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Social Psychology in the Movies

Post ID: 3531448

Social Psychology in the Movies

For this assessment, you’ll write a 3-5 page paper in which you'll apply social psychology concepts to a movie.

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Introduction

Social psychology can help you understand the world around you and answer questions about why people behave the way they do. Why is it so hard to take a chance and go back to school? Why do people start smoking when they know it's bad for them? Why do protests turn violent at times? For this assessment, you will apply social psychology theory and concepts to a movie and explore concepts related to interpersonal relationships, teamwork, and more.

Overview

For this assessment, you’ll apply social psychology concepts to a movie.

Preparation

  1. Watch one of the following movies:
    • Remember the Titans.
    • Apollo 13.
    • Miracle.
    • Invictus.
    • The Avengers.
    • Glory Road.
    • Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.
    • Pitch Perfect.
    • Cool Runnings.
    • Coach Carter.
    • Shackleton.
    • Thirteen Days.
    • Take the Lead.
  2. Then find a peer-reviewed research article in the Capella library regarding a social dilemma featured in the film you watched. Consider the following as possibilities
    • Prisoner’s dilemma.
    • Tragedy of the Commons.
    • Public goods dilemma.
    • Social traps.
    • Command and control policies.
    • Market based policies.
    • Voluntarist policies.
    • Outgroup bias.
    • Perceptual dilemma.
    • Any other concept from Chapter 13 in Social Psychology.

Instructions

Write a 3–5-page paper that includes the following:

  • Introduction (1 paragraph).
    • Include a short summary of the movie.
  • Interpersonal relationships (1–2 paragraphs).
    • Focus on one or two key relationships and use the concepts regarding friendship or love.
      • Describe the social psychology concept(s).
      • Use examples from the film to illustrate your point.
  • Teamwork (2–3 paragraphs).
    • Describe one concept that leads to effective teams.
      • Use an example from the film to illustrate your point.
    • Describe one concept that leads to problems with teams.
      • Use an example from the film to illustrate your point.
    • Describe one concept related to leadership.
      • Use an example from the film to illustrate your point.
  • Social factors (3–4 paragraphs).
    • Describe one concept regarding social dilemmas.
      • Use an example from the film to illustrate your point.
    • Describe the findings from a peer-reviewed research article regarding social dilemmas.
      • Use an example from the film that reflects the research findings.
    • Describe one concept related to stereotypes or prejudices.
      • Identify aspects of individual and cultural diversity and interpersonal challenges that may result from diversity and context.
        • Use an example from the film to illustrate your point.
  • Behaviors (2–3 paragraphs).
    • Describe one concept regarding prosocial behaviors.
      • Use an example from the film to illustrate your point.
    • Describe one concept regarding aggression.
      • Use an example from the film to illustrate your point.
  • Conclusion (2–3 paragraphs).
    • Self-reflection. Share what you learned from the examples in the movie that you can apply to your career: information literacy, research, problem solving, teamwork, and leadership.
    • Describe how psychology can promote civic, social, and global outcomes that benefit others.

Submission Requirements

  • Written communication: Written communication is in professional style with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.
  • Resources: Use a minimum of three sources: your textbook, the movie, 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 accessing and using Academic Writer.
  • Length: 3–5 double-spaced, typed pages.
  • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

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 interpersonal concepts to media.
    • Apply teamwork and group concepts to media.
    • Apply social dilemma concepts to media.
    • Apply stereotype and prejudice concepts to media.
    • Apply prosocial and aggression concepts to media.
  • Competency 2: Describe scholarly research findings in social psychology.
    • Describe scholarly research findings.
  • Competency 3: Describe how psychology can promote civic, social, and global outcomes that benefit others.
    • Describe how psychology can promote civic, social, and global outcomes that benefit others.
  • Competency 4: Apply social psychological content and skills to career goals.
    • Apply psychological skills to career goals.
  • Competency 5: Communicate professionally with proper mechanics and effective organization.
    • Use APA style citations, references, and has a reference page with minor errors.
    • 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

      Social psychologists explore many topics, including our relationships, social behaviors, and group experiences. Review the below chapters to learn more about many of these key areas within social psychology.
      • 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 7, “Affiliation and Friendship.”
        • Chapter 8, “Love and Romantic Relationships.”
        • Chapter 9, “Prosocial Behaviors.”
        • Chapter 10, “Aggression.”
        • Chapter 11, “Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discriminations.”
        • Chapter 12, “Groups.”
        • Chapter 13, “Social Dilemmas: Cooperation Versus Conflict.”
        • Chapter 14, “Integrating Social Psychology.”

      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

      We learned that the 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 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.
      QualitativeIn peer-reviewed qualitative research articles, the Discussion section is still the place to look. The Results section shares portions of the author's data and discusses/demonstrates how they reached their conclusions. This can be really interesting to read but the Discussion section will provide a clearer view of what they found.But Where Is It?
      • 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.

      Writing Papers and APA Style

      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.
      During this course, our focus will be on Organization. The paragraph is the building block of what you write in school and makes a great place to start. There are some tricks to organizing information in paragraphs. Read about Organizing Paragraphs and the MEAL Plan Paragraph Organization in Capella's Writing Center.Using the MEAL plan, the L stands for making a Link to the next paragraph. Transitions can be difficult. We'll learn about words and phrases that can help you create wonderful Linksentences. Please read the Capella Writing Center's resource:

      Writing: Organizing Papers

      Now that you've learned how to write well-organized paragraphs, let's look at how to put those paragraphs together to form a paper. Please read the overview on Organizing Papers, found in the Capella Writing Center. Pay attention to the three parts of the paper:
      • Introduction.
      • Body.
      • Conclusion.
      Be sure to review the Stages of Writing as well—focus on how pre-writing and drafting can help you organize your thoughts.

      Writing: The Thesis

      So far, we've looked at how to best organize paragraphs and make the links between paragraphs, and we started getting into how to best organize an entire paper. Building on these skills, our next step is writing a solid thesis statement. Your thesis statement will be the bedrock of your paper’s organization. Watch this video on how to create a strong thesis statement.
      • The Thesis Statement.
      Once you have watched the video, spend some time in the Capella Writing Center getting tips on how to best plan your writing, paying specific attention to the Draft a Thesis Statement section.

      Writing: Synthesis

      You have learned to organize both paragraphs and papers. Now, we'll look at an advanced way to organize the evidence you use in the paper. At its simplest, Developing Synthesisis when you use two sources in the same paragraph. By using two sources to support the main idea of your paragraph, you naturally begin to move away from summarizing what you've learned, transitioning toward the analysis of your topic. This is a skill that takes practice (all skills do), but it is a helpful one as you continue your academic journey.