Theory Paper
Points: 80
Students will choose a theory in the learning and memory field. Students will trace the development of the theory (including empirical evidence for and against) and conclude with an evaluation of the current state of the theory.
The theory paper will include the following sections in APA format: Title page, Abstract, Introduction (lit. review), and References. Students must incorporate a minimum of 10 scientific sources (e.g., journal articles, book chapters, etc.) in the paper. Students should consult the APA Publication Manual, 5th Edition for formatting guidelines. Psychology Department Writing & Research Resources
The final paper will be worth 80 points.
Here's a sample paper that models APA format. You'll need to focus on the title page, abstract, introduction, and reference section. Ignore the method, results, and appendix sections.
For each study that you review, be sure to relate the results back to the theory. How and/or why does the study provide evidence for or evidence against the theory of interest? State whether the study provides or does not provide support--but do not stop there. You must provide justification. You probably will not find this information in the article, so it is your job to provide this analysis.
Here's a sample student paper discussing the theoretical principles of operant conditioning that underlie the practice of behavior modification. Notice how this student continually provides theoretical explanations for why we would expect behavior modification to be effective (e.g., as predicted by principles of reinforcement and shaping). These theoretical explanations are often not provided in detail in the research paper so you need to interject your own thoughts/analysis. These theoretical explanations should be the focus of the paper. Some examples are highlighted in the sample student paper.
Extra
credit opportunity: Earn up to 2 extra credit points for each extra
research article incorporated into the introduction (or discussion) section.
There is a limit of 2 extra sources, for a maximum of 4 extra credit points.
For each extra source, one point will be awarded for correctly referencing the
article in text and in the reference section; the additional point will be
awarded based on your use of the article in text, including the relevance to your project.
These extra points will be added to your
paper score. You are still allowed the other 12 max extra credit points from
research and the in-class extra credit, which will both be added to your final grade right before grades are
figured.