Psychology homework, like any other assignment, includes both smaller and larger tasks that are guided by rubrics. As the name suggests, these assignments may be centered on any of the various psychology disciplines such as clinical psychology, child and adolescent psychology, educational psychology, abnormal psychology, Freud and the behaviorists, and counseling among others.
In this article, we are going to discuss the following:
• What are some of the psychology homework topics that college students are likely to be tested on?
• What is the importance of psychology homework?
• What factors should tutors consider when assigning psychology homework?
• What should students consider when answering these assignments?
1. What are the factors that influence social perception?
Here, you are required to define the concept of social perception, list the factors that influence it, and discuss how each factor influences social perception, with examples.
Definition - Social perception refers to how individuals perceive others.
List of factors – physical appearance, context, and stereotypes
Influence on social perception – Physical appearance: People judge others according to how they look
Example – Some people tend to perceive attractive people as being more interesting than unattractive people/white people are considered superior to other races because of their physical appearance.
2. What are the four main personality theories?
In this question, you are expected to begin by defining personality and personality theories. After this, you should proceed to mention the personality theories as indicated in the question. This means that you should only list four personality theories for discussion. The specificity of the question may either indicate that there are only four personality theories or that you are only needed to discuss four of them. You should list each theory and discuss them independently.
Definition – Personality refers to an individual's thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that make them unique
- Personality theories are founded on the belief that different factors affect people’s personalities and make them different from others.
List of personality theories – humanistic, trait, social cognition, and psychoanalytic.
Example – under humanistic theory, an individual’s personality is influenced by the personal choices they make regarding their life.
3. Explain three principles of cognitivism
Here, you are needed to discuss the three principles of cognitivism. Begin by describing the cognitive theory and proceed to list, and define the three principles of cognitivism in detail as well as examples for each.
Definition – cognitivism is a learning theory that explains processes involved in learning as opposed to the observed behavior.
List the principles
- learning should be self-directed
- Learning should come from analysis and discovery
- Learning should be more purposeful and focused
Example – Purposeful and focused learning means that learners can understand concepts better when they know why they are studying.
The above questions give you an idea of how to structure your psychology questions. The following are some of the commonly asked psychology questions:
1. Explain inter-relationship and intra-relationship according to psychology
2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Big Five test?
3. What are the criticisms of person-centered therapy?
4. What is the importance of observational learning in everyday life?
5. What is the importance of psychology to a preschool teacher?
6. Explain the Bhutanese views of happiness
7. How is psychosocial/socioemotional development theory relevant in early adulthood?
8. What does the behavioral model focus on more than the psychoanalytic and humanistic traditions?
9. What is the process of concept formation in psychology?
The importance of psychology homework is intertwined with the significance of the psychology discipline itself. That being said, some of the reasons why psychology homework is important include:
- Psychology homework enhances a student’s responsibility by pushing them to complete tasks. Responsibilities exist both inside and outside of school. School assignments refine students’ skills that allow them to complete both simple and complex tasks. When the need for responsibility is introduced at the school level, students grow into responsible individuals that are capable of handling tasks in a timely manner whether at home or in the workplace.
- Psychology homework strengthens the understanding of concepts and the interpretation of information and reinforces skills. Understanding psychology concepts is important as it prepares one for their practice as a psychologist. This understanding also polishes an individual's skills and makes them an excellent job candidate whether they are seeking to get hired or start their practice.
- Psychology homework fosters independence and self-discipline among students. Unlike classroom discussions, homework is more of an individual task that an tutor can use to gauge their students’ understanding of concepts. This is also a strategy that teaches them how to work alone with what they have and consequently, enables them to develop self-discipline.
- Psychology homework establishes a link between school learning and the real world. In some instances, psychology tutors issue students with assignments relating to real life. For instance, a homework question like what is the importance of psychology to a preschool teacher would require a psychology student to understand what a preschool teacher does, and the challenges they face as part of their work. Such assignments that apply to the real world prepare students to practically apply psychology.
- Psychology helps tutors to assess students’ progress. Some psychology professors or lecturers issue assignments at the end of every topic to assess how well the topic has been understood. Some students may, however, be lagging, and assignments are a good way to identify and assist them.
- Psychology homework helps students get ready for upcoming topics.Some tutors also like to give assignments before introducing topics. This helps them plan the teaching method to use and the time period to allocate the topic depending on the students’ level of understanding. On other occasions, the topics may be complex and may require students to put in extra work so they can comprehend concepts more easily. Tutors opt for assignments because they help students to systematically tackle problem areas, as opposed to telling them to read ahead, which may often fall on deaf ears.
Assigning psychology homework is dependent on the tutor and their intention with the subject being taught. However, there are some other factors to consider when assigning homework in this field as found here. They include;
- Necessity. An tutor should consider the topic areas that can be issued as an assignment and those that can be discussed in class. Deciding this can be guided by the importance of the specific topic and the ease of understanding. This is because some assignments can be too complex for students to work on independently. On the other hand, some concepts may be too simple, and thus, giving homework on such concepts translates to time wastage.
- Contribution and supplementation. It is important for the psychology homework issued to be relatable to the lesson taught. For instance, if the lesson reviewed in class is Different Types of Psychological Theories, then the psychology homework that contributes to and supplements this topic may be: Discuss any five psychological theories and give examples.
- Preparedness. Preparedness entails the ability of students to complete the assigned task and this can include their ability to access the needed material. The tutor needs to have introduced the topic before giving homework. If the homework is given before teaching a topic, the lecturer should ensure that the resources are either available online and if not, they should provide the same for the students' use.
- Objective. The benefits of psychology homework to students are many. These benefits may differ depending on the topic area the homework is assigned from. Additionally, each psychology concept is meant to achieve a certain goal. Sometimes, the objectives of the topic and those of the tutor align. Other times, the tutor’s objectives may slightly differ. Regardless of this, psychology homework should be guided by an objective. For instance, the objective of giving psychology homework after introducing psychology to students may be to establish the pace of teaching or to assess whether or not to move to the next topic.
- Time. Time is of the essence when issuing homework, especially in psychology. Some concepts require more time to handle than others. Insufficient time limits may lead to rushed completion of homework and limited understanding as opposed to ample time.
- Availability of other assignments. Pending psychology homework tasks and tests may overwhelm students and consequently, hinder them from effectively completing assignments.
- Student choice and feedback. These factors encourage students to suggest troubling areas. This is because sometimes, the homework given does not cover problematic areas and students may forget to seek clarification by either asking questions or reading further. Additionally, they should also be able to give feedback after the homework has been graded for clarification purposes, which enhances their knowledgeability about psychology.
- Overloading.As mentioned earlier, some psychology concepts are quite complex and this may extend to the homework as well. Breaking down these concepts is important in both teaching and composing assignments. Handling tasks in smaller bits ensures students are not overloaded and enables them to meet deadlines. Additionally, the pressure and stress that come with complex assignments are minimized and their performance is positively influenced.
Answering any questions in psychology homework can be quite easy. It is not uncommon for students to have an understanding of concepts and still be unable to answer questions efficiently. The major reason for this is the lack of understanding of keywords. In this section of the article, you will learn how to examine a question using its keywords as summarized from this article
A keyword refers to words that help you understand what a question requires. Keywords are categorized into content words, limiting words, and task words. Content words provide information about topic areas and assist you in focusing on the research; limiting words minimize the broadness of a topic and help you focus on the specific aspects; task words guide you on what needs to be done to answer the question, and are normally verbs. Beginning an assignment without interpreting any of these keywords can affect the effectiveness with which you answer your questions.
• Identify the various keywords in the assigned question(s)
• Underline each keyword
• Try to remember what each one of them means to better understand what is being asked for in the question
Example questions in psychology:
a. Identify a major concept from the psychology of learning and memory
In this question, the task word is identify; the content word is psychology; the limiting words are major, learning and memory, and concept.
Different task words portray different requirements. In this question, identify means sort out major psychological concepts and choose one. You may include a brief definition of the concept. The content words enable you to focus on a specific area, which in this case is psychology. Limiting words help you further define the subject area and narrow down the concept being sought. For instance, the terms major, concept, and learning and memory help narrow down the concept and make it easy to research.
b. Explain why learning about this major psychological concept is important
In this question, the task word is explain; the content word is explain; the limiting words are learning, major, important, and concept.
The term explain means to describe in more detail. This means explaining the major psychological concept above with regard to the importance of studying it. The content word – psychology – directs the research towards the specific field of research. Finally, the limiting words indicate what to look for once in the field. It narrows down the question of learning psychology, evaluating its major concepts, and investigating the significance of the particular concept.