Scenario: Pulled in Different Directions Susan decides to give up on schoolwork

Scenario: Pulled in Different Directions
Susan decides to give up on schoolwork altogether, and spends the evening researching zombie stories and myths. Why were they so popular? The prevailing theories she finds focus on humanity’s quest to understand death and come to terms with it. That makes sense.
Then a new e-mail comes in from her friend Mike. He’s found more articles on misinformation. In many ways, he says, misinformation is a form of persuasion—convincing people to believe something that goes against common knowledge.
As she is reading Mike’s email, her mom calls. “Susan, I need you to come over and help me move this table,” she says. “You know we’re having family dinner here tomorrow. If we don’t get this moved, people won’t fit in the dining room.”
“I’ve got schoolwork to do,” Susan says.
“So that makes you too good to come and help your mom?” Peggy grumbles. “Getting above yourself, aren’t you?”
“No, mom, that isn’t it. I just have a due date coming up and I need to get this paper written.”
“How close are you to being done?”
“I haven’t even started,” Susan answers.
“Then you might as well come over and help me.”
Susan puts away the phone and grabs her purse. It’s easier to help her mom than to keep arguing.
As we look at persuasion this week, think about the concepts you are learning. How does persuasion explain Susan’s choices? What did her mom do that worked? How does persuasion play into misinformation?
Assignment Instructions
THINKING, FEELING, AND BELIEVING
Overview
This week, you will complete a media piece in which you apply theories and concepts from social psychology related to biases in our thinking, the development of our beliefs, and social influence. You will also be required to apply behavioral ethics and critical thinking concepts.
Being a successful practitioner requires us to understand the importance of ethical behaviors. The behaviors we demonstrate will directly influence those we interact with on a daily basis. In addition, the behaviors of others will influence us and our professional practices. Therefore we want to ensure that we behave ethically and have a positive influence.
Preparation
Complete the Riverbend City: Thinking, Feeling, and Believing Case Studies media piece if you haven’t already or if you would like to make changes to the choices you made. Review the case study you want to focus on and the social psychology theory, behavioral ethics concept, and critical thinking concept you want to use for the assignment.
If you didn’t finish your research last week, use the Capella library to find a scholarly journal article related to the social psychology theory you chose. You are required to use two articles. The second article should be one of the following:
Confirmation Bias: Rajsic, J., Wilson, D. E., & Pratt, J. (2015). Confirmation bias in visual search. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 41(5), 1353–1364.
Mere Exposure Effect: Montoya, R. M., Horton, R. S., Vevea, J. L., Citkowicz, M., & Lauber, E. A. (2017). A re-examination of the mere exposure effect: The influence of repeated exposure on recognition, familiarity, and liking. Psychological Bulletin, 143(5), 459–498.
Halo Effect: Bradley, S. W., Roberts, J. A., & Bradley, P. W. (2019). Experimental evidence of observed social media status cues on perceived likability. Psychology of Popular Media, 8(1), 41–51.
Review the Thinking, Feeling, and Believing Assignment Template [DOCX] you will use to write your paper.
You may use the following resources to supplement the information you find in your textbook and scholarly journal articles:
Confirmation Bias: Cherry, K. (2020). How confirmation bias works. Very Well Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-confirmation-bias-2795024
Halo Effect: Causey, K., & Goetz, A. (2009). The halo effect in overdrive. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/natural-history-the-modern-mind/200907/the-halo-effect-in-overdrive
Mere Exposure Effect: Jansen, G. (2010, October 1). Mere exposure effect. https://www.gui.do/post/mere-exposure-effect
Instructions
Summarize the case study.
Describe credible and scholarly sources relevant to a particular theory.
Apply a social psychological theory to a chosen case study.
Explain how social psychological research studies relate to a particular social psychological theory.
Apply an ethical reasoning concept to a chosen case study.
Apply a critical thinking concept to a chosen case study.
Review the key points.
Create a text in the third person, adhering to conventions of academic tone.
Uses APA-style citations and book, journal references, website, magazine, and blog posts.
Utilize various resources covered in the previous weeks including journals, books, websites, magazines, or blogs.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current Evidence and APA guidelines.
Length: 4–5 double-spaced pages of content, in addition to the title page and reference page.
Resources: Minimum of two scholarly or professional resources.
Template: Use the Thinking, Feeling, and Believing Assignment Template [DOCX] provided to complete the assignment.
Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save this learning activity to your ePortfolio.
SCORING GUIDE
Your work will be evaluated using this criteria.
VIEW SCORING GUIDE
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assignment , you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Select credible and scholarly sources in the field of social psychology using information literacy and research skills.
Describe credible and scholarly sources relevant to a particular theory.
Competency 2: Apply social psychological theory to topics in the field.
Apply a social psychological theory to a chosen case study.
Competency 3: Apply social psychological research to topics in the field.
Explain how social psychological research studies relate to a particular social psychological theory.
Competency 4: Apply ethical reasoning to social psychology topics.
Apply an ethical reasoning concept to a chosen case study.
Competency 5: Apply critical thinking to social psychology topics.
Apply a critical thinking concept to a chosen case study.
Competency 6: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
Create a text in the third person, adhering to conventions of academic tone.
Use APA-style citations and book, journal references, website, magazine and blog posts; other references may be missing elements.
Thinking, Feeling, and Believing Assignment Template
Delete all instructions from the template
before submitting your paper for grading.
Full Title of Paper
Learner’s Full Name
PSYC3520
Thinking, Feeling, and Believing
Capella University
Due Date of Paper
Full Title of Paper
Case Study
Provide a brief overview of the case study in your own words to inform the reader what this case is about. Explain how this case study includes a focus on the self and/or self-control. Assume the reader has no previous knowledge of the case. Use your own words to make your paper original; avoid quoting from the case study language.
Explain in your own words (not quoting sources) the social psychology concept you selected that will be applied to this case study. Include at least one citation and reference to tell the reader the source of this concept (for example, Baumeister & Bushman, 2021).
Research Support
Research Summary
Summarize each of your research articles. Briefly describe the research methods and the relevant findings. This demonstrates that your chosen concept is a recognized social psychology concept. It elevates your concept above less reputable concepts (for example, pseudoscience or “junk science”) for which there is little or no scholarly supportive research evidence.
Research Interpretation
Provide your own interpretation of how each of your cited research findings recognizes your selected social psychology concept. Paraphrase in your own words (no quoting) from the abstract or discussion section of the articles what the authors concluded that supports your concept as a recognized social psychology concept. (For example, Smith & Jones (2018) concluded that the XYZ concept was shown to have a significant measurable effect in this research.)
Application of (Social Psychology Concept Name)
Apply the social psychology concept to the case study. Describe how the concept is evident in your case. What information, thoughts, feelings, or actions described in the case study indicate that your chosen concept is evident? Avoid fabricating circumstances or mind-reading in an effort to justify your application. Evidence for the concepts is included in each case study.
Ethical Reasoning Application
Each case study has at least one ethical issue to consider. Utilizing the elements of behavioral ethics, apply at least one ethical reasoning concept to your chosen case study.
Ethical Concept
Provide a brief description of the ethical concept that is evident in your case study, and include a citation and reference to the source of your information about the concept. This section reveals your understanding of the ethical concept.
Supportive Evidence
Describe the relevant details from the case study that support your conclusion that this ethical issue is applicable in your case. This section reveals your ability to identify the clues or markers that indicate the presence of the ethical concept.
Critical Thinking Application
Each case study displays at least one critical thinking issue. Utilizing the standards of critical thinking, identify and apply at least one critical thinking concept in your case study.
Critical Thinking Issue
Provide a brief description of the critical thinking issue that is evident in your case study, and include a citation and reference to the source of your information about the concept. This section reveals your understanding of the critical thinking concept.
Supportive Evidence
Describe the relevant details from the case study that support your conclusion that this critical thinking issue is applicable in your case. This section reveals your ability to identify the clues or markers that indicate the presence of the critical thinking concept.
References (separate page)
Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2021). Social psychology and human nature (5th ed.). Cengage.