Writing Assignment #3
Overview: Virtually all human outcomes, abilities, and behaviors reflect a complex interaction of nature (biological factors) and nurture (social-environmental factors). For example, many psychological processes that were once assumed to be “basic” and uniform across all humans were later found to differ across cultures, suggesting that the unique environments in which people are raised can shape the emergence of basic biological processes.
Your job in this paper is to locate and evaluate an original empirical or theoretical article that describes a cross-cultural difference in some psychological process. For your convenience, we provide several articles that you may use. However, you are welcome to find an article on your own if you prefer. You might find the EBSCO PsycInfo database useful if you choose to locate your own article.
SUGGESTED ARTICLES:
Kitayama, S. &Park, J. (2014). Error-related activity reveals self-centric motivation: Culture
Matters. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 62-70.
(Topic: Self-interest: Personal Self vs. Social Others)
Norenzayan, A., & Nisbett, R. E. (2000). Culture and causal cognition. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 9, 132-135.
(Topic: Causal attributions.)
Segall, M. H., Campbell, D. T., & Herskovits, M. J. (1966). Cultural differences in the
perception of geometric illusions. Science, 139, 769-771.
(Topic: The Müller-Lyer illusion.)
Weisenberg, M., & Caspi, Z. (1989). Cultural and educational influences on pain of childbirth.
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 4, 13-19.
(Topic: Pain perception.)
In your paper, you should do the following
Step 1. Define and summarize the specific psychological process, behavior, or phenomenon that is investigated in your article. Be sure to provide enough detail so that a naïve reader could fully understand the topic of the article.
Step 2. Identify the features of the groups (cultures) that are being compared in the study. Are these people from different countries? If so, what countries? Are they groups within the same country who are raised within separate subcultures or communities? Describe the groups in enough detail so that it is clear where they were recruited and how they differ from each other.
Step 3. Describe the findings of the article – that is, how do people from the different groups or cultures respond or behave differently?
Step 4. Explain the findings. Explain why people from these different groups or cultures are theorized to differ in their behavior, perceptual processes, or other psychological phenomenon. Describe the unique life experiences, backgrounds, or prior learning that presumably accounts for the observed findings.
Your paper should be about 2-3 pages in length (double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and 12-point font).
Writing Tips
Make sure your writing is clear. Make sure your main arguments are clearly identified. Make sure each paragraph has a clear point. Make sure the ordering of points from paragraph to paragraph makes sense. Give concrete examples from the articles to back up your argument.
Make it logical. Provide evidence for your claims.
Don’t plagiarize…..Do not include any quotes in your paper from the article, your textbook, or any other source on this assignment. Inclusion of quotes will result in the immediate deduction of points from your paper. Re-describe things in your own words, and make sure to cite where you got evidence if you are using particular sources of evidence.
