Selective Attention / Stroop Effect (Chapter 4) Attention – focusing awareness on a narrowed aspect of the environment – selective attention • cocktail party effect • Stroop effect (failure of selecti
As we have been discussing this semester, one of the exciting things about this course is being able to take the concepts we have explored and apply them to your life. My hope is that you can look back on everything you have learned this semester and find topics that gave you an “Aha!” moment, that changed the way you thought about yourself or others, made you consider the causes and consequences of behaviors, and/or have shifted your perspective about the world. I can’t wait to read what you all have to say!
Goal/purpose: I would like you to identify five (5) course ideas (i.e., concepts, principles, and/or research findings) from at least three (3) different textbook chapters that either:
helped you understand something in yourself, others, or society (e.g., international conflict, discrimination) in a better or different way,
assisted you or others in solving problems in your/their life,
helped you in making decisions in various roles (e.g., as a student, parent, worker, friend, citizen),
motivated you to make changes in your life or take action in relation to social issues,
or otherwise had a significant impact on your understanding, thinking, motivation, and/or behavior.
You do not need to address every one of these bullet points; they are simply there to guide you in finding and reflecting on concepts that had an effect on you over the course of the semester. Your examples should be specific and show clear application of course concepts.
Audience: Your assignment should be written/presented as if you are talking to an incoming Intro Psych student, who wants to know the benefits of taking this course and what you got out of it. You may use fairly informal language (i.e., conversational tone), but I still expect you to use correct spelling and grammar. You should expect to write about one paragraph per idea.
Format: For this assignment, you should write a 3-4 page (double spaced) paper reflecting on the 5 topics of your choice, as reflected in the “Goal/purpose” section above. Upload the final paper as a file to the Canvas assignment.
Mechanics & APA: You will be expected to use APA formatting for this assignment. You can review the specific requirements in the rubric below. APA guidance is available on Canvas in the final course assignments module. You will also be expected to use correct grammar and to spell check your paper so that there are no errors. Failure to use APA formatting and/or repeated issues with grammar or spelling will result in points lost.
Grading Rubric
These rubrics contain specific information about how I will be grading your papers/presentations. Please pay close attention to the text in each of the cells of the table so that you understand the criteria you will need to meet to earn the full grade. If you have questions about any of the requirements, do not hesitate to ask!
| General Grading Criteria | ||||
| Exceeds expectations | Meets expectations | Approaches Expectations | Does not meet expectations | |
| Number of ideas | Includes 5 or more distinct ideas from the course | Includes fewer than 5 distinct ideas from the course | ||
| Coverage of chapters | Includes ideas from 3 or more chapters | Includes ideas from 2 or fewer chapters | ||
| Quality of connections This section is weighted more heavily (3x); point values listed in each cell of this row. | Provides strong and rich descriptions of how specific course ideas connect to their life experiences or societal issues | Provides shallow but acceptable descriptions of how specific course ideas connect to their life experience or societal issues | Provides descriptions that demonstrate inconsistent levels of depth of how specific course ideas connect to their life experience or societal issues | Provides inappropriate or inaccurate descriptions of how course ideas connect to their life experiences or societal issues; course ideas lack specificity. |
| For Written Assignments (3 – 5 pages long) | ||||
| Exceeds expectations | Meets expectations | Approaches Expectations | Does not meet expectations | |
| Writing clarity and Organization | Writing is clear (i.e., not confusing), direct, engaging and at a level that addresses the audience of future students; organization of topics flows smoothly from one to the next | Writing is clear but may be either too complex or too simple for the audience of future students; organization is sufficient, but lacks effective transitions | Writing is inconsistent; with some areas of clarity and other areas that lack clarity; inconsistent organization of topics throughout the paper, resulting in less engaging writing | Writing is unclear or confusing, is overly complex, or is overly simplistic for the audience of future students; poor organization of topics throughout the paper |
| Mechanics | Writing is free from errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar | There are a few errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation | There are frequent errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation | |
| APA formatting for written assignments | Follows all APA guidelines for the following:
| Few (1-2) errors in APA formatting in the list of items under the “Exceeds expectations” column | Errors in more than half of the items (4-5) listed under the “Exceeds Expectations” column | Did not follow APA formatting for most of items (6+) listed under the “Exceeds Expectations” column |
Adapted with permission from the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning or Kevin M. Clark, PhD, of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Indiana University Kokomo.
