For this paper, you’ll examine social influence in a practical context. Specifically, you are to subject yourself to an influence professional (e.g., a used car salesman, or a 30-minute-infomercial pitchman). You’ll then analyze this person’s tactics using the “weapons of influence” that we’ve discussed in class.
Please write a three-page double-spaced paper in which you apply social psychological principles from the course to the experience you had. You are welcome to integrate evidence from the NOBA book or other sources if you’d like (although if you cite anything besides the lecture and the NOBA book, please include a “references” section).
The most important criterion is to make an explicit and effective link between the examples of social influence that you’re discussing and the psychological principles you’ve identified.
Grading criteria:
Accuracy (Is the psychological principle described correctly? Is the description of the real-life example free from factual errors? Does the paper show that the author understands the psychological principle being discussed?)
Completeness (Is the principle described in sufficient depth? Are obvious relevant applications of the principle to the real-life event discussed? Is there evidence for the assertions the author makes?)
Writing (Are there weaknesses in grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, and word choice? Is the paper well-organized? Is the writing clear?)
Originality (How creative is the paper? Are its ideas novel, or do they merely recap examples discussed in class or the textbook? Does the author involve any external resources, or otherwise contribute something unique? Is the paper interesting?)
Effectiveness (Is the psychological principle well-chosen, well-matched to the social influence example? Is the link between the two explicit and well-argued? Does the principle in fact reveal something about the real-life example; does it inform our understanding of it?)