The purpose of this assignment is (1) to increase awareness of the extent to which psychology is present in the popular press, and (2) to start looking more closely at the scientific basis of articles on psychology in the popular press, and the way it is reported.
Find two newspaper or magazine articles reporting on a psychological topic published within the last six months. The articles should report on scientific research, and come from popular press publications, meaning newspapers or magazines that can be found on most well-stocked newsstands (or online). Do not get any original research articles directly from a scientific psychological journal.
The articles you locate should deal with some aspect of human thoughts, feelings, or behavior. Any specific topic is acceptable, as long as the focus is clearly on thoughts, feelings, or behavior. For example, an article on the biochemistry of the HIV virus would not be appropriate, whereas an article on the impact of AIDS education on safe-sex behavior of young adults would fit the bill.
As you will notice, articles about psychological research published in the popular press vary widely in the level of detail they provide about the scientific method employed. If you find more than two interesting articles, pick the two that provide the most details about the research methods used.
