University of Maryland University College
Media Review Paper
Popular entertainment media (e.g., magazines, newspapers, tabloids, TV shows, and movies) are
the general public’s primary sources of information of what psychology is (and is not). These
reports are largely responsible for the negative view of psychology as "not a real science."
Recently, science has been increasingly portrayed as useless for understanding our modern world
or for solving real-world problems. To make matters worse, skepticism regarding paranormal
claims, an important part of critical (i.e., scientific) thinking, is often portrayed as a disadvantage
(i.e., a handicap). In some TV shows, for example, the paranormal is portrayed as normal, and
fantastic events (e.g., alien abductions, spontaneous combustion) are frequent occurrences.
Movies have long portrayed scientists as mad, bad, or dangerous.
For example, consider the following. Habitual viewers of entertainment television (about onethird of U.S. adults watch more than four hours of TV daily) are more likely than infrequent
viewers to believe that science is dangerous, that scientists are odd and peculiar people, and that
a career in science as undesirable. After all, on prime time TV, being a scientist is extremely
risky (because ten percent of scientists on such shows get killed), and being near a scientist is
dangerous (because five percent of scientists kill someone). “Mad” scientists account for a higher
percentage of horror movie antagonists than zombies, werevolves, and mummies combined.
It should come as no surprise that a negative correlation has been observed between watching
entertainment television and people’s critical thinking about scientific matters. As the amount of
entertainment TV viewing increases, acceptance of pseudoscience increases. In addition, habitual
viewers are more likely than infrequent viewers to believe that astrology is scientific. Of course,
this correlational evidence does not permit us to conclude that watching entertainment TV
causes anti-science or pro-pseudoscience attitudes. On the other hand, entertainment TV provides a context within which such attitudes are encouraged and can be developed.
It is important for you, as a student of psychology, to view these kinds of reports with a healthy
skepticism, guided by your developing knowledge of what real psychology is and is not.
The primary intent of the assignment is to develop your ability to evaluate one small part of the
steady diet of negative portrayals of science and skepticism. That “small part” will involve
popular misunderstandings and/or misgivings about psychological science. This assignment
provides an opportunity to apply psychological theory and research in the exploration of a
book, a film, a television show, or a newspaper, magazine, or tabloid article.
For this assignment, choose a book, a film, a TV show, or an article from a newspaper, magazine
or tabloid with content that can be meaningfully explored through application of psychological theory and research. Your main objective should be to clearly present your analysis of
how well (i.e., how accurately) the book, film, TV show, or article represents both:
– science, in general
– psychological science, in particular
PSYC 100 – Introductory Psychology
University of Maryland University College
In your paper, you should clearly identify the source (i.e., the specific book, film, TV show, or
article) and write a beautifully organized (and well written) discussion that critically evaluates
the assertion, the evidence, and the explanation (i.e., the presumed controlling mechanism),
including reasoned consideration of the reliability, validity, and exceptions of the purported
findings contained in the report. You can look at some of the later chapters in the Stangor text
that deal with memory, emotion, motivation, the development of the individual over the life
span, and health and stress, in order to have a more complete idea of different concepts that
might apply.
Students: Remember that this is a research-based paper; the article, film, book, or TV
show provides only the backdrop for research on a psychological topic. For full credit, you
should use at least one peer-reviewed psychological reference in addition to your textbook.
Your paper should be 1,200 to 1,500 words, (i.e., about 5 double-spaced pages). This
assignment is worth 10 percent of your total points for the course.
Grading Rubric
Media Review Paper
543210
CONTENT
1. All topics were discussed in clear detail
2. Assertions supported correctly
3. Ideas were interrelated coherently and logically
4. Author creatively enhances the topic
ORGANIZATION
5. An introduction previews main points of reflection
6. Body of paper develops and elaborates main ideas
7. A conclusion summarizes main points
WRITING MECHANICS and STYLE
8. Paper free of mechanical errors (e.g., misspellings, typos, etc.)
9. Paper grammatically sound (proper sentence structure)
10. Citations and references in proper APA style
PSYC 100 – Introductory Psychology
University of Maryland University College
Points to be Behaviors demonstrated:
awarded:
paper contains no errors in this area
5
paper contains limited errors in this area; however, the
4
overall presentation of the material is readable and
appropriate
paper contains limited errors in this area; however, the
3
overall presentation of the material is difficult to read
paper contains a number of errors in this area; however, the
2
overall presentation is acceptable
paper contains a number of errors in this area, and the
1
overall presentation is difficult to read
paper contains numerous errors in this area, which detracts
0
from the overall presentation
Additional Criteria for Grading Your Paper
1. Accuracy. Are your facts or ideas correct?
2. Clarity. Are your answers clear and easy to follow? It helps to read your answer aloud to
yourself. Using this method, you can catch incomplete sentences or lapses in your
thought.
3. Depth. Are the issues and implications thought out and explored?
4. Originality. Are your own views present and well-articulated? Use your own words. Do
not copy material directly from your text or other sources. If you want to use the author’s
exact words, put them in quotation marks and cite the page number from your text or
other source material. But don’t forget to express your own opinion or interpretation.
5. Supporting Evidence. Support your ideas with empirical evidence. This is a crucial part
of any well-written research essay. You may support your answer with statistical
information, case studies, or research you encounter from the text, readings, or other
references. You may also use your personal experience as supporting evidence when
appropriate.
6. References. Did you use appropriate references to support the main points of your paper?
You may look in the textbook and find references listed in the bibliography that might
support your writing. Be sure you have these references—the complete articles—on hand
if you use them. Make sure your references relate to the point you are making, or support
your inferences.
7. Form, composition, spelling, etc. Try to make your paper neat and error free. It helps to
run your spell checker before submitting your work, or have a colleague or friend read
over your paper.
8. APA Style. We will follow the formatting rules of the American Psychological
Association. The UMUC Guide to Writing and Research will provide you with some
basic APA guidelines, and you can access this information by visiting UMUC’s library
web page.
9. DUE date. Please pay very careful attention to the date/time your Media Review Paper is
due, Friday, October 9, 2015 (11:59 PM). That is just two (2) days
prior to the date the
course ends, after which absolutely no work can be accepted (i.e., the course is "over").
