Principles of Personality Theory

You will write one short (3 page text) essay in which you apply the principles of a personality theory discussed in class to explain something about yourself:
a) How you feel in certain situations,
b) Choices you made or did not make,
c) How you think in certain situations,
d) How you acquired certain attitudes or beliefs,
e) Why you do what you do in certain situations,
f) Why you feel, think, and do what you do in certain situations.
A good essay will first describe the behavior/emotions in question, and second, discuss why you feel/think/behaved this way from the perspective of a particular personality theorist or theory. The latter (and most important part) will necessitate your identifying the theory you will use, and identifying the concepts you are using as you go.
Emotionally or cognitively complex behavior will probably work best for these papers — routine behavior (such as getting dressed in the morning) will not lend itself to “analysis.”
Essays will be graded based on:
1) How accurately and artfully the psychological principals from the theories are applied;
2) How well-written the essays are: word usage, paragraph and sentence structure, organization, grammar, spelling, and syntax all contribute to (or detract from) the paper grade. SEE STRUCTURE.
3) IMPORTANT!!! Essays longer than three pages will be returned ungraded — because there are lots of you and only one of me. This is a practical necessity.