Assignment 1: Essay
Background:
You are on a work placement acting as an assistant to a psychologist in a large government-run organisation that provides services across all ages and for many types of psychological problems. This organisation bases its practice on current psychological theory and research. The psychologist gives you your first big break and asks you to formulate an essay to present to other psychologists in the organisation that highlights the role that behaviour modification has played in the practice of psychology.
Description of the task
The main body of the essay should be around 2,000 words in length. The main body of the essay should have an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction needs to provide a context for the essay. The conclusion needs to summarise the key points of the essay and have a few concluding points with respect to the focus of the essay.
Sandwiched between the introduction and the conclusion, the body of the essay should focus on:
– An explanation of 5 key principles of operant conditioning. It is suggested that students use the readings provided by the unit coordinator as the key references for this part of the essay. However, students are welcome to use other sources to help with this section.
– Highlighting the role that behaviour modification has played in the practice of psychology by critically reviewing three of the four papers listed in the assignment 1 folder.
The essay must be written in APA format. The assignment should be submitted with using an ECU cover page.
The marking rubric for PSY 2301 Assignment 1
Marks
0-1 2 3 4 5
Introduction and discussion Well below what was expected The introduction and / or the discussion were lacking in significant ways. The introduction and discussion were adequate for the essay. Either the introduction or the conclusion (but not both) met the expectations to earn 5 marks The introduction provided good context to the essay; and conclusion summarised the essay as well as providing a few concluding points with respect to the focus of the essay.
Criteria 0-2 3-4 5-6 7 to 8 9 to 10
Explanation of the key principles of the chosen learning theory What was written was well below what was expected The identification and explanation of at least three to four key ideas was adequate. The identification and depth of explanation for five key ideas was acceptable. The identification and depth of explanation for four of the five key ideas was good but the coverage regarding 1 key point was lacking in a substantial way. The identification and depth of explanation for five key ideas was very good.
0-3 4-7 8-9 10-12 13-15
Critical reflection of the three of the four papers listed in the assignment 1 folder What was written was well below what was expected There were noticeable problems with the summaries of the two papers The papers are well summarised in terms of the problem addressed, the intervention implemented and results observed As well as summarising the papers well, the student provides good observations on the validity of the research findings As well as summarising the papers well and providing good observations on the validity of the research findings, the student articulated good comments about the applicability of the research findings.
Well below what was expected Below what was expected Fair Good Excellent
Writing:
Not considered for marking (unless gross violations are noted); but comments provided Formatting, grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors significantly interfered with the marker assessing the work of the student. Formatting, grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors interfered with the marker assessing the work of the student The report included some significant formatting, grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. The report had occasional and minor formatting, grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. The report was almost totally free of formatting (including APA), grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
Background:
You are on a work placement acting as an assistant to a psychologist in a large government-run organisation that provides services across all ages and for many types of psychological problems. This organisation bases its practice on current psychological theory and research. The psychologist gives you your first big break and asks you to formulate an essay to present to other psychologists in the organisation that highlights the role that behaviour modification has played in the practice of psychology.
Description of the task
The main body of the essay should be around 2,000 words in length. The main body of the essay should have an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction needs to provide a context for the essay. The conclusion needs to summarise the key points of the essay and have a few concluding points with respect to the focus of the essay.
Sandwiched between the introduction and the conclusion, the body of the essay should focus on:
– An explanation of 5 key principles of operant conditioning. It is suggested that students use the readings provided by the unit coordinator as the key references for this part of the essay. However, students are welcome to use other sources to help with this section.
– Highlighting the role that behaviour modification has played in the practice of psychology by critically reviewing three of the four papers listed in the assignment 1 folder.
The essay must be written in APA format
