PAPER DESCRIPTION
In this course you have looked at the history of the field of psychology, examining how one movement led to another and how the surrounding culture and level of knowledge affected the field. This final paper requires you to focus on one theorist, analyzing their contributions as well as situating them in the context of the history of psychology. In particular, you will:
Outline the individual’s biography and professional history.
Detail their theories and central concerns.
Describe and evaluate criticism of their ideas and work.
Place their work in its historical context and within the history of psychology.
Explain their influence on the field of psychology in the short term.
State and defend your opinion about whether their influence was beneficial and/or harmful.
Offer your position on whether their influence is still felt today, and how (or how not).
Course objectives covered in this project include CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, CO 4, CO 7
GUIDELINES
Your project should be a research paper of between 2000 and 3300 words (8 to 12 pages). Please write your paper according to APA Style. You may refer to the textbook for supporting evidence, but you must also use at least five additional credible sources outside of your textbook.
Be sure your paper has:
A title page.
An introduction (that clearly states your thesis).
Full development of your ideas supported by cited sources.
A conclusion restating your main point.
A reference list in APA Style that should exactly match your in-text citations.
All reference material should be acquired through your personal research. Acceptable sources include the following:
Biographies/autobiographies
Books or original research papers by historic researchers
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Review papers from scientific journals
Scholarly websites
Papers written by historians and philosophers of science
In general, unacceptable references include unsubstantiated viewpoints and encyclopedias, whether in print or online references such as Wikipedia (although these might be used as a starting point to find more scholarly publications). Cite a minimum of five scholarly references.
Additionally:
Your paper should be well developed and convey your understanding of the readings and concepts.
Your paper should be organized, coherent, and unified.
Your paper should be free of spelling and grammatical errors.
As much as possible, avoid using the textbook as “research,” except when absolutely necessary for background information.
Be sure to document sources in an academically acceptable manner. (See Writing Resources below)
If you have questions about the requirements of the paper, discuss them with your mentor well in advance of the final submission. Consult the Course Calendar for this paper’s due date. It must be submitted by the last day of the semester.
WRITING AND RESEARCH RESOURCES
The following links provide online writing and research aids to help you with your paper assignments.
OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue University
Writer’s Handbook, the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
APA Style Guidelines
Information Literacy for TESU Students (an online guide from the New Jersey State Library to assist you in starting your research, searching databases for articles, citing sources, using ILLiad to request books or articles, etc.)
PROFESSOR’S INSTRUCTION
Use compelling and illuminating content that demonstrates command of the figure you chose as your focus; you provide an insightful analysis of their biography and professional history.
Use effectively place the chosen figure in their historical context, connecting them perceptively to ideas that came before and followed.
Use insightfully discuss the theories and central concerns of the figure you have chosen and intelligently evaluate criticism of their ideas and work.
Use discerningly examine the influence of your chosen figure in the short term and through to contemporary times; you thoroughly defend your opinion about whether the influence was harmful, beneficial, or both.
Use lucidly organize material into well-formed paragraphs and arrange your ideas logically to support the purpose of the paper; writing is fluid with an explicit focus and sensible structure.
Use support points and subpoints with abundant clarifying detail, include relevant and clearly attributed sources as necessary, and effectively link ideas; comprehensive evidence extends ideas and fully authenticates the purpose/thesis of the paper.
Use clearly and effectively document sources of information in APA Style with in-text citations linking to references at the end of the paper; format is complete and entirely accurate.
write in complete, well-constructed sentences with faultless grammar, word choice, punctuation, and spelling; writing is sharp, coherent, and demonstrates sophisticated clarity.
