Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination Project 100 Points ...

Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination
Project
100 Points
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to deepen your understanding of a specific topic area in prejudice and
discrimination and to become more aware of other people’s experiences, thoughts, and attitudes regarding
this topic. To accomplish this, you will be writing an in-depth report, in the style of a magazine article,
which seeks to explore your topic area. Your article will need to include an explanation of the topic
(concepts, context, history, etc.), research on the topic, and quotes from people you interview.
Criterion
1. Topic Area and Research Question. First select a topic area that interests you. The topic area must
be covered in the textbook (please review the chapters for possible ideas). You can select any
psychological concept, topic, or research area. Once, you’ve picked a general topic area you must pose a
specific research question that you will seek to explore when writing your article. This question must be
focused and will probably only pertain to certain aspects of your topic area.
Examples
o Topic Area: Aversive Racism
o Research Question: How does aversive racism affect people who experience it?
Topic Area: Sexual Prejudice
Research Question: Why to people hold negative attitudes towards gay marriage?
Topic Area: Consequences of prejudice for Muslims in America
Research Question: How does prejudice and discrimination affect Muslims on a psychological
and emotional level?
Keep in mind you don’t have to formally answer the question. The goal is to learn about the topic,
explore it, and teach your readers about it (this article is not a formal research study).
2. Information Integration. Your article must explain the background of your topic such that someone
who has never read about this topic will be able to understand all pertinent psychological terms, concepts,
context, research, and history. You are free to use other sources; however, I recommend that you use
your textbook as your primary source – it provides excellent explanations of the topics and also
summarizes the relevant research that has been conducted in psychology around your topic area.
3. Quotes and Experience. Because an objective of this assignment is to also gain an understanding of
people’s thoughts, attitudes, and experiences around your choose topic, you will also need to interview
several people in order to obtain quotes to include in your article.
• You must interview a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 4 people.
• You must also interview people who come from different perspectives (age, race, gender, sexual
orientation, religion, background, etc.)
The goal of the interviews is to get more than just a single quote. The goal is to gain a thorough
understanding of people’s experiences, attitudes, thoughts, and awareness of this topic.

Format
• 3 page minimum
• 5 page maximum
• 12pt font
• Times New Roman
• Double Spaced
• 1” Margins
Format & Style
Style
The style of your writing must be similar to the style of writing found in a news/current events magazine
(such as Time, Newsweek, Ebony, The Atlantic Monthly, Contacto Magazine, Politico Magazine, Out,
etc.). Keep in mind that this is not a formal research paper. Thus, your style of writing will should
include an element of your voice – that is, some of your personality should show through on the page.
However, you must also maintain a professional tone. Thus, you will have freedom of expression with
language (i.e., you can use colloquialisms), but your article also must be professional enough to be
published in a magazine.
Organization
Loose Guidelines
You will have a lot of freedom with the organization of your article. Overall, here are two loose
guidelines to follow:
1. Cogency – your article must be organized in such a way that people who have never read about this
topic can easily understand the ideas presented.
2. Engagement – Your article should also seek to engage your readers, to pull them into your topic and
keep them reading.
Specific Guideline. You must pose your research question toward the very beginning of the article.
However, it does not have to be the first sentence; in fact, I recommend that it is not.
Main Objective
Finally, keep in mind that the main objective of this article is to teach your readers about your topic area
and people’s experiences with it. Thus, all aspects of this assignment must be approached with
professionalism and must seek to answer the question: how does this help my readers learn about the
topic? During interviews you may find yourself asking questions about sensitive topics and as such you
must inform your interviewees ahead of time that some of the topics covered may be sensitive, but that
you would appreciate their honest responses. Finally, your writing must be free incendiary language and
cynicism (however, this does not apply to quotes you obtain).
Aspect of Assignment Points Due
Date
Topic Area & Research Question
• First, provide a 200 word explanation of your topic area
• At the end of the explanation, pose your one sentence
research question
20 2/16
Interview Plan
• Provide a brief explanation of who you plan to interview
and why you think these people will be relevant to your
topic area.
• Provide a minimum of 5 questions you plan on asking
20 2/23
Final Article
• Your complete article must be turned in
60 3/14