Name
Capella University
Learning and Cognition
Prof. Name
December, 2024
Popular Versus Scholarly Sources Worksheet
Directions:
- Choose a video or website that discusses a cognitive psychology topic covered in your course text (e.g., memory, decision-making, or attention). Ensure the source is reputable and provides clear information.
- Write the full citation for the media source using the appropriate format (e.g., APA style).
- Use bullet points with full sentences or write a brief 5–8 sentence paragraph summarizing the most important points covered in the source. Clearly state the main ideas, findings, or examples the source offers about the subject.
- Locate three scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles that align with the topic of the media source. Provide their full citations in APA format.
- Briefly describe how each journal article relates to the cognitive psychology topic covered in the media source. Highlight key connections or contrasting viewpoints.
- Answer the following questions in detail:
- Which parts of the popular source are supported by evidence from the peer-reviewed articles?
- Are there discrepancies or conflicts between the popular source and the scholarly articles?
- Discuss the validity of the popular media source and provide reasons for your assessment.
- Analyze Further: Reflect on your learning:
- What questions arise about the topic based on your analysis?
- How can the topic be applied in real-world contexts? Provide examples to support your answer.
- Complete the Self-Evaluation: Review all responses for clarity, completeness, and adherence to APA style. Check grammar, citations, and evidence provided to ensure accuracy and academic quality.
Media Evaluation Directions Responses
Selected Topic:
The Impact of Nutrition on Cognitive Function
Full Reference for the Source
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2023). Nutrition and brain health: How your diet impacts cognitive function. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu
Summary of the Content:
The article focuses on the fact that a balanced diet free of processed foods supplying the brain with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins can help boost performance. As for specifics, it notes how foods, like leafy greens, fatty fish, and berries, can improve your brain function and slow decline. Studies are referred to, linking poor diet, high sugar diets, and performance consequences relating to memory and attention. Another issue raised by the article is the relationship between consuming healthy food and having a healthy mind, good nutrition greatly decreases one’s chances of suffering from ovarian disorders such as depression among others. Altogether, the finding insists on diet as one of the key determinants of mental performance at all stages of life.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:
Chen, X., Maguire, B., Brodaty, H., & O’Leary, F. (2019). Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 67(2), 583–619. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-180468
Lee, K. H., Cha, M., & Lee, B. H. (2020). Neuroprotective Effect of Antioxidants in the Brain. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(19), 7152. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21197152
Welty, F. K. (2023). Omega-3 fatty acids and cognitive function. Current Opinion in Lipidology, 34(1), 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOL.0000000000000862
Relevance of Articles
- Chen, X., Maguire, B., Brodaty, H., & O’Leary, F. (2019): The evidence for this relationship is presented in this systematic review in relation to specific dietary patterns, which include Mediterranean and DASH diets. It is directly in support of the media source that affirms that a healthy diet will keep cognitive loss at bay by providing a critique of a number of studies on nutrition and the brain.
- Lee, K. H., Cha, M., & Lee, B. H. (2020): The present article presents information about the protective function of antioxidants to neurons, focusing on the ways the antioxidants minimize the effect of oxidative stress on neurons and prevent neurodegenerative changes. This sits well with the media source which focused on the role of foods that have antioxidant compounds including ber and their ability to boost the brain and protect it from damage.
- Welty, F. K. (2023): In this paper the lack of information regarding the functionality of omega-3 fatty acids in the human brain, particularly memory and attentional processes will also be discussed. These results will support the stated media source about the importance of fatty fish and other omega-3-containing foods as far as concentration is concerned.
Comparison and Contrast:
- The media source offers general and easily digestible too on how nutrition affects cognition which coincides with the concepts analyzed in the scholarly articles. Both sources also stress the need for fatty acids such as omega-three and antioxidants for the improvement of the brain and reversal of such conditions. For example, the media source talks about the concept of berries and fatty fish but does not explain why these fuels are good for the brain, which biochemical processes they activate, and how they combat such things as oxidative stress other biochemical processes are discussed by Lee et al. (2020) and Welty (2023) that show the effects of these nutrients.
- Chen et al., (2019) take it further by including a potential specific diet such as the Mediterranean diet, ending with a holistic approach to how an increased nutrient-dense foods combination enhances cognitive consequences. This extends the credibility of general claims of a media source by pointing to structured dietary strategies.
- Yet, the media source does not uncover the same level of detail or provide a critical view as the scholarly articles. Although the media article of the same name presents the problem and draws attention to it, it does not consider population-dependent concerns or include experimental results, as does the work of Chen et al. (2019) or Welty (2023). For instance, Chen et al. review the differential impact of diet on the different categories of elderly people, which is missing in the media source.
- In total, the media source can provide an adequate background to the relationship between nutrition and brain functioning but the scholarly articles give more profound insight into the subject that one may need to call a subject complete.
Questions Raised:
- How do dietary needs for cognitive health differ across age groups?
- What specific mechanisms link nutrition to cognitive disorders?
Application to the Real World:
This research has importance in the field of medicine, teaching and learning, and the healthcare industry. Educators can increase an understanding of nutrition among learners as a way of improving learning. Cooking to a certain standard and recommended by health care providers can help patients especially the ones in need of a proper diet due to a likely onset of Alzheimer’s disease. This information can be utilized in developing public health promotion messages and responding to poor dieting which is associated with loss of cognitive functions.
Self-Evaluation
| Criterion | Level | Rationale |
| Clarity of Summary | Excellent | The summary does this in a neat and accurate manner which enables the media source’s key observations to transpire brightly. |
| Relevance of Articles | Good | The issue is expanded upon in the journal articles to give further elaboration on the given topic. |
| Comparison and Contrast | Excellent | The differences and the similarities are presented clearly and well expounded in the analysis. |
| Questions Raised | Good | Questions are directed to untouched flaws and potential developments for succeeding research. |
| Application to the Real World | Excellent | Real-life uses are described clearly and are highly applicable to numerous settings. |