Homework Assignment PSY210 – Spring 2022 Due March 29 at 12 PM Submit
via Quercus This homework assignment constitutes 15% of your final
mark, and is due March 29th. It is your responsibility to make sure
that your assignment is handed in on time. Late assignments will be
penalized by 10% per day. Your TA will hold office hours the week before
this assignment is due to answer any questions you may have (see
Quercus for more information). This assignment involves reading a
scientific research article along with two articles summarizing the
research for a general audience. As is often the case, summaries written
for a general audience might sacrifice accuracy and integrity. As an
informed reader, you will critique these articles and write your own,
more accurate article. Detailed instructions about the content begin on
the second page of this document. Formatting notes: Your assignment
should be 3 pages maximum (double spaced, 12 point Times Roman font, 1
inch margin all around). If you are doing the assignment correctly,
that isn’t much space! Use this as an opportunity to practice your
editing skills. We are looking for complete assignments that are
concise. You do not need a title page. You can put your name / student
number / etc. in a header if you want to save space. References do not
count toward page limits. (For information about APA formatting and
writing style, I recommend the Purdue Online Writing Lab website:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/) A marking criteria
is provided below. Note that you must compose your responses carefully,
as writing quality will impact your mark. Instructions Followed –
20% Depth and Thoughtfulness of Answer – 50% Grammaticality and
Spelling – 10% Writing Quality (composition) – 20% Detailed
instructions for the assignment The assignment contains three related
sections. In the first section you will demonstrate your understanding
of the original research report. In the second section you will
demonstrate critical analysis of the articles written for a general
audience. In the third section you will write your own “newspaper”
article. Follow the steps below and you’ll be in good shape. STEP 1: Choose a science report and its accompanying “general audience” summaries. You have two options. Note that the link to the uber-facts article does not work, but I have provided a pdf copy of the article. Clearly indicate whether you chose the ‘TV Viewing’ or ‘Child Praise’ article. Article
1: TV Viewing Original research: Lillard, A.S., Peterson, J. (2011).
The immediate impact of different types of television on young
children’s executive function. Pediatrics, 128 (4), 644-688. Newspaper
article #1:
http://www.businessinsider.com/its-official-spongebob-squarepants-is-making-our-children-stupid-2011-9
Newspaper article #2: see attached Article 2: Child Praise
Original research: Brummelman, E., Thomaes, S., Orobio de Castro, B.,
Overbreek, G., Bushman, B.J. (2014). “That’s not just beautiful – that’s
incredibly beautiful!”: the adverse impact of inflated praise on
children with low self-esteem. Psychological Science, 25, 728-735.
Newspaper article #1:
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/wellness/parents-sinking-kids-over-inflated-compliments-study-finds-n3101
Newspaper article #2:
http://www.newsweek.com/2014/01/03/two-words-could-hurt-your-kids-nice-job-245004.html
STEP 2: Briefly summarize the scientific article in your own
words (max 1 page) to demonstrate that you understand the details of
their findings. Be sure to include the following information: (1)
Background/ rationale of the study, (2) Method, (3) Results, and (4)
Implication of the findings. Your summary should be written at a high
level, so that in essence you are writing your own version of a
scientific abstract. Where appropriate use terms you have learned in
class – like dependent and independent variable, sample size, and
correlation/experiment. Do not simply restate the author’s abstract. Label this section as ‘Journal Article Summary’. STEP
3: Now that you understand the original research well enough to write a
high-level summary of it, you should be well equipped to notice when
others don’t summarize it very well. For this section, read the
newspaper articles associated with the scientific article (links above)
and discuss or compare their scientific accuracy (max 1 page). There are
many ways to read and write critically, but in general you should
include multiple, specific examples for each newspaper article (be clear
which article you are referring to: in-text citations are recommended).
For example, your critique could address some of the following
questions, among others: Are the newspaper articles accurate or
misleading What do the articles report correctly Has the journalist
sacrificed scientific accuracy to an excessive degree Which newspaper
article would be more interesting to parents Which article is more
accurate Could either article impact the way parents raise children Is
this potential impact a good thing How would you respond if a relative
who has a young child ask you about the article Hints: pay special
attention to the authors’ language. Pay special attention to the
differences and similarities between what the study claims and what the
newspaper claims—are there any omissions Pay attention to the other
evidence that the newspapers describe—is it truly relevant to the
results, or does it just seem relevant on the surface Do the newspaper
articles contain quotes from trustworthy/relevant experts Is there a
bias Label this section of your assignment ‘Newspaper Article
Critique’ STEP 4: Now is your opportunity to communicate the
scientific article to a general audience without making the same
mistakes you identified in the previous section. Pretend that you are a
journalist that has been asked to write a short news article on the
scientific article you have chosen to read for this assignment. Try to
write a story that is interesting to parents while also being as concise
and scientifically accurate as possible. In other words, the tone of
writing should be different for this section because the hypothetical
audience has changed. It isn’t easy to communicate science effectively!
We encourage you to read other general-audience scientific reports to
get an idea of what makes a good, readable summary. Do not plagiarize
the journal article or the newspaper article you have read. Your story
should be 1 page maximum. Be sure to include a title (words in title
counts towards length). Label this section ‘Newspaper Article’.
