The major assignment for this course is the development of your personal Integrative Personality Theory. In this paper, you will select one concept from each of the seven models covered in this course to include in your theory. Note that this is not meant to be an overview of each model, and the paper cannot focus on just one model. Rather, you are to select a specific concept from a theory in each model, and you must include one concept from each of the seven models in your final paper. Click here for examples of some of the main concepts from the Psychodynamic Model

In this week's assignment, you will begin work on the final paper. You will complete the specific secions of the paper that are indicated below. This allows you to begin work on this major assignment and receive formative feedback from your instructor in order to improve final submission. Please visit the Ashford Writing Center for guidance on how to format headings in APA Style.

Instructions for the week three required sections:

Introduction: Provide a general introduction to the topic of theories of personality. Explain what you plan to cover and describe the direction your paper will take. Note: This section will not feature a heading.

Major Concepts

In this section, you will present the seven specific concepts identified from the seven models you think best apply to the study of personality in distinct subheadings. For each concept, identify the major personality model from which the concept was taken as well as the theorist associated with that model. Each concept section should be approximately 3-4 paragraphs. For week three, you need to complete two of the seven total required by week five.

An example of how to structure your discussion of each concept.
Psychodynamic Model Concept
Neurobiological Model Concept
Behavioral Model Concept
Cognitive Model Concept
Interpersonal/relational Model Concept
Trait Model Concept
Self-Psychology Model Concept
Excluded Concepts

In this section, present the concepts you have chosen to exclude in your theory of personality development. Reflect on the basic assumptions that define personality and identify three specific excluded concepts from any of the theories studied in the course. For each of the excluded concepts, provide a rationale explaining the various aspects of the concept that make it unsuitable for your use and compare and contrast it with the concepts you have chosen to include. Each concept will be approximately 2-3 paragraphs. In week three you need to flesh out the section for one of the three-all three are due in week five.

The Differences between Healthy and Unhealthy Personalities

Describe the basic differences between healthy and unhealthy personality, based on the concepts that you have chosen to include and exclude from your theory. This section will be approximately two to four paragraphs. Start the draft in week three to be finalized in week five.

The Roles of Heredity, the Environment, and Epigenetics

Provide your analysis of the roles heredity, the environment, and epigenetics play in the development of personality. Discuss how heredity and the environment might affect personality disorders. This section will be approximately three to five paragraphs. Start the draft in week three to be finalized in week five.

Assessment and Measurement of the Theory

There is no requirement in week three for this-the section must be completed by week five.

Self-Reflection

In this section of the paper, review the self-reflection you wrote in Week One of this class and describe how and in what ways your views have or have not changed. Analyze your Week One self-assessment using the concepts that you have included in your integrative theory and describe how your theory explains your personality. This section will be approximately four to six paragraphs. Start the draft in week three to be finalized in week five.

Conclusion: There is no requirement in week three for this-the section must be completed by week five.

Research a minimum of four of the eight scholarly sources related to these concepts in the Ashford University Library to support your statements in the paper. Popular websites and your textbook may augment, but they will not count toward the minimum number of sources needed for the paper.

The assignment:

Must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (not including title page and references page) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Must use at least four scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.