Assignment 2

[NOTE: This example assignment 2 is based on the paper from example 1, assignment 1: Gray, K. (2010). Moral Transformation: Good and Evil Turn the Weak Into the Mighty. Social Psychological and Personality Science,1(3), 253-258. Please see Blackboard for a copy of this paper.]

Do not copy/paste any portions of these answers for your own assignment. Doing so violates the academic integrity expectations for this course, and suspected violations will be reported to the Center for Student Learning and Success (CLASS).

1. The study I propose further examines the relationship between moral behavior and personal strength. The purpose of this study is to expand upon previous research by (1) comparing the effects of good (moral) versus bad (amoral) acts on personal strength, and (2) investigating a different component of personal strength: cognitive capacity. The previous work I read about found that people who do either a good act or and bad act become more physically more powerful. I want to know which type of act (good or bad) leads to greater strength. I am also curious if people might become more mentally powerful in addition to becoming more physically powerful. Thus, I am proposing a study that compares the effects of these different types of acts on cognitive strength, which is something that the previous study did not test.

2. I expect that doing a good act leads to greater cognitive strength compared to doing a bad act.

3. The independent variable in the experiment I propose is the type of act that participants perform. In particular, some participants will be asked to do a good act, while others will be asked to do a bad act. The dependent measure is cognitive strength. The type of act (IV) will be operationalized in a way similar to the original experiment I read about with some modifications. Specifically, participants will be asked to either donate money to charity (good act), or write down insulting remarks about a passerby (bad act). Cognitive strength (DV) will be measured via a word-recall memory test. This memory test asks participants to view a list of 60 words for 30 seconds and then to recall as many words as they can in one-minute.

4A. The previous study I read about tested participants at one busy subway station. In order to increase the likelihood of obtaining a more diverse sample, I want to test adults in a number of public venues in Syracuse: People leaving the SU bookstore, the mall, the train station, and the airport.

4B. The study I propose uses an experimental design to test the effect of bad versus good acts on cognitive strength. First, using an experimental design is conducive to testing the question I am interested in. I am interested in whether or not moral behavior causes increased cognitive strength, and an experiment tests this causal connection. Further, the design I am proposing is particularly advantageous because it will be conducted in real-world settings rather than in a lab. This increases the external validity of the study, making findings more generalizable.

5.

Experimenters conducting this study will recruit participants leaving the SU bookstore, the mall, train station, and the airport. Participants will first read and sign the consent form if they agree to participate in the study. Participants will then be given a pre-test measure of their cognitive strength. Specifically, they will complete a word-recall memory test; performance on this test will in establish a baseline for cognitive strength. The experimenter will explain to participants that they will have 30 seconds to study a list of 60 words, and will then be asked to write as many words as they can remember in one-minute. After completing the memory test, the experimenter will then flip a coin in order to randomly assign participants to one of two possible conditions: (1) a “morally good” condition where they will be asked to donate $1 (given to them by the experimenter) to charity, or (2) a “morally bad” condition where they were instructed by the experimenter to write down 2 insults about a passerby. Next, the experimenter will give participants the same word-recall memory test (same test, but different words) to obtain a post cognitive strength measure. Finally, participants will be debriefed about the study’s purpose and given $5 compensation for their participation.

Assignment 2: Propose an original study

Deadline: Week 9 before the start of your scheduled recitation (see course calendar in syllabus).

Submission policy:
This assignment must be submitted using the Turnitin submission link in your TA’s Blackboard page. Assignments will not be accepted via email under any circumstances. Late assignments, even if by 1 second late, will not be accepted. Technology-related problems will not be an acceptable excuse for failing to submit this assignment by the deadline. Be sure you give yourself plenty of time to resolve any computer issues or questions ahead of the deadline. Please note: Pop-up blockers might prevent a proper upload of your assignment (e.g., turn off your pop-up blocker or use a different internet search engine). No assignments will be accepted even if you have a screenshot of your submission attempt before the deadline, or even if you provide the “last modified” date in a Word doc. Bottom line, the only way you will earn credit is if you submit the assignment before the deadline via Turnitin. You will know you successfully submitted this assignment when you receive an email confirmation from Turnitin; if you do not receive confirmation, you did not properly submit your assignment. It is your responsibility to ensure you properly submitted your assignment.

Academic Integrity policy reminders:
Assignments are to be done entirely independently. If you have questions, ask your TA or Professor Houck for help. Do NOT share your assignment in any form with any student for any reason. Do not ask others for their work. Responses must be in your own words – do not copy/paste anything from your article. Doing so violates the academic integrity expectations for this course, and will result in a referral to the Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS) – the office that handles academic integrity cases.

Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to get you to think like a researcher by designing your own original study. The new study you propose should follow-up on the research you previously read about for assignment 1.

Directions:
Think about what the research you previously read about did not address that you want to know more about. How could you design a study to test something further about the topic? You will need to return to the empirical paper you read for assignment 1. If you did not complete assignment 1 or are having trouble finding the article you chose, please ask your TA.
You cannot pick a new article; doing so will result in a 0 with no opportunity to re-do your work.

· To help structure your research proposal, type your answers to each question provided below (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font). Failure to use proper grammar and spelling will result in an automatic 2-point deduction.

· Do NOT include the actual questions when you submit your assignment to Turnitin. Simply provide the answers, numbering each question on your page.

This assignment is worth a total of 20 points. I encourage you to review the two example assignments I provided to you on Blackboard. This will give you a good sense of what your answers should generally look like.

Please contact your TA with any questions you may have about this assignment.

Your research proposal must include the following:

1. Study overview, purpose, and relevance (4 points)

(a) Provide a brief overview of your study. What is your study about? What is the purpose of your study? (2 points)

(b) Why are you interested in testing this idea? Discuss how this research builds upon the previous study you read about in assignment 1. (2 points)

2. Hypothesis (2 points)

Describe what do you expect to find and why.

3. Describe the key variables in your study and how you would operationalize each variable. (4 points)

(a) Variables: What, if anything, are you manipulating? What are you measuring? (2 points)

(b) Operational definitions: How specifically will you measure each variable in your study? (2 points)

4. Sample Characteristics and Methodology? (4 points)

(a) Who do you want to test? Describe the participants in your study. (Adults, children, college student or national sample, gender, etc.).

(b) What type of research design (experiment, case study, observational research, etc.) do you propose, and why?

5. Study procedure (6 points)

Describe exactly what participants would do in your study. What will participants experience? Include any important instructions to participants. After reading this section, we should know exactly how to run your proposed study from start to finish.