This document provides instructions for a character analysis assignment. Students are asked to choose a character from a film, television show, book, or comic and analyze them based on criteria provided. They must provide a narrative of the character's problems, history including education, family, work, and behavioral issues. Students also need to discuss the character's diagnostic issues using textbook definitions and provide their own diagnostic impressions supported by examples from the source material. Basic treatment recommendations should also be included. The assignment aims to have students apply course concepts to a fictional scenario and is not intended as a real diagnosis. It is due by the specified date and must follow APA format and include all elements outlined in the instructions.

1. Analysis of the Experiment
Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Analysis of the Experiment
Description of the Experiment
The research involves how perception about other people is
linked with judgments about those others. The research question
was based on the notion that understanding other people results
in better understanding of why people believe what they do.
Increased understanding would lead to deeper insight into how
to reduce treatment disparities across social groups and
individuals. Basically, the research intended to establish the
impact of perception on the judgment of other people. It shows
how individual differences in people influence our
understanding of them.
How the Study is designed to answer the Question
The study is designed to collect information on people’s
perception towards images. The research utilized the survey
research design, where participants were required to view

2. images of faces and rate how explicitly or implicitly prejudice
each individual pictured was. Moring (2014) indicates that
survey research design is ideal when collecting information
involving people’s perception of a phenomenon. Similarly, the
research used survey research to determine participant’s
perceptions of images. There are other research designs that
could have been utilized such as field experiments, systematic
reviews or case studies, but he survey design was the most
effective in giving insight into the participants’ responses.
The participants were required to rate how prejudiced each
person was. The research was testing how the participants’
perceptions of other people determine how they rate them. In
the event that a participant would perceive a person on the
image as having explicit prejudice, the participant’s perception
of the person would have led to the judgment. The same case
applies on judgments involving people on the images that are
rated as not having explicit prejudice. The participant’s
perception of the individual would have led to the judgment.
Therefore, the main aim of the research is to evaluate the
participants’ perception of an individual and how it leads to
judgments about them. The survey research design effectively
captures the participants’ perceptions towards other people.
Therefore, it is an ideal research design as it gives insight into
the participants’ perceptions of the subjects.
The instruments of measurement used in the study enhanced the
internal validity of research. The research design was valid as
the findings represented the phenomenon that was being studies.
The main phenomenon under study is individual perception
towards others and how it influences how we perceive others.
The survey research design is intended to collect in-depth
information pertaining to a phenomenon. In this case, the survey
method collected data involving the participants’ perception of
other people and how it influenced their decision on whether the
people were prejudiced.
The research was externally valid based on the descriptive
explicitness of the independent variable. The independent

3. variable in the research is the different categories of people
while the dependent variable is the participants’ perceptions.
The images of faces were quite descriptive, which enabled the
participants to recognize the differences between the individuals
and how the differences influenced their perception of the
people.
The research hypothesis is whether participants would be able
to assess explicit prejudice just from images of target faces
alone. Explicit prejudice refers to a negative attitude against a
group of people that is consciously held, though not expressed
publicly. For the hypothesis to be confirmed, participants must
accurately decipher cues to make impressions about the faces on
the images.
References
Moring, B. (2014). Research methods in psychology: Evaluating
a world of information. WW Norton & Company.
PSYC 3315 – F19
Character Analysis Guide
This document will act as a supplement to the previous handout
provided on TRACS
· APA Format
· 12pt Font
· Times New Roman
· Double-spaced
· Include: running head / headers / page numbers
· Cover sheet
· Body of text
· References
· Online Resource:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa
_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

4. Tips on Choosing a Character:
· I recommend that student’s do not choose supernatural or
mythological characters, as it may complicate the assignment
with regards to family history, educational background, social
support and the applicability of a “diagnosis”.
· Print out initial assignment handout and use it like a checklist
while watching the character in its proper medium (movie, tv
show, comic, book, etc.)
· If you feel a concern about whether you have enough material
for the paper, I suggest choosing another character.
Movie Suggestions: (not limited to)
· One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
· Shutter Island
· Joker*
· As Good as it Gets
· Three Faces of Eve
· Aviator
· The Band of Brothers*
· The Pacific*
· Silver Linings Playbook
· Girl, Interrupted
· Rain Man
· Good Will Hunting
· We Need to Talk About Kevin*
· It’s a Wonderful Life
· Forest Gump
· Saving Private Ryan*
· Memento*
*Intense Viewing
PSYC 3315 Fall 2019
Character Analysis
Below are the requirements for the character analysis paper.
Be sure to address all the guide lines provided and to use APA
formatting. There is a three-page minimum for this paper (not
including cover sheet or reference page) – approximately 850-

5. 1000 words. If needed, you can exceed the wordcount, but only
do so if you feel it is necessary for the paper.
The paper must contain the following:
1. A narrative summarizing the problems of the character (or
his/her primary complaints).
2. A history of the character’s education, family, work, and
behavior problems, etc.
a. The character’s living arrangements, social contacts and state
of his/her relationship with family and close friends.
b. A discussion and history of the character’s diagnostic issues
using the definitions of disorders provided by your textbook.
Use it as a guide to outline your paper.
3. Any available assessment results or analysis presented in the
book/movie.
4. A description of your diagnostic impressions of the character
using the general definitions provided in the text and class
discussions.
a. What data in the movie/book supports your impressions?
b. Is there any information that contradicts your impressions?
5. Basic treatment recommendations – are there any
psychological interventions that you would suggest for this
character?
a. **added points if you use a research article outside of your
textbook**
Grades will be assigned on the inclusion of these elements,
thoroughness, accuracy, and appropriateness of “diagnosis”.
Poor writing will not be viewed favorably in grading.
The goal of this assignment is not to train you to diagnose, but
to allow you the opportunity to apply the information presented
in this course to a fictional situation/person/case/character. It is
not advised that you attempt to replicate this assignment on a
real person. To do so requires extensive training, of which you
do not have yet. I advise extreme caution in any attempts
diagnose without training.

6. Due 11/20/19 @ Midnight via email at [email protected]
Please name your document to look like the following:
“PSYC3315-section#-NAME” EXAMPLE: “PSYC3315-
Section004-JohnDoe”