Assignment 1: LASA 2—Assembling a Career Path

This course provided you an overview of the discipline of psychology, including expectations for the psychology major, career options for students completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and career options for students who pursue a graduate degree.

Tasks

Review from the readings the information on career paths for psychologists and counselors and do some of your own research using credible sources. Drawing upon the information you collected and analyzed in previous assignments and research, write a paper that outlines the career path that you think is most suitable for you at this point in your educational experience.

Be as specific as possible and include each of the following items in your paper: Identify a career path and explain why it is a suitable choice. Identify the skills, experiences, and educational requirements for this path. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and explain how they relate to your chosen path. Describe skills and experiences you have already gained and the preparation you have already made. Describe skills, preparation, and experiences you still lack (e.g., research experience, volunteer work, and development of a professional network). Outline a clear plan (including a time line) for meeting these goals and gaining these skills and experiences. Do outside research to discuss specifically where you can gain these skills and experiences, how much it will cost, and how you plan to prioritize. Select and describe at least one professional organization that would be appropriate for you to join in your chosen career path and why it is the most appropriate. Identify the specific resources and standards it would provide you as a professional. Design a plan for how you will ensure ongoing personal and professional development throughout your career. Include in the plan strategies established by research studies that foster a balance between physical and mental health. Identify options for seeking continued professional education in your area of interest or specialization upon graduation (e.g., conferences and online continuing education programs for professionals). Be specific and cite at least two sources for your personal and professional development plan.

Display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Cite at least one academic source for each of the bulleted items in the list above. Be sure to demonstrate ethical scholarship in the accurate representation and attribution of sources.

Submission Details: Write a 5- to 6-page paper in a Microsoft Word document in a clear, concise, and organized manner. Include a cover page and a reference page in APA style. Apply APA standards to cite sources. Save your paper as M5_A1_Lastname_Firstname.doc. All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources. Use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources. By the due date assigned, deliver your assignment to the Submissions Area.

Introduction

That Descartes! You hired him as your personal tutor. You are Queen Christina of Sweden and he should be happy with that position. But his argument with Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia is causing a diplomatic mess. In a series of highly public letters, she has argued against his substance dualism, which she claims is unable to accommodate the obvious fact that minds interact with bodies. He has responded vigorously and now even the King of France has taken an interest. He’s far too powerful to ignore, so you decide to write a letter to him to explain Elisabeth’s objection.

Task

Write a letter–it should have an address, salutation, etc.— to the King of France in which you do the following: Explain substance dualism. Make sure to explain the basic concept of a substance as well as explain what it means to say that there are both mental and physical substances. Explain Princess Elisabeth’s argument against substance dualism.

  Mini Research Proposal

This written assignment is based on the work conducted in the “Z, T, or Chi-Square Test Study” discussion forum from last week. Based on this initial work, feedback received, and additional research, you should submit a mini research proposal that calls for the use of a z test, t test, or Chi-Square test.

Please include the following in the research proposal: Introduction (1-2 paragraphs) Present the research question of interest. Explain how the chosen statistical test applies to this research question. Provide the statistical notation and written explanations for the null and alternative hypotheses. Explain the types of errors that can occur. Methods Participants (1 paragraph) List how many participants will be selected. Identify who will be the participants and their major demographic characteristics (e.g., sex, age, etc.). Explain how participants will be selected for the study. Procedures (1-2 paragraphs) Identify the variables in the study. Describe each variable’s scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio) and characteristics (i.e., discrete vs. continuous, qualitative vs. categorical, etc.). Provide an operational definition for each variable, explaining how the variables will be measured. Results (1-2 paragraphs) Describe the statistical test that will be conducted. Be sure to include why the test was chosen and why it is appropriate for this study. Identify the information that will be obtained from the results of this test and what will be needed to draw conclusions regarding the hypotheses. Discussion (1 paragraph) Identify any expected biases, assumptions, or faults with the proposed study and the use of the identified statistical test. Explain what conclusions can and cannot be made for this study, and using this statistical test. Describe the practical significance or importance of the results.

The paper should be APA formatted as a research proposal, and approximately 1000 to 1350 words of content. Include a title page, and a reference page that includes any resources utilized. Students should submit their paper by Day 7.

Point Value: 7 Points
Weekly Learning Outcome Alignment: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

———————————————————————————————–MY WORK WAS:  

Identify an appropriate research question that would require the use of a z-, t-, or Chi-Square test to answer. Pick the question from the list created in Week 1 or identify a new question if there are no appropriate ones from Week 1.

Research question #7.

Is there any relationship between gender and student performance in statistics and science subjects?

The variables, in this case, will be the average performance of the students in the subjects of focus, they will be categorized according to their gender. These variables can actually be measured using the ratio level of measurements by some mathematical operations. In this case, an average will be calculated of both genders performance on the subjects being studied. The data in this study will depict some continuous characteristics. 

Describe why this question is appropriate for the selected statistical test.

Solution

The test to be used in this question is independent T-test. Independent T-test compares the means of two groups that are not related in any way. Performance of males and females are to be investigated to check whether the gender contributes to passing or failing statistics and science subjects.  Performance for males is to be compared with the one for females. T- Statics compares their means and tells us whether there males or females perform well in statists and science subjects. Data for performance is continuous. This is a requirement when using t-test.

Identify the variables in this study and each of their attributes: discrete or continuous, quantitative or categorical, the scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio), an independent or dependent.

Solution

The variables here are:

Gender – is a categorical variable taking two categories, that is, male or female.

Performance – is a continuous taking real numbers

There is no dependent variable in the case of independent T-test statistics.

Explain how the variables do or do not fit the qualifications for the selected statistical test

Solution

Both variables fit the independent t-test statistics selected. Performance is categorized into two groups, that is, Males and Females. The performance means are then compared in the two groups.

Provide a written explanation for the null and alternative hypotheses.

Solution

The null hypothesis indicated with H0, states that there no relationship between gender and performance. Alternative hypothesis H1, indicates there is a significant mean deference when comparing results for males and females.

This can be written as;

H0: μ1 = μ2 = 0

H1: μ1 ≠ μ2 ≠ 0

Rejecting the null hypothesis will means there is confidence in failing to reject the alternative hypothesis.

Describe the types of errors that could occur.

Solution

Type I error and type II error can occur on the testing hypothesis. Type I error occurs when a true null hypothesis is rejected. Type II error occurs when one fails to reject a false null hypothesis.

In this case, concluding that there is a difference in means while in a real sense there isn’t, is a type I error and concluding there is no difference in means while there is, is a type II error.

Research question # 9.

What is the relationship between mortality rates and poverty level?

This research question is intended to establish the existence of any relationship between the mortality rates within a population and the poverty level of that population. The variables in these case will be poverty and death rate which will be measured using the ordinal level scale because it will be giving the degree to which these variables affect each other. The variables, in this case, will be having some continuous characteristics because they rise and fall at some level.

Describe why this question is appropriate for the selected statistical test.

Solution

Chi-square test is used in this question to determine the relationship between poverty levels and mortality rates. It tests whether the cause of mortality rate is poverty or its just by chance.

Identify the variables in this study and each of their attributes: discrete or continuous, quantitative or categorical, the scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio), and independent or dependent.

Solution

Our variables here are;

Mortality rate which is a dependent ratio variable

Level of poverty which can be (High, medium, low), is a categorical independent variable

Explain how the variables do or do not fit the qualifications for the selected statistical test

Solution

Mortality rates can be taken as “high” or “low” to make it suitable for using the chi-square test. Using it as a continuous variable will make it unsuitable for the test. Poverty levels (high, medium and low), perfectly suits Chi-test statistics.

Provide a written explanation for the null and alternative hypotheses.

Solution

The null hypothesis indicated with H0, states that there no relationship between mortality rates and poverty. Alternative hypothesis H1, indicates there is a significant relationship between the number of people dying and their poverty levels.

This can be written as;

H0: β1 = β2 = 0

H1: β1 ≠ β2 ≠ 0

Describe the types of errors that could occur.

Solution

Type I error and type II error can occur on the testing hypothesis. Type I error occurs when a true null hypothesis is rejected. Type II error occurs when one fails to reject a false null hypothesis.

In this case, concluding that poverty causes death while it is not the cause of death, is type II error while concluding that they don’t relate while they do actually, is type I error.————————————————————————————-THE DISCUSSION WAS:   Z, T, or Chi-Square Test Study

Background

During this week you will identify a research question created in Week 1 that would be best answered by any of the following statistical tests: z test, t test for single sample, independent samples t test, repeated measures t test, or Chi-Square test. This discussion will help you work towards your “Week 3 Assignment 2.” If there are no research questions that fit any of these types of statistical analyses, decide on a new question before moving forward with the assignment.

Discussion Assignment Requirements

Initial Posting – In your initial posting for this assignment, include the following: Identify an appropriate research question that would require the use of a z-, t-, or Chi-Square test to answer. Pick the question from the list created in Week 1 or identify a new question if there are no appropriate ones from Week 1. Describe why this question is appropriate for the selected statistical test. Identify the variables in this study and each of their attributes: discrete or continuous, quantitative or categorical, scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio), and independent or dependent. Explain how the variables do or do not fit the qualifications for the selected statistical test. Provide a written explanation for the null and alternative hypotheses. Describe the types of errors that could occur.

 

Objective: Explain theoretical concepts using behavioral examples drawn from popular films and the media.

Description:  Each student will select a celebrity and discuss this individual’s significant life events and milestones as you see it relates to their personality development. Then, you will apply at least two of the personality theories discussed in the textbook. I will provide examples of theories below. Your presentation should be 10-12 slides pages in length (this does not include your title slide and reference slide. Be sure to include correctly formatted APA citations.

Your presentation should include the following:

Clearly identify the theories you have selected.

Discuss strengths/limitation of the theory.

How does it apply to your selected individual?

Images to support your points.

Evaluation of cultural influences on personality development of your celebrity.

A minimum of two (2) educational/peer reviewed sources from the library. These should be journal articles from psychology journals related to course topics.

Speaker notes to add details to your slides.

Please select at least two (2) of the following theories in discussing your selected individual:

Trait theory: Discuss the traits the celebrity possesses according to the different trait theories discussed in the text. (i.e Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, the Big Five, etc.)

Psychodynamic Theory: Discuss any unconscious conflicts the celebrity might be experiencing, and whether they are fixated at any of the psychosexual stages. (i.e. Freud, Jung, Adler, Erickson, Horney, etc.)

Cognitive-Behavioral:  What thought patterns might the celebrity have learned?  How do their thoughts, behaviors, and environment influence each other? (i.e. Skinner, Kelly, Mischel, Bandura, etc.)

Humanistic Theories:  What sort of self-image does this celebrity have?  Is their ideal self similar to their actual self? (i.e. Rogers, Maslow, Buddhism, etc.)

Formatting Reminder: You are expected to format your presentation according to APA formatting guidelines. Please see the APA resources folder in our classroom for additional resources and tools for help in preparing your paper. Be sure to cite your sources accordingly, to avoid plagiarism in your formal written assignments.