Instead of a final exam, this course will end with a class poster session during the last class time, Monday, December 12, 2022 from 12:30-1:45 on the 2nd floor of the Shapiro Library in the Mezzanine area above the Zachos Cafe. You can either work by yourself or with one other student on your own research project, leading to a poster presentation that will address a research question of your choosing. Your poster should be in American Psychological Association (APA) format. This is an empirical research project where you will collect data. You are encouraged to conduct a survey, correlation, quasi-experiment or experiment depending on the type of question you are seeking to address. For those of you conducting survey research, you will have free access to software called Qualtrics which you can share with others with a link you can share through social media or with others in class.
Below are potential research questions, general methodological approaches, free and open access test materials, and example articles for your research project, though feel free to come up with your own (but please check it with the instructor ahead of time). You will be expected to find other articles on your own using library databases. Below are four research projects that you can choose from. The advantage of using one of the preset research questions and methodologies is that those projects are already approved by SNHU’s Institutional Research Review Board (IRB) ahead of time. The IRB is an independent ethics board that reviews research to ensure it complies with government and professional ethical guidelines. IRB-approved projects are automatically eligible to be presented at SNHU’s Undergraduate Research Day and Psychology conferences. If you choose your own research question, you have the advantage of pursuing a research question more specific to your interests, but you would need to apply for IRB approval if you want to present your research outside of class.
Are cognitive biases related to how susceptible some people are to belief in conspiracy theories? This study is designed to explore how various cognitive biases, including jumping to conclusions, intentionalizing (ascribing intentionality to situations that are random or unintended), catastrophizing, emotional reasoning, and dichotomous thinking (seeing problems as extremes, without grey areas), might relate to the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. Though some studies have focused on how cognitive ability relates to conspiracy theory beliefs (van Prooijen, 2017) and other studies have focused on specific cognitive biases (van Prooijen, et al., 2018), no study has focused on multiple relevant cognitive biases together in a single empirical study.
Participants will be assessed for cognitive biases using the Cognitive Bias Questionnaire for Psychosis (CBQp). Though conspiracy beliefs do not constitute a clinical psychosis, it is conceivable that both could involve similar underlying cognitive biases towards illogical and/or non-evidence-based beliefs. The results of the CBQp questionnaire will be correlated with the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories as measured by The Generic Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (GCBS).
Here is a secondary source (article) about the psychology of conspiracy theories. Under “existential motives,” it covers how some people are drawn to conspiracy theories to feel safe and exert control over others. This article can also lead you to primary research sources.
An article showing an example of a cognitive bias, called agency detection (otherwise known as intentionality), that is associated with belief in conspiracy theories:
Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., Callan, M. J., Dawtry, R. J., & Harvey, A. J. (2016). Someone is pulling the strings: Hypersensitive agency detection and belief in conspiracy theories. Thinking & Reasoning, 22(1), 57–77. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13546783.2015.1051586
Here is where you can find the cognitive bias questionnaire:
Peters E., Moritz S., Schwannauer M., Wiseman Z., Greenwood K.E., Scott J., et al. (2014). Cognitive biases questionnaire for psychosis. Schizophrenia Bulletin 40, 300–313. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbs199
This article shows evidence that the conspiracy beliefs scale is valid and reliable:
Brotherton, R., French, C.C., & Pickering, A.D. (2013). Measuring the belief in conspiracy theories: The generic conspiracist beliefs scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 4: 279. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00279
Past research has shown that excessive use of Instagram is associated with negative mental health outcomes and poor appearance-related self-perception. Is excessive use of Instagram associated with negative mood and negative self-perception in a non-clinical population? Please note that you cannot assess clinical mental health disorders due to ethical restrictions in conducting research for an undergraduate course, but assessing mood carries less risk and would add a new angle to existing research literature.
Ask participants to estimate their average daily Instagram use in hours and minutes. Administer tests that examine mood and appearance-related self-perception. Correlate daily Instagram use with survey results related to mood and appearance-related self-perception.
Sherlock, M., & Wagstaff, D.L. (2018). Exploring the Relationship Between Frequency of Instagram Use, Exposure to Idealized Images,
and Psychological Well-Being in Women. Psychology of Popular Media Culture. 8(4), 482-490.
How do the Big 5 personality traits relate to preference for different genres of music? This would be a correlation study that would add something new by not only using the Big 5 Traits some subcomponents of those traits called facets and a new and updated test called the Big Five Inventory – 2.
Administer a test or survey that measures the Big 5 personality traits. You could measure music preference. Then see if total score for each of the Big 5 traits correlate with measures of the extent of music preference.
Nave, G., Minxha, J., Greenberg, D.M., Kosinski, M., Stillwell, D. & Rentfrow, J. (2018). Musical Preferences Predict Personality: Evidence
from Active Listening and Facebook Likes. Psychological Science, 29(7), 1145-1158 .
Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2003). The do re mi’s of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preferences.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1236-1256.
How does the emotional context of an eyewitness episode affect memory and false memory? Specifically, memory tends to be biased towards negative emotional autobiographical events, but does that translate into increased false memory as well as memory?
Run an experiment as follows: Have participants watch a YouTube video of a crime scene. Tell participants in the negative emotional context group that the video depicts an actual robbery (treatment condition). Tell participants in the neutral emotional context group that the video shows actors in a robbery scene (neutral condition). Then compare the rates of recall and false memory rates associated with each condition.
Show this video of an altercation from surveillance submitted to the Broward Sheriff’s Office depicting an altercation in which an armed robbery occurs against three young people on spring break (though the teenagers foil the robbery).
Have participants read an eyewitness account that suggests that the person in the red and black flannel shirt was the first to start punching the perpetrator and how one of the perpetrators briefly revealed a knife—two pieces of misinformation to setup potential false memories. Including true details before, in-between, and after the misinformation items.
Include these questions:
Control Questions
False Memory Questions
Remember to add the confidence rating question with each question above. See if the average confidence rating for control questions is different than that for false memory questions.
Porter, S., Spencer, L., & Birt, A.R. (2003). Blinded by emotion? Effect of the emotionality of a scene on susceptibility to false memories.
Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 35(2), 165- 175.
Your research poster should include the following sections as shown in the examples below:
Here is an example of a poster created by a student in PSY 224 last school year:
Here is an example of a poster that some students presented at the New England Psychological conference:
Here is an example of a poster based on survey research:
The Poster Session will be held Monday, December 12th, 2022 during class from 12:30-1:45pm in the Wolak Library Learning Center (Shapiro Library) 2nd floor mezzanine. You will be expected to answer questions other students/visitors have about your poster. Grades will be based on the poster and participation in the poster session.