Social psychology (psychology)/Assessment/Essay/Topics/Other

This page lists a "melting pot" of student essay topics which are being developed for future social psychology (psychology) classes/students.

New ideas
''These topics need review and revision. Some may be ready to go, otherwise need work. Consider for 2009 essay topics.''
 * Essay topics
 * 1) Consensus: What is consensus and what theories/research can understand how consensus in group decision making can be achieved?
 * 2) Cultural distance and adaptation: Cultural distance refers to the degree of difference between cultures. Research has found that greater perceived cultural distance is associated with lower levels of adjustment. Explain and explore.
 * 3) Forgiveness: What is forgiveness and what is its role in interpersonal and intergroup relationships?
 * 4) Integrated Threat Theory: What is it? What research evidence is available about this theory?
 * 5) Self disclosure: What are the psychological forces for and against self-disclosure? And what are the effects of self-disclosure?
 * 6) Social distance and social connectedness: Social distance and social connectedness might be thought of as referring to two ends on a spectrum ranging from relative social isolation, distance, and disconnection through to relative social inclusion and connectedness. Explain and explore these constructs and their socio-psychological causes and consequences.
 * 7) Telecommuting: What are the pluses and minuses of telecommuting and why? What recommendations can be given to employers and employees about telecommuting?
 * 8) Uncertainty: Uncertainty about one's beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and feelings, as well as others, is generally an aversive state associated with feelings ranging from unease to fear (Fiske & Taylor, 1991), Mullin and Hogg proposed that subjective uncertainty reduction is a fundamental human motivation that can rather well be satisfied by the process of group identification. Explain and explore.
 * 9) *Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991). Social cognition (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
 * 10) *Mullin, B. A & Hogg, M.A. (1999). Motivations for group membership: the role of subjective importance and uncertainty reduction. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2, 91-102.


 * Learning resources
 * 1) Genocide: Needs development

Topics from 2008 - not taken
Or taken in 2008, but not submitted.

Topics which need more work
These need some more development before being appropriate as essay questions e.g., because they don't clearly enough relate to social psychology, require rewording or refocusing, etc. May have been tried in the past or be incomplete.
 * 1) Culture jamming: Explore the social psychological aspects of culture jamming. Illustrate with examples.
 * 2) Cyberspace: Explore and explain the social psychology of cyberspace.
 * 3) Eccentricity: Explain eccentricity from a socio-psychological perspective.
 * 4) Ecofeminism: What is it?  Explore and critique its socio-psychological implications.
 * 5) Environmental attitudes and behaviour: Is there a gap between environmental attitudes and behaviour?  If so, why and what can be done about it?
 * 6) Gender equality: To what extent has gender equality been achieved?  What gender biases persist and why?
 * 7) Gestalt psychology: What is it?  Explain the main ideas and principles using your own examples.
 * 8) Healthy suburbs: Summarise and explain Anne Kavanagh's recent VicLANES research on developing healthy suburbs.
 * 9) In-group bias: What is it, why does it occur and under what conditions does it increase?
 * 10) JOHARI window: Describe the JOHARI window and describe what is analyses from a socio-psychological point of view.
 * 11) Kindness paradox: Discuss Benjamin Franklin's claim that "he that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged."
 * 12) Love and relationships: Attachment theory: Using examples from your personal life, "case studies", or other people, explain Attachment Theory. Your response can be written in the first person.
 * 13) Love and relationships: Investment model: Using examples from your personal relationships, explain the Investment Model.  Your response can be written in the first person.
 * 14) [Love and relationships: Triangular theory of love]]: Using examples from your personal relationships, explain the Triangular Theory of Love.  Your response can be written in the first person.
 * 15) Media: Influence of mainstream (commercial) television in shaping our culture/society.
 * 16) Moral equivalent of war: Is William James' classic essay from the early 1900's still relevant today?  Reconsider James' arguments in light of social psychological theory and research which has ensued.
 * 17) Natural environments: What are the psychological effects of exposure to natural environments?
 * 18) Obesity: Describe the social psychology of obesity.  You might consider issues such as:
 * 19) * To what extent is obesity attributable to culture, society, community and family, and to what extent is it attributable to individual physical and psychological factors?
 * 20) * How are obese people treated by society and why?
 * 21) Overpopulation and democracy: Discuss Isaac Asimov's claim that "democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies. The more people there are, the less one individual matters."
 * 22) Peer popularity: A significant issue for many people during adolescence is negotiating peer popularity at school. What are the psychological and social characteristics of popular versus unpopular school students (amongst peers) (e.g., attractiveness, personality, etc.)? And what dynamic social psychological variables also contribute to popularity (e.g., social influence, social categorisation, etc.)? Where possible, discuss in relation to Australian society, although international research is likely to be relevant. Note that some of the bullying literature may be useful.
 * 23) Political psychology: Provide an overview of the main theories and research in this area.
 * 24) Psychoevolutionary perspectives on sport: Explain the phenomenon of sport from a psychoevolutionary perspective.
 * 25) Publication bias: Publication of journal articles: Control, dominance and pressures applied (overt & covert)
 * 26) Relationship stages: Describe and critique relationship stage theories using your own relationship(s) as examples.
 * 27) Religion: What proportion of people ascribe to a religion?  Why?  Explore from a social psychological perspective.
 * 28) Risky shift: What is it, when does it occur, and why does it occur?
 * 29) Social Competence: What skills, attitudes and behaviours are exhibited by people whom we understand to be socially competent? To what extent can social competence be learned and to what extent is it innate? What are the most effective methods for training people in social skills and enhancing social competence?
 * 30) Social psychology of education.
 * 31) Social psychology of food:
 * 32) * What is the role of food, or more particularly socio-cultural practices around food, in meeting human's social needs? To what extent are these practices similar across cultures, and in what ways to these practices vary between cultures?
 * 33) * What social environments influence different eating habits? For example, predispositions, the avaliability of food and food advertising.
 * 34) Social exchange theory: What is it?  Explain with reference to examples from your own life.
 * 35) Social norms: How social values (norms or standards?) develop / evolve / change or influence culture
 * 36) Solitary confinement: What are the psychological effects of solitary confinement? Why do these occur and what does knowledge about the psychological effects of solitary confinement reveal more generally about human social psychology?
 * 37) Solitude versus loneliness: What is the difference between solitude and loneliness?  Describe with reference to examples from your own life, people you know, and well-known others.
 * 38) Terrorism: Discuss the social psychology of terrorism in relation to this image.
 * 39) War and love: Discuss this picture in terms of the social psychology of war and love. Relationships
 * 40) You just get me: Conduct a personal experiment by joining http://www.youjustgetme.com. You should earn at least 25 credit points by making your own profile available and by guessing the personalities of other members.   Describe your experience of this website with respect to social psychological aspects of personality and social perception.

Topics suggested by students
Topics suggested by students but no essay was submitted.

Topics completed
''For these topics, a sufficiently good essay seems to already exist (from the 2007 blogs). However, permission would need to be sought for re-use.'':
 * 1) Deindividuation: What is it?  When is it desirable or undesirable?  How can it be prevented or facilitated?
 * 2) Digital divide: Donsider the socio-psychological causes and consequences of the digital divide. What do you think the consequences of experiments such as the hole in the wall and one laptop per child will be?
 * 3) Family systems theory: What is family systems theory? Explore connections between family systems theory and social psychology. ,
 * 4) Friendship: What factors influence the likelihood of becoming friends with another person?  Discuss in relation to your own relationships and friendships.
 * 5) Psychodrama: What is it, where does it come from, and how does it work? Discuss from a social psychological viewpoint.
 * 6) Self-enhancement by social comparison: Describe and explain the phenomenon of social comparison for self-enhancement. What is it and why does it occur?  Include examples.
 * 7) Suicide: Explore suicide from a socio-psychological perspective.
 * 8) Volunteerism: Summarise Clary and Snyder's theory and research on the psychology of volunteerism.

Other sources for topics
Looking for ideas? Look through the topics still to be transferred to here:
 * 2007 Blog 1 topics
 * See also Category:Psychology stubs and w:Category:Social psychology for more possibilities.

Topics which have been transferred to Wikiversity:
 * 2008 topics
 * 2007 Blog 2 topics