Read a published biography (pre-approved by professor) and write a paper that applies the concepts, theories, and research findings from our course to the life unveiled in the book.

Assignment Question

Each student will read a published biography (pre-approved by professor) and write a paper that applies the concepts, theories, and research findings from our course to the life unveiled in the book.

The paper will incorporate at least 3 specific topics/concepts from our course reading material (pulled from 3 separate modules). The paper will demonstrate the reciprocal nature of nomothetic (general laws; based on aggregate data; you will get this from your 2 articles) and idiographic (particular case; interpretive; you will get this from your biography) modes of inquiry. This will be done by making explicit reference to two empirically based peer-reviewed journal articles that report results of a particular study regarding an area of Positive Psychology covered in the course and relevant to one’s understanding of the biographical subject.

The paper is to be written for a general audience – NOT a Psychology Professor. This means you have to explain the concepts you employ, including a brief intellectual context. This also means you need to explain the methods, findings, and weaknesses of the studies you reference. It would be wise to keep the grading rubric in mind as you write your paper. The rubric is NOT a suggestion for how to organize the material in your paper. There are many possible good ways to structure the paper, but the best will be organized around your analytic points (not the chapters in the book; not the grading rubric), integrative, and coherent, with a solid beginning (purpose and outline of the paper) and strong ending (conclusions, final insights). Finally, chose depth (full elaboration; multifaceted connections; fewer concepts) of coverage over scope (surfacy; many concepts but little explanation)