Category: Psychology

Psychiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Healthcare Fraud Scheme

Psychiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Healthcare Fraud Scheme

Psychiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Healthcare Fraud Scheme

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/psychiatrist-sentenced-prison-healthcare-fraud-scheme

 Instructions:

  1. Overall summary: clearly and concisely analyze and synthesize the type of legal dispute. Do not restate the entire case. Please include the following:
  • Title and Case Citation (i.e., the parties in the case, the text in which the case can be found, the court writing the opinion, the year the case was decided)
  • Facts (a review of the material facts of the case
  • Holding (the court’s ruling based on the facts, issues, and applicable laws pertaining to the case)
  • Reason (the rationale for the court’s decision based on facts, issues, and relevant laws surrounding the case)
  1. Professional reflection:
  • What was meaningful to you professionally?
  • How was the information important to your future profession?
  • How could you apply this new information and/or skills to your professional practice?
  1. Personal reflection:
  • What was meaningful to you personally?
  • How and why was the information important to you?
  • How will you use the new information and/or skills to enhance your personal health?

Requirements

  • Length: 10 pages minimum (not including the cover page and reference/appendix)
  • Font: 12-point, Times New Roman
  • Spacing: double
  • Clear state central purpose of writing this paper.
  • Paper should have relevant and legitimate information that clearly supports a central purpose or argument and shows a thoughtful, in-depth analysis of a significant topic.
  • The paper should have smooth flow in each argument.
  • Use 4 to 6 secondary source references
  • Formatting: document according to APA 5th Edition
  • Mechanics: correct spelling, grammar, and sentence and paragraph structure
  • No plagiarism

Counseling and Treatment of Trauma as well as Christian Worldview.

Counseling and Treatment of Trauma as well as Christian Worldview. 

Reference and address chapters 1-5
content to counseling and treatment of trauma as well as Christian worldview. No block quotes or
excessive quoting. Must be 5 pages with title page and reference page. APA format. The book is
Raging With Compassion by John Swinton. Total 7 pages.

Topics in Psychology (Literature Review Paper)

Select any topic of ABAthat interests/intrigues you,and conduct a thorough literature review.

Search for interesting topics/keywords (use UAB library linkto access Psych Infoor Google Scholar. Select minimum of 6papersfor this assignment.

Identify a titlefor your manuscript; write an abstract, and the body of your paper. Make sure you cite sources when you are referring to a previous finding or study.Finally,include all the references cited in the paper.

You must cite at least 6 peer-reviewed research articles within your review. Only one paper can be a review article or meta-analysis (if relevant to your paper). Write and submit your paper in APA format. Include:

1. Title Page

2. Abstract (120- 150 words)- 10 points

3. Introduction- (15 points) (250 words) i) Clearly identifies a topic of interest that ties back to behavioral principles ii) Makes an argument for the importance/relevance of the topic iii) Stating the specific objectives of your study

4. Body and Conclusions – ( 750 words) Body- (40 points) i) Identifies at least 6 relevant papers ii) Discusses the importance of each paper selected to the larger topic iii) Identifies emerging themes/consensus from the literature iv) Identifies gaps, inconsistencies and criticisms of the current literature v) Well-synthesized and integrated Conclusions (5 points)- Address the significance and implications of your study.

5. References (10 points)

6. General APA formatting (including title page) 10 points.

7. Correct grammar, punctuation and syntax and writing style (10 points)

Developing Child Paper

For this second assignment, you will either a) need access to a child between the ages of ½ year
and 12 years (don’t just grab a random kid off of the street, make sure that you know the parents
and that you explain to them exactly what your project entails), or b) make up a fictional child
between the ages of ½ year and 12 years. In this paper, you will address the child’s development
with respect to several areas that we’ve covered in the developmental lectures. To start, you’ll
want to describe the child in terms of:
Name, age, background information, and other general details,
Identity development (both past and current issues related to Erikson’s theory of identity
development and Marcia’s theory),
Cognitive development (both past and current issues related to Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development),

Attachment type (based on Ainsworth’s theory of attachment),
And moral development (based on Kohlberg’s theory)
After describing the above details, you need to test the child (or pretend to test the child if you’re
using a fictional child) on a Piaget-related age appropriate struggle that they’re currently going
through (e.g. object permanence). You need to describe their performance on this test, using
terms from Piaget’s work to describe your findings and experimentation. You must also propose
a few ways that you might be able to help the child master this challenge—or another cognitive
challenge that they might be focused on—by building off of the theories and terminology of Lev
Vygotsky.
In the end, you will earn points for providing the following information:
Your description of the child that you’re “testing”, with each section being between 1 to 3
paragraphs long
Your description of your “experiment” on the child, the child’s performance, what this indicates
about his/her cognitive development, and how you might be able to help this child better
understand the cognitive concept more effectively
Proper grammar, creativity, and depth of coverage in the paper

Properly formatted in-text citations and reference list (use APA Format)
Notes:
The written portion of the assignments (not the reference page) should be a maximum of three,
typed, double-spaced, pages in length—do not mess with font size and margins to make your
paper longer or shorter. You will not lose points for having a paper that is shorter than three
pages, but if you are fulfilling all of the requirements, your paper will be at least two full pages.
Make sure that your paper is written as an expository essay. It needs to be coherent, with
smooth transitions between topics, and it must be in essay form. You should not have different
sections in your paper. There should also be no bullet points or other forms of separation in the
paper.
Please write several drafts, spell check, proofread, and revise your work before submitting your
assignment. You will not receive full credit if your assignment contains multiple grammatical,
spelling, or stylistic mistakes.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory

General Psychology Paper:

Psychological Science in Everyday Life Overview: One of psychology’s claims to fame is that psychological information can be applied to better understand and help people’s everyday lives. For this paper, you will have the opportunity to explore a topic in psychology that has such implications, research it in more detail, and consider how this information can be applied.

Instructions:

(1) Please choose one topic from the list below. Each topic is based on material discussed in the respective modules.

(2) Research your topic. Start by reading the module content and note any references in the module. Then, find websites, articles, and/or books on your topic. Your research must include at least two journal articles or books. That is, websites can be very helpful and informative, but your final paper must include full articles (whether from the Internet or elsewhere) or books on the topic. Sources should be reputable and consistent with what you learned in the module as well as other sources. GoogleScholar and PDF articles from the Internet can be helpful resources. This paper requirement means that you need to include at least two primary sources in your paper; articles from the Internet can be included, but they would be in addition to the two minimum primary sources. Primary sources are firsthand accounts; thus, they involve the author writing about his or her own work. Primary sources include books or published journal articles.

Grading information:

Each paper is worth 100 points. The paper may be completed any time before the Final Exam. The grading turnaround for papers is one week (that is, you should expect to have a submitted paper graded by one week from the date of submission).

The point distribution for the papers is as follows:

20 points: Writing. Criteria: appropriate grammar, appropriately edited for syntax and phrasing, complete sentences, structured in paragraph and essay form, meets page length requirements.

20 points: Follows the prompt: all portions of the paper are complete. Answers fully address the questions in the prompt and address them in a sufficiently detailed way.

20 points: Evidence. In each paper, you are required to support evidence for your written points, whether the evidence is specific detail from the modules, the Internet, or your observations (and, in all cases, the evidence needs to be stated in your own words and not plagiarized). These sources should be appropriately cited. For example: (Scott, 2010) or (www.sciencedaily.com, “What is Keeping Your Kids Up At Night,” para. 2). Sufficient referencing and integration (without plagiarism) of other sources is necessary to achieve full points in this area. A reference page is also needed. At least the minimum number of primary sources (see above) is also needed.

20 points: Evaluation. In each paper, you are to include your own thoughts and evaluations. Each paper option involves you thinking further on a topic in psychology and making some evaluations and decisions about the topic. Your thoughts need to be described in sufficient detail and identified as your thoughts, compared to information that you may obtain elsewhere. Sufficient explanation is necessary to achieve full points in this area.

20: Content. Accuracy of your written positions and appropriateness of content given the question prompts are necessary to achieve full points in this area. This is the heart of the papers—answering the questions correctly, accurately, and appropriately. In the cases of providing your opinions, these should still be grounded correctly in the theory or module topic that you are addressing.

Instructions:

(1) Please choose one topic from the list below. Each topic is based on material discussed in the respective modules.

(2) Research your topic. Start by reading the module content and note any references in the module. Then, find websites, articles, and/or books on your topic. Your research must include at least two articles or books. That is, websites can be very helpful and informative, but your final paper must include full articles (whether from the Internet or elsewhere) or books on the topic. Sources should be reputable and consistent with what you learned in the module as well as other sources. GoogleScholar and PDF articles from the Internet can be helpful resources.

Tips for finding sources:

(a) A Google search can be a helpful way to start. You can then see the scope and type of information available. After you’ve read up on the topic, you can then search more academic sources such as through GoogleScholar or academic websites (such as hospitals and research institutions) that might have articles and reports available.

(b) Each topic on the list does have information that you can find online as well as in print. If, for whatever reason, you have trouble locating this information, you may want to switch topics.

(c) Make sure you use good search terms when trying to find articles. You may want to start broad (for example, “bystander effect”) and then narrow to your particular area.

(3) Each topic has an application component. Some suggestions for application can be researched, but you will also need to come up with your own ideas. You may want to jot down notes as you research your topic so that you can come to your own conclusions.

(4) Write the paper. Be sure to include all components from the questions above for your topic. The paper should be written in essay format (not an outline), in 12-point font, and double-spaced. Be sure to edit carefully before submitting the paper.

Here is the format for writing the paper:

Format:

I. Introduction. Introduce your topic and explain why this topic was of interest to you.

II. Body of paper. Fully address your topic and all the components of it. Support your points with your cited research. The topic should be explained in full. This section should be at least three pages long.

III. Application. Discuss your topic’s application component. Be sure to mention what applications are recommended by others and what you recommend. You must include your own views about what the application should be, and clearly state them and why. This section should be at least one to two pages

IV. Conclusion. Conclude your topic with a wrap-up paragraph. Some suggestions for a good conclusion:

a) end by summarizing what was learned about this topic;

b) end by emphasizing a particular application of the information;

c) end by suggesting where future research and discussion should go on this topic. Total paper length: Approximately five pages PAPER TOPIC Alzheimer’s disease and memory – Which types of memory—such as episodic, procedural, etc.—are most affected by this disease? What is the progression? What are current recommendations for how to maintain functioning prior to and after diagnosis?

Educational Psychology

How important is parent/guardian involvement in student learning and achievement? Developing
partnerships and collaboration with parents/guardians can be essential to help promote
academic achievement in children. Yet, this task can be challenging for teachers. How much
parent/guardian involvement is enough and how much involvement is too much? At what point
does parent/guardian involvement become a problem? Managing this balance is a skill that can
be supported and informed by educational psychology.
For this Discussion, consider the myriad ways parents/guardians can be involved in a child’s education and how parents/guardians can help promote achievement. Consider strategies that
might be useful to encourage appropriate parent/guardian involvement and collaboration.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post by Day 5 your position on whether parent/guardian involvement in a child’s education is
beneficial and explain why. Include positive and negative aspects of parent/guardian involvement
related to student achievement. Then describe a strategy that might encourage parent/guardian
involvement and collaboration. Justify your response with references to this week’s Readings.
Readings
Article: Brophy, J. (1998). Classroom management as socializing students into clearly articulated
roles. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 33(1), 41–45.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.
Article: Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. (2011). Implementing response to
interventions in context. Retrieved from http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/implementingrti.pdf
Article: Ducharme, J. M., & Shecter, C. (2011). Bridging the gap between clinical and classroom
intervention: Keystone approaches for students with challenging behavior. School Psychology
Review, 40(2), 257–274.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.
Article: Marks, D. B. (2010). Preservice teachers’ perceptions of classroom management
instruction: Theory to practice. National Teacher Education Journal, 3(2), 179–201.

Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.
Article: Marzano, R. J., & Marzano, J. S. (2003). The key to classroom management. Educational
Leadership, 61(1), 6–13.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Educational Research Complete database.
Article: Rosas, C., & West, M. (2009). Teachers beliefs about classroom management: Preservice and inservice teachers’ beliefs about classroom management. International Journal of
Applied Educational Studies, 5(1), 54–61.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

Course Reflection (Cognitive Processes)

Throughout the course, you have been exposed to theories in cognitive psychology and have
been asked to use those theories to solve problems and evaluate human cognition.

Based on what you have learned, discuss the role you think cognitive psychology plays in understanding
human behavior and interactions.

How has this field advanced our understanding of human cognition and behavior?

How has cognitive psychology helped us to create socially responsible strategies for improving cognition?

What directions do you think the field will take next, and how will that research be important in solving contemporary problems or real-world issues?

Targeted Topics in Applied Behavior Analysis

Setting the Scene: 
You are a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) who works for Applied Behavior
Associates, a community mental health agency. A group home provider serving adolescent foster
children, ages 13–17, has submitted a referral to your agency for staff training in “behavior
control procedures.” You have been assigned to provide training in basic principles of positive
behavior intervention for the home. The home previously contracted with a non-credentialed
“behavior specialist” who wrote behavior guidelines for the staff to follow. These guidelines
included such recommendations as, “Whenever you notice a resident becoming aggressive, tell
him to go to the quiet area. If he refuses, implement the two-person transportation procedure to
move him to the quiet area. Prevent the resident from leaving the quiet area until he is calm.

After the resident has met criteria to leave the quiet area, remove all privileges for the rest of the
day.” These procedures have failed miserably, and you are being asked to provide some
guidance.
Discussion:
Discuss the three-term contingency (antecedent, behavior, and consequence) and its relevance
to understanding why behaviors occur. What information pertaining to the three-term contingency
needs to be considered in the current scenario?
Discuss the components necessary for an operational definition of a target behavior. Provide an
operational definition of the target behavior labeled “aggression” in the scenario that could be
used to provide more clarity.
Discuss one of the seven dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis outlined by Baer, Wolf, and
Risley (found in Applied Behavior Analysis, Chapter 1, and beginning on page 16) and describe
how the dimension can be applied when considering interventions in the current scenario.

Research Proposal In Psychology Topic

One of the topics is Motivation, Domestic abuse, Depression, etc

Writing a Scientific Research Proposal. Final Proposal due on or before 5/12

Please scroll down for Final Template

A research proposal has three main points:

1) Explanation of proposed research (what will be done)

2) Methods and techniques to be employed (how it will be done)

3) Novelty and/or importance of the study (why it should be done)

  1. Title

This should provide a specific summary of the proposed work

  1. II) Abstract (PART II)

 One paragraph that allowing the quick and accurate assessment of the basic premise of the proposal in 250 words or less.

III. Introduction and Literature Review

Your first sentence of the introduction should identify the research problem. This

sentence or two should address why the research is important and what you are hoping

to accomplish. What is the problem under investigation?

Next, you should complete a literature review. Your review of the literature should only

include the 5 articles you select. The more recent the better. Through the use of previous research, you should develop the general background of the research problem and identify research holes to show how your experiment can further research in the field. Make sure you

include your hypothesis in this section, as well as, the independent and dependent

variables.

Lastly, identify your research design. You should begin with the basics of your research topic and then narrow the focus of those details that are especially pertinent to the proposed work. Present what is currently known in the field in terms of motivation and how these discoveries were made. This is the place to show what is interesting and cutting-edge in the field that led to your research idea. You are laying the groundwork for your proposal with the material that you present.

  1. Method

In this section you should discuss how you are going to meet the goals discussed in the

introduction. This portion of the proposal is broken down further into questions you

should answer within each subsection.

Research Hypothesis

What is the hypothesis that you are testing? What are the questions that you seek to answer? Based on what is known in this field, explain what you expect to see and hope to show through your result? This is where you share your thoughts.

Dependent Variable:

*What behavior are you going to measure?

*How often are you going to measure the behavior?

*What is the type of observation?

*What is the recording method? How will data be recorded?

Independent Variable/Subject Variable:

*What are you going to manipulate?

*Describe (in detail) the levels of the independent variable.

*What variables are controlled?

*How are they presented?

*How long will they be presented?

*What instructions will the participant receive?

*Who will give the instructions?

*Who will be present when the behavior is measured?

Material

Describe your proposed experiment in depth. What processes are you going to use? What kind of equipment and supplies will be necessary for the project? What will you use for a control, and what will be your replicate? Be thorough, but not excessive. It might be useful to construct an outline before completing this section, as this will give you an idea of what should be occurring when, and if your goals are attainable in the given time.

Participants

*Who are your participants going to be? (i.e., What is the gender, age education, race,

etc. of your participants?)

*How many participants are you going to have?

*How are you going to recruit them?

*How are you going to assign them to groups?

*How are you going to compensate them?

*What criteria will you use for participation in your project?

Apparatus/Materials

*What apparatus are you going to use?

*What materials are you going to use?

*Are you going to administer any psychological tests? If so, which ones?

*Are there any special supplies you require?

*Do you need an apparatus or device to observe or record behavior?

Procedure

*What is your research design?

*What will happen in your experiment?

*Where is your study going to take place? (Describe where the data will be collected)

Your sentence structure should look something like this:

“According to Thullen et al. (1999), nitrate removal rates were highest in those wetlands that contained a divers number of plants species.”

“Within organisms cellular nitrogen generally exists as either ammonia-nitrogen or amino-nitrogen, which are the most reduced forms of nitrogen (Delwiche, 1981).”

Never leave your reader in doubt as to the source of your information. Cite thoroughly and cite properly. You only have 5 sources to pull from, so make sure they’re inter-related and usable.

 

  1. Conclusion and Justification (PART II)

Your literature review will have already helped to lead the reader to an understanding of why your topic is of importance. This is where you will explicitly state how your proposed research will advance knowledge. What are the far-reaching effects? Will your study potentially change practices or policies? Why is it that your research deserves funding? Why should we care about your study? Convince the reader why this study belongs in the scholarly literature.

 

  1. Reference

Include the 5 resources that were used in the writing of the paper. Follow APA guidelines for formatting.

VII. Presentation (PART II)

APA style followed throughout (look it up) and clear evidence of proofreading

VIII. Submission (PART II)

Be sure it’s turned in by or before 5/12

 

***A note on Voice:

There is no one format for voice in scientific writing. Active voice is usually encouraged (use of “I” or “We”), but in practice many writers switch between active and passive voice to keep the writing from becoming too repetitive.

Important Points to Remember

-An organized, well-written, concise, complete proposal = an easier to conduct experiment

-A good proposal is like a good sales pitch. In the world of graduate studies and scientific

research a proposal is the means by which funding is secured.

-Good writing when paired with a thorough understanding of the subject matter is a valuable skill to possess.

Personality Disorders Assignment

InsStudents will present through PowerPoint a case study treatment plan for working with the
selected vulnerable population. Students will use work from previous units in the course
(SOAPIER, Sample Intake Interview, Outline and Resources). Students will also present
community and national resources for the selected population as well as goals, projected
outcomes, and methods for follow-up with the client group. An audio version of the presentation
should be included with the PowerPoint presentation. The PowerPoint should be a minimum of
10 slides of content and also include additional slides with references in APA format.
Assignment Requirements
Length: minimum 10 slides
APA Format

Submitting Your Assignment
Please complete the assignment as a Word document.
Click the +Submit Assignment link located in the right-hand column of the course window.
Click the Choose File button.
Navigate to your document and select it.
Click the Submit Assignment button.
instructions
The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to apply the personality theories
reviewed in this course to a real person.
Begin by choosing a famous person to study and analyze.
The famous person may be alive or dead.
The main requirements for your choice include the famous person must be well known, and there
must be sufficient information available about this person’s life to adequately complete the
assignment.
After choosing a famous person, gather information about his or her life and personality. Your
goal is to get to know this person well so that you will have plenty of information upon which to
base the personality analysis.
Apply two personality theories covered in class to your chosen person. For example, you may
choose to analyze this person from a psychoanalytic perspective.
What do you know about his/her childhood that would be of interest to a psychoanalyst?
Does this person seem to be fixated at any stage?

What conclusions can you draw?
The analysis must be substantiated by the facts of the individual’s life and the theory used.
Use some of the assessments to help with this analysis.
Think about how this person might respond to the personality test questions.
Might the person be diagnosed with a personality disorder?
Provide a brief biography of the individual. This is not a review of the person’s life, but an
analysis of the person’s personality.
Choose a famous person where you might obtain enough information on that person to write a
personality assessment.
Write an 800 to 900-word paper following APA format.
Paper Requirements
Length: 800 – 900 words
Double Spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch Margin
APA Format
Please add notes so i can do the audio portion

Child Maltreatment

This journal assignment requires you to go back to re-read part of REVEL Chapter 10 on
Emotional and Social Development in Early Childhood, specifically the section on Child
Maltreatment towards the end of the chapter. After re-reading this section, you should be able to
identify the different factors that increase rates of childhood abuse and neglect.
Respond by answering these questions:
* What does the term maltreatment mean?
* What is the most commonly reported type of child maltreatment, according to your textbook?
* Identify some of the most common maltreatment risk factors (things that increase the possibility
of being abused or neglected). List at least 4 of them.
* In your own opinion, is spanking the same thing as abuse? Were you spanked as a child? Do
you believe it was good or bad for you? Why or why not?
References
Berk, L., & Meyers, A. (2016). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood. Pearson
Edition.

Child’s Fine and Gross Motor Skills Development

Structure of Essay
Please include an introduction to the essay and a conclusion at the end. These give the reader
an opportunity to prepare for the content, and to help gather up your thoughts at the end.
Using Quotes
Because this essay is open-book, it is natural for you to want to refer to the textbook, cite the
author, and maybe even quote the textbook in a few areas. The bulk of the final exam essay
should be your own wording and phrasing. A maximum of one quote per paragraph may be
used, with a total maximum of 5 quotes for the essay. Read through your textbook, pause and
reflect on the topic, then summarize the main ideas in your essay using your own language.
Please use the footnotes are a valid reference/quote
References
Berk, L., & Meyers, A. (2016). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood. Pearson
Edition.

Marketing of Bipolar Disorder

PART 1 (5 pgs)
-The analysis of this text: The Medicalization of ‘Ups and
Downs’: The Marketing of the New Bipolar Disorder by Joanna Moncrieff (I will upload the
document) alongside two other scholarly texts related to the subject (any). Guidelines below:
Write an essay of your own in which you critically analyze a text and its problem and
ideas/argument. Do this work in the context of two other ancillary texts: at least one scholarly
source. Your essay should show counterintuitive and complex assessment of BOTH your chosen
essay and the problem at hand, a thoughtful reflection on the specific cultural issue emerging
from your chosen essay. Your writing task is, therefore, two-fold: to sharpen and complicate our
understanding of this scholarly text and advance our understanding of this particular problem by
way of your own thinking.

Some additional advice: You will not have a single thesis; rather, you will have two robust and
well-supported critical claims. Keep in mind that your chosen essay is both a source of
inspiration as well as a kind of anchor or gravitational force: you are connected to it as a weight;
it will give your essay coherence. Your objective is to uncover and reveal parts of the essay that
are hidden, latent, obscured, assumed, invisible, underdeveloped or missing but also,
importantly, relevant and meaningful to the stakes of the essay and problem as a whole. The
central work you do in this essay will be in-between sources: translating the information you cull
from your ancillary sources into new insights about your primary essay and the issue at hand. As
always, an essay will develop and deepen your own ideas about this problem, have a thoughtful
and progressive structure, and use sources and analyzes evidence richly, thoughtfully, and
accurately.
The draft should be around 5-6 pages double-spaced: leave yourself a page for growth over
revisions. The final revision will be around 7-8 pages.
Follow formatting on the syllabus (double-spaced, pagination, etc).
Label your document with your first initial, last name, and CAD1. My document would be
NListonCAD1.docx (Word documents only).
PART 2 (1pg)
Include a cover letter before your final essay.
Cover letter. Reflect on your writing during this unit: from your exercises, to in-class free writes
and discussions, to your essay. What has been the intellectual enjoyment and struggle of critical
analysis—problematizing, finding gaps, omissions, implicit ideas, contradictions, insufficiencies,
latent parts, paradoxes—in an essay? You might consider classwork, the research process,
exercises, peer review, and/or your conference. What do you think are the most valuable part of
your essay? What still needs work and why? How have you improved as a writer (and as a
reader and thinker) during this progression?
(~1 page, single-spaced)
Please also include an Acknowledgments section after Works Cited.
Give your essay a title.
Use Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, 1’ margins, page numbers (see syllabus
for further detail).
GRADING CRITERIA:
Critical Analysis Essay (30% of grade): Using at least two scholarly sources, develop an
argument that offers an assessment of the value and shortcomings of an argumentative essay
about a complex problem related to pharmaceutical treatment and illness.
Skills Practiced:
Reading and analyzing a complex written text’s rhetoric and its persuasive
strategies.
Developing a conversation among a group of texts.
Using that body of texts to generate ideas and to explore their far-reaching
implications.
Learning to substantiate and clarify an idea using those texts.
Practicing the art of reflection both to generate and strengthen ideas

Documenting written texts that are cited in an essay.
Writing a clearly organized persuasive essay that both assesses the value of a text and its
gaps, underlying assumptions, and implicit ideas

Stroop Effect

Stroop Effect 

  1. Empirical Report Instructions

General Requirements

As described in the Course Information, you are required to participate in a cognitive experiment using the Experiments in Cognition software. The data you collect from yourself will be used to write an empirical research paper. Research papers are an important component of any educational experience, and will help you to develop and refine the following academic skills:

  1. Critical reading of original research literature.
  2. Summarizing and integrating research findings.
  3. In-depth analysis and understanding of a topic of interest.
  4. Objective writing for an academic audience.

The format of the paper must follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.), or simply APA style. You are encouraged to complete the APA Style Tutorial, and review the sample empirical report. Completing the empirical research paper and writing the results in APA style will enable you to achieve the following specific goals:

  1. Obtain an experiential component to understanding research on cognition.
  2. Enhance your appreciation for the research techniques used to investigate a mental phenomenon.
  3. Apply APA format in a research paper assignment.

Once completed, your empirical report should be submitted to the Empirical Research Paper Dropbox on the main course page. Please review Moodle Orientation for instructions on how to use the Dropbox.

Experiments

You may choose from any of the five experiments described in this manual. Some of these experiments are discussed in Matlin (2013), and are replications or variants of well-known cognitive tasks that are noted for producing robust and reliable effects. A description of each experiment is provided along with detailed participant instructions. Before starting any experiment, it is very important that you read the Participant Instructions thoroughly as they provide important details about the tasks required for the experiment and how to respond.

To complete an experiment, you will need a computer with Internet access to download the course software, Experiments in Cognition. General instructions on how to download and start the software are described in the next section.

Each experiment will begin with an electronic Informed Consent form. You will be presented with a summary of the task requirements, and will be asked to click on a button to indicate your consent to participate. Informed consent is a necessary ethical requirement when conducting any type of research with human participants. On this page, you will have the option to indicate: (a) full participation in order to complete the paper requirements; (b) limited participation in order to learn more about the experiment; or (c) exit. If you indicate full participation, your data will be uploaded to a secured server in partial fulfillment of the paper requirements. You are only required to complete one experiment under full participation but you are encouraged to participate in any of the other experiments any number of times by indicating limited participation. If you select this option, your data from the experiment will only be stored on your computer. You might find that this option provides you with a better understanding of the cognitive phenomenon under investigation.

Marking Outline

Your empirical research report in APA style will comprise the following sections.

  1. Title Page (2 points):The title page should contain the following elements in the APA prescribed positions: Running Head, Page Number, Title, Author, and Afilliation. You do not need to include Author Notes.
  2. Abstract (6 points):The abstract is a 120-word summary of the entire paper, and is typically written last. The abstract succinctly summarizes the crucial elements of the four major sections of the empirical report (Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion).
  3. Introduction (35 points):The introduction provides a brief but thorough review of the relevant literature that leads to the hypothesis and the predicted results. The description of each experiment in the assignment manual is also accompanied by two references: the original study upon which the experiment is based, and a review of the literature relevant to the experiment. You are required to seek out three additional references using the online databases that are available from the Athabasca University Library (PsycInfo, ProQuest, etc.). Use the review article to identify topics or issues that you feel are relevant when selecting the additional references. In total, your paper should be based on at least 5 sources.

The experiment descriptions also include a statement about dependent and independent variables. You will recall that experiments are defined by the presence of independent variables (variables manipulated by the experimenter) and the dependent variable (the variable measured by the experimenter). The general hypothesis of any proper experiment is that manipulations of the independent variable will cause changes in the dependent variable. Unlike other research methods, the experiment is capable of testing causal relations between variables. As you conclude the introduction, your review should naturally lead to a statement of the hypothesis and your predicted results. The predictions should be supported by the review.

  1. Method (15 points):The method section is the objective summary and administration of the task, such that the experiment could be repeated by another researcher interested in replicating your findings. Be sure that your Method section contains the following subsections, as described in the APA Style Manual: Participants, Materials, and Procedure. Under Participants, you only need to describe the relevant characteristics of yourself as the lone participant. Those unfamiliar with APA format are strongly advised to consult the Style Manual before completing this section.
  2. Results (7 points):The results section of an experiment usually involves the presentation of descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics are summary statistics. Inferential statistics are tools used to determine whether the obtained findings are statistically significant. In this paper, you are only required to complete a descriptive analysis of your findings in the form of a table or figure (but not both). If you follow the instructions for the experiment, you will end up with a set of summary measures of your performance. This information will be used to construct an APA-style table or figure to include in your research paper. The table or figure will constitute the major portion of the results section.
  3. Discussion (10 points):The discussion section provides an interpretation of the findings with respect to the predictions made in the Introduction. You can also include your own observations and impressions of the experience as a participant, any limitations or shortcomings, and/or any future directions.
  4. References (5 points):The reference section contains a list of works actually read and cited in the body of the paper. All references must adhere to APA style.

Your research paper should be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages. In addition to the preceding components, your writing style (grammar and spelling) will be marked out of 10 points, and adherence to general APA format will be marked out of 10 points.

 

2.           Experiment 1: Stroop Effect

Experiment Description

The Stroop effect (Stroop, 1935) is a robust phenomenon with a long history of study in cognitive psychology. As described in Chapter 3 of the Matlin text, the Stroop effect refers to an attentional finding that reveals how difficult it can be to focus on one thing (or, alternatively, to ignore something else). In the classic demonstration of the Stroop effect, words that are names of colours are presented to the participant in coloured ink, and the participant is required to ignore the word and name the ink colour. When the ink and word are consistent (e.g., the word “red” is written in red ink), responses are generally quick. However, when the ink and word are inconsistent (e.g., the word “red” is written in green ink), responses are relatively slower.

In this experiment, you will be asked to indicate the colour of a computer-presented letter string by pressing a corresponding computer key as quickly as possible. There will be three conditions. In condition 1 (Neutral) the coloured letter strings will be composed of Xs. In condition 2 (Inconsistent) the letter strings will consist of colour words (e.g., red, green, blue) displayed in a colour different than the colour specified by the word. In condition 3 (Consistent) the letter string will consist of colour words displayed in the same colour specified by the word. You will test whether your reaction time in identifying the colour (i.e., the dependent variable) is affected in the consistent and inconsistent conditions when compared to the neutral condition (i.e., the independent variable).

The following sources are strongly recommended as review materials for completing your paper and are available online through the AU library. You are also required to seek out three additional references for a total of five sources.

Original Study: Stroop (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643-662.

Review Article: MacLeod, C. M. (1991). Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 163-203.

Participant Instructions

On each trial in this experiment, a plus sign will appear briefly in the center of the screen for 500 milliseconds, and will be immediately followed by a string of letters printed in one of four colours. Your task is to respond to the COLOUR of the letter string by pressing the correct key as quickly as possible. The appropriate key to press for each colour is as follows:

red = z   green = x   blue = .   yellow = /

The computer key-colour assignments will be displayed at the top of the screen but you may also want to tape colour terms (or colour patches) to your computer keys to help you keep track of the colour-key assignments.

If the response is correct, the next trial will begin in 1500 milliseconds. If the response is not made within the 1500 milliseconds, or if the response is incorrect, or if an invalid key is pressed, a short tone will be presented and the next trial will begin in 1500 milliseconds.

Each of the three conditions will be presented twice in blocks of 36 trials (i.e., six blocks of 36 trials), and the order of conditions across blocks and the order of trials within a block will be determined randomly. You will have an opportunity to take a short break between blocks. In addition, there will be a set of 18 practice trials (6 trials for each condition) at the beginning of the experiment.

The raw data from the experiment (216 responses) can be examined by clicking the View Raw Data button.

To summarize these data, click on the Analyze Raw Data button to compute the mean and standard deviation of the reaction times for correct responses in each of the three conditions. This button will also calculate the number of valid trials for each condition or the number of trials where a correct response was provided. Outwardly, this button produces no observable effect but must be pressed for the next button to work.

To view the summarized results, click on the View Summarized Data button. This summary is important, and will be necessary to prepare an APA style table to include with your paper. Please note that, although the summary data appear in tabular form, the format is not in APA style. Part of your task is to create an APA table from the summarized data.

To view the results of previous participants, click on the Display Group Data button. This button will display the average reaction time for the three conditions. You can use this information to compare with your own performance. This button will not work until you have participated in the experiment.