critical thinking, written communication, quantitative reasoning, and social responsibility

Comprehensive Core Assignment: Each student will complete a paper of approximately 500 to 1000 words due during the second half of the semester. This assignment will directly assess each student’s level of mastery of the core elements: critical thinking, written communication, quantitative reasoning, and social responsibility.

For each paper, students will be directed to an area of scientific inquiry within the field of psychology. The paper will be composed of two sections. In the first section, there will be an extended abstract along with visual and numeric quantitative findings (e.g., means and standard deviations). Using the information provided, students must first (1) clearly state the research problem, (2) identify and operationally define the independent and dependent variables in the research presented, (3) determine the researchers’ hypotheses, (4) describe the research methods employed, (5) based on the quantitative information provided, students will develop a graph to visually communicate the results, (6) determine what valid conclusions can be drawn, (7) identify any short-comings or limitations of the research described.

In the second portion of the exercise, students expound upon the research problem presented and present an alternative empirical design, thus students will have the flexibility to propose any empirical research that is related to the topic at hand. Since the prior research will have limitations, students will utilize their critical thinking skills and can more broadly identify the research problem (to include related areas in psychology). Additionally, students will be directed to select journal articles on the topic. Students will be required to (1) clearly communicate in writing the research problem as students define it, (2) identify and operationally define their proposed independent and dependent variables, (3) determine their own research hypothesis(es), (4) clearly articulate what research methods would be employed (enough detail to theoretically conduct and replicate), and (5) based on the quantitative information provided in related literature and the initial experiment, students will conceptually analyze what their expected findings would be. Finally, (6) students would be required to not only identify any limitations of their research, but also explicitly state how the findings in the proposed sample would vary across different geographic regions, cultures, and other global communities. Students will need to clearly communicate differences in potential findings across cultures.

The aforementioned assignment requires a demonstration of the mastery of critical thinking, effective written and visual communication, quantitative reasoning, and social responsibility. For example, critical thinking will be required to analyze the extended abstract and distill relevant information; critical thinking is also essential when designing an empirically sound research design. The assignment will require students to demonstrate their mastery of written and visual communication (i.e., developing a graphical depiction of the results); attention will be given to sufficiently addressing the problem, the organization between parts and as a whole, and to the correct use of grammar and syntax. Quantitative reasoning will be demonstrated in the interpretation of existing data as well as conjecture about future quantitative findings. Finally, social responsibility will be demonstrated with an understanding of intercultural differences and the ability to recognize and appreciate these individual differences.

Instruction on critical thinking, written and visual communication, quantitative reasoning, and social responsibility will be provided in class with additional resources available through the AARC.

Part I of Assignment
Reference:
Rind B., & Bordia, P. (1996). Effect of restaurant tipping on male and female servers drawing a happy, smiling face on the backs of customers’ checks. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 218-225.
1.   Read the above article on D2L: Rind and Bordia (1996). In your paper if you are describing the article or authors, refer to them as Rind and Bordia (1996). For example Rind and Bordia (1996) investigated the effects of placing a smiling face on customers checks on subsequent tipping behavior.
2.   Create a title page. Make sure to use APA format: 12 point Times New Roman, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins throughout the entire assignment. Use your creativity to make a title for your assignment based on the variables under investigation. On the title page should be double spaced with the following information on separate lines: the title, your name, Dr. Lora Jacobi, PSY 133.00X (X is your section 1 or 2) Core Assignment
3.   In the header on the right corner, include your last name, put 5 spaces, and then insert the page number (flush right).
4.   At the beginning of the second page, paste only the title at the top of the page, centered.

Background information: A waitress, who worked in an upscale restaurant on a university campus at lunchtime, drew a happy, smiling face on the checks of a random half of her customers. In Part A of this assignment you will be given the average percentage she was left as a tip under the two conditions (with a happy face and without a happy face). A waiter at the same restaurant did the same thing. In Part B, you will be provided with the average percentages he was left as a tip under the two conditions.

Complete the following for Part I of this Assignment:
(1) Clearly state the research problem

(2) Identify and operationally define the independent and dependent variables

(3) Before examining the data, predict the results you will obtain. (When scientists make predictions, they are hypothesizing). Predictions are not right or wrong, but represent your best guess as to the outcomes you will obtain. Determine your hypothesis(es) before proceeding.

(4) Based on the information given, describe the research method used

(5) Based on the quantitative information provided below, develop a graph to visually communicate the results. (You will have to calculate the mean for all groups)

(6) Determine what valid conclusions can be drawn (based on the graph and the means)

(7) Identify any short-comings or limitations of the research described.

Data for Part A (waitress)
1.   These are the tip percentages the waitresses received from 23 dining parties when no happy face is on the check:
45%   39%   36%   34%   34%   33%   31%   31%
30%   30%   28%   28%   28%   27%   27%   25%
23%   22%   21%   21%   20%   18%   8%

2.   These are the tip percentages the waitress received from 22 dining parties when she put a smiley face on the customers’ check:
72%   65%   47%   44%   41%   40%   34%   33%
33%   30%   29%   28%   27%   27%   25%   24%
24%   23%   22%   21%   21%   17%

Data for Part B (waiter)
1.   These are the tip percentages the waiter received from 21 dining parties when no happy face is on the check:
48%   40%   38%   33%   31%   27%   23%   23%
23%   22%   21%   21%   21%   20%   18%   16%
15%   9%   0%   0%   0%

2.   These are the tip percentages the waiter received from 23 dining parties when he put a smiley face on the customers’ check:
31%   27%   26%   23%   23%   21%   21%   19%
18%   18%   17%   17%   17%   16%   15%   15%
15%   14%   14%   13%   12%   9%   9%

Part II of the Assignment
In this portion of the assignment, you will expound upon the research problem presented above. You will present an alternative empirical design, thus you have the flexibility to propose any empirical research that is related to the topic at hand. The prior research has limitations; utilize your critical thinking skills to more broadly identify the research problem (this can include related areas in psychology). As part of this assignment, find a few select peer-reviewed journal articles on the topic. After reviewing the articles, complete the following:

(1) Clearly communicate in writing the research problem as you define it

(2) Identify and operationally define your proposed independent and dependent variables

(3) State your own research hypothesis(es)

(4) Clearly articulate what research methods you would employ. (You must provide enough detail to theoretically conduct and replicate the suggested research.) Be sure to identify the population and sample you would utilize.

(5) Based on the related literature and the above experiment, what are your expected findings?

(6) Identify any limitations of your research. Additionally, explicitly state how the findings in your proposed sample would vary across different geographic regions, cultures, and other global communities. You will need to clearly communicate differences in potential findings across cultures and global communities.

(7) In order to demonstrate civic responsibility and cultural understanding, describe how you would share information about the potential cultural differences in your findings in order to educate your community and increase multicultural awareness and acceptance. Also, indicate if there are any reasons to believe that local or regional politics will influence how your potential findings will be interpreted.

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