Elaborating Expectations for the Cumulative, Comprehensive Final Exam

1. Target Article Integration: complete twice, once for each of two articles I will select from the three that are listed below (20 points x 2)
   1. Summary. Briefly summarize the article: what is the main research question, what is the basic method, what did the researchers find, and what can we learn from it. What type of research (translational, phenomenological, or novel, see Gosling & Mason, 2015) do you think it is and why? Your goal here is to show you can read and summarize an article. (8 points)
   2. Integration. Explain specifically how this research relates to at least one of our course themes. How does this article extend, qualify, support, and/or refute the research we read in this course? Feel free to integrate the articles in creative ways, including drawing together topics that seem unrelated at first but you see how they might lead to new hypotheses. In your answer, be sure to discuss at least one specific paper we have read that you have not used in another section of your exam (you may include others that are used elsewhere). Your goal here is to show you can connect new research to research you already know in a meaningful way. (7 points)
   3. Application. Describe an event or experience you have had or witnessed on social media (drawing from examples in Hermida’s book or from your own life are both welcomed strategies). Use ideas from the target article (and perhaps the theme more broadly) to explore that event. Your goal here is to show that you can use what you have learned here to interpret/explain/question social media events in new ways. (5 points)
2. Model of Self (Refined) (20 points)
   1. Draw the Model. Pick 5 self-relevant variables we have explored throughout the term (e.g., social comparison, attachment style, self-esteem, extraversion, “Liking” behaviour, trolling). Arrange them in a model that summarizes how you see them fitting together. Use circles to capture each concept, and arrows to indicate the direction of influence from one variable to another. Briefly summarize each variable in a bullet point or a single sentence each. Your goal here is to show that you understand five of our course concepts and can imagine a way they can fit together (5 points)
   2. Explain the Model. In an accompanying narrative, explain why you drew those connections, particularly the direction of your arrows. Expand your discussion of two of those connections. In your expanded discussion, be sure to explain how at least two relevant research articles from our course back up your arrangement. Your goal here is to show that you can integrate concepts across the course, and can use research to back up claims. (10 points)
   3. Apply the Model. Think about your own social media engagement through the lens of your model (or part of it). How does (part of) your model help you explain/understand/question your social media engagement (however limited) before and after this course? In what way(s) might the experiences in this course have implications for your future life (e.g., your own behaviour, experience of self, or advice you give to others)? Your goal here is to show that at least part of your model resonates with at least one person’s lived experience. (5 points)
3. Evaluating your own and a random peers’ final exam (10 points)
   1. Honesty and objectivity. Numerical scores awarded represent an honest assessment of one’s own and others’ work as it appears on paper in this moment. (2 points)
   2. Specificity and helpfulness of comments. For Parts 1 and 2, two critical comments are provided (four comments total). These comments capture both the strengths of the responses, as well as ways the responses could be improved. (4 comments x 2 points = 8 points)

Target Articles for Question 1

On the exam, you will be asked to complete Question 1 for two of these three articles. You will find out at the exam which two will be on.

1. Black, E. W., Mezzina, K., & Thompson, L. A. (2016). Anonymous social media: Understanding the content and context of Yik Yak. Computers in Human Behavior, 57, 17-22. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.043
2. Kolmes, K., & Taube, D. O. (2016). Client discovery of psychotherapist personal information online. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 47, 147-154. doi: 10.1037/pro0000065
3. Verduyn, P., Lee, D. S., Park, J., Shablack, H., Orvell, A., Bayer, J., Ybarra, O., Jonides, J, & Kross, E. (2015). Passive Facebook usage undermines affective well-being: Experimental and longitudinal evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144, 480-488. doi: 10.1037/xge0000057

Tips

• To refresh your memory of different draw from Piazza summaries and your notes from class discussion. We’ve been doing these kinds of activities together throughout this course with a wide variety of readings. Especially remember to consult notes from our in-class activity on the last day of class (Week 13 Thursday) which included scaffolding activities and examples for Question 2.
• Don’t get too hung up on the methods and technicalities of the results for the Target Articles for Question 1. Ideas are key here, not minutia. Focus your efforts on answering the questions (which may not require you to read every single word).
• You won’t be able to bring notes in to the exam. I suggest you prepare outlines of your responses for each question, and then practice writing complete answers while timing yourself. Then go back to your notes to evaluate your work and fill in gaps/things you missed or didn’t remember. The more times you can repeat this process, the more prepared you’ll be (see http://www.retrievalpractice.org/summary/ for a website that promotes this strongly-evidence-based effect).
• After 1h50 (so at 8:50pm) I’ll ask you to stop writing on your own test. At 9pm we will begin the peer- and self-review portion. I’ll give you a new pen and a grading rubric that mirrors the expectations above. You’ll have until 10pm to complete it.