BEHV3002: Abnormal Psychology

Assignment 2: Reflection

Team/Individual task: Team and individual

Word/time limit: 1500 words (3 x 500-word reflection tasks) (+/- 10%)

Weighting: 30%

After you have read this information, go to the Assignment 2 Q&A discussion board to ask any questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment.

Assignment overview

This assignment is a mandatory submission, which means that in order to pass this subject of study, you must submit this assignment.

This assignment requires you to reflect on a total of three given specific reflection topic questions, which are related to the relevant learning materials. In a small team—which will be arranged by your OLA—you will discuss your ideas and give/receive feedback from each other based on your individual reflections.

You will then prepare an individual integrated reflection paper of 1500 words, which combines the reflection topic questions you have discussed within your team. 

Note: You will be marked individually on your assignment. 

This assignment has significant value in growing your understanding of current topics in Abnormal Psychology.

This assignment supports Subject Learning Outcomes 1, 3, 4 and 5.

Use of generative artificial intelligence

In this assessment task, you will not be able to meet the learning outcomes related to a satisfactory demonstration of understanding of the learning materials by using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Working with another person or technology in order to gain an unfair advantage in assessment or improperly obtaining answers from a third party, including generative AI, to questions in an examination or other form of assessment may lead to sanctions under the Student Misconduct Rule (Western Sydney University, 2023). Use of generative AI tools may be detected. More information is available on the Library web page Turnitin's AI writing detector (Library Study Smart, 2023). 

If your studies have been adversely affected by circumstances beyond your control, you may request an extension using the following options.

Note: A request must be made within 48 hours of the assignment due date.

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Assignment details

Read through the following information to understand and meet the requirements of this assignment.

Work your way through the steps within Stages 1 and 2 to complete this assignment.

Stage 1: Reflection activity – Researching and collaborating with your peers and OLA

Teams and teamwork

In Module 2, you will be allocated into teams of five to ten. 

Once you have been assigned a team, you will be able to communicate using your private team discussion board Team discussion board for Assignment 2 for this assignment. Your OLA will not be commenting on these boards, although they will be making note of your contribution to these reflection activities.

It is important that the summary you post to this discussion board is your own original work and research. While the articles that you select for the reflection topics might overlap with those of your peers, you are expected to appropriately paraphrase and reference your work in order to create an original submission that demonstrates your understanding of the article's content. You may wish to refer to this resource on Paraphrasing (Western Sydney U Lib, 2017) and review the Academic integrity checklist (Western Sydney U Lib, 2019) for guidance on these expectations. 

For each of the following modules, you must reflect on and carry out your own independent research for each question before collaborating with your team members. Ensure that you post your response by the end of the topic week.

Reflection topic questions – Linking back to the learning materials

Reflection 1

Module 5: Psychosis. Thinking about the content provided on psychosis in Module 5, how might someone from an indigenous background experience a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the context of their beliefs? Thinking about the symptoms of schizophrenia listed, what symptoms may be misunderstood? Brainstorm some ideas on how service delivery may be improved. (See 5.6 Activity: Assignment 2 Reflection question 1).

Reflection 2

Module 8: Neurodevelopmental disorders. Thinking about the content provided on neurodevelopmental disorders in Module 8, what is the role of different health and allied health practitioners in working with someone living with ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder? How would this differ depending on the age of the person? Brainstorm some ideas about how different teams may work together. (See 8.6 Activity: Assignment 2 Reflection question 2).

Reflection 3

Module 9: Eating disorders. Thinking about the content provided on eating disorders in Module 9, how may people living with an eating disorder be impacted by social media? Brainstorm some ideas about how to improve or reduce the impact of social media for people living with an eating disorder. (See 9.7 Activity: Assignment 2 Reflection question 3).

Step 1: Search the WSU Library to independently research the relevant module's reflection question, then research at least one article of your choice that relates to the reflection topic.

Step 2: Write a short summary of the main points of this article/s and your analysis opinion. Be sure to include correct referencing for any sources you have used to help support your claims, including your main article. 

Tip: To help you structure your reflection activities, use Long-term effects of concussion in sport (Microsoft, 2021) as an example. 

Step 3: Post your contribution to your team's private discussion board by going to your Team Discussion Board by the end of the topic week. Include a summary of the main points of your chosen article/s, your analysis opinion, and your reference list.

Step 4: Reply to at least two posts by your team members and comment on the strengths and weaknesses of their analysis.

Tip: Take note of the feedback you receive from your team members, as it will help you to prepare Stage 2: Writing your final integrated reflection paper.

Stage 2: Writing your final integrated reflection paper

Your final integrated reflection paper should provide a clear argument and build on your original ideas put forward in each of your team reflection activity discussion boards by incorporating new literature and possibly some other ideas discussed by your team members within your team. While your final submission may draw upon the content of your discussion board contributions, you are expected to expand upon your previous work. Ensure that you sufficiently paraphrase content from your sources, and include new ideas to demonstrate how you have developed your understanding of the topics. To avoid any issues with academic misconduct, read through the Paraphrasing (Western Sydney U Lib, 2017) resource and consider using the Originality report submission point to identify any areas of concern in your submission that may require further paraphrasing and refining.

The structure of a piece of reflective writing varies greatly, but for this assignment, treat it similar to a short essay that follows the classic essay format of introduction, body and conclusion. However, be careful not to be repetitive. The introduction can more or less rephrase the question. The conclusion does not need to repeat your points but instead conclude on a general point(s) resulting from the analysis and the body of your paper. Refrain from using the first person and link your research to your own experience and opinions implicitly as the writer of the text, rather than explicitly. For example, don't preface statements with 'I thought that', 'In my experience', or 'On reflection of the research'; instead, make your statements direct.

In structuring your reflection paper, as a possible guide you could refer to an abstract of a review article for an unrelated topic to give you an idea. For example, take a look at Psychedelic drugs: neurobiology and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders (Vollenweider & Preller, 2020). Your paper will need to be longer and more specific about the research referenced (i.e. it must expand on the research findings and not just state the result), and will include citations in APA 7th edition referencing style.