Psychology Critical Review and Reflective Writing Assignment: Generative AI Chatbots for Mental Health
Psychology Critical Review and Reflective Writing: Generative AI Chatbots for Mental Health (Siddals, Torous and Coxon, 2024)
| Subject | Psychology (university level, Ireland) |
| Article for Review | Siddals, S., Torous, J. and Coxon, A. (2024), a qualitative study of people’s experiences of using generative AI chatbots for mental health support (9 pages) |
| Assessment | Part 1: Critical review paper (1,500 words); Part 2: Reflective writing (1,000 words) |
| Referencing | APA 7th edition |
This psychology assignment asks students at an Irish university to critically review a nine-page journal article by Siddals, Torous and Coxon (2024) on people’s experiences of using generative AI chatbots for their mental health, and then to write a separate reflective piece. The critical review is marked mainly on interpretation and analysis (40 marks) and on how well you judge the results (20 marks), so summary alone will not score well.
Part 1: Critical Review (1,500 words)
Write a critical review of the assigned article. The review is marked against the following criteria:
| Criterion | What to cover | Marks |
| Introduction | Identify the purpose of the article (aims/objectives); identify the variables and evaluate the hypothesis (if any); outline the main points. | 10 |
| Methods | Identify the methodological approach and design; describe the participants, sampling methodology and data collection techniques; evaluate the validity of the research (the extent to which the instrument or method measured what it intended to measure); identify any shortcomings in the methods. | 10 |
| Results | Critically evaluate the presentation of the data; identify whether all the data described in the method is presented in the results (or is conspicuous in its absence); evaluate whether the data is likely to be reliable, i.e. whether the instruments or methods would produce consistent results. | 20 |
| Interpretation and Analysis | Interpret and analyse what you understand about the results; identify the most important, interesting or useful aspect of the results; evaluate the strength of the authors’ argument and how well the data supports the conclusions; identify the strong points of the article; consider how the findings can be explained and how they compare with existing information in the area. | 40 |
| Conclusion | What you learned from the results and how they add to or extend existing knowledge; whether this is high-quality research and a valuable article, and why; how the findings could be applied in potential future research. | 10 |
| Academic Writing | Consistent and accurate APA referencing; correct spelling and grammar; formal academic style. | 10 |
Part 2: Reflective Writing (1,000 words)
Write a reflective piece connected to the article and your own learning. The reflective writing rubric (five criteria worth 40, 20, 20, 10 and 10 marks) was only partly visible in the copy supplied, so check the full criteria and learning outcomes in your module handbook before you start.
Expert Guidance for Your Psychology Critical Review
A critical review is not a summary. In this brief, 60 of the 100 marks sit in the results and interpretation sections, so you need to judge how Siddals, Torous and Coxon recruited participants, whether a small qualitative sample and thematic analysis can support their claims about generative AI chatbots, what is missing from the reported data, and how the findings sit beside existing research on digital mental health tools and therapeutic alliance. The reflective part then needs your own voice, linked back to what the article changed in your thinking. Our psychology assignment help in Ireland can guide you on critique structure and APA 7 referencing, and our critical review writing support helps with academic style. For another critique task, see the research critique brief using the Ellis framework.
