How did others respond to your compassion? Do you think they noticed a difference in your behavior? What attributions did people make for your behavior, and why?

/in /by

To complete this assignment, choose a day that will be your “Day of Compassion” and try your absolute best to live each minute of that day as compassionately as possible. In other words, for a full 24-hour period you should do your best to reduce suffering of others, help those in need, be considerate and respectful, and avoid causing harm to any living being.

When carrying out this assignment, leave no behavior unexamined — from watching TV to eating lunch to decisions about giving time or money to others. That is, don’t limit yourself to simply holding the door open for a stranger or petting a lonely dog; think about all the unnecessary suffering in the world, and strive for the greatest impact and deepest level of compassion without being phony or insincere. It is up to you to define what compassion is and to decide how best to realize it.

If you are already quite compassionate, try being compassionate toward groups you don’t often focus on, and even if your actions don’t differ much from how you normally behave, carefully observe and analyze what transpires during the day. If outside events make it difficult for you to participate on the designated day, or if you feel dissatisfied with your performance of the assignment, feel free to repeat the exercise on a later day.

Note: To minimize any bias in social reactions, it is best if you do not tell others about the class assignment until after the Day of Compassion is over.

Part 2:

Submit a social psychological analysis of what the day was like (3-4 pages double spaced). Here are a few sample questions you might address:

  • How did you define compassion, and who were the recipients of your efforts?
  • If your behavior was different than normal, which person did you like more: the “Day of Compassion you” or the “normal you”? If you preferred the “Day of Compassion you,” what are the psychological factors that prevent this “you” from coming out?
  • What are the psychological costs and benefits of behaving compassionately? In your view, do the benefits outweigh the costs?
  • How did others respond to your compassion? Do you think they noticed a difference in your behavior? What attributions did people make for your behavior, and why?
  • If you wanted to encourage others to behave as you did during the Day of Compassion, what psychological techniques would you use? How can social psychology be used to foster compassion?
  • If you were to predict your behavior one month from now, do you think it will be changed in any way as a result of participating in the Day of Compassion? If so, how? If not, why not?

You can earn up to 50 extra credit points for a well done assignment.

“The problem is whether we are determined to go in the direction of compassion or not. If we are, then can we reduce the suffering to a minimum? If I lose my direction, I have to look for the North Star, and I go to the north. That does not mean I expect to arrive at the North Star. I just want to go in that direction.”
~Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace (1987)

· Construct clear and concise arguments using evidence-based psychological concepts and theories to posit new relationships and perspectives on the topics within the domains.

/in /by

 

Week 6 – Final Assignment

Integrative Literature Review

The primary goal of this literature review is to integrate concepts from four different content domains within the larger field of psychology. The four content domains should be chosen from previous coursework in this program. In this paper, students will review the findings in the individual empirical articles, organize the research in a meaningful way, evaluate the reliability, validity, and generalizability of the research findings, and present an integrated synthesis of the research that sheds new light on the topics within and across the four domains.

The result of a successful integrative literature review may be a significant contribution to a particular body of knowledge and, consequently, to research and practice. Therefore, before writing this literature review, substantive new research must be conducted via the Internet and within the Ashford University Library for each of the four chosen domains. A minimum of six sources must be included for each of the four domains. Although content from literature reviews completed in prior courses within this program may be included, it may not constitute the total research for the individual domains addressed within this assignment. No more than four sources from previous literature reviews completed in this program may be utilized for this integrative review.

The headings listed below must be used within the paper to delineate the sections of content. These sections include the following: a clear introduction that provides a general review and organizes the research in a meaningful way; a discussion in which the evidence is presented through analysis, critique, and synthesis; and a conclusion in which the discussion is drawn together in a meaningful way, the claims of the introduction are brought to a logical closure, and new research is proposed.

Introduction

· Provide a conceptual framework for the review.

· Describe how the review will be organized. The questions below may be used to guide this section.

o What are the guiding theories within the domains?

o How are the domains connected?

o Are there competing points of view across the domains?

o Why is the integration of these domains important?

o What is the history of these domains?

o What are the related theories or findings?

· Describe how the literature was identified, analyzed, and synthesized.

· How and why was the literature chosen?

· What is your claim or thesis statement?

Discussion

· Provide the analysis, critique, and synthesis for the review.

Analysis

· Examine the main ideas and relationships presented in the literature across the four domains.

· Integrate concepts from the four different content domains within the larger field of psychology.

· What claim(s) can be made in the introduction?

· What evidence supports the claim(s) made in the introduction?

Critique

· Evaluate the reliability, validity, and generalizability of the chosen research findings.

· How well does the literature represent the issues across the four domains?

· Identify the strengths and the key contributions of the literature.

· What, if any, deficiencies exist within the literature?

· Have the authors omitted any key points and/or arguments?

· What, if any, inaccuracies have been identified in the literature?

· What evidence runs contrary to the claims proposed in the introduction, and how might these be reconciled with the claims presented?

· Explain how the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct might influence the reliability and/or generalizability of the chosen findings.

· Did the ethical issues influence the outcomes of the research?

· Were ethical considerations different across the domains?

Synthesis

· Integrate existing ideas with new ideas to create new knowledge and new perspectives.

· Describe the research that has previously been done across these domains, as well as any controversies or alternate opinions that currently exist.

· Relate the evidence presented to the major conclusions being made.

· Construct clear and concise arguments using evidence-based psychological concepts and theories to posit new relationships and perspectives on the topics within the domains.

Conclusion

· Provide a conclusion and present potential future considerations.

· State your final conclusion(s).

· Synthesize the findings described in the discussion into a succinct summary.

· What questions remain?

· What are the possible implications of your argument for existing theories and for everyday life?

· Are there novel theories and/or testable hypothesizes for future research?

· What do the overarching implications of the studies show?

· Where should the research go from this point to further the understanding of these domains and the greater study of psychology?

Attention Students: The Masters of Arts in Psychology program is utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as a repository for student scholarly work in the form of signature assignments completed within the program. After receiving feedback for this Integrative Literature Review, please implement any changes recommended by the instructor, go to Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and upload the revised Integrative Literature Review to the portfolio. (Use the Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to create an account if you do not already have one.) The upload of signature assignments will take place after completing each course. Be certain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the program as the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and may be used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.

The Integrative Literature Review

· Must be 20 to 30 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

· Must include a separate title page with the following:

o Title of paper

o Student’s name

o Course name and number

o Instructor’s name

o Date submitted

· Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.

· Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.

· Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.

· Must use at least 24 peer-reviewed sources, including a minimum of 20 from the Ashford University Library.

· Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

· Must include a separate reference list that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

/in /by

For our Final Paper Assignment, you must first select at least one of the major topics (i.e., chapters) in Psychology (e.g., Chapter 6: Learning).

What makes the movie funny? Or is it not funny, and why? Are older people being made fun of through stereotypes of older people or are we laughing at something else? Explain. 

/in /by

This is based off the movie Grumpy Old Men

Grumpy Old Men (Guide for Movie Response)

1. Describe and discuss the following media images of the elderly in the movie Grumpy Old Men: a. elderly as villains • no more poverty • war between the generations • support pyramid • not doing their share b. elderly as desperately poor c. elderly as comical, stubborn, eccentric or foolish d. elderly as sexless e. elderly as sick and near death f. elderly as ugly g. elderly as childlike—infantilization • moods and personality of children • dress and appearance of children • physical problems of children • children’s parties • children’s activities • playthings of children

2. Describe ways the movie attacks ageism—look for the following, for example: • is the diversity of the elderly addressed? • is the positive accentuated rather than the negative? • is the aging about living or about suffering and dying? • is the movie targeted for the elderly, minus 15 years? • are the elderly characters put on a diet? • sense of humor? • are the elderly sexless? • does the movie look at the future of the characters or does it focus on life coming to a close?

3. Are there gender differences in the movie’s treatment of aging? That is to say, is aging portrayed differently for the male characters than for the female characters? Explain.

4. What makes the movie funny? Or is it not funny, and why? Are older people being made fun of through stereotypes of older people or are we laughing at something else? Explain.

5. What expectations would people having coming in to see this movie for the first time? Does this movie fulfill those expectations? Explain. How would we gauge the audience response to the movie as they watched it?

6. How is the title of this movie important? What are the connotations? Is it ageist? Explain.

7. Discuss the following factors in understanding the effects of this movie on the older viewer vs. the younger viewer: • socialization experience of the individual • predispositions the individual brings to the movie situation • context of the message • physical environment of the movie • emotional environment of the movie • geographic environment of the movie • credibility of the source • one or two-sided argument