Writing Assignment (5-7 page paper; 25% of your grade)
Please bring a hard copy of your paper with you to class.
Take any modern psychological issue (e.g., psychotherapy vs. medication in treatment of mental illness) and look at it from the historical perspective of two theorists discussed in this course.
The goal of this assignment is to learn about different sides of an argument from the perspectives of different theories or theorists, and then to apply that knowledge to a pertinent topic in psychology today. You may write your paper as a debate between two ideas, or simply write a traditional paper explaining and contrasting the different perspectives. The main goal is to be able to take knowledge learned in this course, from the history of psychology, and to apply it to some more recent idea or issue.
Feel free to choose any two theorists or theories discussed in the text. Examples are but are not limited to:
Freud vs. Skinner on the causes and treatments of addiction
Locke vs. Leibniz on nature-nurture issues in child development
Virtually any two theorists on free will vs. determinism in regard to taking responsibility for our actions in society
Skinner vs. Rogers or any humanistic theorist on how to shape behavior and growth
Titchener vs. Watson on introspection and mindfulness meditation to study the mind
Any materialist or monist vs. any phenomenologist or dualist on whether neurochemistry is the best way to understand the mind. (Are we governed by mind or brain?)
Any two theorists on whether we are inherently good or evil
Any two theorists on whether emotions are helpful or harmful in decision making
Any two theorists on whether knowledge is innate or whether it is acquired through experience and reflection
