PSY 205 - [Optional] Extra Credit #3: Integrative Themes

Purpose: One of the course objectives (Lecture Syllabus, p. 5) is to end the semester able to generate examples of Psychology’s Integrative Themes. Integrative themes are unifying concepts that reflect some of the core insights from psychology and the main take-away messages that I hope you will carry with you after this course. The purpose of this extra credit is to take a broad view of the course and demonstrate your ability to draw a clear connection between the concepts you’ve learned this semester and the integrative themes.

Instructions: Begin by reviewing the seven integrative themes of psychology located in the Lecture Syllabus, on page 5. Then create a separate document and follow the instructions below in order to apply what you’ve learned in this course to each integrative theme. On the new document:

1. Include your full first and last name, Extra Credit #3, and your TA’s name at the top.

2. Choose FOUR of the seven integrative themes outlined on p. 5 of the Lecture Syllabus and below:

A. Psychological science relies on empirical evidence, adapting as new data develop.

B. Psychology explains general principles that govern behavior, while recognizing individual differences.

C. Psychological, biological, social, and cultural factors influence mental processes and behavior.

D. Psychology values diversity, promotes equity, and fosters inclusion in pursuit of a more just society.

E. Our perceptions filter experience of the world through an imperfect personal lens.

F. Applying psychological principles can change our lives, organizations, and communities in positive ways.

G. Ethical principles guide psychology research and practice

3. For EACH of your four integrative themes you choose:

a. Tell me which theme you chose (i.e., write it out)

b. Name one clear and specific example of something you learned about this semester (e.g., a concept or research finding) that illustrates the theme

c. Provide a brief description of the concept or research finding

d. Explain why or how this concept/finding illustrates the theme you chose

#3d is the most important part of this assignment. It should be very clear how or why your example illustrates the chosen theme. See the sample below.

The way in which you draw a connection to what we’ve learned may vary. What is important is that you be specific. Don’t merely restate the theme! You need to make at least one clear and specific connection to some concept or research finding that we learned about this semester for each of the four themes you chose.

There are no rules about which weeks, concepts, or topics you can draw from. You may use whatever concepts/research findings you like from any week during the semester.

However, you must choose four different examples, one unique example for each of the four integrative themes you choose.

PLEASE REMEMBER: Your extra credit assignment should be completed independently. Do not share your assignment with any other student and do not ask another student to share their work with you. Doing so will be considered a violation of academic integrity for this course. Do not use an AI-generation tool (e.g., ChatGPT) to write this for you.

Format: 

· Your answers should be written using Times New Roman, 12-point font.

· Write your response in complete sentences (not bullet-points), but you don’t need to write one single essay. Instead, label each theme and provide a brief answer (making sure you include ALL the information outlined in instruction #3!). See the sample below.

· There is no minimum or maximum length, but please be brief.

· Submit your completed assignment as a Word document or PDF before submitting. No other formats will be accepted.

SAMPLE ANSWER

THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE ANSWER FOR ONE THEME that would score 100%:

***Remember, you need to do this for FOUR different integrative themes (see the seven possible themes on pg. 5 of the Lecture Syllabus). You cannot use this concept in your own example (although you are welcome to use this integrative theme)!****

a) Theme: Ethical principles guide psychology research and practice

b) One concept we learned about this semester that illustrates this theme is Deception.

c) Deception is when a researcher intentionally tricks participants into believing something false about the research in order to observe how they will behave.

d) Deception is relevant to this integrative theme because it represents something researchers do that has the potential to cause harm to participants. In order to protect participants, researchers who want to use deception in their study have to get it approved by their Institutional Review Board (IRB) who evaluates the ethics of a proposed study and make sure participants are protected. Researchers have to demonstrate that the potential risk to participants (e.g., feeling discomfort because they were tricked) is far outweighed by the value of the knowledge gained. If the researchers aren’t able to prove this, they can’t run the study. In addition, researchers have to debrief their participants after the study. When deception is used, after the study, the researcher explains how they lied and deceived the participant and why it was important. This helps to ensure that the participant is ok. If a researcher tried to do something in their study that was not approved by the IRB, it would not be able to be published because it was not following ethical guidelines. So the ethical principle being followed is to not do any harm to participants.