PSY-362: Social Psychology and Cultural Applications

Topic 4 Benchmark – Research Reflection

For this assignment, you will reflect on how social and cultural competencies influence personal and professional interactions. Use research from peer-reviewed sources to support your analysis. This benchmark assesses the following programmatic competencies: 3.1: Explain how social psychological and personality theories relate to diversity and 3.2: Analyze how knowledge of self and social factors influences decision making and behavior.

Assessment Description

Social psychology involves studying how individuals in groups interact, think, and behave. In this assignment, you will research and reflect on a topic of your choice within social psychology, such as attribution theory, conformity, or prejudice, and discuss its application to real-world scenarios, including cultural influences.

Assignment Instructions

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you examine the concept of the self as a unique social being. Address the following:

1. Identify which social and cultural factors influence the development of personal identity.
2. Examine two theories that address the development of the self.
3. Evaluate which theory you find most applicable to your own identity development and explain why.
4. Discuss how knowledge of self influences interactions in diverse cultural settings.
5. Reflect on how social psychology principles can promote cultural competency in professional practice.

Use a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources. Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

Submission Requirements

Submit this assignment by the end of Topic 4. Refer to the rubric for grading criteria. Late submissions will incur penalties as outlined in the syllabus.

Grading Rubric

• Content (70 points): Depth of analysis on self-development theories (20 points), relevance to personal identity (20 points), application to cultural competency (20 points), integration of research (10 points).
• Organization and Mechanics (20 points): Logical structure (10 points), grammar and APA formatting (10 points).
• Research and Citations (10 points): Use of at least three peer-reviewed sources with proper citations.

Total: 100 points

Social factors like family expectations shape identity by reinforcing roles early in life. Theories such as social identity theory explain group affiliations that define self-concept. Personal experiences with diversity highlight how understanding biases improves interactions.

Baumeister, R. F. and Bushman, B. J., 2021. Social psychology and human nature. 5th ed. Boston: Cengage. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=example.

Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D. and Sommers, S. R., 2019. Social psychology. 10th ed. New York: Pearson. DOI: 10.1234/example.

Myers, D. G. and Twenge, J. M., 2022. Social psychology. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. Available at: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=example.

Kassin, S., Fein, S. and Markus, H. R., 2020. Social psychology. 11th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning. DOI: 10.5678/example.