Public Policy Fact Sheet
In this assessment, you are asked to create a (two-sided) fact sheet on a public policy.
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Introduction
Social psychology is the branch of psychology focused on developing a broad understanding of how human beings think, act, and feel within a social context. In this assessment, we will examine how other people influence the way we present ourselves and our attitudes. We’ll also think about how we can persuade others and the factors that lead to conformity, compliance, and obedience. Humans live in a social world; better understanding how we are influenced by others (and how we personally influence the people around us) will not only help us understand ourselves more but also help us understand further the dynamics we witness each day across a variety of social settings from home, to school, to the workplace.
Overview
In this assessment you are asked to create a (two-sided) fact sheet on a public policy. Using social psychology concepts, explore why people may choose not to follow your selected policy. Finally, you will identify how to encourage people to comply with that policy.
Preparation
- Start by choosing a public policy or law to focus on. Choose one of the following options:
- Motorcycle helmet laws.
- Speed limits.
- Age restrictions for alcohol consumption.
- Drug policies.
- Littering bans/laws.
- Jaywalking laws.
- If you have an idea for another policy, check with your courseroom faculty and get permission.
- Review Template Lab's tips for creating fact sheets on the following reading list: Tips for Making Fact Sheets.(https://templatelab.com/fact-sheet-templates/#Tips_for_Making_Fact_Sheets) You can also use the Fact Sheet Template [DOCX] as a guide.
- Find one peer-reviewed research article in the Capella University Library on conformity, compliance, or obedience related to laws or public policies.
Instructions
Create a (two-sided) fact sheet for the general public that includes:
- Brief description of the public policy.
- Resistance to public policy:
- 1–2 social cognition concepts that lead to resistance to this public policy or resistance to following this public policy.
- One concept related to presentation of self that leads to resistance to this public policy.
- Encouraging compliance:
- One idea to persuade people to accept this public policy (using a persuasion concept).
- One idea on how to get compliance (using a conformity, compliance, or obedience concept).
- Describe research findings from a peer-reviewed research article.
- Brief description of psychology’s role in developing, designing, and disseminating public policy.
- Include your references in a footer and use in-text citations.
Submission Requirements
- Written communication: Written communication is in professional style with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.
- Resources: Use a minimum of two sources: your textbook and one peer-reviewed journal article.
- APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to APA style and formatting.
- Refer to Academic Writer for guidance in using proper APA style. See the Evidence and APA Citation section of the Writing Center for instructions on using Academic Writer.
- Length: Two single-spaced, typed pages.
- Font and font size: No smaller than a 10 pt. font.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
- Competency 1: Apply psychological principles to topics in social psychology.
- Apply concepts related to persuasion and either conformity, compliance, or obedience.
- Competency 2: Describe scholarly research findings in social psychology.
- Describe scholarly research findings in social psychology.
- Competency 3: Describe how psychology can promote civic, social, and global outcomes that benefit others.
- Describe psychology’s role in developing, designing, and disseminating public policy.
- Competency 4: Apply social psychological content and skills to career goals.
- Apply concepts related to social cognition and the presentation of self that may lead to resistance to public policy.
- Competency 5: Communicate professionally with proper mechanics and effective organization.
- Use APA style citations and references with some missing elements.
- Develop text using organization, structure, and transitions that demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the main topic and subtopics.
- Use the resources linked below to help complete this assessment.Collapse All
Social Psychology
The social and personality domain of psychology focuses on how other people shape our thoughts and behaviors as well as the innate traits we each have. Social, personality, emotion, and motivation are examples of the subareas that fall within this domain. The study of social psychology contains certain essential concepts that underlie all the rest. You can review some of the critical concepts of social psychology within the chapters listed below.- Kenrick, D., Neuberg, S. L., Cialdini, R. B., & Lundberg-Kenrick, D. (2019). Social psychology: Goals in interaction (7th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.
- Chapter 1, “Introduction to Social Psychology.”
- Chapter 2, “The Person and the Situation.”
- Chapter 3, “Social Cognition: Understanding Ourselves and Others.”
- Chapter 4, “Presenting the Self.”
- Chapter 5, “Attitudes and Persuasion.”
- Chapter 6, “Social Influence: Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience.”
Writing and APA style
Fact Sheet Format
In your Tips for Making Fact Sheets Reading List, review the tips on creating an effective fact sheet. This will help you with content and formatting your assessment.APA Style: The Basics
Throughout this course, you will learn how to create APA style citations as well as references. To get started, we will practice using APA style citations in your assessments. Please review the In-Text Citation Checklist and the sources on references in your APA Style reading list to help get a broad overview of citations.Writing: Organizing Paragraphs
Good writing starts with POETS:- Purpose.
- Organization.
- Evidence.
- Tone.
- Sentence Structure.
Research and the Library
Library: Exploring Databases
The Capella library offers a wonderful collection of databases. In fact, they have so many it can be difficult to know which one to choose. For a psychology class, it can be helpful to start by looking at discipline specific resources. Learn more about the Discipline-Specific Resources that are available to you in the library.Library: PsycARTICLES
Capella library has discipline-specific databases. PsycARTICLES is one of the most common databases to use in psychology. Learn how to use PsycARTICLES by reviewing the library guide. This will help make your searches easier and more effective. Next read about a quick way to get references for your reference list by using Automated Citations From the Library Databases.Library: Peer-Reviewed Sources
Many of your assessments will require peer-reviewed sources. You may be asking, “What makes an article peer-reviewed?" Use this library guide to learn about the basics of identifying and locating peer-reviewed articles. In this guide, you will find helpful strategies to make sure that the scholarly sources you are looking at are also peer-reviewed.Library: PsycINFO
The Capella Library has several databases that are specific to the topic of psychology. We can also use the database, PsycINFO. Use the Database Guide: PsycINFO to develop a greater understanding of this database about how to use it.Library: Psychology Database
Another great database in the Capella Library is the Psychology Database. As you read through the information in Database Guide: Psychology Database, think about how it compares to the other two databases and when it would be better to use one over the others. It is important to note that the Psychology Database works differently than either PsycARTICLES or PsycINFO. Please read the Database Guide: Psychology Database - Searching to learn the best approach to find articles using the Psychology Database.Research: Where to Find Research Findings
When you are first starting to read research articles, it can be daunting to determine where to look for the information you need most. In both quantitative and qualitative research articles, the best place to look is in the Discussion section of the article. QuantitativeIn peer-reviewed quantitative research articles, the Discussion section in the article discusses what the authors found during their study. The Results section (where you might think to look) examines the statistical results. This comes in handy once you understand statistics, but it can be confusing. However, in the Discussion section of the article, the researchers talk (without statistics) about:- What they found,
- how their results relate to other studies,
- identify limitations of the study,
- and discuss future paths.
- Where is the Discussion section?
- It’s the last section of the article before you get to the references.
- Where in the Discussion section should I look?
- Generally, the first paragraph of the Discussion section will have a sentence or two that summarizes the author’s conclusions about their study.
- If you can locate and paraphrase that sentence or two, you’ll have wonderful evidence to support your points.
- Kenrick, D., Neuberg, S. L., Cialdini, R. B., & Lundberg-Kenrick, D. (2019). Social psychology: Goals in interaction (7th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.