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Social psychology experiment 1 Applied Research Project (ARP) Instructions & Examples Lorri Cerro, Ph.D., University of Maryland Global Campus, Last Revision: June 1, 2021 Instead of a final exam, you will complete a final project to demonstrate the cumulative knowledge of what you’ve learned in this class. This applied research project (ARP) requires you to conduct an observation of human social behavior in a public place (e.g., supermarket, church, nightclub, park, parking lot) but not in a private area (e.g., bathroom, bedroom). If you feel you cannot safely make observations in public places, you may observe others in your home or use public webcams to make observations. Note that you are only to observe behavior in a public place; you cannot interact with your subjects in any way (this includes speaking to them or having them answer written questions/surveys). Your paper must include specific discussion of social psychology theories, principles, or concepts discussed in this class; these may include altruism, attraction, conformity, group influence, persuasion, prejudice, age- or gender-related psychological differences, etc. This is your chance to “think like a social psychologist” (like your class readings demonstrate at the end of every chapter) and incorporate appropriate social psychological theories/concepts in your documentation of an observation of social behavior. You can attempt to confirm a component of something previous research has already found, or you can synthesize information from separate topics and attempt to observe something totally unique – either is acceptable. The topic for your project must be approved in the ARP1 Proposal before you begin making your observations. In the APR2 Final Paper, you will elaborate on information from your proposal and document your actual observations. Note that ARP2 is worth 27\% of your grade for this class, so it should be a significant, formal piece of writing. If you struggle with writing, I strongly suggest you plan ahead to have the time to submit your paper to UMGC’s Effective Writing Center and get feedback BEFORE submitting to me for grading. Appropriate content and quality writing are more important than length or quantity; however, I expect your proposal will be about 2-3 double-spaced pages long and the final paper will be about 11-14 pages long in its entirety in order to address all the requirements. Your final paper should not contain your proposal. Note that this project requires you to (a) ask an appropriate research question, and then (b) answer the question you asked. What makes a research question appropriate for this project is that it (a) relates to a social psychology topic/concept/theory, (b) has support from previous research (which is laid out in your paper’s Introduction with appropriate citations), and (c) is able to be answered through observation alone. In the final paper, you don’t have to find the answer you thought you would find, you just need to provide the answer you found and explain why you think you got the answer you got. In this document, I present the instructions and examples for each component of the project. Note that the instructions and examples for ARP2 include more detail, so you should read this entire document before submitting ARP1. For ARP2’s instructions, I cover each component of the paper with (a) instructions for that section, (b) an appropriate example, and (c) the checklist from that component’s grading rubric (the complete rubric is also located in the syllabus). And at the end of this document, you’ll find a complete example final paper. These examples are meant illustrate what is expected for the assignment; however, they should not be considered the only way to document an observational project as there are many ways to do this and do it well. Additionally, the writing in these examples was adapted from actual student submissions and may contain minor errors. ARP Instructions & Examples Table of Contents Assignment Section Page # Both ARP1 & ARP2 APA-Style Writing Quality & General Formatting 2 ARP1 Proposal Proposal 3-5 ARP2 Final Paper Title Page 6 Introduction & Research Question 7-8 Method: Subjects & Setting 9 Method: Procedure 10 Results & Conclusion 11-12 References 13 Appendix: Annotated Literature Review 14-15 Complete Paper Example 16, 1-14 2 APA-Style Writing Quality & General Formatting You must carefully proofread your submissions for writing quality and should submit writing to UMGC’s Effective Writing Center (https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/index.cfm) if you struggle. GENERAL WRITING REQUIREMENTS: APA style requires clear and succinct writing. Continuity and flow of information, especially between paragraphs, is important, so pay attention to organization and transitions between topics. Most of the grammar and punctuation rules used by APA should be familiar to college students (e.g., proper subject-verb agreement), but below are some rules students tend to struggle with: 1. Do not use contractions, colloquialisms, or jargon 2. If you use abbreviations, introduce/define them parenthetically on first use, then use the abbreviation (except the following use abbreviations without definition: time [e.g., hr], Latin [e.g., i.e.], statistical [e.g., M], and abbreviations in the dictionary [e.g., IQ] (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/abbreviations) 3. Use first person (e.g., I) rather than third person (e.g., “the author”) or the editorial “we”; use the singular “they” if gender is unknown or unimportant (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar) 4. Use punctuation properly (especially commas & semicolons; see these rule refreshers https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/where-do-i-use-commas, https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-to-use-semicolons) and note that APA style uses the serial or Oxford comma for seriation of lists 5. Don’t capitalize words unless there is a specific rule that requires their capitalization (https://apastyle.apa.org/style- grammar-guidelines/capitalization) 6. Use numerals for numbers 10 and above, except for: a) Numbers that immediately precede a unit of measurement (e.g., 3 in.) b) Statistical/math functions, decimals, percentages, ratios (e.g., 3 times as many, 0.3, 3\%, 1:3) c) Time, dates, ages, scores/points on a scale, exact sums of money (e.g., 3 days, 3-year-olds, scored 3 on a 10-point scale, $3.03) d) Numbers in a series (e.g., Table 3, Chapter 3, Item 3, Grade 3 [but third grade]) 7. Use words for: numbers zero through nine (except for rules above), any number that begins a sentence (but this should be avoided), common fractions (e.g., one third), and universally accepted usage (e.g., Twelve Apostles) (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/numbers) Writing Quality Checklist 1. Proper use of numerals, capitalization, spelling, punctuation & grammar 2. No contractions or undefined abbreviations 3. Lack of redundancy between sections GENERAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format; if you prefer video demonstrations, see https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/tutorials-webinars): 1. Double-space entire paper, including References (don’t add extra blank lines, even for orphans/widows) 2. 10-12 point standard (e.g., Calibri, Times New Roman) font and the same throughout 3. Margins 1-inch flush left (a.k.a. ragged right) 4. Pages numbered in upper right corner of page 5. Paragraphs indented (about 0.5 inch) 6. ARP2 Only: Start these sections on a new page: Introduction (title), References, Annotated Literature Review 7. ARP2 Only: Use the same level heading for topics of equal importance; your final paper should use: a) Level 1 (centered, bold, title-case capitalization, text below the heading begins on the next line as an indented paragraph) for these sections: Introduction (but use the title for your paper), Method, Results, Conclusions (or Results & Conclusions), References, and Annotated Literature Review b) Level 2 (flush left, bold, title-case capitalization, same subsequent text rule as Level 1) is used for Subjects, Setting (or Subjects & Setting), Procedure, and the abstract labels and contribution labels in the Annotated Literature Review This is NOT required, but if tables or figures are included, label them as demonstrated in the complete example paper. Formatting Checklist 1. Proper formatting (font, spacing, margins, paragraphs indentation, page numbering) 2. Proper section headings in proper order https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/index.cfm https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/abbreviations https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/where-do-i-use-commas https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-to-use-semicolons https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/capitalization https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/capitalization https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/numbers https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/tutorials-webinars 3 ARP1 Proposal 1. DIRECTIONS: Because your completed proposal will be a brief document (2-3 pages long), the instructions and a single example are given here holistically rather than broken down by section as I did for ARP2; however, you should read the detailed instructions from each section of ARP2 to understand of what information to include. 2. After your proposal is approved, you will develop that information into your final paper. You must submit the proposal first to make sure you are on the right track and have some initial support for your research question. If you intend to investigate a topic that comes towards the end of the class, you should read ahead in your in-class readings. Note that Proposed Subjects, Setting, and Procedure should be written in future tense because these things will not have yet occurred. The rules for organization, writing quality, and general formatting noted for the final paper are also expected to be followed for the proposal, except for section labels (please use the numbered labels as demonstrated below for the proposal). 3. 4. 1. Proposed Topic: Identify the general social psychology principle you will be looking for in your observation, and provide support for your research question with information (and a citation) from the abstract in your Sample Annotated Literature Review (and any other citations you desire). 5. 6. 2. Proposed Research Question: Make sure your research question is (a) supported by the social psychology topic you’ve identified, (b) capable of being answered through observation alone, and (c) worded as a question. 3. Proposed Subjects: Describe your proposed subjects (e.g., age ranges, gender, race), including how many people you intend to observe. If you intend to exclude any types of people from your observation, explain your rationale for exclusion. 4. Proposed Setting: Describe the specific setting where you intend to conduct your observation, including some description of the general geographic area (e.g., rural, urban, etc.). 5. Proposed Procedure: Describe how you plan to conduct your observations and what behaviors you intend to observe with enough detail that it is clear you will be able to answer your proposed research question. 6. References: APA-style references for every citation used in the proposal. 7. Sample Annotated Literature Review: Copy one abstract on an appropriate topic from an academic journal article and include an appropriate explanation for how it contributes to your study. The abstract must be properly labeled with an APA-style citation. 7. WARNING: YOU CANNOT COPY ANY PORTION OF THE PROPOSAL EXAMPLE. You could elaborate on a similar topic, but if you want to look at gender-related differences in mask wearing, you MUST introduce some other variable and CANNOT use any of the references used in this example other than Jhangiani and Tarry (2014). Also, don’t feel the need to observe as many subjects as indicated in this example – especially if your topic requires more detailed observation. EXAMPLE: 1. Proposed Topic: Previous research has found few gender-related differences in conformity (Jhangiani, & Tarry, 2014); however, recent research suggests that men are less likely to comply with current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) recommendation to wear face coverings in public (Haischer et al., 2020). Given my state’s requirement to wear masks in public (Maryland Department of Health, 2020), failure to do so represents deviation in compliance. 4 2. Proposed Research Question: Are men less likely than women to conform to mask-wearing requirements in public? 3. Proposed Subjects: My observations will focus on adult shoppers who appear to be between the ages of 30 and 60 years of age. I will not include people who work at the store, because they are required by their employer to wear masks, and will also exclude people that appear younger than 30 or older than 60, because I feel like their behavior could differ for reasons other than gender. I will include people of all racial/ethnic groups, although I am not interested in differences between these groups. I plan to observe at least 100 people and hope to observe approximately equal numbers of men and women. 4. Proposed Setting: I will conduct my observation during evening and weekend hours in a grocery store located in Columbia, MD. This is a busy, suburban setting which will provide access to a diverse number of subjects. At the time of my observation, there is a state-wide mandate requiring people to wear masks in public (Maryland Department of Health, 2020). 5. Proposed Procedure: I will conduct my observations while pretending to shop to prevent my subjects from suspecting they are being observed. For shoppers who meet my intended age restriction, I will make note of their gender and if the person is wearing a proper mask properly; wearing an improper mask (e.g., masks with exhalation valve, plastic face shield only) or wearing a proper mask improperly; or not wearing any mask. Masks will be considered proper if they are made of cloth or disposable material (e.g., N95 filters, surgical masks), and will be considered worn properly if the mask covers both the mouth and nose during the duration of my observation. 6. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, August 7). Considerations for wearing masks: Help slow the spread of COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html Haischer, M. H., Beilfuss, R., Hart, M. R., Opielinski, L. Wrucke, D., Zirgaitis, G., Uhrich, T. D., Hunter, S. K. (2020). Who is wearing a mask? Gender-, age-, and location-related differences during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE, 15(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240785 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240785 5 Jhangiani, R. & Tarry, H. (2014). Principles of social psychology (1st international ed.). BCcampus. https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/ Maryland Department of Health. (2020, October 15). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) frequently asked questions. https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/Documents/coronavirus_FAQ.pdf 7. Sample Annotated Literature Review Abstract 1 (Haischer et al., 2020) “Masks are an effective tool in combatting the spread of COVID-19, but some people still resist wearing them and mask-wearing behavior has not been experimentally studied in the United States. To understand the demographics of mask wearers and resistors, and the impact of mandates on mask-wearing behavior, we observed shoppers (n = 9935) entering retail stores during periods of June, July, and August 2020. Approximately 41\% of the June sample wore a mask. At that time, the odds of an individual wearing a mask increased significantly with age and was also 1.5x greater for females than males. Additionally, the odds of observing a mask on an urban or suburban shopper were ~4x that for rural areas. Mask mandates enacted in late July and August increased mask-wearing compliance to over 90\% in all groups, but a small percentage of resistors remained. Thus, gender, age, and location factor into whether shoppers in the United States wear a mask or face covering voluntarily. Additionally, mask mandates are necessary to increase mask wearing among the public to a level required to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.” Contribution This study investigated demographic characteristics of people who wore and did not wear masks based on direct observation during the summer of 2020 and found females were 1.5 times more likely to wear a mask as compared to males. This finding helped me devise my research question, and the methodology used in this study informed my decisions for how to make my observations. Proposal Checklist See the complete ARP1 Grading Rubric located in the syllabus for grading criteria. https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/ https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/Documents/coronavirus_FAQ.pdf 6 ARP2 Title Page DIRECTIONS: Give your project an appropriate title (you can be slightly creative, but make sure you include the major variables involved in your observational study). Below the title, include your name as the author, your affiliation (department & full school name, not abbreviation), our course number & name, your instructor’s name & title, and the due date (written as Month DD, YYYY). FORMATTING NOTES: The title page is the first page of your paper and should be included in page numbering. Do not use fancy colors or fonts. Bold and capitalize all major words in the title. The title should be separated from the author information by one extra blank double-spaced line. EXAMPLE: 1 Deviant Behavior as a Persuasive Technique Pat Smith Department of Psychology, University of Maryland Global Campus PSYC 321: Social Psychology Dr. Lorri Cerro August 2, 2020 Title Page Checklist 1. Contains required information (appropriate title, author, affiliation, course, instructor, due date) 2. Does not contain extraneous information 3. Proper formatting (3-4 lines from top, centered, title bolded & capitalized title case, page numbered, double spaced with one extra line separating the title) 7 ARP2 Introduction & Research Question DIRECTIONS: This section will “introduce” your reader to the general social psychology topic you will be observing and summarize what you’ve learned from the abstracts in your annotated literature review (most, if not all, of the abstracts included in your annotated literature review should be cited in the Introduction). The introduction must build the case for your research question. When you outline your introduction, think of an upside-down triangle or funnel shape; begin with the most general information, then progress to information that is most related to your research question. Organize your introduction as follows: 1. Start by introducing your chosen social psychology topic in general (this could be a few sentences or a paragraph long) and make sure you include appropriate citations from your classroom text and/or other sources. Note: You should read ahead in your in-class readings if you intend to investigate a topic that comes towards the end of the class so you can include appropriate information from the classroom text and to get ideas for terms to search for or authors to include for your literature review 2. Next comes the literature review; this is where you will summarize what you’ve learned from the abstracts (with citations) included in your Annotated Literature Review. If your research question addresses multiple topics, you must provide support for all of them, but this does not have to happen within the same citation. You can combine ideas from separate research evidence to support your research question (this is, in fact, how much research is done in the real world). 3. The final portion of your introduction should summarize and synthesize what you’ve learned from your literature review which should naturally lead to your research question. 4. Your Introduction must end with a specific research question (or small set of related questions) that you are trying to answer for this project, or you can include questions as a separately labeled section immediately after the Introduction. Make sure (a) you clearly state the question(s) you are trying to answer, (b) your question is supported by information you included in your Introduction, and (c) your question can be answered through observation alone. Your question(s) must be detailed and specific. For example: When individuals are in groups, are they more likely to conform? Do men engage in distinguishable behaviors before asking a woman to dance in a bar setting? Does the behavior of older people influence the behavior of younger people in a dangerous setting? Note that one good question is better than multiple weak questions, and too many weakly related questions will make your paper difficult to write. FORMATTING NOTES: This section starts with your paper’s title as a Level 1 heading. It should be about 1-2 double- spaced pages long and must include citations from articles in your Annotated Literature Review for support. Note that this section should be written in past or present perfect tense. Also see the “APA Style for Citations and References Job Aid” and “How APA-Style Citations and References Can Help You Prevent Plagiarism” section at the end of the syllabus. EXAMPLE: Deviant Behavior as a Persuasive Technique Persuasion techniques are often used when attempting to get people to donate to charities (Jhangiani, & Tarry, 2014). Getting people to donate money when it is requested can also be thought of as way of getting people to conform to your demands (Jhangiani, & Tarry, 2014). Persuading others to conform their behavior by donating money involves techniques that are not used only by formal charities. According to Lankenau (1999), some panhandlers capture attention by using dramatic techniques to increase compliance. Pedestrians serve as an audience and respond to panhandling by selecting form a menu of responses. One common response amongst the everyday commuters is the nonperson treatment or passing by a panhandler as if they do not exist. This sort of behavior is often displayed by those who believe that people get what they deserve and 8 deserve what they get (Begue et al., 2008). In other words, these people are unlikely to participate in altruistic behavior toward beggars and panhandlers. Persuasive techniques, such as the Pique technique, are often used by beggars and panhandlers to increase compliance from passersby in situations where little attention might be paid otherwise (Burder et al., 2007). This technique is practiced by presenting individuals with an unexpected request in an attempt to catch the attention of the intended audience. For instance, in the study by Burder, et al., 313 passersby were either asked by beggars for a common amount of change or for 37 cents. Those asked for the uncommon amount of 37 cents were more likely to comply with the request for money due to their heuristic process being disrupted. Deviant behavior displayed by beggars and panhandlers may also discourage passersby from complying with their requests. In a study done by Abbate and Ruggieri (2008), a fake beggar was instructed to either approach passersby and invade their personal space or allow passersby to make the decision to approach them. For the purpose of the above-mentioned study, personal space was defined as a moveable, invisible barrier surrounding individuals. When the beggar acted in a deviant way by invading the personal space of passersby, this effectively heightened discomfort and negative feelings of the passersby who were approached, which resulted in decreased compliance amongst those passersby. Because the behavior of those asking for money could have positive or negative influence on the likelihood of their requests being met, the current study will investigate how their behavior influences the behavior of those being targeted for donations. Specifically, will engaging in deviant behavior positively or negatively influence the likelihood of compliance by passersby when donations are requested? And what techniques used by street beggars are most persuasive in increasing compliance with their monetary donation requests? Introduction Checklist 1. Starts with appropriate social psychological concepts 2. Includes support from abstracts in annotated literature review (appendix) 3. Information is related to observational topic 4. Supports research question(s) 5. Does not contain extraneous information 6. Excellent organization with appropriate transitions between topics 7. All information from external sources cited with perfect APA style Research Question Checklist 1. Supported by introduction 2. Able to answer with observational procedure 3. Appropriate number/scope 4. Worded as a question 9 ARP2 Method: Subjects & Setting DIRECTIONS FOR SUBJECTS: Describe the general group(s) of subjects you have observed, including the exact number, estimated ages or age groups, gender(s), racial/ethnic groups represented, and any other observable information that makes these people special. If you are making comparisons between groups (e.g., genders), you should also include the number observed in each subgroup (e.g., males & females). If you excluded anyone from observation, explain your rationale. DIRECTIONS FOR SETTING: Describe the setting in which your observation occurred (e.g., Where did you make your observation? Were you outside or inside? What was special about this setting? If this setting was required for you answer your research question, explain why.) Also name and describe the general geographic area for your setting (e.g., Was it in a diverse urban, busy suburban, or quite rural setting? What are the racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic characteristics of the area [with citations to support the characteristics you report]?). Include sufficient detail so that it is clear how the setting might have affected your observations. FORMATTING NOTES: These sections are included under the Level 1 heading for Method and use Level 2 subheadings. Each section may be only a few sentences long (in which case, you may combine as “Subjects and Setting”), or include more detail (e.g., if the subject groups or setting is very important to your observation). Note that these sections should be written in past tense as you’re writing about things that have already happened. EXAMPLE: Method Subjects I limited my observations to groups of females who appeared to be 20 to 70 years of age. While I did not record race or ethnicity, it is important to note that my subjects were predominantly White. In order for a group to qualify for observation, it had to include at least three people, but there was no upper limit for group size. I observed a total of 23 groups and 85 people. Setting This observation was conducted at the only shopping mall in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a primarily urban area with approximately 64,000 residents (http://www.city-data.com/city/Cheyenne-Wyoming.html). The racial makeup of this area is primarily White (77\%) while the gender distribution approximately equal. The median household income in Cheyenne of $59,877 per year is similar to the average income for the state of Wyoming. Francis E. Warren Air Force Base is located at the edge of town, and the city also has a community college. All walks of life may be found at the shopping mall at any given time which made it a good spot to catch a population sample of Cheyenne, and the public setting facilitated my ability to observe behaviors unobtrusively. In order to observe behavior of people as they joined lines, I assumed a position in the eatery area of the mall which provided a good vantage point of a variety of store fronts where lines routinely formed. Subjects Checklist 1. Appropriate information about subjects given research topic (e.g., age, gender, race) 2. Good details included 3. Includes number of subjects actually observed 4. Does not contain extraneous …