PSY 302

The following 6 slides are an example (my writing) of how the introduction can be structured. If I were to use this as an actual introduction, it would be 2 paragraphs; I have broken it into 6 slides so that it is easier to see the separate pieces. Each of the slides has a note explaining its connection to the introduction.

Paragraph 1 This slide shows the general introduction of the primary concept (selfperception), and a secondary topic (generational differences) to begin the paper.

The so-called Millennial Generation, those born between 1982 and 2000, have often been characterized as narcissistic, self-serving, and because of social media sites such as Facebook, selfaggrandizing. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that this line of thinking is both fact and fiction. Indeed, some suggest that it is not generational, but rather developmental, meaning that the current age of the average millennial is somewhere in the 20s, which is a period when individuals often display inflated self-perceptions.

Paragraph 1 This slide shows the beginning of the literature review. The underlined portion is the transition from the previous idea/paragraph.

Trzesniewski et al. (2008) specifically asked this question, testing the hypothesis of whether there are crossgenerational differences in levels of narcissism among US college students. Their findings support the notion that the Millennials are no more or less narcissistic than previous generations of college students.

Paragraph 1 This slide shows the continuation of the literature review. The underlined portion is the transition from the previous idea/study.

Alicke et al. (2010) make the case that self-perception is not associated with a broad-based generational characteristic, but rather how the individual evaluates him or herself in reference to their local group standing.

Paragraph 2 This slide shows the continuation of the literature review. The underlined portion is the transition from the previous paragraph.

Conversely, Duguid and Goncalo (2012) studied selfperception in relation to the individual's social position (i.e. not necessarily generation-based), finding that those in positions of power have a tendency to see themselves as taller than they actually are.

Paragraph 2 This slide shows the continuation of the literature review. You will note that there is no explicit transition. The fact that there is another study mentioned is enough to suggest a new idea.

In a multi-national study, Loughnan, et al. (2011) explored the concept of self-enhancement in relation to socio-economics. They concluded that individuals in societies with greater economically unequal contexts demonstrated an increased tendency to see the self as better than others.

Paragraph 1 This slide is the transition from the introduction and literature review to the main body of the paper. The first sentence ties back to the literature that was just discussed. Then we briefly introduce the idea of our study. This will lead us to the Methodology section.

In three of these four studies, college students were the population that was studied. Our study explores the concept of self-perception among college students, yet in a different context. Using a survey instrument, we asked college students (i.e. 18-22) in Turkey to assess their own beliefs about themselves.