PSY 629
Thought Paper 1
Please provide a thoughtful answer to both of the following questions. You may use content from your
readings and lectures in your answer. Make sure you use appropriate citations for your sources. The
paper should make it clear that you understood the reading material, so be sure to spend an ample
amount of time on the paper to ensure that your ideas are clear and well written.
Questions
1. Please elaborate on how the relation between ordinary language and science require special
consideration in the behavioral sciences?
Your answer should include thoughtful comments related to:
• the problems associated with using ordinary language in the scientific analysis of behavior
including examples mentioned in the lecture and the reading
• the four fallacies with examples, and
• the proposed solutions in relation these problems.
2. Please describe how research methods in mainstream experimental psychology differs from
that of radical behaviorism. How does this relate to the statistical versus biological/behavioral
view of variation?
Your answer should include thoughtful comments related to:
• the hypothetico-deductive tradition
• the inductive method
• the evolution of the philosophy of science
• the practice of science
• statistical versus biological/behavioral view of variation and the origin of the concept of
“average”
Content Guidelines
• Your responses must be thoughtful and complete in relation to the requested components of the
answer.
• Your responses should reflect understanding of the reading materials and lecture, should include
a critical analysis of the reading and the lecture and the use of examples when appropriate.
Technical Requirements
• Maximum of 5 pages of content
• Double Spaced
• Times New Roman 12pt. font (including on headers and footers)
• APA formatted
• Include a title page and reference page (not part of the 5-page limit)
• Note: You do NOT need an abstract for this assignment
• Do NOT provide your answers in bulleted form. You must write your paper in essay form. You
may include a header for each question and answer them separately.
Stylistic Requirements
• Your paper should be free of grammatical and spelling errors.
• Your responses should be well organized and flow logically, and you should use effective
transitions across your paragraphs.
• Note that in addition to the content of your responses, you are being evaluated on your writing
style and your ability to effectively communicate your thoughts in written form.
PSY 629
Thought Paper 1
Rubric
Score
Content
(10 pts)
Technical Requirements
(5 pts)
Stylistic Requirements
(5 pts)
18-20
The paper included
thoughtful and complete
responses in relation to the
requested components of
the answer.
(8-10 out of 10)
Paper followed ALL
technical requirements with
less than 2 errors.
(5 out of 5)
Writing is organized, flows
well, and there are less than
2 grammatical or spelling
errors.
(5 out of 5)
11-18
The paper included partially
thoughtful and somewhat
complete responses in
relation to the requested
components of the answer.
(5-7 out of 10)
Paper followed ALL
technical requirements with
less than 5 errors.
(3-4 out of 5)
Writing is not organized,
does not flow well, and/or
there are less than 5
grammatical or spelling
errors
(3-4 out of 5)
0-10
The paper included
responses that were not
thoughtful and were
incomplete in relation to the
requested components of
the answer.
(0-4 out of 10)
Paper included more than 5
errors related to technical
requirements.
(0-2 out of 5)
Writing is not organized,
does not flow well, and/or
there are more than 5
grammatical or spelling
errors
(0-2 out of 5)