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). This should be a dynamic interaction (i.e., you can talk to them and they can talk to you; don’t just watch something on YouTube). You’ll then analyze this person’s tactics using the “weapons of influence”
Please write a 3600-5000 character (750-1250 words or more) (about 2-3 double-spaced pages) paper in which you apply social psychological principles (notably, the “weapons of influence,” but others are welcome) 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 (Are the psychological principles described correctly? Is the description of the real-life example free from factual errors? Does the paper show that the author understands the psychological principles being discussed?)
Completeness (Are the principles described in sufficient depth? Are obvious relevant applications of the principles 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 (Are the psychological principles well-chosen, well-matched to the social influence example? Is the link between them explicit and well-argued? Do the principles in fact reveal something about the real-life example; do they inform our understanding of it?)
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