Tips for Completing the Psychology Worksheets
Section 1 asks you to identify 3 different concepts, ideas or research findings that you found interesting this week. You may choose a new idea you learned, such as a strong attachment to a parent during infancy is important for normal development, or a new concept such as Retroactive Interference, or Oedipus Complex.
Or, you may describe a study you learned about in the text book, such as A study found that first-born children are often the highest achievers among their siblings.
• Be sure to supply enough information about your idea, concept or research finding, in order to earn credit.
• Imagine that you must explain each one to a friend. What would you say? Can you summarize it in a few sentences for your friend to understand?
• While you need to write the description in your own words, you also need to base the description on what you read and learn in class. Be sure that you are using the terms and ideas accurately by reading carefully.
• Remember, you need to identify and explain three different ideas, concepts or research findings that interested you this week.
Section 2 asks you to delve further in one idea from above, that you feel has special significance for your personal life. So, for instance, you may choose to write about attachment during infancy, and how your attachment to your parent affected your life.
• Remember, while you are using your own example, you need to base your statements on what you learn in class, not simply your opinion. So, for instance, you may describe how your little son has said he "wishes he could marry his mother" when he grows up, and this is consistent with Freud's ideas about the Oedipus Complex.
• Stick close to what you learn about each idea, and talk about how your example illustrates this.
Section 3 asks you to think about how one idea from above might apply to your current or future work life.
• Will you use this idea, concept or research finding at some point? How?
• Why would it be relevant? Or, what insight did you gain that can be applied to your professional life? For instance, you might learn about Maslow's ideas regarding motivation, and apply those to striving for success in your chosen field.
• Remember, while you are writing about your own example, you need to be sure to use material from the text to support what you say.