This assignment is based on the material in Unit 5: Groups and Individuals and in Unit 6: Dealing with Adversity and Achieving a Happy Life. It accounts for 13 per cent of your final grade.
Choose one of the following options.
Option 1: Essay—Applying Social Psychology to Personal Group Experiences
This option requires you to draw on your own experiences of group membership, and then to apply social psychological principles from Chapter 11 to analyze and explain those experiences.
All of us have been group members at one time or another. These may vary in their level of organization, requirements, rules, and so on. Our roles and places within those groups change from group to group and over time. Your task is to describe your experiences as a group member.
What defined the group? Describe its key components. Explain the costs and benefits of group membership. Describe how being part of the group affected your behaviour.
How was conflict within the group resolved (or not!)?
How did group members work to make the group cooperative (or not!)?
Were there any rules in the group that were more or less successful for the group as a whole?
Essentially you will analyze your raw data using the material in Chapter 11 as your theoretical framework.
Your essay should be written from the view of a social psychologist—do not rely on simple descriptions of group behaviour. Instead, we want to see your critical analysis.
Your paper should be 1,000–1,500 words.
Option 2: Essay—Applications of Social Psychology
For this essay, you will look at the relationship between common sources of stress and happiness, and apply principles discussed in the Unit 6 material to your own life.
For this essay, use Chapter 12 from Branscombe and Baron, the Mann et al. (2013) article and the video links for the units.
First, find a three-day period during which you can keep a log of commonly-occurring stressful events. These events can run the gamut from small annoyances such as having to tidy up after young children to larger events such as having an exam. Note: For this activity, we are looking at everyday stressful events, not major stressors like depression, anxiety disorders, bereavement, etc. Hand in your log with your assignment, and use the data you have collected to discuss the following questions in an essay:
Were most of your stressful events chronic or acute?
How did you cope with these events?
How successful were your coping efforts?
What role, if any, did social support play in your coping with stress?
What tactics from Chapter 12 could you apply to your own life to lessen the effects of everyday stressors?
What other aspects of the Unit 6 material could you use to increase your happiness?
As source material for your essay, you must refer to at least one video from the TED video series: TED Studies: Psychology: Understanding Happiness Collection at http://www.ted.com/read/ted-studies/psychology
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