Suggested Topics for Research Paper:

1. Media Violence: Is there any effect of Television or Movie violence on children's development? Is there any evidence that violence in the media effects children's, adolescent, or adult behavior? What is the effect of violence in video games on children, adolescents, adults, if any? Are there differences in the effects of the type and form of media violence, for example does television violence have a greater effect on behavior then movie violence or violence seen on video games? How do different theories explain the effects of media violence on behavior at different ages?

2. Impact of technology and social media on people. How has social media like Facebook affected social interaction? (Hint, look up Sherry Turkle or Nicholas Carr) What is the effect of social media on relationships, self-esteem? How has technology affected concentration and attention, and learning? What is the impact of Facebook or U Tube on bullying; does the anonymity of the internet make bullying easier? How has the internet effected dating? How seniors have adjusted to technology and the internet?

3. Bullying. Bullying has become an increasing problem but there has been debate about what constitutes bullying, so what is bullying? What are the differences between bullying and normal conflict between people? Is teasing a form of bullying? Does bullying only happen in childhood and adolescence? Is harassment (for example sexual, or inappropriate comments, or threats) in the workplace a form of bullying? What may constitute bullying in old age? Does bullying affect the development of children and adolescence and if it does what is the outcome?

4. Compare and Contrast Milgram's Study on Obedience and Zimbardo's study on Prisons: Read the original articles by Milgram and Zimbardo. Briefly, how were the studies conducted? Why were the studies conducted? Where the studies conducted for the same reasons? What were the main hypotheses of these studies? What were the study's conclusions? Is the capacity for obedience innate, part of human nature, are we taught to obey orders, and inflict pain on others? Are people born evil or are they created by their life's circumstances? Do you think there are times when it is important or necessary to obey without question or hesitation? If you think there are, which situations or when? How far do you predict that you would go to follow an order even if it meant inflicting pain or acting sadistically or passively? Can you really know how you would have behaved in these situations, as a teacher, prison guard, prisoner, or warden in the situations studied in these experiments? Do you think that these experiments would be considered unethical today and why? Last, are these studies helpful in understanding human behavior?

5. Bystander effect: What is the bystander effect? Who is Kitty Genovese? How is she related to the bystander effect? Describe the research on the Bystander effect. Why were these studies done? What were the hypotheses of these studies? What were the results of these studies? What is the conclusion of the research? How could these studies be related to such concepts as altruism? How can the bystander effect be related to the concept of altruism? On the other hand, are they related? What would you do if you witnessed a crime, accident, someone who is ill or fell on the street? Do you agree with the results of these studies?

6. Other Topics to consider:

A. Prejudice: Is prejudice innate or is it learned? How is prejudice defined in the psychological literature? What has research demonstrated about research? How was prejudice investigated by researchers? What were their hypotheses and what were their conclusions? Does the research differentiate prejudice and racism? Is racism and prejudice similar?

B. Sleep: What does research in the neurosciences report about the importance of sleep and its effect on behavior? How doe neuroscientists and psychologists do research into sleep? What does research show about sleep and children and adolescence? Would you want a doctor to operate or ride on a bus or train if the doctor or the drivers were sleep deprived? Why did you reach this conclusion? Support your conclusion with evidence from research.

C. Emotional Intelligence: How is emotional intelligence defined in the psychological literature? Have there been many studies regarding emotional intelligence? What were the hypotheses of these studies? How was emotional intelligence studied? What were the methods used? What were the conclusions? Is emotional intelligence the same as cognitive intelligence as measured by IQ tests? Do you need cognitive intelligence to have emotional intelligence? Support your answer with research.

D. Relationships: Are men from Mars and Women from Venus as the book described? Are men and women so different? What does the psychological research say about these differences? What were the hypotheses? How were the studies conducted? What were the conclusions? Is this comparison of men and women justified? Support your answer with research.