Instructions for Assignment on Cognitive Costs of Exposure to Racial Prejudice

Due Date: October 29th

The paper is due at the start of lecture (10 minute grace period).

Emailed or late Assignments will not be accepted except under exceptional circumstances.

When submitting your paper you will be required to print and sign your name on the sign-in sheet. As specified on the sign-in sheet, your signature acknowledges that you have received documentation on 1) how to cite sources, 2) what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Your signature also acknowledges that you have been informed about the consequences of handing in a paper that contains plagiarism.

This assignment is worth 15% of your overall course grade

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with practice reading and interpreting research articles. You are required to write a summary of the article “Cognitive costs of exposure to racial prejudice” by Salvatore and Shelton (2007). This summary should be approximately four pages (2.5 cm margins) of double-spaced 12 point type (use a serif font such as Times New Roman). Please use double sided printing for the copy you submit. The summary must be written as an Essay (not in APA research report). The four pages of text should be preceded by a cover page that includes: a title, your name, your student number, the course number and section number (centered on the page).

Salvatore, J., and Shelton, J.N. (2007). Cognitive costs of exposure to racial prejudice.

At minimum the summary should address all of the points outlined below. Both the content and quality of your writing will affect your grade on this assignment (yes, spelling, grammar and organization count). The Douglas APA Style Guide and instructions for obtaining an electronic copy of the article will be posted on the Blackboard site.

It is important appropriate citations are made for all facts and ideas (Do not quote! Present ideas and facts in your own words and cite the original source). References should be cited according to APA style (consult the APA Style Guide) and a Reference section listing all cited sources must be included on an additional page (in addition to the 4 pages of the essay and the cover page). For this assignment, it is not necessary to use the 'as cited in' style (as described in the APA Style guide) when referencing the background articles cited by Salvatore and Shelton (just use regular APA style citations). At the beginning of your essay you should refer to the article you are summarizing and provide a proper citation. In the remainder of the paper you will not need to provide a citation each time you mention the article or authors as long as context makes it clear what paper you are referring to (it is acceptable to write things such as, 'this paper', 'the authors', 'this study', etc.). However, you must cite the original source each time you refer to information from the Salvatore and Shelton article that they attribute to another source (if they cite someone then you must also cite them). Proper paraphrasing and citing of sources is absolutely essential. Make sure that read the APA Style Guide regarding citing, references, paraphrasing and plagiarism. Also consult the library resources (http://library.douglascollege.ca/guides/cite-sources/plagiarism).

Hypotheses of the Authors

If you have any questions about how to properly paraphrase and cite sources, come to office hours. Plagiarism is a serious violation of the college's academic honesty policies (read about the college's policies regarding academic honesty at: http://www.douglascollege.ca/~/media/27C599ABC76048A0A713648565906273.ashx). Even minor plagiarism will lower your grade. Anything more than very minor plagiarism will result in a grade of zero and a report to the Dean of a academic honesty violation (the Dean will determine if further disciplinary action is required).

1) Provide a brief summary of the prior research that the authors describe in the introduction of the article. Describe the different types of prejudice that they mention. Describe how White Americans’ experiences with prejudice different from ethnic minorities’ experiences. How has this affected how Black and White Americans process prejudice? What is the explanation for the impairment of cognitive functioning in response to different forms of prejudice for white and black individuals? Provide appropriate citations for your statements. When appropriate describe and cite experimental results that provide evidence relevant to these issues. This section of your paper should provide the background necessary for the reader to understand the logic underlying the experimental hypotheses.

2)  What are the authors’ hypotheses (predictions)? (consult the section “Overview of this study”). Be clear and precise.

3)  Discus and describe the research design:

a. There were two main independent variables in this study (the variables directly mentioned in the hypothesis; also depicted in the results Figure). One was manipulated by the experimenters and one reflects naturally occurring groups(a pseudo-independent variable). What were the levels of these variables (what values and groups were studied)?

b. What was the dependent variable (conceptual definition) and how was it measured (operational definition)?

c. Briefly describe the experimental procedure (e.g., what information was given to the the research participants and what were they required to do?). How were the levels of the manipulated variable established by the experimental procedure? That is, how did the experimenters manipulate the independent variable so that participants were placed in different experimental experienced groups (they experienced different levels of the independent variable).

d. You should make it clear that you understand how the experimental design allowed the researchers to test their hypotheses.

4)  Consult Figure 1 and explain the major finding reported by the authors (this figure depicts the average values for the dependent variable for the different levels of the independent variables). Did the results support the predictions stated in the “Overview” (Point 2)? Also, how was cognitive functioning affected by the race of the fictitious job applicant/HR officer (not shown in the figure – discussed in the results section)?

5)  In the discussion, the authors suggested that the findings of their study have important implications for cognitive functioning in minority groups. Discuss the implications of this study from your point of view.