Cognition and Individual Differences

Cognition and Individual Differences

Assignment 1: Essay The task For this assignment, you will be writing an essay to evaluate a specific journal article in depth. Paper : Holmes, E. A., James, E. L., Coode-Bate, T., & Deeprose, C. (2009). Can playing the computer game “Tetris” reduce the build-up of flashbacks for trauma? A proposal from cognitive science. PLoS ONE, 4, e4153. Contents of the essay The essay should be 1,500 words (+/-10%). Within your essay, we would expect to see the following information: 1. A detailed summary of the study you are evaluating. 2. A balanced critique of the study, with particular emphasis on the methodology, analysis and interpretation of the findings. 3. A discussion of the contribution the study has made to psychology. This would include consideration of the way your chosen study fits within the wider research context. For example, have other studies supported or contradicted the study? Has the study influenced subsequent research in this area? Have subsequent studies improved on the original article? In addition, your essay must be referenced in APA style and include a complete references section at the end. The references section does not contribute to the final word count, although citations within the essay are included within the word limit. Hints and tips Being able to critically assess a specific article is the core skill being tested in this assignment. You will have evaluated studies over the course of your degree, but this essay requires an in depth critique of one particular paper. There are several points to consider when tackling this assignment: 1. Is the design adequate? When considering this question, you can think about the way in which the DV has been defined and measured – is this appropriate? Similarly, you can think about whether appropriate controls have been put in place, and whether effort was made to reduce confounding variables. 2. Is the analysis of the data adequate? 3. Is the interpretation of the findings sufficient? For example, are there alternative explanations that the authors did not (fully) consider? 4. Has the study made an important contribution to the field? Are the findings original and useful? Has the paper had an impact on subsequent research? How has the article been perceived by other researchers? To answer this question, you will need to review the literature that has been published in recent years. You are providing an evaluation of the study, so it is important that both strengths and weaknesses are considered. Part of the evaluation is about considering the impact the study has had, and how it fits into the broader research context. You should avoid criticising the style of the article (e.g. its length, the manner in which data were presented, the style of referencing, etc.) or introducing general criticisms that are unsupported. The best essays will provide detailed and specific criticisms that are backed up with evidence. You do not need to evaluate all aspects of the paper, but could choose to focus on a few issues that you feel are particularly important.