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Graduate Discussion Rubric.html

Graduate Discussion Rubric

Overview

Your active participation in the discussions is essential to your overall success this term. Discussion questions will help you make meaningful connections between the course content and the larger concepts of the course. These discussions give you a chance to express your own thoughts, ask questions, and gain insight from your peers and instructor.

Directions

For each discussion, you must create one initial post and follow up with at least two response posts.

For your initial post, do the following:

• Write a post of 1 to 2 paragraphs.
• In Module One, complete your initial post by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
• In Modules Two through Ten, complete your initial post by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
• Consider content from other parts of the course where appropriate. Use proper citation methods for your discipline when referencing scholarly or popular sources.

For your response posts, do the following:

• Reply to at least two classmates outside of your own initial post thread.
• In Module One, complete your two response posts by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
• In Modules Two through Ten, complete your two response posts by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
• Demonstrate more depth and thought than saying things like “I agree” or “You are wrong.” Guidance is provided for you in the discussion prompt.

Discussion Rubric

Reading and Resources19.html

Library Article: Social Neuroscience: A Neuropsychological Perspective This is an overview of the current trends in social psychology and where the field might be heading in the future. 

Library Book Chapter: The Sociocultural Turn in Psychology: The Contextual Emergence of Mind and Self Read the section of this book entitled “The Sociocultural Turn in Psychology: An Introduction and Invitation” (pp. 1–27). This work describes the emerging cultural aspects of social psychology, another intriguing cross-pollination.

Reading: Social Cognitive Network Neuroscience This article discusses the research from the field of social neuroscience over the past three decades. Authors identified a constellation of brain regions that relate to social cognition, and provide an overview of the field of network neuroscience.

Reading: University Teaching and Learning in a Time of Social Distancing: A Sociocultural Perspective This article discusses how the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) challenged every aspect of our “normal” lives. Authors discuss how shared values and beliefs can help weather the crisis together, and how collective action can help us to continue to move forward.

Module Overview9.html

Applied Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience

In the past nine weeks, this course has covered a portion of the classic research in the field of social psychology, as well as some of the more recent updates. However, one could easily argue that the field of social psychology has stagnated and has not really kept up with other trends in psychology. That problem is definitely being remedied.

So, where is the field of social psychology heading? The current trend in social psychology seems to divide the field in two directions: the use of the sociocultural perspective to explain social behaviors, as well as the study of genetics to study social behavior. The second area is known as social neuroscience. It is best to examine these two concepts separately.

If you look at the history of social psychological research, it’s not hard to see that most of the earlier research in this field did not account for people’s individual differences such as their culture, race, or their upbringing. The sociocultural perspective, which is very popular now in social psychology, seeks to reverse this trend. The sociocultural perspective asks us to account for a person’s social and cultural background when trying to explain their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Morcom, 2022). For example, if you want to understand why so many people were obedient in Milgram’s study, you should focus less on the power of the environment and more on each person’s individual differences. According to the sociocultural perspective, psychology should no longer be treating people just as one group, but rather as separate individuals, each with a different perception of the world, based on their cultural history and life experiences (Ando, 2021).

The second trend in social psychology is known as social neuroscience. Social neuroscience is the study of the connection between genetics and social behavior (Wheatley, 2019). For example, in this course, we have discussed in depth some of the predictors of behaviors such as conformity, obedience, prejudice, aggression, and much more. What if those behaviors were influenced less by the social surroundings and more by our genetic makeup? What if the reason so many people obeyed the experimenter in the Milgram study was not because they were socialized to obey authority figures, but rather because the genes that they were born with made them behave in this manner? Is it possible that the genes that make us tall or short and happy or sad can also make us obedient, aggressive, or prejudiced? How do our neural brain networks give rise to social behavior (Krendl & Betzel, 2022)? This module examines these questions.

References

Graduate Discussion Rubric.html

Graduate Discussion Rubric

Overview

Your active participation in the discussions is essential to your overall success this term. Discussion questions will help you make meaningful connections between the course content and the larger concepts of the course. These discussions give you a chance to express your own thoughts, ask questions, and gain insight from your peers and instructor.

Directions

For each discussion, you must create one initial post and follow up with at least two response posts.

For your initial post, do the following:

• Write a post of 1 to 2 paragraphs.
• In Module One, complete your initial post by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
• In Modules Two through Ten, complete your initial post by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
• Consider content from other parts of the course where appropriate. Use proper citation methods for your discipline when referencing scholarly or popular sources.

For your response posts, do the following:

• Reply to at least two classmates outside of your own initial post thread.
• In Module One, complete your two response posts by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
• In Modules Two through Ten, complete your two response posts by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
• Demonstrate more depth and thought than saying things like “I agree” or “You are wrong.” Guidance is provided for you in the discussion prompt.

Discussion Rubric