Developing Your Own Theory of Personality
Developing Your Own Theory of Personality
In this assignment, you are to develop your own theory of personality. You may draw upon other theories, but it should be an original one. The basic topics that need to be covered in your theory are listed below. Make sure that you support your theory with previous theories, logic, and/or psychological research. The paper should be at least seven pages double spaced; although, you will probably need to go beyond seven pages to explain all aspects of your theory. Papers will be graded based on the quality of the theory and arguments that support it. Make sure that you define and give examples of all key terms. Also, be sure to point out how your theory is different from other theories. The heart of the paper should be: why do people act the way that they do?
All theories need to cover the following topics:
1)Motivation
a.What is the person striving for (or trying to accomplish as a result of their behavior)
b.How did the person decide what they should strive for (or what caused the person to desire the goal that they are striving for)
2)Nature vs. Nurture
a.Biology’s role
b.Environments impact
c.How does the personality develop from birth on
3)Unconscious
a.Factors that we are not consciously aware of that influence our behaviors
4)What will cause a person to be happy
a.Have a sense of well-being
b.Absence of distress
5)Psychopathology
a.How does a person develop different psychological disorders
i.At the very least explain the development of
1.Depression
2.Schizophrenia
b.Why do other people not develop psychological disorders
c.How does a therapist work with a person to decrease the person’s
In this assignment, you are to develop your own theory of personality. You may draw upon other theories, but it should be an original one. The basic topics that need to be covered in your theory are listed below. Make sure that you support your theory with previous theories, logic, and/or psychological research. The paper should be at least seven pages double spaced; although, you will probably need to go beyond seven pages to explain all aspects of your theory. Papers will be graded based on the quality of the theory and arguments that support it. Make sure that you define and give examples of all key terms. Also, be sure to point out how your theory is different from other theories. The heart of the paper should be: why do people act the way that they do?
All theories need to cover the following topics:
1)Motivation
a.What is the person striving for (or trying to accomplish as a result of their behavior)
b.How did the person decide what they should strive for (or what caused the person to desire the goal that they are striving for)
2)Nature vs. Nurture
a.Biology’s role
b.Environments impact
c.How does the personality develop from birth on
3)Unconscious
a.Factors that we are not consciously aware of that influence our behaviors
4)What will cause a person to be happy
a.Have a sense of well-being
b.Absence of distress
5)Psychopathology
a.How does a person develop different psychological disorders
i.At the very least explain the development of
1.Depression
2.Schizophrenia
b.Why do other people not develop psychological disorders
c.How does a therapist work with a person to decrease the person’s