Social Psychology of Mental Illness Project

Due in discussion section, Week 10 (June 5-7)

1. You should have already picked a mental disorder to read about on the web (if not, go to course website to do this: http://www.uoregon.edu/~sdhodges/202/psychopath.htm).

2. Describe the mental disorder you read about. Be SURE to give credit to the website (including the actual web address) that you used and/or to your textbook. Limit your description to critical, definitional elements of the disorder and elements that are relevant to the next part of the assignment (described in the next step below).

3. Pick three of the following social cognition phenomena listed below and write about how you think they could contribute to the symptoms, the course, or the outcome of having the disorder. Be specific how you think the social psychological phenomena affects having the particular disorder you picked. It should be clear from your paper that you understand the phenomena you are writing about. Your reader should be able to extract a clear definition of the concepts you discuss from the paper (in other words, write the paper for a literate, average-intelligence person who may not be familiar with the social psychological concepts or the disorder you picked).

Outgroup homogeneity

Ingroup bias

Labeling

Self-serving bias

Correspondence bias

Hindsight bias

Illusory correlation

Halo effect

Influence of first impressions

4. Give a concrete, practical suggestion (or suggestions) for improving the way people with the disorder are treated, based on the role that the social psychological phenomena you described play in the mental disorder.

5. Have someone proofread your paper and complete the attached form.

Papers should typed, double-spaced, with 12-point font and one inch margins all around. I anticipate that they will be between 3 and 5 pages long. Creativity and insight will be rewarded, assuming they are accompanied by accuracy and coherence.

____________________________________________read this paper on_________________

(Print name of proof-reader)                                  (date)






S/he made the following suggestions, which I have either incorporated, or decided not to
incorporate for reasons I describe below:
























































































I affirm that a proof reader read this paper and provided comments, and that I considered those
comments carefully and utilized those that I thought would improve the paper. Despite the fact
that a proof-reader provided suggestions, I affirm that this paper is my own work. 




                                                                                                                                      

Signature of paper writer                                                                Date