PSY1058 Social Psychology: From Theory to Translation CA 1: Journal Article Critique and CA 2: Essay Assignment Brief S1 , 2025/26

PSY1058 Assignment Brief

MODULE: PSY1058 – Social Psychology: From Theory to Translation

PROGRAMME(S): MPC MSc in Psychology (Conversion)

YEAR OF STUDY: 1

EXAMINER(S): Dr Maggie Brennan (Internal Examiner); Dr Gerard Molloy (External Examiner)

SUBMISSION: CA1 Journal Review Friday 25 October; CA2 Assignment Friday 6 December

INSTRUCTIONS: Please submit module assessments to Loop by 5 p.m. on due date.

GENERATIVE AI USE: Please note that Generative AI must not be used in this assessment. For further information please refer to the School of Psychology Statement on Generative AI use that can be found in your programme handbooks and on Loop.

CA 1: Journal Article Critique

1. The word limit for this assignment is 1000 words (excluding footnotes).There is a 10% plus or minus margin on the word counts of both assignments. Students who greatly exceed this limit will not be given credit for the excess words and will be penalised.
2. The assignment accounts for 40% of the final mark in this module.
3. The assignment must be submitted online through the module loop page along with a with an anti-plagiarism declaration form by or before deadline. Please consult your course handbook 2021-2022 for details on late submissions.
4. The assignment must be typed using double spacing with a font size of 12 Times New Roman.
5. Students should refer to APA guidelines on writing reports in Psychology (a good resource is available here: Purdue OWL.

Submission date: Friday 29th October Week 6 by 17:00
Word Limit: 1000
Weighting: 40%
Purpose: The journal article critique is designed to help you develop your critical thinking.
Details: You are required to complete a critique of one of the following journal articles:

Murphy, G., Loftus, E., Grady, R. H., Levine, L. J., & Greene, C. M. (2020). Fool me twice: how effective is debriefing in false memory studies? Memory, 28(7), 938-949.

Or

Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). The halo effect: evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(4), 250.

You will need to summarise and describe the study, but you also need to evaluate. It is important that your evaluation is balanced and that you consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the study. You should critique the article based on the methods and analyses used as well as the relevance of the supporting literature used and implications of the findings. It is important that you support your arguments with evidence. In other words, you will need to demonstrate that you have read other relevant studies/resources.

The first thing you will need to do is summarise the study. What is the background to the study? What is the research question? How did the authors conduct the study? What did they find? What are the implications of the findings?

Once you have completed your summary you need to begin to critically evaluate. Here are some pointers: Did the researchers answer their question? Was the method of answering the question appropriate? Did the procedure make sense? Was there a better way to answer the research question? Are the results consistent with the hypothesis and are they correctly interpreted? Would you interpret them any differently? Are the conclusions valid and justified by the data? Are the generalizations valid?

Some more notes:

• The previous points are just a guide to get you started. Some may be more relevant than others to your article. You also might be able to think of other angles to take which is great.
• It is fine to focus in on a few areas more than others, but you should at least acknowledge some of the other aspects of the study briefly.
• Make sure not to be solely negative – outline positive aspects of the study where they exist (strengths & limitations).
• Base your evaluation on fact and support from the literature.
• Try not to be vague – explain why it matters?

For example, instead of just saying the sample size was too small, explain why this is a limitation and what this means…

• At the end make sure to balance the positive with the negative and give a final judgement (based on the paper and the wider literature of course!). Please make sure to support all aspects of your critique with evidence from the literature.

Marking Grid For Critique

Note: This is an academic based assignment so you need to cite sources.

CA 2: Essay (60%)

Submission date: Friday 26th November Week 10 by 17:00

Social psychology can help us to better understand the complex social world that surrounds us.

You have been asked by an editor from a respected academic blog to write an extended piece about one of the main areas in social psychology. The main objective of this piece is to inform the readers about this topic and help them to gain a better understanding of it. You will also need to provide some examples to highlight its relevance to everyday social life and behaviours.

For this assignment, students are required to prepare a 1500-word essay discussing one of the main areas of social psychology covered as part of the course. You do not have to cover everything in answer but your aim should be to provide enough information that a person reading the piece would feel they have gained a better understanding of this topic.

In your essay you should:

• Begin by stating the purpose for the piece and give an overview.
• Clearly identify the topic area within social psychology you have chosen to look at and briefly introduce it.
• Provide definitions for any key concepts that are discussed.
• Highlight and critically evaluate some of the main social psychological theories and research within this area. Be sure to discuss any strengths and/or limitations.
• Make sure to include real world everyday examples where relevant to help the readers engage with the concepts covered and highlight ways can be relate to their own lives.
• Towards the end of the piece you can highlight where more research is needed and even suggest potential future research or directions.
• Include a conclusion at the end of the piece, summarising what you have covered. Remember your aim is to highlight the usefulness of social psychology and to help people to better understand the specific topic through reading your piece.

If you are unsure about anything, you can contact me. We will cover this assignment in detail as part of a session later in the semester where additional guidance and tips on writing essays will also be provided.

Remember that there are concepts, theories and research that can be considered relevant for a number of different areas within social psychology.

To get started see below for a brief list of some of the key topics in social psychology but there are many more topics and subtopics that can be used:

Note: This is an academic based assignment so you need to cite sources.

*There is a 10% plus or minus margin on the word counts of both assignments.

**References do not count towards word count

Please Note: It is the student’s responsibility to familiarise themselves with university regulations on plagiarism, copying and collusion (see your course handbook or DCU Registry - Plagiarism, Copying and Collusion

*There is a 10% plus or minus margin on the word counts of both assignments.

Please Note: It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with university regulations on plagiarism, copying and collusion (see your course handbook

Make sure to follow APA style for referencing. For appropriate referencing, students are referred to ‘Citing & Referencing: A Guide for Students’ available in the DCU Library.