Each student will be required to write a term paper that contains five full pages (top line of the page through the last line at the bottom of the pages) plus a title page and reference page/pages for a minimum of 7 total pages. Your term paper must describe a psychological disorder from a biopsychosocial perspective. Students will be required to describe the disorder in terms of symptoms, describe biological, psychological, and social causes of the disorder and include information about treatment.
Students will select one of the following psychological disorders:
schizophrenia spectrum disorder
bipolar I disorder
Bipolar II disorder
major depressive disorder
separation anxiety disorder
Agoraphobia
Social Phobia (as so known as Social Anxiety Disorder)
panic disorder
hording disorder
reactive attachment disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder
pica in children
pica in adults
anorexia nervosa
bulimia nervosa
erectile disorder
female orgasmic disorder
intermittent explosive disorder
alcohol-related disorders
opioid-related disorders
cluster A personality disorders (you must pick one: paranoid personality, schizoid personality, schizotypal personality)
Step One: Locate a minimum of five scholarly (peer reviewed) journal articles that will help you learn about the disorder you selected.  When doing your research, you should look for articles that:
describe/explain the symptoms associated with the disorder
that explain biological causes of the disorder
that explain psychological causes of the disorder
that explain socioeconomic causes of the disorder
that gives you information about treatments for the disorder
NOTE: Books and Websites of any kind are not allowed for this class. You must use GALILEO to locate Scholarly (peer reviewed) journal articles.
Step Two : The paper must be written in the student’s own words. The paper may not contain more than two direct quotes. Each quote must be no more than one full sentence.
Each paper will be analyzed using either a Safe Assign or a TurnItIn dropbox. The paper’s originality score must at 25% or lower. Any paper that scores higher than 25% on the originality report will receive a score of a zero. Remember that if you turn in your paper early and your originality score is too high you can revise and resubmit until the due date/time has passed.
While personal knowledge/experience may have led you to select a specific disorder, please do not include personal stories or experiences. This paper must utilize research studies that have studied thousands of individuals.
Step Three: Use the following guide to cover all the required components of your Term Paper.
Symptoms may be described in terms of emotional symptoms, cognitive symptoms, behavioral symptoms, somatic symptoms, and impairment in social and occupational functioning.
Biological explanations may include the following: Brain structure and function, genetics, hormones, evolution/natural selection, neurotransmitters (oversupply, under supply, dysfunction)
Psychological explanations may include the following: Learning, memory, personality traits, cognition (thought patterns), trauma/stress, emotion/mood
Sociocultural explanations may include the following: Gender roles, socioeconomic status, locations (city or rural), school/education, cultural values, poverty
Treatment may include medications, cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, group therapy, client centered therapy
Step Four: The paper must be formatted entirely in APA formatting following the rules of the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. This includes a title page and reference page/pages with APA formatted references, in-text citations, 12 point Times New Roman font (or other fonts as determined by your instructor), 1 inch margins on all sides.
The citations on the Reference Page must be as follows:
Primary Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Publication Year). Article Title. Journal Title, Volume Number, first page – last page.
For Example:
Atkin, K. (1991). Health, illness, disability, and Black minorities: A speculative critique of present day discourse. Disability, Handicap and Society, 6, 37-47.
NOTE: For more information about the APA 7th edition, please review the APA Formatting Resources folder located directly above the Term Paper folder in the Lessons area.