Essay Assignment (20% of your grade)

General

You will submit an essay that is worth 70 points (20% of your grade in the class). The essay is to be prepared in a word processor, double-spaced, and needs to conform to APA style. Those of you majoring or minoring in psychology should already be somewhat familiar with this style. It is probably prudent, however, for you to double-check your mastery of APA's most up-to-date style requirements. The USU Merrill Library keeps the 2001 APA style manual under the reference desk in both libraries, so you need to ask to consult the manual. Note that you should be using the 2001 edition, and not earlier editions. In addition, you can consult one of the APA's own websites for students that contain style tips or FAQs regarding APA style. I also highly recommend that you review Professor Anderson's links concerning punctuation and pronouns. These exercises are not only highly educational, but they are extremely fun to boot!

Allow me to list some pointers regarding your essay, based on previous student essays in this class. Some students were downright disappointed to see they earned maybe 29 out of 70 points on their essays. Why? Because their essay, however well intended it was, didn't conform to all of the guidelines we've provided. It wouldn't have been fair to give them points for essays that ignored the guidelines, when other students worked just as hard and they followed all the guidelines. THOSE students did earn bucko points (there were several that earned all 70 points!).

Okay, the following provides the nitty gritty details to which you should attend. You'll need to read these several times and take notes on them.

I anticipate that you will need 10 double-spaced pages for a good essay. Eight pages should be devoted to the main body of the essay, one page will be your title page (essay title, your name, the class, the submission date; requests to us to return to you your journal article copies or your videotapes), and you will probably need no more than one page for your APA formatted reference section. You also submit a photocopy of your two research-based journal articles with the essay, as well as any videotapes or materials (which we will return to you if you ask us to), if you have chosen a topic that involves videotaping or creating special materials. Essays that do not conform to these basic guidelines, or that are not submitted by the deadline, will receive zero points. You do not have to turn in the rough draft, but this is highly recommended.

There are three deadlines to keep in mind regarding your essay:

*Deleyne Wentz still needs to confirm this date and the meeting rooms. For the time being, please schedule the following into your planner: We meet at the library during class time (10:30 - 11:45) on Sept. 6th. We will all meet in the Merrill Library classroom, M133. Space will be limited so you might need to share a computer with a 3510 colleague! The resource librarians will teach you how to use the library to find the journal resources you need. I highly recommend that you attend, since this is your only opportunity to learn this from the professionals! There should be no reason for you to not be there, since we specially dedicated class time to these orientations, plus the librarians are taking time out of their busy schedules help you. Before we meet on that day in the libraries, you should have chosen roughly three of the essay topics, so that you can further explore each of them on Sept. 6th to make your final decision regarding the one to which you wish to commit. Also before we meet on Sept. 6th, you should have explored your textbook (even if you haven't fully read the chapters) to find topic-relevant terms, concepts, or even authors in the textbook that you think you might want to further explore when we visit the library. Write these terms and names down, and bring them with you, so you can use them while the librarians are teaching you how to conduct literature searches. [If you read about a particular study in your textbook that is particularly relevant to one of the topics you've tentatively chosen, then you should bring the entire reference to that study with you to the library. The reason for this is that we can ask the librarians to show you how to use that information to find other related, but more recent, studies, e.g., via a citation index].

*A rough draft of your entire essay is due in class on Oct. 11th. The draft should address each of the criteria listed below, but obviously in "rough" form. You obviously need to have identified and thoroughly digested the two journal articles by Oct. 11th. You should cite the full reference for these two articles in your draft (in your Reference section), but there is no need to include the photocopies of the articles with your draft. No late draft will be accepted, since you have plenty of notice and time to prepare this. If I see major problems with your draft, I will give you written feedback by no later than Oct. 20th. [Remember that I do not require you to submit the rough draft, but I honestly think you would be wise to submit it.]

*The final version of the entire essay, including copies of the journal articles and any ancillary materials, is due in class on Oct. 27th. No late essay will be accepted, since you have plenty of notice and time to prepare this. Given the volume of essays I anticipate, please give me until 12/01 to have all of the essays read, commented on, and graded. I probably won't have a TA and I'm anticipating spending major time on this.

The essay is to be based on one of the following topics, itemized below. The goals of your essay are to address and synthesize into an integrated "Gestalt" or whole (a) your answers to all of the questions I pose about the essay topic and (b) your view of which social psychological principles are needed to understand or make predictions about the phenomena pertaining to the essay topic (drawn from your textbook and from the knowledge you have gleaned from critically reading, analyzing, and synthesizing two original research articles that bear on these phenomena).

Grading Criteria for Essays:

(25%) Show that you have carefully analyzed the phenomena to which the essay topic refers, from your own point of view and intuition. You should be careful to document each point that you make in the essay by giving detailed information about the phenomena in question. For example, if the essay topic calls for examples from the media or your own personal experience, then provide details about these real-life examples (your essay will be held confidential). Be sure that you provide a thorough personal exposition of the essay topic -- address all of the questions I've asked about the topic!

(35%) Show how the phenomena in question can be understood or explained in terms of principles of social psychology, using your textbook and both of your journal articles. You can "show" this in various ways. For example, you can simply argue this by pointing to which aspects of the phenomenon clearly fit the principles you have identified based on information in the textbook or the articles. Be sure to clearly define, in your own words, those principles or findings you are citing from the textbook or articles. Include the exact page number to which you are referring in the textbook or article. You also need to show that you have practiced APA style requirements regarding the appropriate ways to cite articles within the main body of an essay. Or, you can design (and describe) a little experiment designed to test whether actual data would bear out your interpretation of the social psychological principles needed to understand the phenomenon. It's up to you to decide exactly how to demonstrate that particular principles are the most relevant to understanding and explaining the phenomena -- simply be sure to do so in a convincing and detailed fashion. Don't expect the reader to make inferential leaps or guesses based on incomplete information. We're looking for clear and persuasive statements that well integrate the phenomena of interest with information from your textbook and the two journal articles. (You will receive minimal points if you simply list principles without clearly linking these to the phenomena.)

(25%) Show that you have read and understood the principles of social psychology to which you are appealing in the essay. Again, integration is the key. You do not want to simply quote from your textbook or the journal articles. You want to interweave what you've learned from those sources into your essay, without sounding as though you are simply summarizing the textbook or the journal articles. You also want to use your own words to paraphrase what you've read in the textbook and journal articles. Finally, you want to make it clear that you've read more than just the abstract or the discussion sections of the journal articles.

(15%) Spelling and grammar will be considered as a part of your grade. When you submit your essay to a spelling and grammar check, be sure to double-check the software's suggested improvements or changes before you adopt them. Often times, students will uncritically accept the suggestions of the software, when those suggested changes do nothing to improve the essay. These suggestions also are sometimes patently wrong (e.g., using the word "hear" when you mean "here," "there" when you mean "their," "the manipulations of the independent variables effected" when you mean "the manipulations ... affected," "the affect of the manipulations were" when you really mean "the effect of the manipulations were;" "the data was" when you should state "the data were," since the word "data" is plural, etc.). Your correct use of APA style in all sections will also count. Although I, too, often mistakenly use the passive voice, I will reward students extra points if they suceed in consistently writing their essays in "active voice." The English Department at MCLA in Massachusetts has posted a great website to help students master "active voice". This department also links you to the publisher W.W. Norton's demo site that contains great pointers regarding writing an essay. And, last but certainly not least, USU's English Department runs the Writing Center Consultation Lab, which I believe allows students to schedule appointments to receive direct help with their writing skills.

(Keep back up copies of your draft and essay, in both hard copy and electronic forms. If one of the graders were to get into an accident, or whatever, they could lose the copy you gave them.)

I'll explain more (in class) about how you go about identifying your two research articles. You also will be visiting the library on Sept. 6th, so that Deleyne Wentz and her resource librarian colleagues can show you how to do a literature search and track down your articles. You do need to remember these criteria: (a) the articles selected cannot be more than five years old, (b) they must represent the original report of the research (they cannot simply be a review of research), (c) they must derive from reputable journals in social psychology (not books, not chapters, not encyclopedias; not from a website), and (d) they must not be cited in the Reference section of your textbook. You are to make copies (photocopy or print copy) of the two articles and turn these in with your essay. Should you wish us to return these copies to you, put this request on your title page.

Finally, I hate to have to say this (and it will seem odd to you that I do say this), but ... I and the university explicitly disavow any personal or legal responsibility or liability for illegal and/or unethical conduct on your part in preparing any aspects of your essay. Projects that are illegal and/or unethical and/or are plagiarized in any way will receive 0 points and you could be remanded to the higher administration for further disciplinary action. It is wise and prudent for you to carefully weigh your chosen topic, and your execution of it, in terms of its legality, ethicality, and adherence to university standards. You will understand why you need to be concerned about these issues once you've read the essay topics.

Description of Essay Topics

The essays are to be written on any of the topics that I've listed and described on the following pages.

As you'll see below, social psychology is pertinent to just about any aspect of our lives that we can imagine. I hope that by exploring these topics, you'll discover just how rich and relevant the course is to you, yours, and yours truly! Moreover, those of you who are psychology majors, and who still need to find a topic for Psy 5950/60, might find these topics worth exploring for those classes. You should first prepare your essay on the topic for the present class, though, before committing yourself to it for Psy 5950/60.

The topics from which you can choose to write your essays are as follows:

* Discuss the "social psychology" of any aspect of a famous legal trial [including, but not limited to, Martha Stewart, the Enron executives, Scott Peterson, the potentially upcoming Mark Hacking trial, the Unibomber (Kazinsky), the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City bombing (the McVeighs), or another alleged murderer (such as, O.J. Simpson)]. All of these cases are multi-faceted and can be viewed from different social psychological angles. However, to avoid writing a diffuse and jumbled essay, focus on concepts covered in only one of the chapters and analyze the case in terms of these concepts only. For example, you could focus on how the defendant's fame, power, or personality affected public perceptions of the case (and, thus, use mainly your chapter on social perception). Or, you could focus on the jury's behavior (covered in the legal chapter). [Instead of analyzing a "real" legal case, you could also do this exercise based on the movie Twelve Angry Men. I would prefer that you watch the original (with Henry Fonda), as opposed to the remake (with Tony Danza). The original is much better and is rife with social psychology].

* Break a relatively harmless social norm on several different days. You need to break the norm in front of (a) people who know you well and (b) people who don't know you. In each case, you need to repeatedly break the norm on several different days. Pick one norm to consistently violate (e.g., standing up while eating, eating with your hands when you should be using utensils, singing your words when you should be speaking them, wearing inappropriate clothing, buying beer when that is against your values, not responding when a person asks you a question, not looking a person in the face when the person is talking to you, etc.). Remember to pick a relatively harmless norm, so you don't hurt any one or any thing. Observe both how others react and how you feel as you are breaking the norm and afterwards. Observe how the audience's reaction (and your own self-perception) changes with time or as a function of whether they know you. It would be ideal for you to always have someone with you who can serve as an independent observer and can help you piece together the dynamics of the entire exchange. Analyze your "data" in terms of principles of social psychology (e.g., social perception, self-perception, social norms, etc.).

*Vehicle drivers persist in using cell phones while they are driving, despite the research findings attesting to, and the media attention devoted to, the indisputable facts that "driving under the influence of a cell phone" increases the risk of causing accidents, far beyond any risk associated with other distractions (such as eating a cheese burger). I would like you to analyze why people persist in driving while using a cell phone. I think the material covered in your textbook regarding the social self and perceiving others is particularly applicable to analyzing this unwise and dangerous practice. Your essay on this topic might thus address the question "What do people assume about their ability to control their behavior that would lead them to persist in using a cell phone while driving?", or "What type of thinking errors does this persistence reveal?", or "What information from social psychology would you use to convince state legislatures that driving while on a cell phone is dangerous and should be outlawed? (including the legislators' assumptions about their own behavior)?" My guess is that some of you actually drive while using your cell phone. These individuals could focus their essay slightly differently than the foci contained in the previous suggestions. For example, they could address the difficult question: "Why are the assumptions that people make about their ability to control their driving behavior while using a cell phone actually correct and justifiable? -- What evidence is there about these assumptions and that they are correct and justifiable? Or, if you cannot find actual evidence, design your own experiment to provide the evidence." Regardless of how you specifically focus this essay topic, there is no need for you to review the research findings regarding the effects of cell phone usage on driving errors. Doing the latter would detract from what I want you to be doing in this essay.

*Watch and videotape several episodes of a reality TV show, e.g., Survivor or something akin to the Swan . I prefer that you identify a reality show focused on "improving" people somehow (e.g., their appearance). If you can't find one of these, then just pick a reality TV show that "challenges" people in such a way that it could change their behavior for relatively "bogus" reasons (e.g., overt conformity to avoid being rejected).

For example, pretend that you watched several episodes of the Swan. In that case, you must address these issues: Contestants in the Swan undergo artificial, externally imposed changes. Would perceptions (self-directed or other-directed) based on artificial changes be as positive as those that derived more from "within" or that involved less drastic externally derived mechanisms? In addition, think about the longer-term impact of these changes on these individuals' relationships with family, friends, or co-workers. Will the longer-term impact be exclusively positive, or can you think of negative after-effects? Will any of the affected individuals end up with "issues" pertaining to how authentic they are? Will other aspects of their psychology (e.g., their personality) change? Be sure to justify all of your hunches and hypotheses based on solid data (textbook, journal articles). Be sure to state how these contestants' self-perceptions or self-esteem, as well as how others' perceptions of the contestants or these others' own self-perceptions/esteem, changed as a function of the experience, using the social self and/or perceiving others sections of your textbook.

If you watch TV shows involving group interactions, such as Survivor, you should analyze these more in terms of sections of your textbook concerning perceiving groups, conformity, and group processes. Choose only one specific sub-section of these chapters to avoid writing a diffuse and jumbled essay. For example, you might focus the essay on the question of the social psychological principles revealed in the Survivor episodes that specifically pertain to "Group processes: Interacting with Others", or gaining compliance in the group, etc. I leave it up to you to decide which specific sub-section receives your analytic attention and obviously also, therefore, in which sub-area of social psychology you choose to conduct the literature search.

*The terrorist attacks on 9/11 in the U.S., and subsequent attacks in other countries, have forever changed our worlds. These attacks' influence is so all pervasive and consuming, that I could have developed a list of essay topics geared exclusively to different aspects of their aftermath. Instead of having me list each, specific way in which you could analyze their impact from a social psychological perspective, you may either (1) choose to develop your own essay topic regarding their impact, being sure that the impact is analyzed in terms of sound principles or findings in social psychology, or (2) choose to focus on one of these questions that I find particularly fascinating. That is, you could choose to answer either all of (a) or all of (b): (a) how do you account for disparities in the terrorists' self-perceptions versus others' perceptions (including, but not limited to, your own perceptions) of the legitimacy and justifiability of their actions? -- what are those different perceptions?, how have they gained legitimacy in the different perceivers' eyes?; if this were even feasible (which it probably is not), to what principles of social psychology would you want to expose the different perceivers to get them to change those different perceptions?, and how would you go about implementing the change process? or (b) the terrorists see themselves as moral individuals; they probably feel proud of their actions, as opposed to guilty. You probably also see yourself as a moral person, and you probably are also proud of most of your actions. How can the terrorists and you both be moral and proud, yet engage in very different behaviors? What is it about our "social psychology" that supports both sets of perceptions and behaviors about our respective morality? I thought that morality was something immutable and universal. Is it? What precise social psychological conditions would lead you to terrorize others and still think of yourself as a moral person worthy of pride? If you don't think you could ever be brought to commit terrorist acts, it is imperative that you address the question of "why not?" -- what makes you so different from others? [Regardless of whether you choose the questions in (a) or (b), you must be sure to address these both from the perspective of the terrorists and "non"-terrorists. Also, please be sure to use social psychological principles or findings to address the questions. I don't want to see any general "waxing or ranting" without grounding these in social psychology.].

*Analyze why people are judged as immoral based on certain behaviors. For example, in the realm of health-related behaviors, people these days are judged (by some, anyway) as immoral if they smoke, others if they drink alcohol, and still others if they are overweight (especially if they are female), etc. Yet, although imprudent, smoking, being overweight, or drinking alcohol certainly are not prohibited in all cultures, nor have then been prohibited in the same culture across time, nor have they been considered immoral in certain contexts or for certain reasons. How is it that these behaviors have become to be considered as immoral, then? What functions do judgments of immorality serve in our society? Why is it that deeming the behavior immoral, as opposed to simply unwise, seems to add force to controlling people's behaviors? I definitely want you to entertain your answers to these questions from an "evolutionary social psychology" perspective, in addition to other perspectives in social psychology that you consider relevant and to the point. Moreover, do not limit yourself to health-related behaviors. Expand your thinking beyond health-relevant behaviors to include judgments that certain sexual orientations, or styles of dress, etc., are immoral. Do not provide "pat" answers to these questions, e.g., it wouldn't suffice to simply state "these behaviors are immoral because they violate religious values," since that tends to beg the question of how they came to be valued as immoral.

*For at least three days in a row, I want you to do something that you find embarrassing, and that you would never do if it weren't for this essay requirement. Then, on a different three days, I want you to do something that you would feel ashamed of (not simply embarrassed). Both the embarrassing and shameful actions should be different actions than the ones I'm calling form in the norm violation topic. I'm thinking of actions such as females not wearing any make-up in public for three days in a row, and males or females not dressing appropriately when they attend meetings (e.g., church meetings). I'm sure you can all think of actions that fit your implicit definition of what is embarrassing vs. what is shameful. In fact, the very first thing you need to do is define what embarrassing and shameful mean to you, and then decide on the actions you will undertake. Be careful to define both terms in your essay. Be careful to keep close track (in writing) of what your actions were. Keep additional track of your own and others' reactions to you as you engage in the different actions and how it feels to undertake those actions. Observe whether the others try to get you to behave differently, why they seem to want this from you (other than them being "used to" you not behaving this way), and how their reactions impact you or your relationship with the others. Finally, provide an analysis of what the different eliciting conditions are for embarrassment vs. shame and what different functions the two emotions serve in regulating your own or others' behaviors (as though you were a scientist trying to specify what the different eliciting conditions and functions are). This topic is definitely not for those who are unsure of themselves, or for whom the exercise causes too much discomfort, so choose it only if you think you can "handle" it.

* Think up an original and doable exercise for social psychology students to do in class that will illustrate concretely a phenomenon discussed in your textbook. Although I want this to be original, you can use research articles in social psychology as your inspiration. In fact, this is one of the topics for which you could first go to the research literature, find a research area that fascinates you, and model an exercise after that research (do not simply repeat the authors' own methodology; find a way of translating that methodology into a fun and educational experience for students). Alternatively, you could use TV shows as your inspiration (e.g., Candid Camera is chock full of episodes that humorously unveil social psychology in action. If you decide to replicate a Candid Camera stunt, be sure you pick one that would meet ethical and legal standards, and that does not violate copyright restrictions). Detail the topic you've chosen and the specifics of the exercise (your instructions, your materials, how you assess its effectiveness). Defend your reasons for why the exercise would help students learn more about the topic under study. It would be ideal for you to actually try out the exercise with some friends or children and videotape them while they are doing the exercise. This is a lot of work, though. If you do pilot testing and recording work, I will be inclined to give you extra points. Be sure to ask your participants for written permission to show the videotape in an educational setting; destroy all tapes involving participants who do not provide written permission; be sure that you don't use their real names in the tape). Submit all written exercise materials, the videotape(s), and the written permission slips with your essay. If we have time in class, and depending on how many of you choose to do this topic, we might actually show your tapes in class. (Note for Education majors: Those of you planning on entering the teaching profession may want to develop an exercise that is meant to illustrate principles of social psychology to elementary, middle, or high school students. Please feel free to do this! In fact, it is important to bring these principles of human behavior into our education system.)

* Prepare lots of popcorn and refreshments to spend several segments of several days watching and recording TV commercials. I would like you to watch and record commercials during all of the following segments: evening Primetime hours, Saturday morning cartoons or shows directed at adolescents, late night TV, and during a nationally televised sporting event. For each commercial, you are to analyze what methods of persuasion are being used, why the marketing agency would have chosen those particular methods (e.g., why would this technique have been deemed particularly effective given the targeted audience or product), what better methods they could have chosen in your view, and whether as well as why you think the commercial would (or would not) be a persuasive communication. As with all of the essay topics, you are to show the relevance of concepts covered in your textbook and the two chosen journal articles to understanding the persuasive techniques used in the commercials. Be sure to submit your videotapes with your essay. [I think it would be particularly fascinating, but not required, to see you analyze whether the commercials are using emotional appeals. For example, are they appealing to the audience members' anticipated guilt should they not avail themselves of the advertised product? Are they appealing to anticipated shame or anticipated embarrassment? Why would these appeals be particularly effective? What does the use of those appeals say about our society and our values?]

* Go to a greeting card section of a store. Find at least 5 greeting cards that illustrate principles of social psychology in action. For each greeting card separately, tell me which principle of social psychology is being employed (be sure to show me that you understand both the principle and exactly how it is being applied in the greeting card). I need at least a copy (or an original) of the actual greeting cards that you are analyzing. This "greeting card" project can be approached just as I described approaching the TV commercial project.

*As I'm sure you are aware, there is a movement a foot in the judicial and law enforcement systems in our country to use SHAMING or humiliation techniques to induce compliant behavior and to reduce criminal recidivism rates. Public attention has been drawn to the use of these techniques in the past several years -- NPR ran a segment on it; I can think of at least two national television broadcasts dedicated to the question, and Time magazine also did a cover story on using shame to control unwanted behavior in prison inmates or repeat offenders. The basic message being conveyed to the public in each of these segments is that SHAMING is an effective technique for reducing undesirable behaviors. The people imparting this message in the broadcasts/articles are judges, law enforcement officials, and (in a few cases) the "criminals" themselves. These people think that shaming will work to reduce unwanted behavior in "criminals," because of some common sense ideas about how shaming works to affect the so-called "normal" individual (themselves, perhaps). They have extrapolated the usual connection between shame and conformity to "criminal" populations.

I'm confident that many experts would provide a very different twist on the public's conclusion that shaming IS effective with the prison or offender populations being targeted. YOUR JOB in your essay is to:

Describe in detail the last time that someone used "shaming" or humiliation on you to get you to change your behavior.

Describe how the use of "shaming" or humiliation:

affected how you felt right after being "shamed" or humiliated

affected your subsequent behavior (e.g., did you stop doing what they were shaming you about? did you get angry and behave even worse? did you vow to get revenge somehow?)

Present clearly your view on whether "shaming" or humiliation are effective techniques to use to get people to stop behaving undesirably

Discuss why you think (or why you do not think) that shaming and humiliation work to reduce undesirable behavior in a criminal population. Your discussion needs to be backed up by principles from your textbook on, for example, conformity, or on emotion, or on self-perception.

In actuality, there are various phenomena and/or principles discussed in your textbook that you could apply to this essay. I leave it up to you to select the one(s) on which you would like to focus. Whichever principles/phenomena you select, you need to be very clear on how they apply to your argument. I will brook no vague responses.

* Discuss your experiences with being molded by new surroundings (e.g., new job, new geographical location or cultural context, switching from high school to college life). How has your behavior changed as a result of social influences in this new environment? Discuss the mechanisms possibly responsible. The mechanisms discussed obviously should come from your textbook and journal articles.

* Discuss a situation where your own stereotypes have led you to a false first impression of someone you got to know later (and/or where another person's stereotypes led to a false first impression of you). What information from the text and articles can you use to explain this phenomenon?

* Watch a movie that clearly depicts the real life story of a "hero" who behaves altruistically or a "villain" who commits violent acts. Examples of appropriate movies would include Gandhi, Air Force One, Fearless, Saving Private Ryan, one of the Lord of the Rings, Helter Skelter, Natural Born Killers, The Basketball Diaries, or Kill Bill (there are tons of potential film candidates; pick any film, even one not listed here, that fascinates you the most, that is most relevant, and that you feel comfortable watching). Analyze the main character's behavior. What motivated the character's altruistic or violent behavior? What factors would make you want, or not want, to live your life like this? Use your textbook and articles as the basis for explaining why (even if) the person was really behaving altruistically or violently.

* Read the following true interaction that took place in a Cache Valley place of business by co-workers of the establishment. Using your textbook, express your feelings and opinions about the interaction. Here is the situation:

A young religious woman, who was also a virgin, recently went out on a date with a man and he brutally raped her. She sought help for the rape and pressed charges against the man. Some of the women at a shop in town were talking when the topic of the date-rape came up. The women knew the victim personally, and before the incident, described her in favorable terms. However, after they heard about the rape, they all discontinued contact with her. They talked about how the young woman must have led the man on by wearing seductive clothing and insinuated other negative opinions of the woman. They seemed to dislike her after the incident, and discussed her in less than favorable terms.

* Describe an act of aggression that you have personally witnessed (e.g., road rage; sports-related aggression). Use the textbook to analyze the type of aggression it was and to explain why the aggression took place. For example, was the aggression due to "excitation transfer," the "weapons effect," etc.?

* Take a visit to a doctor's office, planned parenthood, family services, or the health department. Choose a pamphlet in this office that is meant to persuade people to change their health-related behavior (e.g., on HIV/Aids, stopping smoking, donating blood, breast exams). Analyze one of the pamphlets according to how successful it would be in changing people's behavior according to principles of attitude change and persuasion. Alternatively, you may analyze how a marketing campaign on TV, or on the Internet, that explicitly targets changing the public's health-related behavior is trying to persuade people. Be sure in all cases to discuss the (in)effectiveness of the techniques being used. Justify your assessment of (in)effectiveness. Regardless of the source of the influence tactic, be sure to include a hard copy of each for me to read/view and compare to your essay.

* Describe and discuss initiations into clubs (e.g., sororities or fraternities) in terms of your textbook. Do you agree with the explanations given in your textbook about how initiations work? Why or why not?

* Discuss why charismatic leaders (e.g., David Koresh of the Waco, Texas incident; Osama Bin Laden of Al Queda fame) have so much influence over their followers. How can they get their underlings to perform such horrendous actions? Would Milgram have anything to say about this?

* Compare and contrast the U.S.'s social system for economically disadvantaged ("poor") people to those systems implemented in other countries. Discuss how the different systems might affect the public's attitudes and behaviors toward economically poor people in their respective countries. Alternatively, discuss how recent changes in laws concerning affirmative action might affect the public's attitudes and behaviors toward men versus women or people from different racial/ethnic backgrounds.

* Discuss how interacting with someone in person versus on the Internet via a chat facility can affect the nature and outcome of the interaction. Be sure to actually interact with someone in person and on the web to gain first-hand exposure to differences in the quality of the interaction. Pay careful attention to the differences and discuss them in light of your textbook. In addition to analyzing face-to-face vs. Internet-based interactions (e.g., in chat rooms), I also want you to "social psychologically analyze" why e-mail messages tend to be ruder than face-to-face ones. How can principles of social psychology be used to make e-mail exchanges more polite? Now that you've studied social psychology, also address the question of whether your own Internet or e-mail "behavior" will change, how it will change, and why it will change.

* Pieces will appear in the newspaper and/or on T.V. stating that Mr./Ms. "so and so" was arrested for "such and such." Often times, the very appearance of an article like this ruins the accused's reputation and personal relationships, even though we are supposedly "innocent until proven guilty" in this society. Discuss your opinion on publishing people's names in articles such as these. Using information from your book you must do both of the following:

Argue against publishing the accused's name.

Argue for publishing the accused's name.

(You must base both arguments on information in your textbook concerning stereotyping and social cognition, as well as the articles you've found.)

* Write a fictional letter to Governor Huntsman explaining to him how principles of social psychology can be used to change people's public behavior for the better (e.g., getting people to obey traffic laws, getting them to avoid littering; conserve energy; conserve water; preserve the environment, etc.). Pick only one of these behaviors and explain in a step-by-step fashion how her office could implement a change program. Be creative, but be sure that your creativity is informed by social psychological wisdom.

* Observe how your own behavior is influenced by principles of social psychology. Describe, for example, the last time you engaged in one of the errors of social cognition discussed in your textbook or how you succumbed to pressures to comply or obey. Be very careful to detail exactly how your behavior was influenced by the mechanisms discussed in your textbook. Also be careful to explain how you might resist influence in the future.

* If you are from another culture, have had exposure to other cultures, or simply are interested in other cultures, consider the following: What principles are described in your textbook that (in your opinion) are patently false in their application to cultures outside of the so-called "mainstream" U.S. culture? Explain what these principles are and be careful to detail exactly why/how they do not apply across cultures. Propose an original experiment that you could conduct to test the validity of your hypotheses, remembering to provide all of the details we would need to evaluate your hypotheses, your design, your measures, and the comparisons you would need to make to test the hypotheses. [Ineligible for this assignment are any sections of the textbook that already address the cultural specificity of certain phenomena].

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