BEHV1024 Applied Psychology: Assignment 2: Press release based on an applied psychology research study

Individual/Team task: Individual

Word/time limit: maximum of 800 words, a minimum of 700 words

Weighting: 30%

Due date: 11.59pm AEST Monday 6 July 2026 (Week 8)

After you have read this information, go to the Assignment 1 Q&A discussion board to ask any questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment

Assignment overview

To pass this subject of study, you must achieve an aggregated grade of at least 50%. Although this assignment is not a mandatory submission, completing this assignment will give you the best chance of achieving this minimum requirement.

This assignment requires you to carry out a brief investigative study. It provides you with an opportunity to engage, observe, interact and communicate with participants in various settings. There are three topics/articles to choose from and you must choose one to complete the corresponding investigative study.

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

Use of generative artificial intelligence

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to brainstorm ideas, summarise reading material or to edit your submission is permitted. The content of your final submission must be your original work. Be aware that the output from generative AI tools may be incorrect, incomplete or biased. 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. More information is available on the Library web page Turnitin's AI writing detector (Library Study Smart, 2023).

Please visit Studying with Integrity (Library Study Smart, 2025) to find out more.

If your studies have been adversely affected by circumstances beyond your control, you may request an extension using the following options. Note: A request for a short extension must be made within two working days and a request for special consideration must be made within five working days. Supporting documentation for applications of less than three days is optional but may be requested later.

Assignment details

Work your way through the following steps to meet the requirements of this assignment:

Step 1: Review the following examples of press releases so that you can gain an idea of the kind of information that is relayed through these means:

Weight loss may be early predictor of Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/978320) (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023).

Mocktails or cocktails? Having a sense of purpose in life can keep binge drinking at bay (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/978319) (University of Pennsylvania, 2023).

It isn’t what you know, it’s what you think you know (https://www.eurekalert.org/news/releases/976864) (PLOS, 2023).

Good things happen when leaders reflect on their mistakes (https://www.eurekalert.org/news releases/977764) (Ohio State University, 2023).

Young chimpanzees and human teens share risk-taking behaviors (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/976885) (American Psychological Association, 2023).

Step 2: Select a peer-reviewed research paper on a psychology-related topic from the following list:

Positive parenting moderates associations between childhood stress and corticolimbic structure https://go.openathens.net/redirector/westernsydney.edu.au (Kahhalé et al., 2023).

Self-compassion moderates the perfectionism and depression link in both adolescence and adulthood https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0192022 (Ferrari et al., 2018)

#bodypositivity: A content analysis of body positive accounts on Instagram https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144518304595 (Cohen et al., 2019).

Changes in car drivers’ attitudes and behaviours, and cyclist numbers following the introduction of a cyclist minimum passing distance law https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457521001391 (Fruhen et al., 2021)

Investigating the impact of disposable surgical face-masks on face identity and emotion recognition in adults with autism spectrum disorder https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2922 (Ventura et al., 2023).

Hippocampal-dependent appetitive control is impaired by experimental exposure to a Western-style diet https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.191338 s(Stevenson et al., 2020)

Step 3: Write a press release on this piece of research. Remember to write for a lay, non-expert audience and to structure your introduction in such a way that you grab the reader's attention immediately (The first ten words are very important). You should focus your press release on something new and unique or a new twist on old news.

You should be clear and concise and avoid excessive adjectives and fancy language while focusing on the facts as a press release is 'hard news'.

You can use the following structure for your press release:

Heading: The headline must highlight the message of the research in a way that would attract attention or interest readers.

Body: The press release must contain newsworthy details of the research that are very clearly described and understandable to a non-expert. The description must include relevant details of who, what, where, when, why and how the research was conducted.

Summary: Provide a clear and succinct conclusion to the press release in a way that is understandable to a non-expert/lay audience.

Reference: Reference your source in APA 7th edition style at the bottom of your press release.

Step 5: Proofread and submit.

Assignment tip

View the marking guide under 'Assignment criteria' to see a detailed breakdown of how your work will be assessed. This is an excellent place to start your preparations for this assignment. Refer back to the marking guide frequently to make sure you are meeting the requirements

Submission details overview

This assignment will be submitted through Canvas. When you are ready to submit your assignment, select the 'Start Assignment' button at the top of this page. You will be taken to the 'File Upload' tab where you can choose your file or submit your URL.

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