Reflection Writing: Facial Expressions. Psychology Essay

PSYC 335: Physiological Psychology
Reflection Writing Instructions
In the reflection writing, you will briefly describe how something you learned in this class
increased your understanding of everyday events related to physiological psychology. For
example, this class may have helped you better understand a scenario from a TV program, movie
or book; something that happened to you, a friend, or a family member; an event that occurred at
your job; or the health implications of a new law, environmental event, or political event.
The format of the relevance writing is:
! Date of relevance (date something became relevant to you this semester)
! Event that became relevant: Describe the event (personal, environmental, political, TV
show). The event did not have to happen during this semester but the relevance of the
event should be a result of something you learned in class this semester.
! A written description (350 word minimum, 500 maximum) of how something you
learned in class helped you understand the event. Explain how your new knowledge
changed the outcome of your understanding of this event. Provide brief background of
mechanisms of physiological psychology to explain what is necessary to make your
point, and be sure to cite the chapter(s) from which this information was obtained. You
should be able to explain these mechanisms from information learned in class;
outside research on the topic should not be done for this assignment.
! Writings must be typed in font size 12 or larger, proofread for grammar and spelling, and
stapled if more than one page long. Points will be deducted if these requirements are not
met.
! Writings must be submitted through Blackboard (see link under Assignments)
before the due date (see the syllabus). Late submissions may be submitted through the
"late submission" link on Blackboard but will be penalized as described in the syllabus.
The grading rubric for the relevance writing is posted on Blackboard.
An example (please do not use this for your writing): In class on February 27 we discussed
ataxia, a loss of coordination. This helped you understand why when you drink too many
alcoholic beverages it is difficult to walk in a straight line. {You would then continue on to write
about the physiological cause of ataxia, what brain areas are involved and how their function is
altered by alcohol, etc., in the level of detail discussed in class, making sure to refer to Chapter 5
as the source of this information}.