The Paper: Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to ap

The Paper:
Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to apply a certain area of psychological theory or research (e.g., research on brain injuries and behavior) to you own life and life experiences. For example, you might attempt to explain a real-life event in your life (how you developed a fear of snakes) using principles of classical conditioning (i.e., As an infant two snakes tried to kill you). You must choose a topic listed below (please do not ask about alternate topics). Get help with your writing! Ask friends to read your paper, send it to the ACE center for help, just do something to make your paper better for me. Please.
The Topics:
1. Theories of Development:Chose either Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, or Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory – and apply it to your own development.In this paper you need to briefly describe the developmental theory you choose and its terminology, and you need to apply the theory to you own life.For example, if you chose to apply Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory to your own life, you would describe events that occurred in infant, toddler, preschool, preadolescent, adolescent and young adult stages of your life and analyze how these events may have influenced your adult personality.
2. When I Fell in Love: The Relevance of Three Theories of Emotion. Describe your experience of falling in love and apply three theories of emotion to your experience: the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer two-component theory of emotion. Which theory do you think best describes your experience of falling in love? Can “falling in love” be explained in scientific terms? How well do theories of emotion apply to this very intense experience? Do any of these theories of emotion help you to understand better you own experience of falling in love? Does “falling in love” share features with other strong emotions such as fear, anger, etc.? Is “falling in love” unique in some ways and different from other kinds of emotion?.
3. A Real-Life Example of my Conformity (or Obedience, or Compliance). This paper should describe a real-life example when you conformed (behaved like others because of pressures from them), obeyed (followed others’ instructions or commands, perhaps even when the instructions or commands were immoral), or complied with another’s request (e.g., gave money to a no-good friend or to a questionable door-to-door solicitor). Describe how social pressures operate and how other people sometimes can get you to do things you don’t want to do. Relate your example to social psychological research on conformity, obedience, and/compliance. What are ways to resist unfair pressures to conform, obey, or comply?
4. Analyzing my Personality in Terms of Personality Theories. Pick at least two personality theories – e.g., trait theories, social learning theories, Freudian theories – and analyze your own personality in terms of them. Describe what you think are the central traits or features of your personality. Questions to address in your paper: Is your behavior (e.g., your level of extraversion, your conscientiousness, your level of morality) consistent across situations and over time? Have some aspects of your personality changed a lot because of changes in your social environment (e.g., your friends, where you live)? Many of you are college freshmen. Do you think your personality will change as a result of your new college environment, which leads you to be exposed to many new kinds of people and new ideas? Do you think your personality results mostly from biological factors (your genes, hormones, brain chemistry) or from environmental factors (the way your parents reared you). Do you think some of the factors that motivate your behavior and mold your personality are unconscious? Do you always fully understand why you do what you do and why you have the traits you do? Relate your discussion to research and to theories of personality (e.g., trait models of personality such as the Big Five model, behavior genetic research, Freudian theory, etc.).
5. Sexual orientation and its causes. Describe someone you know (e.g., yourself, a friend, a family member) who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In your opinion, what influenced this person’s sexual orientation to develop as it did? Relate your discussion to the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Do you think sexual orientation (being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) results from biological factors (e.g., genetics, prenatal hormones, brain chemistry and structure), or does it result from environmental factors (the way our parents treat us; childhood experiences)? Are both nature and nurture important? Are we “born” heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Can we “choose” to be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Do you think that gay/lesbian/bisexual people differ from heterosexual people in ways other than their attractions to men or women? – for example, do they differ in personality, nonverbal behavior, grooming? If so, why? Again, relate this to possible causes and theories of sexual orientation.The Paper:
Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to apply a certain area of psychological theory or research (e.g., research on brain injuries and behavior) to you own life and life experiences. For example, you might attempt to explain a real-life event in your life (how you developed a fear of snakes) using principles of classical conditioning (i.e., As an infant two snakes tried to kill you). You must choose a topic listed below (please do not ask about alternate topics). Get help with your writing! Ask friends to read your paper, send it to the ACE center for help, just do something to make your paper better for me. Please.
The Topics:
1. Theories of Development:Chose either Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, or Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory – and apply it to your own development.In this paper you need to briefly describe the developmental theory you choose and its terminology, and you need to apply the theory to you own life.For example, if you chose to apply Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory to your own life, you would describe events that occurred in infant, toddler, preschool, preadolescent, adolescent and young adult stages of your life and analyze how these events may have influenced your adult personality.
2. When I Fell in Love: The Relevance of Three Theories of Emotion. Describe your experience of falling in love and apply three theories of emotion to your experience: the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer two-component theory of emotion. Which theory do you think best describes your experience of falling in love? Can “falling in love” be explained in scientific terms? How well do theories of emotion apply to this very intense experience? Do any of these theories of emotion help you to understand better you own experience of falling in love? Does “falling in love” share features with other strong emotions such as fear, anger, etc.? Is “falling in love” unique in some ways and different from other kinds of emotion?.
3. A Real-Life Example of my Conformity (or Obedience, or Compliance). This paper should describe a real-life example when you conformed (behaved like others because of pressures from them), obeyed (followed others’ instructions or commands, perhaps even when the instructions or commands were immoral), or complied with another’s request (e.g., gave money to a no-good friend or to a questionable door-to-door solicitor). Describe how social pressures operate and how other people sometimes can get you to do things you don’t want to do. Relate your example to social psychological research on conformity, obedience, and/compliance. What are ways to resist unfair pressures to conform, obey, or comply?
4. Analyzing my Personality in Terms of Personality Theories. Pick at least two personality theories – e.g., trait theories, social learning theories, Freudian theories – and analyze your own personality in terms of them. Describe what you think are the central traits or features of your personality. Questions to address in your paper: Is your behavior (e.g., your level of extraversion, your conscientiousness, your level of morality) consistent across situations and over time? Have some aspects of your personality changed a lot because of changes in your social environment (e.g., your friends, where you live)? Many of you are college freshmen. Do you think your personality will change as a result of your new college environment, which leads you to be exposed to many new kinds of people and new ideas? Do you think your personality results mostly from biological factors (your genes, hormones, brain chemistry) or from environmental factors (the way your parents reared you). Do you think some of the factors that motivate your behavior and mold your personality are unconscious? Do you always fully understand why you do what you do and why you have the traits you do? Relate your discussion to research and to theories of personality (e.g., trait models of personality such as the Big Five model, behavior genetic research, Freudian theory, etc.).
5. Sexual orientation and its causes. Describe someone you know (e.g., yourself, a friend, a family member) who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In your opinion, what influenced this person’s sexual orientation to develop as it did? Relate your discussion to the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Do you think sexual orientation (being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) results from biological factors (e.g., genetics, prenatal hormones, brain chemistry and structure), or does it result from environmental factors (the way our parents treat us; childhood experiences)? Are both nature and nurture important? Are we “born” heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Can we “choose” to be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Do you think that gay/lesbian/bisexual people differ from heterosexual people in ways other than their attractions to men or women? – for example, do they differ in personality, nonverbal behavior, grooming? If so, why? Again, relate this to possible causes and theories of sexual orientation.The Paper:
Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to apply a certain area of psychological theory or research (e.g., research on brain injuries and behavior) to you own life and life experiences. For example, you might attempt to explain a real-life event in your life (how you developed a fear of snakes) using principles of classical conditioning (i.e., As an infant two snakes tried to kill you). You must choose a topic listed below (please do not ask about alternate topics). Get help with your writing! Ask friends to read your paper, send it to the ACE center for help, just do something to make your paper better for me. Please.
The Topics:
1. Theories of Development:Chose either Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, or Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory – and apply it to your own development.In this paper you need to briefly describe the developmental theory you choose and its terminology, and you need to apply the theory to you own life.For example, if you chose to apply Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory to your own life, you would describe events that occurred in infant, toddler, preschool, preadolescent, adolescent and young adult stages of your life and analyze how these events may have influenced your adult personality.
2. When I Fell in Love: The Relevance of Three Theories of Emotion. Describe your experience of falling in love and apply three theories of emotion to your experience: the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer two-component theory of emotion. Which theory do you think best describes your experience of falling in love? Can “falling in love” be explained in scientific terms? How well do theories of emotion apply to this very intense experience? Do any of these theories of emotion help you to understand better you own experience of falling in love? Does “falling in love” share features with other strong emotions such as fear, anger, etc.? Is “falling in love” unique in some ways and different from other kinds of emotion?.
3. A Real-Life Example of my Conformity (or Obedience, or Compliance). This paper should describe a real-life example when you conformed (behaved like others because of pressures from them), obeyed (followed others’ instructions or commands, perhaps even when the instructions or commands were immoral), or complied with another’s request (e.g., gave money to a no-good friend or to a questionable door-to-door solicitor). Describe how social pressures operate and how other people sometimes can get you to do things you don’t want to do. Relate your example to social psychological research on conformity, obedience, and/compliance. What are ways to resist unfair pressures to conform, obey, or comply?
4. Analyzing my Personality in Terms of Personality Theories. Pick at least two personality theories – e.g., trait theories, social learning theories, Freudian theories – and analyze your own personality in terms of them. Describe what you think are the central traits or features of your personality. Questions to address in your paper: Is your behavior (e.g., your level of extraversion, your conscientiousness, your level of morality) consistent across situations and over time? Have some aspects of your personality changed a lot because of changes in your social environment (e.g., your friends, where you live)? Many of you are college freshmen. Do you think your personality will change as a result of your new college environment, which leads you to be exposed to many new kinds of people and new ideas? Do you think your personality results mostly from biological factors (your genes, hormones, brain chemistry) or from environmental factors (the way your parents reared you). Do you think some of the factors that motivate your behavior and mold your personality are unconscious? Do you always fully understand why you do what you do and why you have the traits you do? Relate your discussion to research and to theories of personality (e.g., trait models of personality such as the Big Five model, behavior genetic research, Freudian theory, etc.).
5. Sexual orientation and its causes. Describe someone you know (e.g., yourself, a friend, a family member) who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In your opinion, what influenced this person’s sexual orientation to develop as it did? Relate your discussion to the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Do you think sexual orientation (being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) results from biological factors (e.g., genetics, prenatal hormones, brain chemistry and structure), or does it result from environmental factors (the way our parents treat us; childhood experiences)? Are both nature and nurture important? Are we “born” heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Can we “choose” to be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Do you think that gay/lesbian/bisexual people differ from heterosexual people in ways other than their attractions to men or women? – for example, do they differ in personality, nonverbal behavior, grooming? If so, why? Again, relate this to possible causes and theories of sexual orientation.The Paper:
Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to apply a certain area of psychological theory or research (e.g., research on brain injuries and behavior) to you own life and life experiences. For example, you might attempt to explain a real-life event in your life (how you developed a fear of snakes) using principles of classical conditioning (i.e., As an infant two snakes tried to kill you). You must choose a topic listed below (please do not ask about alternate topics). Get help with your writing! Ask friends to read your paper, send it to the ACE center for help, just do something to make your paper better for me. Please.
The Topics:
1. Theories of Development:Chose either Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, or Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory – and apply it to your own development.In this paper you need to briefly describe the developmental theory you choose and its terminology, and you need to apply the theory to you own life.For example, if you chose to apply Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory to your own life, you would describe events that occurred in infant, toddler, preschool, preadolescent, adolescent and young adult stages of your life and analyze how these events may have influenced your adult personality.
2. When I Fell in Love: The Relevance of Three Theories of Emotion. Describe your experience of falling in love and apply three theories of emotion to your experience: the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer two-component theory of emotion. Which theory do you think best describes your experience of falling in love? Can “falling in love” be explained in scientific terms? How well do theories of emotion apply to this very intense experience? Do any of these theories of emotion help you to understand better you own experience of falling in love? Does “falling in love” share features with other strong emotions such as fear, anger, etc.? Is “falling in love” unique in some ways and different from other kinds of emotion?.
3. A Real-Life Example of my Conformity (or Obedience, or Compliance). This paper should describe a real-life example when you conformed (behaved like others because of pressures from them), obeyed (followed others’ instructions or commands, perhaps even when the instructions or commands were immoral), or complied with another’s request (e.g., gave money to a no-good friend or to a questionable door-to-door solicitor). Describe how social pressures operate and how other people sometimes can get you to do things you don’t want to do. Relate your example to social psychological research on conformity, obedience, and/compliance. What are ways to resist unfair pressures to conform, obey, or comply?
4. Analyzing my Personality in Terms of Personality Theories. Pick at least two personality theories – e.g., trait theories, social learning theories, Freudian theories – and analyze your own personality in terms of them. Describe what you think are the central traits or features of your personality. Questions to address in your paper: Is your behavior (e.g., your level of extraversion, your conscientiousness, your level of morality) consistent across situations and over time? Have some aspects of your personality changed a lot because of changes in your social environment (e.g., your friends, where you live)? Many of you are college freshmen. Do you think your personality will change as a result of your new college environment, which leads you to be exposed to many new kinds of people and new ideas? Do you think your personality results mostly from biological factors (your genes, hormones, brain chemistry) or from environmental factors (the way your parents reared you). Do you think some of the factors that motivate your behavior and mold your personality are unconscious? Do you always fully understand why you do what you do and why you have the traits you do? Relate your discussion to research and to theories of personality (e.g., trait models of personality such as the Big Five model, behavior genetic research, Freudian theory, etc.).
5. Sexual orientation and its causes. Describe someone you know (e.g., yourself, a friend, a family member) who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In your opinion, what influenced this person’s sexual orientation to develop as it did? Relate your discussion to the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Do you think sexual orientation (being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) results from biological factors (e.g., genetics, prenatal hormones, brain chemistry and structure), or does it result from environmental factors (the way our parents treat us; childhood experiences)? Are both nature and nurture important? Are we “born” heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Can we “choose” to be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Do you think that gay/lesbian/bisexual people differ from heterosexual people in ways other than their attractions to men or women? – for example, do they differ in personality, nonverbal behavior, grooming? If so, why? Again, relate this to possible causes and theories of sexual orientation.The Paper:
Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to apply a certain area of psychological theory or research (e.g., research on brain injuries and behavior) to you own life and life experiences. For example, you might attempt to explain a real-life event in your life (how you developed a fear of snakes) using principles of classical conditioning (i.e., As an infant two snakes tried to kill you). You must choose a topic listed below (please do not ask about alternate topics). Get help with your writing! Ask friends to read your paper, send it to the ACE center for help, just do something to make your paper better for me. Please.
The Topics:
1. Theories of Development:Chose either Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, or Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory – and apply it to your own development.In this paper you need to briefly describe the developmental theory you choose and its terminology, and you need to apply the theory to you own life.For example, if you chose to apply Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory to your own life, you would describe events that occurred in infant, toddler, preschool, preadolescent, adolescent and young adult stages of your life and analyze how these events may have influenced your adult personality.
2. When I Fell in Love: The Relevance of Three Theories of Emotion. Describe your experience of falling in love and apply three theories of emotion to your experience: the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer two-component theory of emotion. Which theory do you think best describes your experience of falling in love? Can “falling in love” be explained in scientific terms? How well do theories of emotion apply to this very intense experience? Do any of these theories of emotion help you to understand better you own experience of falling in love? Does “falling in love” share features with other strong emotions such as fear, anger, etc.? Is “falling in love” unique in some ways and different from other kinds of emotion?.
3. A Real-Life Example of my Conformity (or Obedience, or Compliance). This paper should describe a real-life example when you conformed (behaved like others because of pressures from them), obeyed (followed others’ instructions or commands, perhaps even when the instructions or commands were immoral), or complied with another’s request (e.g., gave money to a no-good friend or to a questionable door-to-door solicitor). Describe how social pressures operate and how other people sometimes can get you to do things you don’t want to do. Relate your example to social psychological research on conformity, obedience, and/compliance. What are ways to resist unfair pressures to conform, obey, or comply?
4. Analyzing my Personality in Terms of Personality Theories. Pick at least two personality theories – e.g., trait theories, social learning theories, Freudian theories – and analyze your own personality in terms of them. Describe what you think are the central traits or features of your personality. Questions to address in your paper: Is your behavior (e.g., your level of extraversion, your conscientiousness, your level of morality) consistent across situations and over time? Have some aspects of your personality changed a lot because of changes in your social environment (e.g., your friends, where you live)? Many of you are college freshmen. Do you think your personality will change as a result of your new college environment, which leads you to be exposed to many new kinds of people and new ideas? Do you think your personality results mostly from biological factors (your genes, hormones, brain chemistry) or from environmental factors (the way your parents reared you). Do you think some of the factors that motivate your behavior and mold your personality are unconscious? Do you always fully understand why you do what you do and why you have the traits you do? Relate your discussion to research and to theories of personality (e.g., trait models of personality such as the Big Five model, behavior genetic research, Freudian theory, etc.).
5. Sexual orientation and its causes. Describe someone you know (e.g., yourself, a friend, a family member) who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In your opinion, what influenced this person’s sexual orientation to develop as it did? Relate your discussion to the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Do you think sexual orientation (being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) results from biological factors (e.g., genetics, prenatal hormones, brain chemistry and structure), or does it result from environmental factors (the way our parents treat us; childhood experiences)? Are both nature and nurture important? Are we “born” heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Can we “choose” to be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Do you think that gay/lesbian/bisexual people differ from heterosexual people in ways other than their attractions to men or women? – for example, do they differ in personality, nonverbal behavior, grooming? If so, why? Again, relate this to possible causes and theories of sexual orientation.The Paper:
Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to apply a certain area of psychological theory or research (e.g., research on brain injuries and behavior) to you own life and life experiences. For example, you might attempt to explain a real-life event in your life (how you developed a fear of snakes) using principles of classical conditioning (i.e., As an infant two snakes tried to kill you). You must choose a topic listed below (please do not ask about alternate topics). Get help with your writing! Ask friends to read your paper, send it to the ACE center for help, just do something to make your paper better for me. Please.
The Topics:
1. Theories of Development:Chose either Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, or Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory – and apply it to your own development.In this paper you need to briefly describe the developmental theory you choose and its terminology, and you need to apply the theory to you own life.For example, if you chose to apply Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory to your own life, you would describe events that occurred in infant, toddler, preschool, preadolescent, adolescent and young adult stages of your life and analyze how these events may have influenced your adult personality.
2. When I Fell in Love: The Relevance of Three Theories of Emotion. Describe your experience of falling in love and apply three theories of emotion to your experience: the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer two-component theory of emotion. Which theory do you think best describes your experience of falling in love? Can “falling in love” be explained in scientific terms? How well do theories of emotion apply to this very intense experience? Do any of these theories of emotion help you to understand better you own experience of falling in love? Does “falling in love” share features with other strong emotions such as fear, anger, etc.? Is “falling in love” unique in some ways and different from other kinds of emotion?.
3. A Real-Life Example of my Conformity (or Obedience, or Compliance). This paper should describe a real-life example when you conformed (behaved like others because of pressures from them), obeyed (followed others’ instructions or commands, perhaps even when the instructions or commands were immoral), or complied with another’s request (e.g., gave money to a no-good friend or to a questionable door-to-door solicitor). Describe how social pressures operate and how other people sometimes can get you to do things you don’t want to do. Relate your example to social psychological research on conformity, obedience, and/compliance. What are ways to resist unfair pressures to conform, obey, or comply?
4. Analyzing my Personality in Terms of Personality Theories. Pick at least two personality theories – e.g., trait theories, social learning theories, Freudian theories – and analyze your own personality in terms of them. Describe what you think are the central traits or features of your personality. Questions to address in your paper: Is your behavior (e.g., your level of extraversion, your conscientiousness, your level of morality) consistent across situations and over time? Have some aspects of your personality changed a lot because of changes in your social environment (e.g., your friends, where you live)? Many of you are college freshmen. Do you think your personality will change as a result of your new college environment, which leads you to be exposed to many new kinds of people and new ideas? Do you think your personality results mostly from biological factors (your genes, hormones, brain chemistry) or from environmental factors (the way your parents reared you). Do you think some of the factors that motivate your behavior and mold your personality are unconscious? Do you always fully understand why you do what you do and why you have the traits you do? Relate your discussion to research and to theories of personality (e.g., trait models of personality such as the Big Five model, behavior genetic research, Freudian theory, etc.).
5. Sexual orientation and its causes. Describe someone you know (e.g., yourself, a friend, a family member) who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In your opinion, what influenced this person’s sexual orientation to develop as it did? Relate your discussion to the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Do you think sexual orientation (being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) results from biological factors (e.g., genetics, prenatal hormones, brain chemistry and structure), or does it result from environmental factors (the way our parents treat us; childhood experiences)? Are both nature and nurture important? Are we “born” heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Can we “choose” to be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Do you think that gay/lesbian/bisexual people differ from heterosexual people in ways other than their attractions to men or women? – for example, do they differ in personality, nonverbal behavior, grooming? If so, why? Again, relate this to possible causes and theories of sexual orientation.The Paper:
Your paper should be at least 1500 words. In your paper you are to apply a certain area of psychological theory or research (e.g., research on brain injuries and behavior) to you own life and life experiences. For example, you might attempt to explain a real-life event in your life (how you developed a fear of snakes) using principles of classical conditioning (i.e., As an infant two snakes tried to kill you). You must choose a topic listed below (please do not ask about alternate topics). Get help with your writing! Ask friends to read your paper, send it to the ACE center for help, just do something to make your paper better for me. Please.
The Topics:
1. Theories of Development:Chose either Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, or Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory – and apply it to your own development.In this paper you need to briefly describe the developmental theory you choose and its terminology, and you need to apply the theory to you own life.For example, if you chose to apply Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory to your own life, you would describe events that occurred in infant, toddler, preschool, preadolescent, adolescent and young adult stages of your life and analyze how these events may have influenced your adult personality.
2. When I Fell in Love: The Relevance of Three Theories of Emotion. Describe your experience of falling in love and apply three theories of emotion to your experience: the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer two-component theory of emotion. Which theory do you think best describes your experience of falling in love? Can “falling in love” be explained in scientific terms? How well do theories of emotion apply to this very intense experience? Do any of these theories of emotion help you to understand better you own experience of falling in love? Does “falling in love” share features with other strong emotions such as fear, anger, etc.? Is “falling in love” unique in some ways and different from other kinds of emotion?.
3. A Real-Life Example of my Conformity (or Obedience, or Compliance). This paper should describe a real-life example when you conformed (behaved like others because of pressures from them), obeyed (followed others’ instructions or commands, perhaps even when the instructions or commands were immoral), or complied with another’s request (e.g., gave money to a no-good friend or to a questionable door-to-door solicitor). Describe how social pressures operate and how other people sometimes can get you to do things you don’t want to do. Relate your example to social psychological research on conformity, obedience, and/compliance. What are ways to resist unfair pressures to conform, obey, or comply?
4. Analyzing my Personality in Terms of Personality Theories. Pick at least two personality theories – e.g., trait theories, social learning theories, Freudian theories – and analyze your own personality in terms of them. Describe what you think are the central traits or features of your personality. Questions to address in your paper: Is your behavior (e.g., your level of extraversion, your conscientiousness, your level of morality) consistent across situations and over time? Have some aspects of your personality changed a lot because of changes in your social environment (e.g., your friends, where you live)? Many of you are college freshmen. Do you think your personality will change as a result of your new college environment, which leads you to be exposed to many new kinds of people and new ideas? Do you think your personality results mostly from biological factors (your genes, hormones, brain chemistry) or from environmental factors (the way your parents reared you). Do you think some of the factors that motivate your behavior and mold your personality are unconscious? Do you always fully understand why you do what you do and why you have the traits you do? Relate your discussion to research and to theories of personality (e.g., trait models of personality such as the Big Five model, behavior genetic research, Freudian theory, etc.).
5. Sexual orientation and its causes. Describe someone you know (e.g., yourself, a friend, a family member) who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In your opinion, what influenced this person’s sexual orientation to develop as it did? Relate your discussion to the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Do you think sexual orientation (being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) results from biological factors (e.g., genetics, prenatal hormones, brain chemistry and structure), or does it result from environmental factors (the way our parents treat us; childhood experiences)? Are both nature and nurture important? Are we “born” heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Can we “choose” to be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual? Do you think that gay/lesbian/bisexual people differ from heterosexual people in ways other than their attractions to men or women? – for example, do they differ in personality, nonverbal behavior, grooming? If so, why? Again, relate this to possible causes and theories of sexual orientation.