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Media Review Paper

Purpose:

Throughout the semester, you have learned about several theories and practices of psychology across many different areas. This assignment will give you an opportunity to apply some of those major concepts, theoretical perspectives, and empirical findings. In completing this assignment, you will hone your critical thinking skills, recognizing and applying psychological principles, and communicating your understanding of individual, community, and organizational life experiences to a general audience.

Task:

For this assignment, you will write a paper based on a film or book that you will explore through the application of psychological theory and research.

Step 1:

Select a film or book of interest. For example, you might select a movie or book in which the main character suffers from a psychological disorder or is merely trying to cope with the everyday stress of life. Be creative. For instance, choose “Snow White” and talk about the Evil Queen’s Narcissistic Personality Disorder or choose “Cat in The Hat” and talk about the Cat’s “Borderline Personality Disorder” or something like that (please do not use either of those suggestions specifically). Do not choose something obvious, but be creative and thoughtful.

Step 2:

Review your course resources to identify 3 specific psychological theories or principles that can be applied to the analysis of the book or film. You might discuss defense mechanisms or refer to developmental stages in the person’s life that might have been important, or consider the effects of abuse, alcoholism and addiction, etc. You can approach the subject matter from different perspectives—psychoanalytical, biological, behavioral, cognitive, and/or sociocultural. You can discuss the role emotion, memory, or motivation plays in the character’s development, or the importance of the environment, and influences such as racism and sexism.

Step 3:

Search the library database using relevant keywords for your topic for at least one peer-reviewed article to support your ideas. Psychology cuts across many disciplines so feel free to explore journals in other areas such as business, education, health, and criminal justice.

Tip: When conducting your search in the library include a theory or principle plus a topic (i.e. Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Adolescents). Use alternative key words to improve your chances of finding relevant articles and create a specific search statement to help narrow your results.” The example might be something like “(“Body Dysmorphic Disorder” OR BDD) AND (adolescen* OR teen*)”

Step 4:

Review writing resources, write an outline, write a thesis statement, write an introduction, integrate information via summarizing, paraphrasing, or, as necessary, directly quoting sources, all with proper attribution. (See Assignment Folder for a Sample Paper)

Step 5:

Write a 1,200 to 1,500 word paper (about 5 double-spaced pages), not including title and reference page which should be written in APA style, and submit it to your assignment folder.

Tip: Begin with a brief synopsis discussing the character or issues that arise in the book or film, Next, integrate the theories or principles you have chosen and discuss how they are related. From your synopsis, you can then formulate a thesis statement and craft an outline that will be the basis of your paper. Once a draft has been written, you may want to contact the EWC for feedback.

Step 6:

Submit final draft to your assignment folder.

Criteria:

Checklist of expectations

In order to be successful on this paper, be sure that you address all of the following:

__ Address both the film or book and the psychological principles involved in full detail

__ Support your ideas with citations from the text or your peer-reviewed resource(s)

__ Be sure that your ideas are put together in a coherent and logical way

__ Be creative in enhancing your topic

__ Write an introduction that previews your main points

__ Be sure the body of the paper develops and elaborates your ideas

__ Include a conclusion that summarizes your main points

__ Proofread carefully to ensure that your paper is free of misspellings and typos

__ Proofread carefully to ensure that your paper has proper sentence structure

__ Include a cover page, references and citations in APA style