OPTIONAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT
You have the option of submitting one written assignment. The assignment is to conduct a
psychobiography in which you will think more critically about course content and apply it in an
insightful way. Specifically, you will use theories, models, and/or perspectives (approx. 3) in
personality psychology (e.g., Big 5 or HEXACO model, change/stability over time, psychoanalytic
theory, attachment, motivation, gender, culture, adjustment, personality disorders, or
subcomponents of theories/perspectives depending on the breadth and focus) to describe, analyze,
and interpret the personality of a person. Students may choose any individual, including themselves
(although this can prove to be the most challenging case study for some), a family member, a friend,
a public figure (e.g., a celebrity, a political leader— with the exception of the case studies reviewed in
class ), or a fictional character (e.g., a character from a novel or movie). Students may choose to focus
on the individual’s personality development, their current state, and/or a specific aspect of the
individual. The audience should be someone who has completed PSYC-305A .
PAPER ORGANIZATION: The paper should be organized as follows: Start with a brief introduction to
the person or character. Provide important background information, such as date and place of birth,
date of death, residence, family characteristics, etc. In the case of a fictional character, also briefly
describe the source. The introduction should end with a thesis statement describing the goals or
purpose of the paper. [Approx. 3⁄4 to 1 page for intro.] You will then analyze the person’s
personality, applying theories and research (learned in class, presented in the textbook, and/or from
other sources) but avoiding lengthy reiterations of course content. Ensure that your analysis is
thoughtful and in-depth. You may include interpretations of scores (i.e., ratings of yourself or
another) on personality questionnaires to support analyses. [Approx. 6-8 pages for body of paper.)
You should then make some concrete conclusions, in which you integrate and connect your analyses,
compare and contrast theories and models, discuss limitations of theories and models, and/or
formulate broader conclusions about the subject of your analysis. [Approx. 1-1.5 pages for
discussion/conclusions.]
PAPER REQUIREMENTS: The written assignment must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times
New Roman or similar font, and 8-10 pages in length (not including title page and reference
section) with 1-inch margins. Your paper should also include a title page and a reference section,
but not an abstract. First-person perspective and direct-quoting are acceptable for this assignment,
although the tone should remain formal and non-colloquial (i.e., non-conversational). Although it is
not necessary that you use sources of information beyond the lecture material and textbook, the use
of additional resources generally strengthens a paper. Accordingly, you are encouraged to cite
additional resources (e.g., books, peer-reviewed papers). Note that Wikipedia may be used *only* to
cite information about celebrities or fictional characters. Any sources of information that are
referred to in your paper should be referenced according to the guidelines provided by the American
Psychological Association (i.e., APA). If you are not familiar with these guidelines, please refer to the
APA Publication Manual or inquire at the University Library for further information. The library has a
handout summarizing APA citation procedures available at
http://www.library.ubc.ca/pubs/apastyle.pdf. A tutorial on APA style is available at
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx. Headings are optional (but often
helpful). When citing lecture content , please use the following formatting:
In-text citation: (King, year)
Example : As was noted in class (King, 2019), Freud’s theory ….
Reference section: King, D. (year). Lecture number [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://URL.
Example : King, D. (2019). Lecture 11 [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://connect.ubc.ca.
Use lower case letters to distinguish among different lectures in both the in-text citation and
reference section: Example : As was noted in class (King, 2019a), Freud’s theory …. In contrast,
Maslow noted… (King, 2019b).
PAPER GRADING: The paper will be graded for content—that is, how effectively you analyzed the
individual’s personality. For example, did you provide a sufficient and accurate review of the theories
that you selected? Did you accurately interpret the theories in your analysis of the individual? Did
you support your claims with appropriate and sufficient biographical evidence? Did you exhibit
thoughtful, independent thinking in your analysis? Were you creative, demonstrating new ways to
think about the theories? Did you note the strengths and weaknesses of the theories that you used?
Did you compare and contrast the theories in your paper? The paper will also be graded for style,
mechanics, and formatting—that is, how well your paper was written. For example, did your paper
contain a clear statement of its purpose or objectives (i.e., thesis statement)? Was your writing clear,
concise, and easily understood, with appropriate word choice and university-level academic tone?
Was your paper well organized, characterized by effective transitions between ideas and a logical
flow? Were sources of information paraphrased appropriately and integrated effectively into your
writing (if applicable)? Were there errors in punctuation, grammar, or spelling? Did your paper
conform to the formatting requirements? Were all sources of information referenced according to
APA guidelines? Your paper should be at an advanced level and reflect a high degree of critical
thinking.
PAPER SUBMISSION: Hard copies of assignments must be turned in at the start of class on the due
date noted in the course schedule, and cannot be emailed or given to me or a TA outside of class.
Because this is an optional assignment, no late papers will be accepted in any circumstance and no
special accommodations will be made. All papers must ALSO be scanned by “TurnItIn” by 11:59
PM on the day of submission .
TURNITIN: TurnItIn is a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism.
Through this service, students’ papers are scanned and compared to over
5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s own
proprietary databases. The results of comparisons are compiled into
customized “Originality Reports” that are forwarded to instructors and
contain several measures of plagiarism. Papers that have not been scanned by TurnItIn by midnight
on the due date will not be graded and will receive a grade of “0.” Please submit your paper in the
exact same form as the hardcopy submission (i.e., do not remove your title page or reference
section). Originality reports of 30–40% or higher should be of concern . If you are worried about
potential plagiarism in your paper, it is strongly advised that you submit your paper early to TurnItIn
and, in the case that your paper demonstrates significant overlap, make appropriate changes before
the final submission. Students will be able to view their originality reports and resubmit before the
deadline.