Assignments

Human Behavior & Film

One of the primary goals of this course is to identify how the general public may understand
(or misunderstand) psychological concepts based on depictions from popular films. This
assignment is an opportunity for you to walk the class through your findings on research and
compare and contrast to what was shown in the selected film. You will also reflect on your
misconceptions prior to the assignment.

Skills

After completing these assignments you will:

1. Have a solid understanding of the research literature on your chosen topic.
2. Have practice with creating and implementing a professional presentation.
3. Be able to conduct a literature review and summarize your findings to a broad
audience.
4. Have exposure to new and upcoming topics within research surrounding media and
psychological topics.

Knowledge

After completing these assignments, you will have knowledge in a specific subtopic in the
psychological discipline. You will also have a more critical lens on popular depictions of
psychological topics in general, and how to find information to correct misconceptions
communicated through popular film.

Tasks

Group project

1. Film selection and communicated information analysis. (10 points) Your group will
select a film from the provided list on your selected sub topic, and will view the film as
a group, noting in what capacity the psychological topic is presented (e.g., if your topic
is Addiction, and you select the film Leaving Las Vegas, how is addiction depicted in
the film?).
First, generate a specific list of what you understand about the topic from the film,
using specific instances/examples from the film. Avoid bringing in your previous
knowledge on the topic, and focus instead on what the film conveys about the topic to
the general public. Your goal here is to identify what, if you were first introduced to the
topic through this film, you might think is true of the particular topic at hand. You do
 not need to cover the entirety of your umbrella topic - you will select a specific
subtopic. For example, if the topic is Clinical/Abnormal, you likely want to focus on
discussing only the disorder relevant to the film you chose, such as Dissociative
Identity Disorder (in Split).
Second, create a brief outline of how you intend to study and present on the topic. You
likely want to include the following sections regardless of your topic:
1. Introduction of the concept (e.g., basics of how the memory system works; typical
symptoms diagnorsis of depression; etc)
2. Accuracies and misconceptions conveyed by the film
3. Conclusions and discussion generation (can be sprinkled throughout).
Be as specific as possible with your outline.
This analysis should be the basis for formulating your presentation.
You only need ONE document submitted for the group. Please make sure all group
member names are included.

2. Scholarly annotated bibliography. (20 points) Your group will do a scholarly

literature deep-dive and identify 3 relevant scholarly articles per group member to
create an annotated bibliography you will compile An annotated bibliography is a list
of citations to book, articles, or other documents. Each citation includes a brief (usually
about 150 words) descriptive paragraph that summarizes the relevant information
provided in the article. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the
relevance and quality of the cited source. Creating an annotated bibliography calls for
the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis,
and informed library research.
1. First, locate and record citations to books, articles, or other appropriate
documents* that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic.
Examine and review the items. Then select the works that provide a variety of
perspectives on your movie.
2. Cite the book, article, or document using APA. Write a concise annotation that
summarizes the central theme and scope of your citation; a single paragraph
should suffice. Your second paragraph should explain how the cited reference
informs your topic/movie.
3. *Appropriate References: Includes academic references (i.e., peer-reviewed
journal articles, college text books/chapters, other academic books). References
that are specific to movies would be from sources that offer
information/critiques about movies that are relevant to your topic and/or the
perspective of the movie are not considered academic.

3. Group presentation (30 points) For this part of the project, you will communicate
your findings about your psychological topic to the class. Each presentation will have 4
parts:
a. Start with a discussion of what was conveyed through the film - you can share
what you identified in your first assignment, and lead classmates to share their
perspectives as well.
b. Share your scholarly findings. Organize a professional presentation where you
 share what you found about the topic based on scholarly literature. This should
be a comprehensive, organized overview of the topic, with information about
how research has been conducted in this area, what findings seem to be
consistent, and theories on the topic. This is a report out of your annotated
bibliography, as the articles you curated relate to your film and topic.
c. Compare and contrast - what was accurate about the depiction of the topic in the
film? What was inaccurate or contained discrepancies between what was
conveyed in the film and scholarly literature on the topic? Overall, did the film
represent the topic well? What might the costs/benefits be to the general public if
their understanding of the topic is primarily in line with the film portrayal?
d. Lead a class discussion on the topic, with prepared discussion questions on the
film and psychological topic.

Integration papers (5 points each, 35 points total)

Each week you will complete an integration paper on the weeks topic, consolidating
your experience with the film, the article provided in moodle site, and the presentation
and discussion demonstrated in class.

Answer the following questions: How well did presentation/discussion focus on the
topic? What changed your perspective or did you find enlightening from the
presentation? How did the weekly reading provide additional information for you
relevant to the topic?
(Base this discussion on the Presentation, PowerPoint, and Annotated Bibliography.
This section of your paper should be the main focus and be at least 1 – 1 ½ pages. Be
objective.)

It is not required that you use scholarly sources, rather this is a personal reflection and
review on what you learned and how well it applied to the film, but you are welcome to
cite references as needed.

End your paper with your opinion on how well the perspectives/disciplines explained
both the Topic and behavior(s) seen in film. (at least ½ page).

Attendance and Participation (5 points)

Attend regularly, be prepared and participatory for these 5 points.

Criteria for Success

For each of the sections of this assignment you will be graded on completeness of the task:
 1. Film selection and communicated information analysis - Grading will be based on:
1. College level writing/grammar free
2. Thorough assessment of the film depiction, with examples
2. Scholarly annotated bibliography. Grading based on:
1. Selected scholarly articles - are the articles appropriately relevant to the topic?
Are the articles from scholarly sources?
2. Are the annotations clear and complete? Do they A. tell what the article is
demonstrating, and have some analysis of its relevance and credibility?
3. Are topics sufficiently related - thematic and meaningful in terms of creating a
cohesive overview, rather than a hodge podge of various topics within the
umbrella topic?
3. Presentation. Grading based on:
1. Were the criteria outlined followed fully for each of the 4 subsections of the
assignment?
2. Organization of the presentation - was the information presented in a
meaningful and logical way?
3. Preparedness - was the group prepared to speak on the topics, and well versed
in understanding their research to field questions>
4. Aesthetics and powerpoint
5. Discussion - was the group prepared to discuss and led discussion effectively?
4. Integration Papers. Grading based on a rubric: See Moodle.

REMINDERS:
Integration Papers are due the week following Presentation.
Late Integration Papers will be assessed a daily 10% reduction.
NO Integration Paper is required for your own Presentation/Movie.

PowerPoints and Annotated Bibliographies are due at the time of presentation. No late
submissions accepted.