In unit 2 you will be using the research methods of behavioral psychology to perform a case study with yourself as the subject. After performing this experiment on yourself, you will shape your findings into a podcast that tracks your progress and tests your original hypothesis.
Feeder 2.1: Establishing a baseline
For your first feeder assignment, you will choose a behavior that you would like to modify and begin thinking critically about what role this behavior plays in your life. First, choose a behavior that you would like to increase or decrease in frequency or duration. Though many people choose to modify a behavior that will improve their health or productivity, you can modify your behavior in any way that is not harmful to yourself or others.
Next, you will begin thinking critically about your behavior by keeping a journal documenting that behavior and establishing a rough baseline. Choose a three-day period in which you will begin tracking your behavior, and each evening at roughly the same time answer the following questions:
- Roughly how many times or for how long did you do the behavior?
- When were you likely (or not likely) to display the behavior?
- What benefits (socially, psychologically, etc.) did you get from displaying the behavior?
You should answer each of the three questions three times, once for each day. At the end of the three-day period, you should begin thinking about how you will change your behavior. In order to start this process, answer the following questions:
- What activities, people, or treats might motivate you to change your behavior?
- What kinds of rewards are you able to offer yourself for changing your behavior? (brainstorm at least of at least 4)
- What kinds of rewards are you able to deny yourself? (brainstorm a list of at least 4)
Place your answers to all of these questions in a new Google Doc titled “[your name]’s Unit 2 Feeder Assignments” and make sure that the document is shared with my correct email address.
Feeder 2.2: Researching Your Behavior
For your next feeder assignment, you will compose an annotated bibliography of at least four credible sources related to your behavior. Since the behaviors each of you will modify will be very different, your sources will be as well. If you choose to modify a conventional behavior such as dieting, exercise, or studying you will find a wealth of material that relate to these topics directly; if you choose a different kind of behavior, your sources may be more unconventional. Unlike your annotated bibliography from Unit 1, all of your sources do not have to be argumentative, but all of them must be credible and they must relate to your topic in some way (such as the topic of behavior modification in general, background sources about your behavior and its effects, etc.).
For each entry in your annotated bibliography, begin by constructing an MLA citation of the source. Underneath this citation, write a short (4-5 sentence) analysis of the source, including its main claim (if it has one), its most important evidence, and its relevance to your topic.
Place your finished annotated annotated bibliography in the same Google Doc as your Feeder 2.1 assignment.
Feeder 2.3: Formulating a Hypothesis
After you have completed the first two feeder assignments it’s time to begin thinking about your experiment. The first step is to come up with a working hypothesis statement. Much like a thesis statement, a hypothesis statement will introduce the topic of your study, provide a roadmap for how it will unfold, and explain the significance of your experiment to your target audience. However, whereas a thesis statement introduces a central claim about your topic, your hypothesis statement will include a prediction about what will happen in your study. More specifically, this prediction will posit a relationship between your independent and dependent variables. We will talk more about what this means in class.
Place your working hypothesis in the same Google Doc as your other feeder assignments for Unit 2.
Feeder 2.4: Designing Your Experiment
Now that you have a working hypothesis and a deeper understanding of your behavior (both through primary observation and consultation of secondary sources), it’s time to begin designing your experiment. We will talk extensively in class about how to conduct a valid scientific experiment, and it is expected that you will follow all of these guidelines in your own study.
The first step will be to decide on the rewards and/or punishments that you will use to reinforce your behavior. You began thinking about this in Feeder 2.1, and now it’s time to decide which rewards and/or punishments are most likely to motivate a change in behavior. Finalize your system of rewards and punishments and decide how they will be implemented. Write a paragraph describing your system and place it in the Google Doc with your other Unit 2 feeder assignments.
Next, you will design the form that you will use to collect your data during your experiment. A few things to consider here:
- your data sheet must contain a significant quantitative component; we will talk about the differences between quantitative and qualitative data in class. You will probably also want to include a qualitative component as well, though this is not required
- you must fill out your data sheet at least once per day during the experiment; for frequently recurring behaviors, you may design a data sheet that requires you to fill it out more than once per day
- the data you collect must be targeted toward directly proving or disproving your hypothesis; there are likely many interesting aspects of your behavior that you may wish to track, but you must ensure that you collect data that directly relates to your hypothesis
- your data sheet must also include information about your rewards and/or punishments, including if and how they were administered; you may also want to collect data about whether and how these incentives motivated you
- We will workshop your data sheets extensively in class, but each data sheet must be approved by me before you begin your experiment. I can approve data sheets either during class time or via email. Failure to get approval for your data sheet will negatively affect your Unit 2 grade.
- Upload your data sheet to Google Docs and title your document “[your name]’s Unit 2 data sheet.” Make sure that the document is shared with my correct email address.
- After your data sheet is approved and you have completed Feeder 2.1-2.4 you may conduct your experiment. You must collect data for at least 6 consecutive days.
Feeder 2.5: Beginning to Construct Your Podcast
As we will discuss in detail in class, a standard scientific research report has four parts:
- Introduction
- Methods & Materials
- Results
- Conclusion
Your Unit 2 Project podcast will contain all four of these sections as well, though they may be formatted somewhat differently given the different medium (i.e. podcasting) and the specific target audience you have identified for your blog. As you are conducting your experiment you can get get started on the first two sections of the podcast. After your experiment has been completed you can begin work on the other two sections.
For your Feeder 2.5 assignment, you will compose an outline / script for your Unit 2 Project podcast. For guidelines on what should be included in each section, consult your notes from my two presentations on writing a scientific research report. Some things to consider as you compose:
- Your introduction should follow all of the guidelines for strong introductions that we have already discussed in class
- Some parts of your podcast will be strictly scripted, while others will require you to speak extemporaneously; in your outline/script, you should work toward writing out exactly what you will say for the scripted sections (important / detailed information such as the explanation of your hypothesis, your introduction, and your results section), while impromptu sections will only be a rough outline
- You should be careful how you explain / relate the quantitative information in your podcasts; long lists of numbers are difficult to process without visual aids, so consider carefully how you will convey this information in a way that the reader can understand
- In your conclusion section, you should confirm or deny whether your hypothesis was supported (avoid overly strong language such as stating that your hypothesis was “proven”), as well as a re-evaluation / re-formulation of your hypothesis if necessary
- You will want to include markers / descriptions for transitional music, sound effects, and other audio effects that will make your podcast easier to understand and more exciting to listen to
Place your finished outline / script in the Google Doc containing your other feeder assignments for Unit 2. Since your Podcast will be 4-6 minutes long, your outline should be about 3-4 pages in length.
Feeder 2.6: Adding Other Voices
As we noted at several points in class, listening to the same voice for several minutes in a row can be quite boring. Brainstorm ways that you might include other voices besides your own. Some ideas include giving your podcast a co-host, interviewing a friend who is directly affected by your behavior, or interviewing an expert on your behavior or on behavior modification in general. Your podcast must contain at least one voice that is not your own.
After deciding how you will introduce other voices into your podcast, revise your outline/script to indicate where these other voices will appear and, if necessary, conduct the interviews themselves and record the audio using your computer or smartphone. You do not need to submit anything for this assignment, but you will be assigned a grade for Feeder 2.6 based on how well you integrated others’ voices into your podcast.
Unit 2 Project: Behavior Modification Study Podcast
After you have completed the feeder assignments it’s time to begin constructing your podcast. The final version should be 4-6 minutes long and should contain each of the four standard sections for a scientific research report (all clearly demarcated), at least one voice other than your own, and transitional music and/or sound effects to help orient your listener.
A successful podcast will (in order of importance):
1. contain a clear, original and interesting hypothesis that posits a clear relationship between the independent and dependent variables
2. contain each of the four sections of a standard scientific research report, each of them clearly demarcated; each section will contain the proper information as discussed in class
3. be designed in a manner that adequately confirms or denies the study’s hypothesis
4. contain a strong introduction that adheres to one of the strategies for effective introductions that we outlined in class
5. include background information / research about the topic that helps the listener understand the topic better and establishes the author’s credibility
6. convey the experiment’s results in a clear, digestible manner
7. honestly assess the strengths and weaknesses of the study and re-evaluate the hypothesis if necessary
8. make use of at least two different voices in a way that makes the podcast both more exciting and easier to understand
9. make effective use of sound effects and transitional music to orient the listener
10. be delivered in a clear speaking manner that is appropriate to the blog's target audience.
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