved or deleted later on.

5. For the Creative Folks: Social Psychology in Memes – Do It Yourself
 Create your own memes. Memes have become a common way of communicating with others. They often provide humorous stress relief, a political commentary, or offer a unique point of view on a topic of interest.
 Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to CREATE at least 4 of your own memes that demonstrate two social psychological concepts which you have learned about in the course. At least TWO memes should demonstrate the SAME concept, and at least TWO OTHER memes should demonstrate a SECOND, separate concepts.
 You want to create at least 4 memes in total, with 2 memes representing one social psychological concept and 2 other memes representing a different social psychological concept

Example:
-social psychological concept #1: meme 1, meme 2…
-social psychological concept #2: meme 1, meme 2…

As with the other project options, you will need to provide the memes that you create along with your paper.

Okay, I FOUND my media. NOW WHAT?
 Watch, read, analyze, create – think Social Psychology.
 Students will write a 5 page, final term paper which will present, analyze, and discuss the social psychological concepts that they found in the media of their choice.
 Each paper will present 2 separate, specific social psychological concepts that you have learned about in the course, regardless of what media was used. Please keep in mind that something such as RELATIONSHIPS, COGNITIVE DISSONANCE, PERSUATION, SELF-IDENTITY, etc. is TOO BROAD. If you want to discuss some smaller component or aspect of those, that is fine, but it needs to be specific and it needs to be clearly reflected in the media that you are presenting. If you are unsure if something is appropriate, please email and ask.
 Each paper, regardless of what media was used, will be presented in a standardized format. Details of exact formatting are to come in the near future, but the very basic expectations are:
 Your final paper will need to include a title page, a references page, and of course the presentation of / access to whatever media was used. If you create your own memes or are presenting memes you found, you will add an Appendix page to your paper to show your memes.
 Paper format will follow APA guidelines – some rules and examples of paper components such as the title page will be posted closer to the due date.
 Finally, you will also need to find ONE peer-reviewed, scientific, recent (less than 10 years old) journal article that somehow applies to your discussion and the social psychological concepts that you are presenting in your paper. This journal article will be located through the UH LIBRARY (online) – not Google, not Bing, etc. Students will locate, read, and then apply the journal article content to their own discussion to supplement paper content with social psychological research. If you choose Social Psychology in the News, this is a DIFFERENT article than your news article. The news article is your media. The journal article is the scientific, research-based support for the discussion of your media content.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT:
-How to find an appropriate journal article
-How to read, understand, and use the article effectively in your paper
-How to create an appropriate title page, references page, and appendix page
-How to structure your final paper
-How the paper will be graded
-And MORE! will be coming your way shortly.

For now, I want you to start thinking about the project options, start paying attention to the things you are watching, reading, scrolling through, etc., and start searching for social psychology in your life. IT IS THERE. ALL THE TIME. EVERYWHERE. You just need to look.