Course Assignment for Psychology in Social Work SOCW-1004

Learning Objectives:
• Develop research skills
• Develop objective writing skills
• Research and apply APA format
• Develop a greater understanding for which personality theory can be best applied to a specific psychological problem

1. Research a famous person (e.g., actor/actress, political activist, artist, musician etc.) or a fictional character (e.g., Bart Simpson, Batman) with a documented or suspected psychological problem (e.g., addictions, symptoms of depression or anxiety, conflicts with the law, aggressive, narcissistic, low self-esteem/self-worth, manipulative/lying behaviours, withdrawn from friends/family and activities, relationship conflicts etc.). A psychological problem is any behavioural/emotional/cognitive problem that affects one’s ability to function ‘normally’ in society (e.g., hold a job, maintain healthy relationships, provide self-care).

2. Write a brief description about the person and what he or she was/is famous for and Describe the person’s specific psychological problem(s). Provide evidence of the person’s psychological problem by citing examples of the problematic behaviour/symptoms.
For example:
According to Smith (2013) Johnny began to isolate himself from friends, family and activities he used to enjoy and he started using drugs and alcohol more frequently.

Note: if the individual has several psychological problems, you may choose one or two problems to focus on. It is better to go into greater depth with one issue than say very little about many problems. (Suggested length of this section: ½ page for a description of the famous person; 1 or 1 1/2 pages for a description of the psychological problem; double-spaced)

3. Select a theory (only ONE theory) of personality that we cover in this course (e.g., Sigmund Freud, Karen Horney and Alfred Adler.) How would this theory/theorist explain the person’s specific psychological problem? (Suggested length: 3-4 pages)

Your explanation must include:
a. a brief summary of the main (and relevant) tenants of the personality theory you are going to use to explain the psychological problem. Assume that the reader does not know anything about the theory you are going to talk about. This is a relatively short paper therefore; you will need to be succinct in your summary of the theory or profile only the parts of the theory that are relevant to what you need to explain. For example, if you are using one of Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of development to explain someone’s psychological problem, you do not need to explain every stage in great detail. Rather, introduce Freud’s stages (i.e., how they overall link to personality development) but only go into depth describing the stage that is relevant to the behaviour/problem you are attempting to explain.