The Asch Conformity Experiments

Signature Assignment Description:
The Core Curriculum requires that the courses within it support students’ skill enhancement in the Core Objectives. Objectives assigned to this course include: Critical thinking; Communication; Empirical and Quantitative Skills; and Social Responsibility.
The signature assignment in this course is an assigned research paper designed to provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate each of these core objective skills in one project. You will demonstrate your skill level in the interpretation and use of data by reporting its impact on your personal conclusions about a topic within the field of study. This paper will require thinking critically about theory in the context of the data as you discover and answer questions such as these:
Your assignment:
“Choose one of the classic experiments in Psychology throughout history and write a paper critically assessing what we learned from it. You might choose to summarize the experiment, analyze the ethics of the research, or evaluate the implications of the study and then revisit its relevance today with an attempt to find evidence of this clinical observation in real world data or new but similar experiments. Your paper needs to be on one of the following experiments:
• The Milgram Obedience Experiment
• The Stanford Prison Experiment
• The Little Albert Experiment
• Pavlov’s Conditioning Experiments
• The Asch Conformity Experiment
• Harlow’s Rhesus Monkey Experiments”
You will need to learn about the experiments from original articles or books. In other words, you do not have to search links you prefer in your research from various sources and cite the source. You will need to include several sources that are not your course eBook.
Here is format and content required for your Major Paper
• Does the theory, noted in your research, still appear to be a valid explanation of the phenomenon? Does it hold true for you AND society today?
• Does the data make an alternate explanation more likely? Talk about (suggest) a different explanation (alternative explanation) then the one the theorist or author gives to explain the data and main conclusions
• Finally, the paper will give you an opportunity to express the impact of conclusions drawn within this paper on your perception of your own social responsibility. Specifically, you should demonstrate an understanding of: differing perspectives between your own and other cultures, the responsibilities of citizenship and how to fulfill those responsibilities, differing worldviews, and the importance of interacting with others who are culturally different.
You will demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively by writing a college-level paper addressing each of these objectives and including proper citations within the body of the work and at the end of the work. Citations should be in proper APA (American Psychological Association) style format. Remember that this is an academic research paper and as such, should be written using the objective, third person voice. Don’t lapse into language such as “I believe…” or “I think society should…” or even “We need to…”. Opt instead for language such as “Society must…”, “This study has demonstrated that…”, etc.
The paper (following the Cover Page) should have the following basic outline:
1. Introduction to the theory and statement of the problem:
In this section of the paper, you will explain the problem identified and identify a theory that purports to explain the causes and/or effects of the problem. This section should contain reference citations as needed to authors whose theories or statements of the problem have informed your understanding.
2. Current Trends in the Data / Literature Review:
In this section of the paper, you must gather a minimum of three current (no more than 10 years old) empirical sources of information that inform your understanding of the link between the theory and problem discussed above. You need to search various sources that are scientifically based, not opinion
For online tutorials on starting research you can use: http://www.navarrocollege.edu/library/how-do-i/
You can also utilize the Literature Subject Guide page to help with how to write this paper: http://libguides.navarrocollege.edu/firstyearenglish
For Library Orientation and Instruction or you can google: http://www.navarrocollege.edu/library/services/orientation-and-instruction/
3. Thinking Critically
In this section of the data, reexamine the identified theory in light of the newly acquired data. Is it still a rational explanation or does it lack the ability to explain some aspect of the problem? Are there alternative explanations or alterations in the theory that would better fit the data?
4. Social Responsibility
In this final section of the paper, relate the theory and the data to individual responsibility within our society. Is this just a personal choice or does it have consequences for the society at large? What interest does society have and what boundary should there be on its influence? How might this problem differ in another culture? How might it be resolved in another culture? Support your argument rationally with what you have learned.
5. References
A complete listing of references cited within the paper must be included in APA format at the end of the paper.