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Essay Instructions: Social Psychology Definition Paper
Prepare a 700 to 1,050-word paper in which you examine the discipline of social psychology. As a part of your examination, be sure to address the following items:

a. Define social psychology.

b. Discuss how social psychology differs from other related disciplines (e.g., clinical psychology, general psychology, sociology).

c. Explain the role of research in social psychology.

Essay Instructions: Social Psychology Definition Paper – Individual Assignment

Prepare a 700 to 1,050-word paper in which you examine the discipline of social psychology. As a part of your examination, be sure to address the following items:

a. Define social psychology.

b. Discuss how social psychology differs from other related disciplines (e.g., clinical psychology, general psychology, sociology), and the role of research in social psychology.

Essay Instructions: Social Psychology Day of Compassion
Students in Social Psychology are invited to complete a participant-observation assignment on the psychology of compassion. The purpose of this assignment is to put the course material into action in daily contexts, applying social psychology research findings on attributional biases, bystander intervention, conflict resolution, empathy, and so on.

Part I: Participate in the Day of Compassion
On Friday, November 11, our Social Psychology class will observe a "Day of Compassion." To participate in this event, your challenge will be to live each minute of that day in as compassionate a way as possible. In other words, for a full 24-hour period you should do your best to care for other people, to be considerate and respectful, and to avoid causing harm to any living being.

When carrying out this assignment, leave no behavior unexamined -- from talking on the telephone to eating lunch to watching TV. 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, be sure to carefully observe and analyze what transpires during the experience. 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 II: Write About Your Experience
"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)


By 11:59:00 on November 15th, upload (via Blackboard) a social psychological analysis of what the day was like ( limited to two typewritten doubled-spaced pages using 12-point Times New Roman font and 1" margins). Here are a few sample questions you should address:


?-?1) How did you define compassion, and who were the recipients of your efforts?


?-?2) 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? If not, what are the psychological factors that allow this "you" to come out in everyday life?


?-?3) What are the psychological costs and benefits of behaving compassionately? In your view, do the benefits outweigh the costs?


?-?4) 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?


?-?5) 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 a more compassionate society?


?-?6) 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?

Essay Instructions: Social Psychology (8E)
Saul Kassin, Steven Fein, Hazel Rose Markus

Chapter 9 Writing Assignment


For this assignment I would like for you to analyze three personal ads. You may obtain the ads in whatever fashion you prefer (newspaper, online, etc.). You can do any combination of ads that you wish but do not analyze three of the same type of ad (e.g. three male seeking female ads). Use the attached sheets to analyze each ad. Write up a summary of your results (no more than 2-3pages). In your summary identify similarities and differences between the ads (e.g. are there gender differences, sexual orientation differences?) and anything else that you find interesting. Are there any major themes in the ads, such as mentioning physical or personality characteristics? Describe how your results are related to at least one theory in the chapter on Attraction and Close Relationships. Attach a copy of each ad to the summary sheet used to analyze the particular ad.