Social Psychology and the News

Social Psychology and the News

Social Psychology is a part of our everyday lives. In their attempt to feed our hunger for interesting and relevant news stories, the news media (e.g., newspapers and newsmagazines) often report on events, issues, and social problems in which social psychological phenomena play a key role. For example, in recent months there have been various stories in the news (e.g., the U.S. Supreme Court decisions; the war in Ukraine; etc.). These and many other news topics are potentially rich in social psychological phenomena (e.g., prejudice & discrimination, social beliefs & judgment, group influence, persuasion, aggression, prosocial behavior, etc.), and a knowledge of social psychology might help us to suggest ways to address problems and make the world a better place. Your task in this assignment is to: (a) find a news story about something that has happened or is happening in the world to which social psychology is relevant, (b) describe clearly how concepts from social psychology can help explain some aspect(s) of the situation described in the news story, and (c) based on your knowledge of social psychology, suggest steps that might be taken to improve the situation or address the social problem described in the
news story, and thereby make the world (at least a little) better. Please do not describe a published social psychological study (or a news article reporting on such a study), but rather apply social psychological concepts to understand a real-world news story, using critical thinking and careful analysis.
More specifically, you should submit the following:
1) A url link to the news article.
2) A typed, FORMAL essay (2 to 3 pages in length) describing and analyzing the article using the framework outlined below. In accordance with APA Style
Guidelines, this essay should be double-spaced, have 1-inch margins, and be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font.
• The essay should have a cover page, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
• The essay should address the following:
✓ Where and when was the article published, and by whom was it authored?
✓ What was the article about? Summarize the article in your own words.
✓ What are the SPECIFIC social psychological phenomena you observed in the article? Describe and label them appropriately. That is, be sure to define the social psychological phenomena you observed in the article content (e.g., reactance, the fundamental attribution error, etc.) and carefully explain why the events/issues described in the news article are examples of those phenomena.
✓ Suggest a means of improving the situation or addressing the problem (ideally drawing upon social psychological concepts) and thereby improving the world (at least somewhat).
✓ Any other relevant points you would like to add…
• The essay should be well-written, with clear, well-organized prose free of grammatical and spelling errors.