7-2

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Short Paper Guidelines and Rubric.html

PSY 540 Short Paper Guidelines and Rubric

Twice during this course, you will assume the role of a psychology professional in an applied setting and apply theories to suggest solutions to contemporary problems through a short paper. The purpose of these papers is to help you identify gaps in and propose improvements for professional disciplines based on the strengths and limitations of human cognitive systems while assessing foundational theories of cognitive psychology for their relevance to real-world issues.

Short papers should be approximately 3 to 5 pages in length and should be directed toward someone with limited or no background knowledge of psychological concepts or terminology. Because of this, you will want to explain relevant terms and concepts as you work through your paper. Be sure to use proper APA formatting and citation.

Your paper should include all of the following elements:

• An explanation of two theories to support the paper and how they connect to the applied setting
• An explanation of concepts and terminology appropriate for someone with limited or no background knowledge of psychological concepts
• An application of actionable steps to improve cognition

What to Submit

12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, APA-formatted citations for all sources used, and appropriate sentence structure. The paper should be 3 to 5 pages, not including references.

Short Paper Rubric

Criteria	Proficient (100%)	Needs Improvement (85%)	Not Evident (0%)	Value
Theories	Explains two theories to support the paper and directly connect them to the applied setting	Explains two theories to support the paper but does not directly connect them to the applied setting, or theories are incorrectly applied	Does not include theories to support the paper	35
Concepts and Terminology	Explains concepts and terminology using language appropriate for someone with limited or no background knowledge of psychological concepts	Explains concepts and terminology, but does not use language appropriate for someone with limited or no background knowledge of psychological concepts	Does not explain concepts and terminology	20
Application	Applies actionable steps to improve cognitive function	Applies steps to improve cognitive function, but steps are unrealistic and not actionable	Does not apply steps to improve cognitive function	30
Articulation of Response	Uses appropriate sentence structure and APA format and citations	Sentence structure and improper APA citations make the paper difficult to follow	Does not provide a readable paper	15
Total:	100%

Module Overview17.html

Language

Consider what life would be like without language. How would individuals communicate? How would they create solutions to problems? How would they discuss abstract concepts and thoughts? Would abstract thoughts exist? Language is an organized system for putting words together to communicate with others (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2016). Although language serves as a major force in communicating with others, we communicate in many other ways, too. These might include body language, facial expressions, and so on. So, in considering the questions above, we can and do communicate without language. However, language provides us with many more opportunities to communicate thoughts and ideas. In this week’s readings, you will learn a great deal about the different components of language. Understanding these components will help you see the uniqueness of language. You will also see the specialized cognitive systems we have for producing and understanding speech. Those who are deaf can communicate through sign language. It is not used in all countries, and what is used in one country may not be the same as another country. American Sign Language (ASL) has similar linguistic properties to spoken languages. It is a complete, natural language. It is used as the main language of many in North America who are deaf or have difficulty hearing (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2019). Although we may take language for granted, it is quite a feat to be able to communicate via language.

Perhaps one of the most amazing abilities we have with language is our ability to comprehend language. When we listen to speakers, we have the task of perceiving different phonemes (distinct sounds). We then put them together in a meaningful way very rapidly. Another factor that complicates speech comprehension is that there is a lot of variability between speakers. For example, speech can be fast or slow, or it can have a different accent (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2016). This week, you will learn about different theories of speech perception. One such theory claims that we use motor movements of the lips to help us understand speech. McGurk and MacDonald (1976) first illustrated this effect by showing participants a film of a woman making lip movements for the syllable “ga.” At the same time, the sound for “ba” was played. Results indicated that the combination of the audio and visual input led listeners to hear “da.” This finding, that visual input can influence what we hear, is now known as the McGurk effect and has been studied under several conditions. In one recent study, Ross et al. (2007) found that speech perception in noisy environmental conditions is enhanced by visual input. Further, they note that maximal enhancement of speech perception by visual input occurs not when auditory input is at its lowest (i.e., an extreme). Rather, maximal enhancement occurs at a more intermediate zone. Based on these results, they suggest that, when posed with extremes, we rely more on either the auditory or the visual system. For example, when the environment is at its noisiest, we use more visual processing to help us understand what has been said. However, at intermediate levels, we rely on an integration of both auditory and visual information to perceive speech. 

Speech comprehension, though, is just one aspect of language. A second aspect of language that is equally important to life is reading. You were first introduced to the brain structures involved in reading in Module Two when we discussed cognitive neuroscience. Recall that we discussed how many different areas of the brain work together to allow us to read. In reading this overview and this week’s assigned resources, you will be engaging in many different processes to understand the meaning of the text. You will also be engaging several areas of your brain as you do this. You need to be able to recognize the letters and put them together to form words. You also need to understand the meaning of the words and put the words together to form a sentence. Then finally you will understand the meaning of the sentences that are put together. Reading is sometimes considered different from language because we generally must be taught how to read. On the other hand, children who are exposed to language generally learn to speak without direct instruction. Because reading is a complex task, it can present difficulty for individuals learning to read. Individuals who have trouble reading are often diagnosed with dyslexia. In this disorder, individuals have trouble reading and understanding text. As a result, individuals with dyslexia often read much more slowly. These difficulties are termed a “learning disability.” Individuals with dyslexia often struggle in school and society. However, recent research examining dyslexia and visual attention suggests that dyslexia might provide some advantages. Schneps (2014) reports that when individuals learn to read, changes occur in the brain, particularly in the visual system. Precise eye movements are needed. As these movements are developed, some pathways in the visual system become more efficient, while other pathways are lost. Schneps (2014) suggests that differences in visual attention might be part of the cause of dyslexia. Individuals with poor visual attention have difficulty learning to read. However, poor visual attention can also lead to advantages in tasks where seeing the bigger picture is more important. People with dyslexia are better able to scan the environment and notice differences. For example, astrophysicists who are dyslexic were better able to pick out a black hole from noise (Schneps et al., 2011). Studies such as these can help to re-conceptualize the way we think about disorders. As illustrated here, disorders may allow for unique differences in abilities. These differences can help us all work together to be a productive society (Schneps, 2014). 

References

McGurk, H., & MacDonald, J. (1976). Hearing lips and seeing voices. Nature, 264, 746–748.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2020). American Sign Language. NIH Publication, 11-4756. 

Ross, L. A., Saint-Amour, D., Leavitt, V. M., Javitt, D. C., & Foxe, J. J. (2007). Do you see what I’m saying? Exploring visual enhancement of speech comprehension in noisy environments. Cerebral Cortex, 17(5), 1147–1153.

Schneps, M. (2014). The advantages of dyslexia. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-advantages-of-dyslexia

Schneps, M., Brockmole, J. R., Rose, L. T., Pomplun, M., Sonnert, G., & Greenhill, L. J. (2011). Dyslexia linked to visual strengths useful in astronomy. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 43.

Sternberg, R. J. & Sternberg, K. (2016). Cognitive psychology (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.