Assignment 1: Retrospective Analysis of Personality
In this assignment, begin by taking a retrospective look at your life history, to discuss which aspects of your personality have remained consistent and which aspects of your personality have changed over time. Then, analyze the roles of nature and nurture in shaping your personality. Subsequently, discuss possible sources of inaccuracy and bias in any retrospective analysis. Finally, discuss the reasons why systematic scientific studies are considered more valuable than individual accounts.
Write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you:
1. Reflect on your life history and discuss which aspects of your personality have changed over time and which aspects have stayed consistent.
2. Based on your retrospective analysis, describe the roles of nature and nurture in shaping your personality. Reflect on your justification for distinguishing between nature and nurture.
3. Discuss the possible sources of bias and inaccuracy whenever a person looks back on their past history. Be sure to discuss factors related to memory and factors related to cognition.
4. Describe why the science of psychology places more emphasis on results based on scientific studies than it does on personal experience and anecdotes.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
- Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format.
- To keep this essay short and manageable, your only sources for your paper should be your own experience and the Webtext. For this reason, APA citations and references are not required for this assignment.
- Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
- Relate psychological concepts to real-world situations.
- Describe the major theories of personality development, learning, memory, cognition, consciousness, development and social psychology.
- Use technology and information resources to research issues in psychology.
- Write clearly and concisely about psychology using proper writing mechanics.