Social & Developmental Psychology (Masters in Psychology Module)
its is a Social Psychology Essay ….need to read the article and then use attribution theory in psychology to discuss that real life case with support of relevant literature and research obviously.
Social & Developmental Psychology (Masters in Psychology Module)
Assignment details: This assignment involves the application of a social psychological topic, issue or debate to a ‘real life’ case based scenario. You need to write an essay on a ‘real life’ case based scenario provided below. It should be written in the form of an academic essay which is focused on Social Psychology.
Attribution Processes Case
These are two separate articles from BBC News (online). Parts are very similar (the second article has obviously lifted from the first) but they give an insight into this court case that arose and was then concluded.
McDonald’s targeted in obesity lawsuit BBC News, Friday, 22 November, 2002, 12:57 GMT Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2502431.stm
More than half of all adult Americans are overweight The US fast food industry and health campaigners are watching closely a lawsuit filed on behalf of several obese teenagers who claim the fast-food company McDonald’s is responsible for making them fat.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyer Samuel Hirsch in a Manhattan federal court, alleges that McDonald’s violated New York state’s consumer fraud statutes by deliberately misleading consumers into thinking their cheeseburgers and other products were healthy and nutritious.
It says the company did not adequately provide information on the health risks associated with fast food, and the children developed health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity from eating its products.
McDonald’s has asked the court to dismiss the case.
More suits feared
Mr Hirsch said the lawsuit raised “serious issues”.
“They have deliberately withheld information.” Mr Hirsch says that, if the case goes to trial, he will seek to turn it into a class action suit, meaning it can represent other children in the state who claim they have developed health problems stemming from McDonald’s food.
If successful, fast-food companies fear that it could trigger a rash of further suits and huge payouts to victims – potentially running into billions of dollars – similar to those that have severely damaged the tobacco industry.
The mother of one of the children, who at the age of 15 weighs more than 180 kilograms (400 pounds), said in papers filed before the court that “[I had] always believed McDonald’s was healthy for my son.”
Another teenager ate every meal at McDonald’s for three years while living in a homeless shelter, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Obesity epidemic
However McDonald’s has asked presiding Judge Robert Sweet to dismiss the suit, describing it as frivolous.
“People don’t go to sleep thin and wake up obese,” McDonald’s lawyer Brad Lerman said.
“The understanding and comprehension of what hamburgers and French fries do has been with us for a long, long time.”
The action follows an earlier suit filed in July by a group of overweight Americans who sued several US fast food giants accusing them of knowingly serving meals that cause obesity and disease.
The lawsuit – filed in New York State Supreme Court in the Bronx – said that McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken misled customers by enticing them with greasy, salty and sugary food.
A recent assessment of obesity in the US found that more than half of all adult Americans were overweight.
About 54 million adults were classified as obese – that is people who are about 15 kg or more over the healthy norm based on height – and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year are attributed to obesity-related diseases.
The situation is so serious that President George W Bush has urged Americans to follow a fitness regime to assuage the country’s spiralling health care costs.
Court dismisses McDonald’s obesity case
BBC News, Wednesday, 22 January, 2003, 21:22 GMT Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2685707.stm
More than half of all adult Americans are overweight A lawsuit by a group of American teenagers who claim the fast food chain McDonald’s is responsible for their obesity has been thrown out of court by a New York judge.
“It is not the place of the law to protect them against their own excesses,” Judge Robert Sweet said, adding the suit failed to “allege sufficiently” McDonald’s food is addictive.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyer Samuel Hirsch in a Manhattan federal court, alleges McDonald’s violated New York state’s consumer fraud statutes by deliberately misleading consumers into thinking their products were healthy and nutritious.
It says the company did not adequately provide information on the health risks associated with fast food, and the children developed health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity from eating its products.
Most of the teenagers lived on a daily diet of burgers and fries from the restaurant.
The fast food industry and health campaigners have followed closely the lawsuit – the first obesity-related case against a food company to reach a United States courtroom.
A McDonald’s spokesman said “common sense has prevailed”.
“McDonald’s has been providing nutrition information about our food for the past 30 years so that customers can make informed choices about what they decide to eat,” he added.
‘Obesity deaths’
A recent assessment of obesity in the US found that more than half of all adult Americans are overweight.
About 54 million adults were classified as obese – that is people who are about 15kg or more over the healthy norm, based on height – and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year are attributed to obesity-related diseases
The situation is so serious that President George W Bush has urged Americans to follow a fitness regime to assuage the country’s spiralling health care costs.
But the McDonald’s ruling puts to rest fast-food companies’ fears that the case could trigger a rash of further suits and huge payouts to victims – potentially running into billions of dollars – similar to those that have damaged the tobacco industry.
For Discussion:
Write an Essay and draw on Attribution Theories to explain why the court dismissed the McDonald’s obesity case.
Your essay should be constructed as follows:
Section 1 – Introduction
This is your initial introduction, so should comprise of just one paragraph.
Give an overview of how the essay is structured:
1) The topic you will address in social psychology
2) The case based scenario – what it is and why it is relevant.
Section 2 – Main Body
This is the main part of your essay and so will be the largest section in terms of word count.
– Summarise your chosen case and how it relates to a debate or topic in social psychology
– Discuss competing theories in the chosen area
– Discuss relevant research
– Demonstrate an understanding of social psychology and how it applies to a ‘real life’ case study.
– Make sure you evaluate the topic.
Section 3 – Conclusion
Here you should summarise your main arguments.
– Discuss the implications of your chosen case for knowledge in social psychology
– Consider the relevance of the topic, directions for future research and draw appropriate conclusions.
Four Top Tips
– Select your case carefully.
– Use appropriate evidence to support your arguments.
– Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the theories you discuss.
– Make sure the theories you discuss are applied to the case study.
Essay Requirement & Grading Criteria
Please provide the word count in the Title page
Clear legible presentation.
Good use of spelling, grammar and language throughout.
Appropriate focus, meeting learning outcomes/assignment criteria.
Logical progression and structure of arguments.
(Normally) an introduction, a well-developed discussion and a conclusion summarising the work.
The introduction will include an exploration of the focus of the assignment and discuss the way the assignment has been approached.
Evidence of a range of relevant supporting reading.
Use of accurate, evidence based information to support the arguments made.
Follow normal Academic Regulations in terms of Academic Offences, style and language.
Use the APA system of referencing.
Maintain the confidentiality of clients/customers and persons associated with them, colleagues and organisations
– Your work should provide an explicit and original answer to the question set.
– Your work should show excellent understanding.
– Theoretical claims should be supported by empirical evidence. Your work should show a high level of critical appraisal that is primarily argument driven.
– Your work should show evidence of exceptional background research based primarily on primary sources (i.e. the original research article).
– Your work should show coherence, clarity of ideas and logic. Style of presentation should be appropriate with only trivial weaknesses in presentation.
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