Psychology research paper

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY-SAMPLE PROJECT PROPOSAL

Relationship Between Education Standing and Happiness

I. ABSTRACT

A. Purpose

1. To examine and compare happiness levels between high school seniors and college freshman

B. Hypotheses

1. High school seniors will report more happiness than college freshman.

II. INTRODUCTION

A. Comprehensive review of recent literature dealing with happiness supporting the

hypotheses.

III. METHOD

A. Subjects

1. A convenience sample of approximately 50 students will be assessed.

B. Instruments

1. Scale of level of happiness and surveys of both male and female high school seniors and college freshman

C. Procedure

1. Surveys will be arbitrarily distributed. No claims of random distribution will

be made.

D. Design

1. Two group design.

E. Key Variables include

1. Independent Variable = Class/Educational standing and gender

2. Dependent Variable = Levels of happiness

F. Ethics.

The rights, privacy, & confidentiality of subjects will be strictly maintained at all times.

IV. RESULTS

A. Average levels of happiness as a function of class/educational standing

will be calculated.

B. Several relevant charts and tables will illustrate the findings.

V. DISCUSSION

A. Will interpret and explain the data within the framework of prior research (com-

pare and contrast). Will describe possible factors influencing the findings.

B. Explain the extent to which the hypotheses were supported

C. Suggest future research topics

D. Identify limitations including: small sample size, convenience sample, social

desirability

VI. SAMPLE REFERENCES:

Extremera, N., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2014). The subjective happiness scale: Translation and preliminary psychometric evaluation of a Spanish version. Social Indicators Research, 119(1), 473-481. doi:10.1007/s11205-013-0497-2

Pompili, M., Innamorati, M., Lamis, D. A., Lester, D., Di Fiore, E., Giordano, G., & ... Girardi, P. (2016). The interplay between suicide risk, cognitive vulnerability, subjective happiness and depression among students. Current Psychology: A Journal For Diverse Perspectives On Diverse Psychological Issues, 35(3), 450-458. doi:10.1007/s12144-015-9313-2

Galambos, N. L., Fang, S., Krahn, H. J., Johnson, M. D., & Lachman, M. E. (2015). Up, not down: The age curve in happiness from early adulthood to midlife in two longitudinal studies. Developmental Psychology, 51(11), 1664-1671. doi:10.1037/dev0000052

Extremera, N., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2006). Validity and Reliability of Spanish Versions of the Ruminative Responses Scale-Short Form and the Distraction Responses Scale in a Sample of Spanish High School and College Students. Psychological Reports, 98(1), 141-150. doi:10.2466/PR0.98.1.141-150