What is plagiarism exactly? Is it always done on purpose? The rules related to plagiarism can be complex, and there are instances in which people who have unwittingly plagiarized have ended up in court. The concept of academic integrity includes the avoidance of plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, it helps to first recognize it.

For this Discussion, you will review fictional scenarios that depict common occurrences in the classroom. It is an opportunity for you to practice identifying plagiarism and discussing how to avoid plagiarism in these situations.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the materials in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Read the four scenarios presented below and, for each situation, determine whether the student has plagiarized.

1. John has not had time to work on his online assignment on psychological theory. He found a website that has an article with the content he needs to complete his assignment. However, he has only 30 minutes before his assignment is due. John believes that the author of the article described psychological theory so well that it would take John hours to paraphrase the material. John decides to copy several sentences and one short paragraph from the article and paste it into his own paper. He includes the author in the references and believes that this appropriately cites the author.
2. Sally has a writing assignment due. She has written about the topic before in a previous course and received 100% on that paper. She decides to include several paragraphs from her previous work in her current paper.
3. Brad just finished submitting his writing assignment through Turnitin, and the similarity report shows a 40% match between passages he wrote and various websites.
4. Catherine likes to include quotes from famous psychologists in her writing assignments. She does not use quotation marks, but Catherine makes sure to include the citation immediately following each quote.

• Reflect on how the Walden resources and communication with colleagues (including your Instructor) could impact the outcome of the scenarios.
• Choose one of the scenarios for your Discussion.

With these thoughts in mind:Post by Day 3 a description of the scenario you chose and whether you believe the student plagiarized. Explain what led you to make that determination. Provide one strategy that the student can use to avoid potential plagiarism, given the scenario presented.Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to this week’s Learning Resources.Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.Respond by Day 5 to at least two of your colleagues, and continue the discussion through Day 7 by providing another strategy to avoid potential plagiarism, given the scenario presented.Return to this Discussion periodically to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made. Remember to be supportive and build community; this is a tough topic!

As a professional in the psychology field, you should always pursue and nurture professional growth and development. You should search out ways to gain knowledge as well as ways to share knowledge. One way that allows you to accomplish both is by serving as a speaker at professional and academic conferences. In this assessment, you have been invited to speak at a psychological science symposium.

The symposium organizers have asked you to prepare a session that fits the theme of “Foundational Thought.” Here are the points for you to address:

Prior to the establishment of psychology as a recognized social science, many thinkers and scholars examined the very questions and ideas that would serve as the foundation of the field. Which three individuals would you select as having major contributions to the foundation of psychology? How have these individuals’ scholarly work contributed and influenced the modern field of psychology? What are unresolved issues that modern psychology needs to address?

Based on your research, create a presentation that meets the symposium session requirements. Use these steps as a guide to develop your presentation:

• Select three theorists whose work had major contributions to the foundation of psychology. Explain their theories and be sure to paraphrase (put in your own words) each theory or idea and cite your sources.
• Describe how each of the theories and ideas you noted contributed to and shaped the field of modern psychology.
• Finally, identify a fundamental problem with each of the individuals’ particular theories. Employ critical thinking to evaluate how these theories or ideas created an unresolved issue that needed to be addressed by modern psychology.
• Your presentation should use appropriate design principles.
• In the speaker notes area, add the explanation of what you would say to your audience. The notes should be complete and written in a way that clearly addresses the points called out in the session description. Insert your citations and references in the notes area as well.

Additional Requirements

• Your presentation should be between 12–15 slides.
• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Ensure that references and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting guidelines.
• Locate at least one scholarly article for each theorist selected.