The action of giving a gift is an event laden with cultural meaning and expectations.  The idea that giving a gift can be devoid of future attachment or obligation is debated in Western culture and simply impossible in most.  This assignment requires you to delve into the subject of gift giving and its underlying cultural meanings.  You will need to discuss gifts from your own […]

Peers are people that are close to you, and who have similar interests and experiences. We learn from our peers, and most time they have positive influences on our lives. Adolescents create strong bonds with their peers, and at times they feel more connect to them over their own family. This may be due to their independence from their parents.  Adolescents influence each other and/or start […]

Nine-year-old Wanda’s teacher notices that for the past few weeks, Wanda has not been talking to her friends and is always sitting alone in a corner. After talking to Wanda’s friends, the teacher finds out that Wanda’s sixteen-year-old brother was killed in a gang fight two months ago and her parents have since separated. The teacher talks to her friend Daphne, a counselor, to see […]

Consider, if the primary goal of utilitarianism is to generate the greatest good for the greatest number, a secondary goal is to minimize suffering. Using at least one quote from one of the required readings, discuss the ways in which these two principles are consistent or inconsistent with each other.  If you think they are consistent, provide a real or imagined example that illustrates this […]

In looking at the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders, many clinicians and researchers believe that these criteria could be applied to behaviors outside of substance use to classify other addictive behaviors. To this end, gambling disorder was added as a diagnostic classification in the DSM-5. Imagine that you are on the next DSM revision committee. What addictive behavior (not including substance use or gambling) […]

This assignment focuses on vignette analysis and direct application of course concepts to the persons and situations presented in the vignette for each question.   All discussions must take into account the legal and ethical considerations, as well as issues of culture and human diversity that may pertain to the situation presented below.  Cultural information is in both the course text and DSM 5. You may […]

Adolescence is a time in which teenagers physically, intellectually, and emotionally become more adult-like (Feldman, 2011). Erikson, Marcia, and Gilligan all have models that describe their theories of identity development. Think of a teenage character you are familiar with from a book or TV show and the issues he or she faced as he or she explored the questions, “Who am I?” and “Where Do […]

Experimental Psychology –— http://www.thepsychfiles.com/category/topics/research-and-stats/— Kuther and Morgan (2012) Chapter 9 Forensic Psychology –— http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2011/07/ep-154-5-reasons-why-casey-anthony-might-be-innocent/— Kuther and Morgan (2012) Chapter 4 Listen to several podcasts on each of the above web pages and select one from each for use in your assignment completion. NOTE: If either of the hot links above doesn’t work, paste http://www.thepsychfiles.com/ into your web browser and use drop-down menu under the Topics tab on the Psych Files website. […]

Behavior Change Ultimately, the knowledge you gain from studies in social cognition can help you better understand how to change behavior. Fishbein and Ajzen’s (2009) theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior are seminal models for behavioral change. These models have evolved as a result of decades of research on how various social cognitive factors such as attitudes, norms, and perceived control can […]

As a researcher, you must understand that the body of knowledge the world uses to reason and analyze phenomena is always changing. There are always places to improve upon, refine, and add to the knowledge in your discipline. Likewise, your own skills and knowledge follow the same pattern. The skills you have acquired through this course are only the foundation of a very complex field. […]