Assessment 2 Instructions: Applied Psychology in the Professions

Write a 3-5 page paper that discusses one aspect of applied psychology (applied behavioral analysis, counseling psychology, sports psychology, industrial and organizational [I/O] psychology, legal psychology, or human factors psychology).

Introduction

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Apply scholarly literature in the study of history and systems to topics in psychology.
  • Apply two scholarly sources on the history and systems of psychology.
• Competency 2: Analyze the major events, schools of thought, and cultural influences that have affected the development of psychology as a discipline and science.
  • Describe the historical development of an area of applied psychology.
  • Analyze the societal or cultural needs that led to the development of this area of psychology.
• Competency 3: Analyze how theory and knowledge from scholarly literature in the study of history and systems informs professional behavior and guides social thinking.
  • Analyze how the history of this area of psychology informs professional behaviors.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
  • Communicate in an organized, clear manner that demonstrates purpose, use of evidence, and correct sentence structure, with a scholarly tone.
  • Follow current APA guidelines for in-text citations and reference lists.
  • Create APA-style title page with running head.

Overview

This activity gives you the opportunity to take a deep dive into an area of applied psychology that interests you.

 

Scenario

Imagine you are applying for a researcher’s position in the psychological services department at a large health care organization. You are among three finalists for the job. The next step in the hiring process is to submit a brief white paper that discusses a specific area of applied psychology that interests you. A white paper is an authoritative report intended to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.

Assessment Preparation

Prepare a 3–5 page white paper discussing one aspect of applied psychology (applied behavioral analysis, counseling psychology, sports psychology, I/O psychology, legal psychology, or human factors psychology). To prepare for this paper, choose from the articles below or research your own. You may use these as sources for the assessment:

Applied Behavioral Analysis

• Furman, T. M., & Lepper, T. L. (2018). Applied behavior analysis: Definitional difficulties.The Psychological Record, 68(1), 103–105.
• Greer, B. D., & Kodak, T. (2018). Introduction to the special issue on applied behavior analysis.Learning and Motivation, 62, 1–3.
• Schmitt, N. (2017). Reflections on the Journal of Applied Psychology for 1989 to 1994: Changes in major research themes and practices over 25 years.The Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 564–568.

Counseling Psychology

• Lester, J. N., Wong, Y. J., O’Reilly, M., & Kiyimba, N. (2018). Discursive psychology: Implications for counseling psychology.The Counseling Psychologist, 46(5), 576–607.
• Oh, J., Stewart, A. E., & Phelps, R. E. (2017). Topics in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1963–2015.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(6), 604–615.

Human Factors Psychology

• Naikar, N. (2017). Cognitive work analysis: An influential legacy extending beyond human factors and engineering.Applied Ergonomics, 59, 528–540.
• Ghislieri, C., Molino, M., & Cortese C. G. (2018). Work and organizational psychology looks at the fourth industrial revolution: How to support workers and organizations?Frontiers in Psychology.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02365/full

 

Legal Psychology

• Grey, I., AlMazrouei, A., Thomas, J., & Randall, P. (2018). Forensic psychology and Islamic jurisprudence.Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 21(1), 20–34.
• Neal, T. M. S. (2018). Forensic psychology and correctional psychology: Distinct but related subfields of psychological science and practice.The American Psychologist, 73(5), 651–662.

Sports Psychology

• Cooke, A., & Ring, C. (2019). Psychophysiology of sport, exercise, and performance: Past, present, and future.Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 8(1), 1–6.
• Schinke, R. J., Blodgett, A. T., Ryba, T. V., Kao, S. F., & Middleton, T. R. F. (2019). Cultural sport psychology as a pathway to advances in identity and settlement research to practice.Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 42, 58–65.

Assessment Instructions

In your paper, do the following:

• Describe this area of applied psychology.
  • What does it focus on?
  • What does it do?
  • What are the key ideas, figures, or psychological theories?
• Analyze the societal or cultural needs that led to the development of this area of psychology.
• Analyze how the history of this area of psychology informs professional behaviors.

Additional Requirements

You do not need an index or abstract for this paper. Use the APA Paper Template [DOCX].

• Length:3–5 page paper.
• Written communication:Must be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Resources and citations:A minimum of two scholarly sources is required. A maximum of one nonscholarly but credible source may be used in addition to the two scholarly sources. Format according to current APA guidelines.
• Font and font size:Times New Roman, 12 point.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Apply scholarly literature in the study of history and systems to topics in psychology.
  • Apply two scholarly sources on the history and systems of psychology.
• Competency 2: Analyze the major events, schools of thought, and cultural influences that have affected the development of psychology as a discipline and science.
  • Describe the historical development of an area of applied psychology.
  • Analyze the societal or cultural needs that led to the development of this area of psychology.
• Competency 3: Analyze how theory and knowledge from scholarly literature in the study of history and systems informs professional behavior and guides social thinking.
  • Analyze how the history of this area of psychology informs professional behaviors.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
  • Communicate in an organized, clear manner that demonstrates purpose, use of evidence, and correct sentence structure, with a scholarly tone.
  • Follow current APA guidelines for in-text citations and reference lists.
  • Create APA-style title page with running head.