1.Identify and define the psychological construct you have chosen to use. For example, if you use sequential development, explain what it is and how it fits into some particular psychological model.
2.Identify the medium that the construct is evident in and give a brief summary of the story and/or plot of the medium.
The medium may be a book, a short story, a stage play, a movie, or even a TV show. If you use and cite a TV show, use a specific episode; do not simply generalize about an entire TV series.
3.Explain in detail how the construct is used in the story, play, show, etc. Pay particular attention in your paper to how the psychological construct relates to or reflects a real-life setting or situation.
?Give some specific anecdotal or empirical evidence of the psychological construct in your identified medium.
For example, if you were writing on ?Sequential Development in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,? you would need to provide examples of how Harry, Hermione, or Ron behaved at the beginning of a term, and how he or she behaved at the end of that term and support your assertion that behavior change could be attributed to sequential development.
?Use and cite at least two pieces of research which describe the psychological construct you have found in the media.
Your research should tie together and support what you observed in the media to the construct. For example, you could cite a key characteristic of sequential development that you discovered in a journal article, and then point out where that characteristic was observed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
4.Conclude your paper by identifying what you believe are the good or bad aspects or results of the construct you observe. You must identify at least two aspects or potential results and explain why you think they are good or bad. Some examples:
?Change (increase or decrease) in learning potential for some group
?Change (increase or decrease) in bias or discrimination against some group
?Change (increase or decrease) in aggression or violence in society
?Development of a new treatment for some social phobia
?Design of a more efficient, more human-friendly office
?Change (increase or decrease) in personal self-esteem
?Provide support for those who are in terminally ill situations
