100 PSYC Introduction to Psychology Paper 3 Critically Evaluating Conflicting Perspectives on a Psychological Issue Due 4/25 at 5pm in your TA's mailbox in the Psychology Department office, SGM 501. Select one of the debate options from the Clashing Views on Psychological Issues. Read both the yes and no sides. You will write a 3.5 - 5 page (double-spaced) paper in which you critically-evaluate each perspective. In addition, one journal article must be read and incorporated into your paper. You will search for this article in an electronic database called "PSYCArticles." This database is available as an e-resource on the USC Libraries website and contains only full-text articles. Alternatively, you may read one of the articles cited as a reference in the debate you choose, but you will need to locate it in the journal in which it was published. It may be available full-text or may only be available in the actual journal stacks in the library. Structuring and Formatting the Paper Begin by stating (in 1-2 sentences) the central theme of the debate you have chosen. Next, in < 5 sentences, address the significance of resolving this issue. For example, is there a threat to physical or psychological health? Is there an impact on society? Be specific about what is at stake and what benefit there is to evaluating these positions and determining which side has more empirical support. Do not reveal your conclusion or evaluate the two sides at this point. For organizational purposes, present the "yes" and "no" positions using these guidelines. Introduce the "yes" position's central arguments on the issue. This should be a general overview of this position. Details of studies or other lines of evidence and rebuttals to the other side should not be included here. Follow with the "no" position applying the same rules. (No more than 1/2 page total.) Present in 1 page or less a summary of the "yes" position. At this time, draw upon the research discussed in the debate reading as evidence for these arguments. Refer to authors of studies described by the debate authors using only their last names. Follow by presenting in 1 page or less the "no" position in the same way. Next, critically-evaluate these two positions, applying some of the concepts covered in this course. These might include whether the evidence presented is correlational or experimental (allowing cause-effect conclusions), whether the studies are conducted on samples that generalize to relevant populations, and whether the studies involve conditions or measures that seem valid (meaningfully related to what they intend to assess). Be looking for any other factors that need to be considered or studied, or in other words, "holes" in the existing data that is presented as support for each side.
Finally, conclude by discussing either whether perspective seems to be stronger, in light of the evidence and arguments presented. Drawing upon Sources and Citing them Properly to avoid Plagiarism Include the journal article you locate as further support for one of the perspectives, or perhaps as insight into which perspective is stronger in your conclusion section. If you know another person in class writing on the same debate, take caution not to choose the same article knowingly; this may happen by coincidence, but each students' usage of the article will be compared and a high degree of similarity will be considered cheating. ****You will need to include your copy of the article you locate with your paper.**** Whenever you are relating ideas presented by the debate authors, refer to the authors using their last name(s) only. For example, if the "YES" position was written by Michael Jones and Terry Smith, you would cite them as: Jones and Smith pointed out that ... Or, you can state their idea and conclude the sentence with their names in parentheses: (Jones & Smith). Notice the use of the word "and" outside of parentheses and the "&" inside parentheses. This is the reference style of the American Psychological Association. The first time you cite authors, use the year in which their position was published like this: Jones and Smith (1999) stated that... Or, in the parenthetical version: This is how things are...(Jones & Smith, 1999). Subsequently, you will use only names and not the year each time you refer to the work. The authors and publication year are listed on the first page of the debates; if yours says "An original article written for this volume" then it was published in 2006. Do not use quotation marks unless you are directly quoting their wording. Please try to paraphrase rather than quoting. If you must quote, then indicate the page number on which the quote appears like this: Jones and Smith (1999) stated that ".............." (p. 341). Or: "This is exactly how things are in the world" (Jones & Smith, 1999, p. 341). When referring to your journal article, cite all last names in the order listed and the publication year just as above, and here, shown with more authors: Taylor, Robertson, Chen and McDougall (2004) conducted a study on... If there are three or more names, you may refer to them as "Taylor et al." subsequently. Try not to quote from the article either, but if you do, then use the page number just as above. Basically, if you cannot paraphrase the information, take that as a sign that you do not fully comprehend it, and you need to re-read it or select a less complex source. General Formatting Use Times New Roman 12 point font and 1" margins on all 4 sides. You will need to change the default margins in Microsoft Word on the left and right from 1.25 to 1 inches.