Psychology 2220:  Abnormal Psychology

 

                                                                Term Paper:

                                                                Due:  April 28th, 2022

 

 

High level objective for this project:

                Demonstrate to me (and yourself) that you can think about and communicate ideas related to the study of abnormal psychology in a clear and effective manner.  You should also view this assignment as a way to begin to learn (or reinforce your previous learned) APA style of article composition.

 

 

Here are some ways you can do this:

 

 

Option A:

                If you happen to know someone who displays some form of disorder and can write about it without violating that person's privacy then an option would be to discuss the individual's symptoms, their possible causes, and suggest some treatment options.  Please support your diagnosis and treatment suggestions with citations from other sources (at least two other than the text).  You should evaluate the theories that suggest the causes of the disorder and also how effective you think the suggested treatments will be.  Explain the reasoning behind your evaluation.

 

Option B:

                Diagnose a famous person based on media reports or other descriptions of their characteristics and activities.   Discuss the individual's symptoms, their possible causes, and suggest some treatment options.  Please support your diagnosis and treatment suggestions with citations from other sources (at least two other than the text).  You should evaluate the theories that suggest the causes of the disorder and also how effective you think the suggested treatments will be.  Explain the reasoning behind your evaluation.

 

Option C:

                 I would like you to have some fun going into some detail on a topic you find interesting or even just weird enough to keep your attention for a while.   Please choose one VERY SPECIFIC disorder (i.e., focus on one part of general illness) and explain the symptoms, causes, and cures.  This should be much more detailed than the descriptions from your textbook and you should include an evaluation of the theories mentioned (i.e., tell me whether are you convinced and support your arguments).

                To do this you will need to consult at least five sources other than the textbook for this course.  Please check the library to see if they have the information you require.

 

Option D:

                <insert your creative suggestion to meet the high level goal stated above>

 

 

                The format of all of these papers should be in the American Psychological Association (APA)  style with bibliography and appropriately cited references (I'll give details about APA style in class).  This is a commonly accepted general paper writing format accepted worldwide by many disciplines including, of course, psychology.  It is a good style with which to become familiar especially if you plan to do upper level psychology courses.