psyc 710 Psychology Question assign.pdf

Thinking Deeper: Part 4 - Transformation View Assignment Instructions

Overview

The purpose of these Thinking Deeper Assignments is to encourage you to think critically and

theoretically about issues you will cover in this course. You are expected to seek out biblical,

philosophical, and scientific sources to answer the question presented and are expected to demonstrate

depth of thought.

In the video, “Christianity and Psychology – Eric Johnson,” Dr. Johnson mentions that he puts the

Transformation view under a Christian psychology view. These views were just recently separated out

for your text. Do you think the Transformation view should stand as its own viewpoint on the relationship

between Christianity and psychology, or should it be contained within the Christian psychology view?

Please explain your thoughts on this and present a strong argument for your answer.

Instructions

The Thinking Deeper: Part 4 – Transformation View Assignment requires you to answer this

question: “Should the Transformation View stand as its own viewpoint in a study of the relationship

between Christianity and psychology, or should it be contained within the Christian psychology view?”

Please include the following components in the Thinking Deeper: Part 4 – Transformation View

Assignment paper:

 A clear introductory paragraph that introduces the reader to the issue being discussed.

 A discussion of the issue with relevant scriptural, philosophical, or scientific resources to

support the points being made.

 A clear conclusion that summarizes the information that was presented.

Running head: CREATION REGAINED 1

Creation Regained: How an understanding of the fall affects ways in which I view research in

my area.

Ryan M. Harmon

PSYC710: Psychological Research & Biblical Worldview (B02)

Dr. Angela Rathkamp

January 26, 2023

CREATION REGAINED 2

Creation Regained: How an understanding of the fall affects ways in which I view research in

my area.

The grand narrative, as discussed by Wolters, is the Biblical narrative of creation, fall,

and redemption. Understanding the fall and redemption as per the Biblical teachings can be vital

in helping understand how Bible stories are related to human experiences. By understanding the

spiritual view of the various Biblical figures and how they navigated the search for their purpose

through the various challenges they encountered and overcame, I will be able to understand how

their experiences and teachings can be integrated into the worldview of teens with depression in

helping them overcome their psychological problems. My understanding of the fall, according to

the discussion by Wolters, is that human beings can relate their worldly experiences to the events

that happen in the biblical stories, which means that there are times when we may fall and feel

like we have lost it all, but there is always a chance for redemption from that fall and become

better and more fulfilled human beings. Wolters supports a transformational approach to life with

his thesis in which he says, “the redemption in Jesus Christ means the restoration of an

originally good creation.” According to him, understanding the biblical narrative of creation,

fall, and redemption can be instrumental in shaping the lives of human beings in that they can

relate to it as they navigate through the challenges they may face in their lives as they seek to

obey the scriptures (Wolters, 2005, p. 1). The focus of this paper is on establishing how an

understanding of the fall, as per Wolters’ perspective, will affect the way I view research in my

area, which is teen depression. It will establish how I will apply the insight that I have gained

from reading Wolters’ account and discussion of the fall to my research on depression among

teens.

CREATION REGAINED 3

Teen depression is a mental health problem that causes a teenager to have persistent

feelings of loss of interest in activities, hopelessness, and sadness resulting in the teen having

behavioral, physical, and emotional problems. Teen depression can be influenced by the

experiences that the teen has either in school or at home, which may include academic

expectations, peer pressure, and the changes happening in their bodies. In most cases, teens

struggling with depression have behavioral issues that cause them to act in damaging and

undesirable ways that negatively impact their overall well-being. My interest in this area of

research in psychology is influenced by the need to understand how best teens can navigate

depression and lead more productive and fulfilled life. After understanding the fall, I think that

there are several ways through which I would integrate the biblical worldview into the processes

of counseling and helping teens deal with depression and learn how to avoid it. I will establish

how they can cope with depression from a scientific perspective and integrate it with the

Christian view. According to Bitsko et al. (2022), one-fifth of children aged 12–17 years had

ever experienced a major episode of depression in the United States. My interest is in helping

understand how integrating the scientific and biblical perspectives into interventions to help

teens cope with depression will help address the problem. Integrating the Biblical perspective

will help the teens understand the purpose that they are working towards in life so that they can

focus on it and recommend some of the Biblical teachings to help them navigate the challenges

that they may encounter along the way.

The biblical narrative can play a significant role in helping make a difference in teen

depression psychology. My reason for integrating the Bible into psychology research is

influenced by the fact that truths from the Biblical stories can be compelling in ways that the

scientific psychology perspectives are not, which means that a combination of both, especially in

CREATION REGAINED 4

establishing interventions for depressed teens, can help enhance the counseling outcomes.

Understanding how the various biblical characters faced challenges and eventually got out of

them can help teens develop the interest to apply the same concepts to their lives in helping cope

with depression. For example, prayer forms a significant part of the Biblical stories in which

characters call upon God to help them when faced with tough situations. Teens can use faith and

prayer to help guide their actions and live their lives as per Biblical teachings. The fall of man is

demonstrated by the biblical story that human beings sinned and angered God so that he wanted

to completely destroy the human race. However, redemption happened when Jesus came to earth

and died on the cross for our sins s that we could be forgiven. As Wolters says, “The gospel

announced that the power of God to renew the entire creation was now present in Jesus by the

Spirit. This liberating power was demonstrated in Jesus' life and deeds and explained by his

words. By his death on the cross, he battled the power of the evil and gained the decisive victory”

(Wolters, 2005, p. 120). This explains the power of restoration that comes with the forgiveness

of sins. This teaching can be instrumental in teen psychology when helping a depressed teen

cope because it can help them understand that everyone makes mistakes and feeling hopeless and

sad or acting in a way that is not right is not the end of the world because there is still a chance

for redemption. Understanding the story of Jesus and the challenges he faced on earth can help a

teen understand that there is always a way to get past the challenges and have a better future after

being redeemed from the problem. Jesus went through the fall in which he ended up getting

crucified and dying on the cross, but he experienced victory demonstrated in his eventual

resurrection. This is demonstrated in John 16: 33 which says, “I have told you these things, so

that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have

overcome the world” (John 16: 33). This can help the teens view depression as a fall related to

CREATION REGAINED 5

the experiences of Jesus, and achieve victory once they have addressed the problem and get back

to their normal lives.

The biblical perspective implies that as long as one has faith, one knows that one will

make it through any trials because God is by their side. Teaching teenagers about the Bible using

Bible stories can help them understand how having faith in God helped a lot of people, including

Jesus, in getting through the trials they faced. According to Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and

strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (NIV, 1973, Psalm 46:1). I will integrate this verse in

my psychology research by establishing the role that faith can play in facilitating better coping

for teens going through depression. The Biblical worldview is demonstrated in thinking about

depression as a tribulation that one can get through if they have faith in God. Faith is gained by

understanding the Biblical narratives and all the times that got helped his people through trials

and redeemed them from sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

According to Walters, the original good of all creation as made by God is to be restored

in all aspects of life and development, including emotions and others, and it is the plan of God

for things to be that way. He says, “The obvious implication is that the new humanity (God’s

people) is called to promote renewal in every department of creation” (Wolters, 2005, p. 73).

This means that Christians must be actively involved to achieve the desired transformation. I can

integrate this view in my psychology research on teen depression by using scientific means and

Biblical teachings to help teenagers understand the factors that may be leading them to

depression and how they can avoid them. By using the positive examples and teachings

established in the Bible to influence their beliefs and change their behavior, I will be doing the

transformational work that is expected of me as per the Biblical teachings. It is important for

teenagers who are struggling with depression because of issues of body image and peer pressure

CREATION REGAINED 6

to understand that everything that God created is intrinsically good and that they are perfect just

the way they are. Integrating this teaching into the counseling process can help achieve the

desired outcomes of helping teenagers effectively cope with depression.

My perspective to integrate the discussion by Wolters will provide an effective balance

between the suggestions that I will find through my psychology research which includes

scientifically proven interventions, and the teachings of the Bible to understand the behavior of

teenagers when going through depression. I will integrate the science of psychology and

Christian theology in establishing ways that I can make the teens struggling with depression

understand the role that Biblical teachings can play in facilitating better coping. I will use this

integration to develop a strategy for counseling which will involve first asking about the values,

beliefs, and practices of a client, then making specific recommendations based on values and

making religious recommendations for coping, like being engaged in religious practices like

prayer and meditation as a way of coping to avoid the negative thoughts that cause them to

becomes hopeless and feel unfulfilled resulting in them becoming depressed. The biblical

scriptures speak about the problems that people experience in life, including psychological

disorders like depression.

I would apply an understanding of the fall to researching teen depression in psychology

by relating the various aspects of depression that teens face and the challenges that come with it

to the experiences of great biblical figures like Jesus Christ. I would use the experience of Jesus

and how he overcame the challenges he faced with the help of God to establish how teens can

integrate religious practices and doctrines into dealing with the mental health problems as well as

behavioral problems that come with teen depression. I will identify the specific Bible scriptures

that can present the message of hope and assurance that with God in their lives through the

CREATION REGAINED 7

application of the specific Christian doctrines and values, they will be able to overcome any

challenge and come out victorious to lead lives that are more meaningful. The Biblical doctrines

will be instrumental in my research because they will help me establish how the teens can

develop a reformational worldview based on the understanding of the Biblical doctrines and

practices that helped many great people presented in the Biblical narrative through their trying

times.

I would apply an understanding of the fall in teen depression psychology by integrating

Christian values and doctrines in the implementation of the various models of promoting mental

health for depressed teens. Using Biblical teachings to show them the possibility of redemption

even from the worst of falls may be helpful in motivating them and giving them hope that things

will be better if they apply the recommended religious values and practices in their daily lives

and when faced with trials. According to Wolters, genuine healing of the youth is a matter of

healthy progression, and salvation in Jesus Christ means restoration of society and culture in

their present developmental stage (Wolters, 2005, p. 77). This means that based on the Christian

doctrines and what God expects of me and all of his creation, it is our duty to take part in the

redemption of mankind from the fall. I can do this in my research area of teen depression by

integrating the Christin doctrines and values into the establishment of interventions for teen

depression to include Christian aspects that will help them develop a Christian worldview that

will facilitate better coping with depression and other challenges that they may face at their stage

of development.

Conclusion

From the Christian worldview, as established by Wolters, all aspects of reality that

human beings exist in derive their very existence from God as their creator. The order created by

CREATION REGAINED 8

God was distorted, resulting in the fall, and Jesus Christ became the restoration redeeming

human beings from the fall. Therefore, as God's creation, we are expected to restore God's

creation from the fall, which is demonstrated in different aspects of our lives. The integration of

the Christian doctrines into my research area of teen depression in psychology can be

instrumental in helping establish better coping practices for teens to help them navigate the

challenges that come with their developmental stage, like peer pressure, body image issues, and

academic expectations. Understanding the fall and the redemption that comes after will present a

message of hope and positivity for the teens. They can adopt religious practices and teachings

into their daily lives to help navigate situations that may lead them to become depressed. An

understanding of the fall presented me with an opportunity to explore and develop a different

view of the models of psychology for teens struggling with depression.

CREATION REGAINED 9

References

Bitsko, R. H., Claussen, A. H., Lichstein, J., Black, L. I., Jones, S. E., Danielson, M. L., ... &

Ghandour, R. M. (2022). Mental health surveillance among children—United States,

2013–2019. MMWR supplements, 71(2), 1.

New International Version (1973). John 16:33.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+16%3A33&version=NIV

New International Version (1973). Psalm 46:1.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+46%3A1&version=NIV

Wolters, A. M. (2005). Creation regained: Biblical basics for a reformational worldview. Wm.

B. Eerdmans Publishing.

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 1

Psychology and Christianity Tension

Ryan M. Harmon

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology, Liberty University

Author Note

No known conflict of interest exists concerning this paper.

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 2

Abstract

Psychology and Christianity are founded on different concepts that often conflict with each other

resulting in tension between them because they each disagree with what the other says. The

most significant reasons for the tension between religion and Christianity are based on the fact

that psychology is a science, while Christianity does not believe in scientific explanations for

various phenomena related to human behavior. The focus of psychology is on environmental

factors and how they affect human behavior, while Christianity explains human behavior through

the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Understanding the cause of tension between Christianity

and religion will play a significant role in helping establish ways through which the two can

possibly be integrated and work together to effectively meet physical and emotional human

needs. The integration of biblical scriptures and scientific concepts in understanding human

behavior requires further research to establish how best they can be integrated to help reduce the

tension between them.

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION  3 
 
Table of Contents 
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................2 
Psychology and Christianity Tension...........................................................................................4 
Tension Related to the Root of Psychology ..............................................................................4 
Tension Because of the Differences in the Basis upon which their Ideas are rooted ..................6 
Tension Caused by the Different Approaches to Meeting Human Needs ..................................6 
Tension about their Opinions on what Influences Human Behavior .........................................8 
The tension arising from the differences in their information sources ..................................... 10 
Tension Arises from how they view Each other ..................................................................... 12 
Recommendation to Address the Tension .............................................................................. 13 
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 11 
References ................................................................................................................................ 12

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 4

Psychology and Christianity Tension

Psychology is a form of scientifically studying the mind to understand human thought

and behavior (McLeod, 2019). Christianity is a religion that involves understanding, believing,

and applying the doctrines of the Bible based on the life and teachings of Jesus (Christ Cox &

Thompson, 2022). The tension between psychology and Christianity arises from their

conflicting approaches to the different phenomena in human life, including those related to

human behavior. The Christian and psychological approaches conflict with each other,

especially when it comes to the understanding of human problems and how to solve them,

resulting in disagreements regarding how they view the relationship between the soul and the

spirit. Most Christians do not agree with psychology or trust it in how it explains different

phenomena because it is not based on faith and tries to explain human behavior in ways that go

against what the Bible teaches (Field, 2017). The conflict between the two arises because of the

conflicting ideologies concerning explaining human behavior. This paper presents a detailed

examination of why there exists tension between psychology and Christianity by integrating the

relevant Biblical and philosophical sources that explain the existing tension. The paper also

suggests a recommendation as to how the tension can be addressed.

Tension Related to the Root of Psychology

The history of psychology is rooted in ancient Greek Philosophy, and the idea was first

created and introduced by people who did not believe in God and worshipped many Gods

(Carter, 2019). This goes against Christian doctrines, with Christians believing that there is only

one God. This ideological difference is the reason why there is tension because many Christians

believe that psychology was created by people who did not believe in God; hence it cannot be

part of their Christian practices. The tension between Christianity and psychology is because of

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 5

the differences in ideologies between the root of psychology and Christian teachings (Carter,

2019). This means that the dislike of psychology by the Christians is based on the Biblical

teachings in which they believe that since the root of psychology was not based on Christianity

and its ideas are not in line with the Christian doctrines, then psychology is wrong. As Such,

Christians apply the biblical teachings about God and evil like the teachings of Jesus Christ in

Matthew 7:17, which says, " Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad

fruit” (New International Version, 2011, Matthew 7:17). According to Christians, the fact that

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 6

the root of psychology was not based on Christian doctrines make it a bad thing hence they

believe that the root of psychology is bad making psychology itself bad.

Tension Because of the Differences in the Basis upon which their Ideas are rooted

According to Entwistle (2021), the tension between Christianity and Psychology is

influenced by the difference in the basis upon which their ideas are rooted, with Christianity

being based on faith and psychology being based on truth. There is a significant conflict

between theology and science, and with psychology establishing the truth in explaining human

behavior from scientific facts, the Christians believe it goes against the Christian doctrines where

it is believed that God is the creator of everything and science has nothing to do with how the

world is today and how people choose to behave. Christians do not agree with psychology

because it does not involve the spirit realm, as all the truths it portrays in its approaches to

explaining human behavior are based on scientific concepts which go against the religious

concepts of explaining human behavior. Christian doctrines are based on the teachings of the

Bible and the belief in God, while psychology is all about science without anything to do with

Biblical teachings. Christians believe in the Bible as the only truth, and when psychologists talk

about scientific facts, they defy what the Bible teaches, which explains why there is significant

tension between the two.

Tension Caused by the Different Approaches to Meeting Human Needs

Another significant source of tension between psychology and Christianity is related to

the different approaches that they each take when it comes to meeting the needs of human beings

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 7

in terms of behavioral and emotional well-being (Entwistle, 2021). Psychologists believe that

scientific ways are the best in establishing how to meet the various human needs in terms of their

emotions and behavior, while Christians believe in having faith and looking up to God and the

scriptures in the search for meaning and achievement of human needs. According to Philippians

4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with

thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (New International Version, 2011, Philippians 4:6).

In working towards achieving the human needs, Christians base their beliefs on the actions of

Jesus as their role model as he used the Holy Spirit to intervene in helping meet the human

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 8

needs. Psychology focuses on worldly ways of getting the emotional needs of human beings, but

Christianity emphasizes looking up to God and the Holy Spirit in seeking fulfillment and their

other emotional needs.

Tension about their Opinions on what Influences Human Behavior

Psychology is of the opinion that human behavior is influenced by environmental factors,

which means that human beings are not responsible for their actions (Entwistle, 2021). This

contributes to the tension between Christianity and psychology because, according to

Christianity, the environment does not play any role in determining what we do, and blaming it

on the environment is just a way of psychology making people fail to take accountability for

their actions by making them believe that they are not responsible for what they do. According

to the Bible in Proverbs 23:7, “Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a

feast, / so he is” (New International Version, 2011, Proverbs 23:7). This means that the actions

of human beings are as a result of their thoughts and it is who they are and has nothing to do with

the environment around. Therefore, Christianity disagrees with the explanation of human

behavior established by psychology because Christians believe that human actions are a result of

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 9

their choices and that they can choose to do right or wrong (Kováčik, 2020). Therefore, saying

that a person did something and blaming it on something else in the environment is wrong

because, according to Christianity, human beings always have the free will to make a choice as

to whether to be good or bad. God said that the choice is ours in choosing life or death, which

means we have a choice to be good or bad. This is established in Deuteronomy 30:15, which

says, "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction” (New International

Version, 2011, Deuteronomy 30:15). This means that God has given us the option of choosing

what we want to do with our lives between good and evil. This means that nothing else can be

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 10

blamed for the choices we make but ourselves. This goes against the ideologies of psychology,

which is based on the belief that our actions are influenced by other factors in the environment

and that we do not do them out of our own will. There is a lot of tension between Christianity

and psychology because psychology makes a person who does something wrong appear to be a

victim, yet the Bible provides that we all have a choice between good and bad. The conditions

that we find ourselves in as human beings are a result of the choices that we make, which is why

Christianity encourages us to accept responsibility for our actions and make better choices to

better our conditions. However, this is in conflict with psychology, which believes that we are

not to blame for our current condition and that to change it for the better, the conditions in our

environment have to change.

The tension arising from the differences in their information sources

Another significant reason why there is tension between psychology and religion is

because of the differences in the views they hold about human behavior in terms of how they

explain their approaches (Entwistle, 2021). Christianity uses biblical scriptures as a source of

information to explain why people conduct themselves the way they do, in terms of good and

bad, and they also believe that the scriptures provide the guidance that one needs in order to

change their behavior for the better (Entwistle, 2021). Psychology holds a different belief from

what Christianity does and is more focused on basing its conclusions on explaining certain

human behavior on observation of nature and reasoning to understand why people behave in a

certain way. Their focus is on ensuring that they change a negative aspect of what they observe

to be a significant influence on behavior and implement scientific interventions to change that

behavior to one that is desirable. The tension between Christianity and religion is such that each

holds ideas that oppose the other when it comes to explaining the behavior of human beings and

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 11

the interventions that can be used to address the behavior. For example, if you ask a Christian

about how to solve a certain behavioral problem, they will tell you to look up to God and pray

for the desired result, but if you consult a psychologist, they will inform you to look at the factors

in your surrounding that influence that behavior and eliminates them.

According to Field (2017), Christianity rejects any ideas that explain human behavior and

nature that are not related to what the Biblical scriptures say, and psychology rejects some

Christian concepts of explaining human behavior by stating that human behavior is influenced by

the environment and has nothing to do with the Bible. Kemp (2018) argues that the main reason

why there is tension between psychology and Christianity is because of the differences in their

perception of how the spirit and the soul relate, as established from their historical debates.

Psychology is of the opinion that the soul is the aspect of a human being that is present for there

to be life in a body, while the spirit is the non-physical part of the human body which is

responsible for decision-making and reasoning (Weger & Wagemann, 2021). Informed by this

ideology, psychology argues that proper reasoning and decision making is only negatively

affected by factors in the environment of a person, and changing that environment or moving to

an environment that fosters good behavior are the only ways to address behavioral problems.

Christianity disagrees with this explanation of the soul and spirit as defined by psychology by

arguing that the mind, heart, and imagination, which are the inner life and experiences of a

person, are what form the soul, while the spirit is also about inner life in relation to God which is

about having faith, hope, love, and perseverance. The inner life of a person and how they relate

with God is what influences the person to be who they are in terms of behavior. This means that

if the inner person has a good relationship with God, then it is likely to influence them to have

positive behavior and experiences on the outside. This explains Christianity's argument that

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 12

nothing in the environment of a human being is to blame for the decisions and behavior they

choose because God gives them the free will to choose between what is right and what is wrong

(Kováčik, 2020). Therefore, Christians believe that undesirable behavior is avoidable when

someone ensures that they live by the Biblical teachings and respect its doctrines, while

psychology argues that there is no way one can avoid undesirable behavior if they are

surrounded by factors in their environment that cause them to engage in behavior that is not

desirable.

Tension Arises from how they view Each other

There is significant tension between Christianity and psychology because of how they

view each other. For instance, Christianity argues that while psychology plays a vital role in

generating information that is useful in explaining the behavior of human beings, the truths that

are established by the Bible carry more authority than psychology will ever be able to have.

They argue that biblical scriptures speak to the heart of the troubles that people experience and

that God understands a lot about the problems that people experience, including psychological

disorders. This is established in Psalm 56:8, which says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You

have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (New

Living Translation, 2015, Psalm 56:8). This presents reassurance to human beings that God

knows and understands our troubles. According to Christians, the biblical scriptures provide a

more detailed description and explanations of the problems that people experience, including

mental health disorders, and provide solutions to the problems by simply looking up to God and

seeking His help and guidance through the scriptures. This is unlike psychology which only

focuses on explaining human behavior through scientific research, which according to

Christians, is not sufficient or compelling enough to help people understand the cause and

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 13

solutions to their issues in the way the Biblical teachings do. The Bible has more influence

because it is more connected to the worldview assumption about human behavior compared to

the psychological concepts of explaining behavior.

Recommendation to Address the Tension

While there is a lot of tension between Christianity and psychology because of the

differences between them, as established above, the tension can be eased by the recognition of

some of the ideas that they have in common. They are both focused on helping people by

helping them heal from what is wrong in their lives. Christianity provides Biblical solutions, and

psychology provides scientific solutions, but they both work towards the same goal, which is to

help human beings address the challenges that they may be facing in their lives (Hathaway &

Yarhouse, 2021). This is an indicator that if psychology and Christianity work together despite

their differences, they can learn from each other as they establish interventions to help meet the

needs of human beings when they are struggling with different challenges they encounter in their

lives.

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 14

Conclusion

The various perceptional differences between Christianity and psychology, as established

above, explain the reason why there is tension between the two. They hold different views of

each other based on differences in ideologies concerning human behavior. Understanding these

differences is instrumental in helping understand the role that they each play in assisting human

beings to address their emotional and behavioral challenges. Understanding how they each can

learn and benefit from each will be vital in helping facilitate the generation of desirable

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 15

outcomes when addressing human needs. Further research into the effective integration of

Christianity and Psychology is necessary to establish how well the two can work together.

References

Carter, J. W. (2019). Aristotle on earlier Greek psychology: the science of soul. Cambridge

University Press.

Cox, G. R., & Thompson, N. (2022). Christianity. In Managing Death: International

Perspectives (pp. 43-48). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-05559-1_3

Entwistle, D. N. (2021). Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity: An introduction

to worldview issues, philosophical foundations, and models of integration. Wipf and

Stock Publishers.

Field, S. (2017). WHY CHRISTIANS CAN'T TRUST PSYCHOLOGY.

http://samanthapfield.com/2017/07/05/why-christians-cant-trust-psychology/

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION  16 
 
Hathaway, W. L., & Yarhouse, M. A. (2021).  The integration of psychology and Christianity: A 
domain-based approach.  InterVarsity Press. 
Kemp, H. V. (2018).  The Tension between Psychology and Theology: The Etymological Roots.  
Journal of Psychology and Theology, 10(2), 105–112.  
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/009164718201000201?icid=int.sj-
abstract.similar-articles.1  
Kováčik, M. (2020).  Freedom to Choose Between Good and Evil: Theological Anthropology in 
Discussion with Philosophy.  https://philpapers.org/rec/KOVFTC  
McLeod, S. (2019).  What is Psychology?  
https://www.simplypsychology.org/whatispsychology.html  
New International Version (2011).  Matthew 7:17, Philippians 4:6, Deuteronomy 30:15, 
Proverbs 23:7.  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A17-
18&version=NIV  
New Living Translation (2015).  Psalm 56:8.  
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2056%3A8&version=NLT  
Weger, U. W., & Wagemann, J. (2021). Soul, Spirit, and Consciousness in Psychology and 
Philosophy.  European Psychologist.  https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000430   

Cox,

R.,

Thompson,

(2022).

Christianity.

Managing

Death:

International

Perspectives

(pp.

43-48).

Cham:

Springer

International

Publishing.

\s://ink.springer.com/

/10.1007/978-3-031-05559-1_3

Entwistle,

(2021).

Integrative

approaches

psychology

and

Christianity:

introduction

worldview

issues,

philosophical

foundations,

and

models

integration.

Wipf

and

Stock

Publishers.

Field,

2017).

CHRISTIANS

CAN'T

TRUST

PSYCHOLOGY.

Angela

Rathkamp

://samanthap

field

com/2017/07/05/why-christians-cant-trust-psycholo;

Fister

only

shouldbecspialzed,

Hathaway,

L.,

Yarhouse,

(2021).

The

integration

psychology

and

Christianity:

domain-based

approach.

InterVarsity

Press.

Kemp,

H. V.

(2018).

The

Tension

between

Psychology

and

Theology:

The

Etymological

Roots.

Joumal

Psychology

and

Theology,

10(2),

105-112.

abstract.similar-articles.1

(2020).

Freedom

Choose

Between

Good

and

Evil:

Theological

Anthropology

Discussion

with

Philosophy.

_https://philpapers.org/rec/KOVETC

McLeod,

(2019).

What

Psychology?

s://vww.simplypsychology.org/

what

logy-html

‘New

International

Version

(2011).

Matthew

7:17,

Philippians

4:6,

Deuteronomy

30:15,

Proverbs

23:7.

_https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A17-

18&-version=NIV

Angela

Rathkamp

New

Living

Translation

(2015).

Psalm

56:8.

Fea

eee

Unie

coerce

https://www.

biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2056%3A8&-version=NLT

PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY TENSION 17

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 1

Created by Christy Owen of Liberty University’s Online Writing Center

[email protected]; last date modified: April 13, 2022

Sample APA Paper: Professional Format for Graduate/Doctoral Students

Claudia S. Sample

School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University

Author Note

Claudia S. Sample (usually only included if author has an ORCID number)

I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Claudia S. Sample.

Email: [email protected]

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 
2 
 
 
 
Table of Contents  
(Only Included for Easy Navigation; Hyperlinked for Quick Access) 
Sample APA Paper: Professional Format for Graduate/Doctoral Students .................................... 6 
Basic Rules of Scholarly Writing ................................................................................................... 7 
Brief Summary of Changes in APA-7 ............................................................................................. 8 
Running Head, Author Note, and Abstract ..................................................................................... 9 
Basic Formatting Elements ........................................................................................................... 10 
Font ................................................................................................................................... 10 
Line Spacing ..................................................................................................................... 10 
Spaces After Punctuation .................................................................................................. 11 
Footnotes ........................................................................................................................... 11 
Heading Levels—Level 1 ............................................................................................................. 11 
Level 2 Heading ................................................................................................................ 12 
Level 3 Heading .................................................................................................... 13 
Level 4 Heading. Must be bolded and indented ½”. Add a period, one 
space, and begin your content on the same line as shown here. ....................................... 13 
Level 5 Heading ............................................................................ 13 
Specific Elements of Academic Papers ........................................................................................ 13 
Tables of Contents and Outlines ....................................................................................... 13 
Annotated Bibliographies ................................................................................................. 14 
Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 14 

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 
3 
 
 
 
Crediting Your Sources................................................................................................................. 15 
Paraphrasing and Direct Quotes ........................................................................................ 15 
Paraphrasing .......................................................................................................... 16 
Block Quotes ......................................................................................................... 16 
How Often to Cite Your Source in Each Paragraph ......................................................... 17 
Rule for Omitting the Year of Publication ........................................................................ 17 
Arranging the Order of Resources in Your Citations ....................................................... 17 
Two Works by the Same Author in the Same Year .......................................................... 18 
Two Works by Two Different Authors with the Same Last Name .................................. 18 
Three or More Authors Cited In-Text ............................................................................... 18 
Number of Authors in the Reference List ......................................................................... 19 
Numbers ........................................................................................................................................ 19 
Displaying Titles of Works in-Text .............................................................................................. 19 
Primary Sources versus Secondary Sources ................................................................................. 20 
Personal Communications ............................................................................................................ 20 
Resources Canonically Numbered Sections (i.e., the Bible and Plays) ........................................ 21 
Bible and other Classical Works ....................................................................................... 21 
Plays .................................................................................................................................. 22 
Lectures and PowerPoints ............................................................................................................. 22 
Dictionary Entries ......................................................................................................................... 23 
Changes in Reference Entries ....................................................................................................... 23 

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS

Electronic Sources ........................................................................................................................ 24

Adding Color ................................................................................................................................ 24

Self-Plagiarism .............................................................................................................................. 25

Final Formatting Tweaks .............................................................................................................. 26

Exhaustive Reference List Examples & Additional Helpful Resources ....................................... 26

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 29

References ..................................................................................................................................... 30

Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 40

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Begin your abstract at the left margin. This is the only paragraph that should not be indented.

Unless otherwise instructed, APA recommends an abstract be no more than 250 words. It should

generally not contain any citations or direct quotes. This should be a tight, concise summary of

the main points in your paper, not a step-by-step of what you plan to accomplish in your paper.

Avoid phrases such as “this paper will,” and just structure your sentences to say what you want

to say. The following three sentences exemplify a good abstract style: There are many

similarities and differences between the codes of ethics for the ACA and the AACC. Both include

similar mandates in the areas of ----, ---, and ---. However, each differs significantly in the areas

of ---, ---, and ---. For more detailed information, see “Writing an Abstract” at

https://www.liberty.edu/casas/academic-success-center/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2019/04/

Writing_an_Abstract_Revised_2012.pdf (note that you would not include any links in your

abstract). This is just now at 168 words, so eyeball how brief your abstract must be. Think of

your paper as a movie you want to sound enticing, and the abstract as the summary of the plot

you would share to draw people’s interest into wanting to come and see your movie. You want to

really hook and intrigue them. What you have to say is important! Remember to stay under 250,

words. Keywords highlight the search terms someone would use to find your paper in a database.

Keywords: main words, primary, necessary, search terms

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 6

Sample APA Paper: Professional Format for Graduate/Doctoral Students

The title of your paper goes on the top line of the first page of the body (American

Psychological Association [APA], 2020, section 2.11). It should be centered, bolded, and in title

case (all major words—usually those with four+ letters—should begin with a capital letter)—see

p. 51 of your Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: Seventh Edition

(APA, 2020; hereinafter APA-7). It must match the title that is on your title page (see last line on

p. 32). As shown in the previous sentence, use brackets to denote an abbreviation within

parentheses (bottom of p. 159). Write out the full name of an entity or term the first time

mentioned before using its acronym (see citation in first sentence in this paragraph), and then use

the acronym throughout the body of the paper (section 6.25).

There are many changes in APA-7. One to mention here is that APA-7 allows writers to

include subheadings within the introductory section (APA, 2020, p. 47). Since APA-7 now

regards the title, abstract, and term “References” to all be Level-1 headings, a writer who opts to

include headings in his or her introduction must begin with Level-2 headings as shown above

(see section 2.27) for any divisions within the introductory section.

If you do choose to include headings in your introduction section (which is optional), be

sure to include two or more subheadings, since APA (2020) forbids stand-alone heading levels.

A second notable change in APA-7 is that writers are no longer required to cite their source every

single sentence that content from it is mentioned (section 8.1). As demonstrated in this paper,

since all of the content (other than the examples included for illustration and reference-entry

variation purposes) comes directly from the APA-7 itself, citations to the APA-7 are only

included for the first instance in each paragraph. Section and/or page numbers are included

parenthetically throughout for the sake of students who desire to know exactly where the stated

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 7

rule appears in the APA-7 itself. In your academic papers, however, it is critical to include the

required author(s) and year, as applicable, for all citations that are included; this may include

more than one citation for each resource per paragraph, as required to avoid any confusion about

the source of that content.

Basic Rules of Scholarly Writing

Most beginning students have difficulty learning how to write papers and also format

papers correctly using the seventh edition of the APA manual. However, the Liberty University

Online Writing Center’s (OWC) mission includes helping students learn how to be autonomous,

proficient writers. The OWC also provides students with templates to help them with basic

formatting elements, but this sample paper is designed to help graduate and doctoral students

learn to master APA rules and formatting on their own, which will prove helpful as they progress

in their studies and work toward future publication in scholarly journals.

For the purpose of instruction, this paper will use second person (you, your), but third

person (this author) must be used in most student papers. First person (I, me, we, us, our) is not

generally permitted in academic papers. Students should refrain from using first or second person

in college courses (even though the APA manual encourages this in other writing venues) unless

the assignment instructions clearly permit such (as in the case of personal reflection sections or

life histories). If in doubt, students should clarify with their professors.

APA-7 delineates separate rules and guidelines between “student” and “professional”

writers (APA, 2020). Because a primary purpose of graduate and doctoral studies is to prepare

those students to publish professionally, Liberty University has decided to have undergraduate

students follow APA-7’s guidelines for “student papers,” and graduate/doctoral students follow

APA-7’s guidelines for “professional papers.” Separate templates are available for each level.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 8

This sample paper illustrates and discusses the rules and formatting of professional papers, as

required for all Liberty University graduate and doctoral courses using APA-7 style.

Brief Summary of Changes in APA-7

Most of these changes will be discussed in more detail below; this is just a very brief

overview here. APA-7 reverts back to only one space after closing punctuation in the body of the

paper (APA-6 required two spaces; APA, 2020, section 6.1). Student (undergraduate) papers no

longer include a running head or abstract (sections 2.2 and 2.8); professional (graduate/doctoral)

papers require an abstract but the running head is now the same on all pages (the added phrase

“Running head:” from APA-6 has been eliminated; see section 2.8). Title pages are different for

both student and professional formats. The title of a paper is no longer limited to 12 words

(section 2.4).

Citations of all resources with three or more authors now use the first author’s last name

and the term et al. (APA, 2020, section 8.17). Reference entries must name up to the first 19

authors before adding an ampersand and ellipsis (up from APA-6’s six authors; section 9.8).

APA-7 omits the phrase DOI and instead standardizes DOIs to be presented in hyperlink format

(i.e., https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1524838017742386; section 9.35). Formatting guidelines for

annotated bibliographies are included in APA-7 (section 9.51), as well as expanded and

standardized reference entry examples. As discussed above, it is no longer necessary to cite a

source every single time you refer to content gleaned from it as long as it is clear the content

comes from that source (section 8.1); APA-7 also expanded the specific location noted in the

citation to include page, paragraph, section (as used throughout this sample paper, to direct the

student to the exact relevant content), chapter, timestamp, etc. (section 8.13).

APA-7 allows for “self-plagiarism” (clarified and defined below). It also invites writers to

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 9

highlight the most relevant work first, rather than just present all works in alphabetical order

(APA, 2020, section 8.12).

Heading-level formatting has changed, and APA-7 provides more flexibility in font and

line spacing (APA, 2020). The Bible must now be included in the reference list and its citations

must include the editor’s details and year (section 8.28); there are also new rules for dictionary

entries. Publisher city and state details are omitted from all reference entries except those

involving presentations or conferences, as is the phrase “retrieved from.” Hyperlinks should be

live, but they may be either presented as blue underlining or plain black text.

Running Head, Author Note, and Abstract

APA (2020) delineates separate formatting requirements for what it terms “student” and

“professional” papers. Its descriptions for those labels, however, suggests that it regards

undergraduate-level writing to fall within the student purview, and graduate/doctoral-level

writing (including dissertations and theses) to fall within the professional purview. Since a

significant goal in graduate and post-graduate studies is preparing those students to publish in

scholarly journals at and beyond graduation, it makes sense to train those students in the

formatting that is required for professionals. As such, Liberty University has opted to require the

APA-7’s “student” version format for all undergraduate assignments using APA, and its

“professional” version for all graduate and doctoral assignments. To that end, this being the

sample paper for professional formatting, it includes the additional elements required for such: a

running head (same on all pages), an author’s note, and an abstract. Graduate and doctoral

students will use this format. Note that the first “paragraph” under the author’s note is generally

only included if the author has an ORCID number, which most students will not have. However,

it is included in this sample paper and the corresponding template because the purpose of these

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 10

resources is to prepare students to publish manuscripts post-graduation. The student’s full

address, however, is intentionally omitted from the Liberty University template and this sample

paper for privacy and safety reasons, since student papers are often unfortunately published

online and disclosing their home addresses could pose safety risks.

Basic Formatting Elements

Font

APA-7 does not prescribe a specific font or size (APA, 2020, section 2.19) but rather

allows for some choice (e.g., 12-point Times New Romans, 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 11-

point Georgia, or 10-point Lucinda Sans Unicode). Most journals and academic institutions will

have a preference, however, as even APA-7 acknowledges on p. 44. For this reason—and

because font size can easily be changed if an editor interested in publishing a student’s work

prefers a different font—Liberty University recommends that students use 12-point Times New

Romans or 11-point Calibri font for the body text in all academic papers. Data in charts, figures,

and tables should be presented in 8- to 14-point size in either Calibri, Arial, or Lucinda Sans

Unicode font. Students are not permitted to use any fonts such as script, calligraphy, poster,

decorative, or others not found in published scholarly journals. Since APA-7 itself authorizes a

variety of fonts and sizes, assignments will be gauged by word count rather than page count.

Word count constitutes the number of words within the body of the paper, and excludes the title

page, abstract, reference list, appendices, and other supplemental resources.

Line Spacing

APA-7 adds extra/blank lines on the title page (APA, 2020, sections 2.5, 2.7, 2.21). It also

specifies that spacing in tables and figures may be single-, 1-1/2-, or double-spaced; equations

can be triple- or quadruple-spaced. Footnotes, when used at the bottom of a page, should be

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 11

single-spaced (section 2.21).

Spaces After Punctuation

APA-7 reverts back to just one space after closing punctuation in the body of the paper, as

well as in reference entries (APA, 2020, section 6.1). Ordinarily, it would be improper to have a

paragraph with only one sentence, though APA itself asserts that for its purposes “sentences and

paragraphs of any length are technically allowed.”

Footnotes

This leads to another new rule in APA-7, one allowing the inclusion of footnotes (APA,

2020, section 2.13). Footnotes should be use very sparingly and are appropriate to include

information such as that in the prior section to alert the reader to supplemental material that is

available online for that thought. Though APA-7 authorizes placement of footnote content either

at the bottom of the page (as in this sample paper) or on a separate page after the reference list

(section 2.21), Liberty University recommends that student place them, when used, at the bottom

of the page, as shown here.

Heading Levels—Level 1

This sample paper uses primarily two levels of headings (Levels 1 and 2). APA style,

however, has five heading levels, which will be demonstrated briefly for visual purposes. See

section 2.27 of your APA-7 (APA, 2020) for more details on heading levels and formatting. In

APA-7, all heading levels are now bolded and in title case (capitalize each major word—usually

those with four or more letters, including hyphenated compound words). Do not capitalize

articles (a, an, the) in headings unless they begin a title or follow a colon. Level 1 headings are

centered, with the content falling on the line beneath each, in standard paragraph format.

See https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2016/05/index.html

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 12

Many students misunderstand that you progress from Level 1 to Level 2 to Level 3 to

Level 4 to Level 5, but that is not correct. In fact, your paper may have only Level 1 headings, or

just Levels 1 and 2. The rule of thumb is that you must have at least two of each heading level

that you use, otherwise omit that heading level.

Headings are basically styling ways of organizing your paper, without using an outline

format. APA specifies five levels of headings; you would likely never use Level 5 and only very

rarely use Level 4 as a student. Think of each level as the different levels in an outline. Roman

numerals, for example, would be Level 1 headings. Capital letters would be Level 2 headings.

Numerals would be Level 3 headings. Lowercase letters would be Level 4. And lowercase

Roman numerals would be Level 5. You must always have two or more of each subheading, but

you do not need every level. You start with Level 1 and work down from that (but not

consecutive 1-2-3-4-5). Under a Level 1, you would either have two+ Level 2 headings or none

at all (just one big section in paragraphs before the next Level 1 section).

Special note about conclusion sections: Please note that some of the sample papers

published by APA to demonstrate proper APA-7 format (including the “professional” sample on

pp. 50-60 of the APA-7 manual) depict the “Conclusion” section with a Level-2 heading. This is

limited to empirical papers that are being submitted for publication in scholarly journals, as those

conclusions pertain to the “Discussion” sections in such papers and are not conclusions of the

overall papers themselves. Conclusions in academic papers at Liberty University will be Level 1

headings (including dissertations and theses, which are divided by chapters, unlike journal article

manuscripts).

Level 2 Heading

Level 2 headings are left-justified (APA, 2020, p. 48). The supporting information is

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 13

posed in standard paragraph form beneath it. Never use only one of any level of heading. You

must use two or more of any level you use, though not every paper will require more than one

level. The heading levels are simply demonstrated here for visual purposes, but you would

always have two or more of each under a larger heading, as shown throughout all the other

sections of this sample paper.

Level 3 Heading

Level 3 headings are bolded, left-justified, and italicized; the content falls on the line

underneath, as with Levels 1 and 2.

Level 4 Heading. Must be bolded and indented ½”. Add a period, one space, and begin

your content on the same line as shown here.

Level 5 Heading. Same as Level 4, but also italicized. Despite heavy writing experience,

this author has never used Level 5 headings.

Specific Elements of Academic Papers

Tables of Contents and Outlines

APA (2020) does not regulate every type of paper and some elements in various

assignments are not addressed in the APA-7 manual, including outlines and tables of content. In

those cases, follow your professor’s instructions and the grading rubric for the content and

format of the outline or annotations, and use standard APA formatting for all other elements

(such as running head, title page, body, reference list, 1" margins, double-spacing, permitted

font, etc.). Note that most academic papers will not require a table of contents, nor would one be

appropriate. One was included in this paper simply for ease-of-access so students could go

directly to the content they want to see. Generally speaking, no table of contents would be

necessary for papers less than 20 pages of content, unless otherwise required by your professor.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 14

That being said, when organizing outlines in APA format, set your headings up in the

proper levels (making sure there are at least two subheadings under each level), and then use

those to make the entries in the outline. As discussed above, Level 1 headings become uppercase

Roman numerals (I, II, III), Level 2 headings become capital letters (A, B, C), Level 3 headings

become numbers (1, 2, 3), Level 4 headings become lowercase letters (a, b, c), and Level 5

headings become lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii). Many courses now require “working

outlines,” which are designed to have the bones and foundational framework of the paper in

place (such as title page, abstract, body with title, outline/heading divisions, supporting content

with citations, and references), without the full “meat” that fills out and forms a completed paper.

Annotated Bibliographies

Many Liberty University courses also now require students to prepare and submit an

annotated bibliography as a foundational step to building a research paper. There is significant

merit in these assignments, as they teach students to critique the resources they have found and

rationalize why each is relevant for their paper’s focus. APA (2020) includes a section on

annotated bibliographies (9.51; see the example provided on p. 308). The appendix attached to

this sample paper also includes a sample annotated bibliography.

Appendices

Appendices, if any, are attached after the reference list (APA, 2020, section 2.14). You

must refer to them (i.e., “callout”) in the body of your paper so that your reader knows to look

there (see the yellow-highlighted callouts to Table 1 on p. 54 and to Footnote 1 on p. 55 of your

APA-7 for visuals on how this should appear in your paper). The word “Appendix” is singular;

use it to refer to individual appendices. APA-7 regards it as a Level 1 heading so it should be

bolded. I attached a sample Annotated Bibliography as a visual aid (see Appendix). You will see

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 15

that I included the title “Appendix” at the top of the page and formatted it in standard APA

format beneath that. Because I only included one appendix, it is simply titled as such. If there are

more appendices, assign a letter to each and denote each by that: “Appendix A” and “Appendix

B.”

Crediting Your Sources

Paraphrasing and Direct Quotes

Paraphrasing is rephrasing another’s idea in one’s own words by changing the wording

sufficiently without altering the meaning (remember not to just change a word here or there or

rearrange the order of the original source’s wording). Quoting is using another’s exact words.

Both need to be cited; failure to do so constitutes plagiarism. Include the author(s) and year for

paraphrases, and the author(s), year, and page or paragraph number for direct quotes. APA-7 also

expands this to include figure number, time stamp, etc.—whatever detail is necessary to get the

reader directly to that content. Page numbers should be used for any printed material (books,

articles, etc.), and paragraph numbers should be used in the absence of page numbers (online

articles, webpages, etc.; see APA, 2020, section 8.13). Use p. for one page and pp. (not italicized

in your paper) for more than one (section 8.25). Use para. for one paragraph and paras. (also not

italicized in your paper) for two or more (section 8.28). For example: (Perigogn & Brazel, 2012,

pp. 12–13) or (Liberty University, 2019, para. 8). Section 8.23 of the APA (2020) manual

specifies that it is not necessary to include a page or paragraph number for paraphrases (just for

direct quotes), but writers may choose to do so to help their readers find that content in the cited

resource.

When naming authors in the text of the sentence itself (called a narrative citation), use the

word “and” to connect them. For example, Perigogn and Brazel (2012) contemplated that . . .

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 16

Use an ampersand (&) in place of the word “and” in parenthetical citations and reference lists:

(Perigogn & Brazel, 2012).

Paraphrasing

Only use quotes when the original text cannot be said as well in your own words or

changing the original wording would change the author’s meaning. You cannot simply change

one word and omit a second; if you paraphrase, the wording must be substantially different, but

with the same meaning. Regardless, you would need to cite the resource you took that

information from. For example, Benoit et al. (2010) wrote that “although, a link between

attachment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has been established, the

mechanisms involved in this link have not yet been identified” (p. 101). A paraphrase for that

quote might be: A link between dysfunctional attachment and the development of PTSD has

been made, though there is insufficient data to determine exactly how this mechanism works

(Benoit et al., 2010).

Block Quotes

Quotes that are 40 or more words must be blocked, with the left margin of the entire

quote indented ½ inch. Maintain double-spacing of block quotes. APA prefers that you introduce

quotes but note that the punctuation falls at the end of the direct quote, with the page number

outside of that (which is contrary to punctuation for non-blocked quotes). For example, Alone

(2008) claims:

Half of a peanut butter sandwich contains as much bacteria as the wisp of the planet

Mars. Thus, practicality requires that Mrs. Spotiker nibble one bit at a time until she is

assured that she will not perish from ingesting it too quickly. (p. 13)

Note that there are no quotation marks for block quotes, as shown in the example.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 17

Usually quotes within quotes use single quotation marks; however, use double quotation marks

for quotes within blocked quotes, since there are no other quotation marks involved. Also

understand that direct quotes should be used sparingly in scholarly writing; paraphrasing is much

preferred in APA format (APA, 2020, section 8.23), as it demonstrates that you read, understood,

and assimilated other writers’ content into one cohesive whole.

How Often to Cite Your Source in Each Paragraph

As already mentioned above, APA’s (2020) new official rule is that you no longer must

cite your source every single time you refer to material you gleaned from it (section 8.1). It is

now acceptable to cite your source the first time you refer to content from it in your paragraph,

and then not again in that same paragraph unless your phrasing does not make the source of your

content clear. This is demonstrated throughout this sample paper.

Rule for Omitting the Year of Publication

That being said, APA (2020) has clarified its special rule that excludes the year of

publication in subsequent narrative in-text citations (when you name the authors in the text of the

sentence itself), after the first narrative citation in each paragraph. It should continue to appear in

all parenthetical citations (see section 8.16). For example, Alone (2008) portrays imagery of Mrs.

Spotiker. This includes her devouring a peanut butter sandwich (Alone, 2008). Alone conveys

this through the lens of astronomy. Note that the year of publication was omitted from the second

narrative citation (underlined for visual purposes).

Arranging the Order of Resources in Your Citations

If the material you cited was referred to in multiple resources, separate different sets of

authors with semicolons, arranged in the order they appear (alphabetically by the first author’s

last name) in the reference list (i.e., Carlisle, n.d.-a; Prayer, 2015) (APA, 2020, section 8.12).

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 18

APA-7 now invites writers to prioritize or highlight one or more sources as most prominent or

relevant for that content by placing “those citations first within parentheses in alphabetical order

and then insert[ing] a semicolon and a phrase, such as ‘see also,’ before the first of the remaining

citations” (APA., 2020, p. 263)—i.e., (Cable, 2013; see also Avramova, 2019; De Vries et al.,

2013; Fried & Polyakova, 2018). Periods are placed after the closing parenthesis, except with

indented (blocked) quotes.

Two Works by the Same Author in the Same Year

Authors with more than one work published in the same year are distinguished by lower-

case letters after the years, beginning with a (APA, 2020, section 8.19). For example, Double

(2008a) and Double (2008b) would refer to resources by the same author published in 2008.

When a resource has no date, use the term n.d. followed by a dash and the lowercase letter (i.e.,

Carlisle, n.d.-a and Carlisle, n.d.-b; see APA, 2020, section 8.19).

Two Works by Two Different Authors with the Same Last Name

Citations in the body of the paper should include only the last names, unless you have

two or more resources authored by individuals with the same last name in the same year (or are

citing a personal communication). When there are two different authors with the same last name

but different first names who published in the same year, include the first initials: Brown, J.

(2009) and Brown, M. (2009) (APA, 2020, section 8.20).

Three or More Authors Cited In-Text

When referring to material that comes from three or more authors, APA-7 now requires

that all citations name just the first author’s last name followed by the words et al. (without

italics) (APA, 2020, section 8.17). Et al. is a Latin abbreviation for et alii, meaning “and others,”

which is why the word “al.” has a period, whereas “et” does not. Alone et al. (2011) stipulated

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 19

that peacocks strut. Every single time I refer to their material, I would apply APA-7’s rule: Alone

et al. (2011) or (Alone et al., 2011). Since et al. denotes plural authors, the verb must be plural to

match, too: Alone et al. (2011) are… This applies to all citations within the body of the paper

with three or more authors.

Number of Authors in the Reference List

For resources with 20 or fewer authors in the reference list, write out all of the authors’

last names with first and middle initials, up to and including the 20th author (APA, 2020, section

9.8). APA-7 has a special rule for resources with 21 or more authors: Write out the first 19

authors’ last names with initials, insert an ellipsis (…) in place of the ampersand (&), and finish

it with the last name and initials of the last author. See example #4 provided on page 317 of your

APA-7, as well as this paper’s reference list for visuals of these variances (Acborne et al. 2011;

Kalnay et al., 1996).

Numbers

Numbers one through nine must be written out in word format (APA, 2020, section 6.33),

with some exceptions (such as ages—see section 6.32). Numbers 10 and up must be written out

in numerical format (section 6.32). Always write out in word format any number that begins a

sentence (section 6.33).

Displaying Titles of Works in-Text

The names of journals, books, plays, and other long works, if mentioned in the body of

the paper, are italicized in title case (APA, 2020, section 6.17). Titles of articles, lectures, poems,

chapters, website articles, and songs should be in title case, encapsulated by quotation marks

(section 6.7). The year of publication should follow the author’s name, whether in narrative or

parenthetical format: Perigogn and Brazel (2012) anticipated…, or (Perigogn & Brazel, 2012).

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 20

The page or paragraph number must follow after the direct quote. Second (2015) asserted that

“paper planes can fly to the moon” (p. 13). You can restate that with a parenthetical citation as:

“Paper planes can fly to the moon” (Second, 2015, p. 13). Second (2011) is another resource by

the same author in a different year.

Primary Sources versus Secondary Sources

APA (2020) strongly advocates against using secondary sources; rather, it favors you

finding and citing the original (primary) resource whenever possible (section 8.6). On the rare

occasion that you do find it necessary to cite from a secondary source, both the primary (who

said it) and secondary (where the quote or idea was mentioned) sources should be included in the

in-text citation information. If the year of publication is known for both resources, include both

years in the citation (section 8.6). Only the secondary source should be listed in the reference

section, however. Use “as cited in” (without the quotation marks) to indicate the secondary

source. For example, James Morgan hinted that “goat milk makes the best ice cream” (as cited in

Alone, 2008, p. 117). Morgan is the primary source (he said it) and Alone is the secondary

source (he quoted what Morgan said). Only the secondary source is listed in the reference section

(Alone, and not Morgan) because if readers want to confirm the quote, they know to go to page

117 of Alone’s book.

Personal Communications

APA (2020) rationalizes the exclusion of references for information obtained through

personal communication (such as an interview, email, telephone call, postcard, text message, or

letter) in the reference list because your readers will not be able to go directly to those sources

and verify the legitimacy of the material. Instead, these items are cited only in the body of the

paper. You must include the individual’s first initial, his or her last name, the phrase “personal

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 21

communication” (without the quotation marks), and the full date of such communication (section

8.9). As with other citations, such citations may be either narrative or parenthetical. For example,

L. Applebaum advised him to dip pretzel rolls in cheese fondue (personal communication, July

13, 2015). The alternative is that he was advised to dip pretzel rolls in cheese fondue (L.

Applebaum, personal communication, July 13, 2015). Note that there is no entry for Applebaum

in the reference list below.

Resources Canonically Numbered Sections (i.e., the Bible and Plays)

These resources should be cited in book format (APA, 2020, Section 9.42). The Bible and

other religious works are generally regarded as having no author; an annotated version would be

treated as having an editor. Include republished dates as necessary. The OWC will publish a list

of reference entries for various Bible versions on its APA Quick Guide webpage.

Bible and other Classical Works

Works such as the Bible, ancient Greek or Roman works, and other classical works like

Shakespeare must be cited in the body of the paper (APA, 2020, section 8.28). APA-7 now also

requires that they be included in the reference list, too (section 9.42), which is a significant

change from APA-6. Republished dates are included as well (see section 9.41). As such, you

would add a parenthetical phrase at the end of your reference entry with the original publication

details; note that there should be no punctuation following such parenthetical content at the end

of a reference entry (the reference entries depicting this in the reference list below are correctly

punctuated).

Citations for the Bible will include the Bible version’s name in the author’s position (as

an anonymous work), original and republished years, and then the book chapter/verse (spelled

out) in place of the page number (i.e., King James Bible, 1769/2017, Genesis 3:8)—see sections

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 22

8.28 and 9.42. Note that APA (2020) requires book titles to be italicized in every venue,

including citations and reference entries. Because Liberty University is a distinctly-Christian

institution and many of its courses require biblical integration, most if not all of its students will

cite the Bible in virtually every course. The examples provided on pp. 274 and 325 of APA-7 are:

(note the italics in each)

• Narrative citation: King James Bible (1769/2017)

• Parenthetical citation: (King James Bible, 1769/2017, Song of Solomon 8:6)

• Reference entry: King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/ (Original work published 1769)

Plays

When citing plays, “cite the act, scene, and line(s), in a single string, separated by

periods. For example, ‘1.3.36-37’ refers to Act 1 Scene 3, Lines 36-37” (APA, 2020, section

8.28; see also example #37 on p. 325).

Lectures and PowerPoints

APA (2020) has expanded and standardized its rules for citations and reference entries in

an effort to best credit the original sources. It now includes rules for crediting content in course

or seminar handouts, lecture notes, and PowerPoint presentations (see #102 on p. 347). When

citing a PowerPoint presentation, include the slide number rather than the page number. For

purposes of Liberty University course presentations and lectures (which are not readily available

to the public), reference each as a video lecture with the URL (if available) for the presentation,

naming the presenter(s) in the author’s position. Include the course number, lecture title, and

enough details for others to identify it within that course, in a sort of book format, naming

Liberty University as publisher. Peters (2012) is an example of this in the reference list of this

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 23

paper. If the presenter for a Liberty University class lecture is not named, credit Liberty

University as the author; see Liberty University (2020) in the reference list below as an example.

Dictionary Entries

In keeping with its efforts to standardize reference entries, APA (2020) now requires

citation and referencing of word definitions from dictionaries to follow the same rules for

chapters in an edited book (see #47 and #48 on p. 328; section 8.13). As such, you will now

name either the individual, group, or corporate author of the dictionary in the author’s place (e.g.,

Merriam-Webster, n.d.). If you searched online, include the retrieval date and the URL to the

exact webpage. If you used a hard copy book, include the publisher details. The in-text citation

in the body of the paper would follow standard author/year format (e.g., Merriam-Webster, n.d.).

Changes in Reference Entries

There are a number of notable changes in APA-7 from past versions. For the most part,

these simplify and unify the formats to be more consistent across the different resource venues.

Some of these have already been discussed above (i.e., naming up to 19 authors’ names before

adding an ellipsis, and crediting authors and editors of classical works and dictionaries). Other

changes include italicizing names of webpages and website resources in the reference list (APA,

2020, section 6.22), as well as book titles even when named in the author’s position (such as

King James Bible). The city and state locations of publishers are no longer required; only include

those details “for works that are associated with a specific location, such as conference

presentations” (p. 297, section 9.31). Issue numbers are required for all journal articles that have

such, regardless of what page number each issue begins with (section 9.25). If two or more

publishers are listed on the copyright page, include all of them in the order listed, separated by

semicolons (section 9.29). Omit the word Author in the publisher’s place when it is the same as

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 24

the author (section 9.24).

Electronic Sources

Note that since the APA 6th edition was published in 2010, great strides have been made

in online and electronic resource accessibility, and APA’s position on electronic resources has

shifted to embrace this. More and more resources are available electronically through the

Internet. The advent of this increased availability has resulted in APA-7’s effort to standardize

the formatting of resources, which in turn simplifies them to some extent. All reference entries

follow the same basic details: Author(s), year of publication, name of resource, and location

details (i.e., either journal name/volume/issue/page numbers, or book publisher, or webpage).

APA (2020) requires inclusion of a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) in the references

whenever available (section 9.34); if not, then a webpage, if available. In keeping with its

unification of resources, APA-7 now standardizes all DOIs and URLs to be presented in

https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1524838017742386 format. The phrase “Retrieved from” is now

excluded except when the content may have changed (such as dictionary entries, Twitter profiles,

Facebook pages; see section 9.16). APA-7 requires all hyperlinks to be active (so your reader can

click on one to go directly to that webpage), but they may appear as either blue-underlined text

or simple black text (section 9.35). There should be no period after any URL. APA-7 no longer

requires authors to break long URLs with soft returns (hold down the Shift key and press the

Enter key) at forward slashes, periods, or underscores to avoid unsightly spacing gaps, but it may

be best to do so in academic papers.

Adding Color

Though APA (2020) authorizes writers to include the use of color in photographs and

figures (section 7.26), Liberty University discourages this in academic papers. It risks becoming

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 25

distracting for both students in their quest to be creative, and professors in their quest to focus on

academic content.

Self-Plagiarism

APA (2020) also invites writers to repurpose some of their work in future papers.

Specifically, APA-7 states that:

In specific circumstances, authors may wish to duplicate their previously used works

without quotation marks or citation …, feeling that extensive self-referencing is

undesirable or awkward and that rewording may lead to inaccuracies. When the

duplicated material is limited in scope, this approach is permissible. (p. 8.3)

APA-7 adds “Do not use quotation marks or block quotation formatting around your own

duplicated material” (p. 256).

Liberty University, however, has stringent rules against self-plagiarism, as do many

scholarly journals. Liberty University students receive grades for their class papers; those who

have received feedback and a grade from a prior professor on a prior paper have an advantage

over their classmates, both in having the benefit of that feedback/grade and in not having to write

a whole paper from scratch during the subsequent class. Student papers are also submitted to

SafeAssign to deter plagiarism. For these reasons, Liberty University expressly forbids students

using significant portions of a prior paper in a subsequent course (either a retake of the same

course or a new class altogether). It is conceivable that students who are building their

knowledge base in a subject matter—particularly at the graduate and post-graduate levels—

would reasonably justify incorporating brief excerpts from past papers into current ones. In such

case, Liberty University authorizes students to utilize APA-7’s disclosure (i.e., “I have previously

discussed”), along with a citation to the prior class paper and a reference entry (i.e., Owen, 2012;

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 26

Yoo et al., 2016). Such self-references and re-use of content from prior papers should be used

sparingly and disclosed fully in the current paper; that content should not constitute a significant

portion of any academic assignment, however.

Final Formatting Tweaks

The templates provided by Liberty University are already formatted with proper spacing,

margins, heading level structure, and hanging indents, as necessary. With the exceptions of the

title page, figures, and equations, papers in APA format should be double-spaced throughout,

with no extra spacing between lines. Academic papers at Liberty University should also be in

one of the accepted fonts throughout (recommended: Times New Romans, 12-point font).

Sometimes when you format your paper or cut-and-paste material into it, things get skewed. One

quick way to ensure that your paper appears correct in these regards is to do a final formatting

tweak after you have completed your paper. Hold down the “Ctrl” button and press the “A” key,

which selects and highlights all of the text in your paper. Then go to the Home tab in Microsoft

Word and make sure that whichever acceptable font/size you choose to use is selected in the Font

box. Next, click on the arrow at the bottom of the Paragraph tab. Set your spacing before and

after paragraphs to “0 pt” and click the “double” line spacing. The extra spacing required on the

title page is already programmed into the template and should not change even when you

complete these actions.

Exhaustive Reference List Examples & Additional Helpful Resources

The reference list at the end of this paper includes an example of a myriad of different

sources and how each is formatted in proper APA-7 format. One example of each of the primary

types of resources will be included in the reference list, as cited in the body of this paper.

Remember that, for purposes of this paper only, many of the sources cited in the body of the

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 27

paper were provided for illustrative purposes only and thus are fictional, so you will not be able

to locate them if you searched online. Nevertheless, in keeping with APA-7 style, all resources

cited in the body of the paper are included in the reference list and vice versa (except for personal

communications, per APA-7’s published exceptions). Be absolutely sure that every resource cited

in the body of your paper is also included in your reference list (and vice versa), excepting only

those resources with special rules, such as personal communications and primary sources you

could not access directly.

The reference list in this paper is fairly comprehensive and will include a book by one

author who also appears as one of many authors in another resource (Alone, 2008; Alone et al.,

2011); chapters in edited books (Balsam et al., 2019; Haybron, 2008; Perigogn & Brazel, 2012;

Weinstock et al., 2003); electronic version of book (Strong & Uhrbrock, 1923); electronic only

book (O’Keefe, n.d.); edited books with and without DOIs, with multiple publishers (Hacker

Hughes, 2017; Schmid, 2017); work in an anthology (Lewin, 1999); journal articles (Andrews,

2016; Carlisle, n.d.-a, n.d.-b; De Vries R. et al., 2013; McCauley & Christiansen, 2019);

newspaper article (Goldman, 2018; Guarino, 2017); online webpages (Liberty University, 2019;

Prayer, 2015); resource with corporate author as publisher (American Psychological Association,

2020); resources by two authors with the same last name but different first names in the same

year of publication (Brown, J., 2009; Brown, M., 2009); two resources by same author in the

same year (Double, 2008a, 2008b; Carlisle, n.d.-a, n.d.-b); two resources by the same author in

different years (Second, 2011, 2015); resource with 20 authors (maximum allowed by APA-7

before special rule applies) (Acborne et al., 2011); resource with 21 or more authors (Kalnay et

al., 1996); dictionary entries (American Psychological Association, n.d.; Graham, 2019;

Merriam-Webster, n.d.); Liberty University class lecture using course details (Peters, 2012);

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 28

PowerPoint slides or lecture notes, not including course details (Canan & Vasilev, 2019); citing a

student’s paper submitted in a prior class, in order to avoid self-plagiarism (Owen, 2012);

unpublished manuscript with a university cited (Yoo et al., 2016); code of ethics (American

Counseling Association, 2014); diagnostic manual (American Psychiatric Association, 2013);

religious and classical works, including the Bible (Aristotle, 350 BC/1994; King James Bible,

1769/2017; Shakespeare, 1623/1995); dissertation or thesis (Hollander, 2017; Hutcheson, 2012);

review of a book (Schatz, 2000); video (Forman, 1975); podcast (Vedentam, 2015); recorded

webinar (Goldberg, 2018); YouTube or other streaming video (University of Oxford, 2018); clip

art or stock image (GDJ, 2018); map (Cable, 2013); photograph (McCurry, 1985); data set (Pew

Research Center, 2018); measurement instrument (Friedlander et al., 2002); manual for a test,

scale, or inventory (Tellegen & Ben-Porah, 2011); test, scale, or inventory itself (Project

Implicit, n.d.); report by a government agency or other organization (National Cancer Institute,

2018); report by individual authors at a government agency or other organization (Fried &

Polyakova, 2018); annual report (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2017); conference

session (Fistek et al., 2017); and webpages (Avramova, 2019; Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, 2018; National Nurses United, n.d.; U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.).

Lastly, below are a few webpages that address critical topics, such as how to avoid

plagiarism and how to write a research paper. Be sure to check out Liberty University’s Online

Writing Center (https://www.liberty.edu/online/casas/writing-center/) for more tips and tools, as

well as its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/LUOWritingCenter). Remember

that these links are only provided for your easy access and reference throughout this sample

paper, but web links and URLs should never be included in the body of scholarly papers; just in

the reference list. Writing a research paper (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaa-PTexW2E

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE/DOCTORAL STUDENTS 29

or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNT6w8t3zDY and avoiding plagiarism

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeCrUINa6nU).

Conclusion

The conclusion to your paper should provide your readers with a concise summary of the

main points of your paper (though not via cut-and-pasted sentences used above). It is a very

important element, as it frames your whole ideology and gives your readers their last impression

of your thoughts. Be careful not to introduce new content in your conclusion.

After your conclusion, if you are not using the template provided by the Online Writing

Center, insert a page break at the end of the paper so that the reference list begins at the top of a

new page. Do this by holding down the “Ctrl” key and then clicking the “Enter” key. You will go

to an entirely new page in order to start the reference list. The word “References” (not in

quotation marks) should be centered and bolded. Items in the reference list are presented

alphabetically by the first author’s last name and are formatted with hanging indents (the

second+ lines of each entry are indented 1/2” from the left margin). APA authorizes the use of

singular “Reference” if you only have one resource.

Students would, of course, NOT include

any color-coding or footnotes in their reference entries. However, for the sake of clarity and

ease in identifying what each entry represents, each one included in the reference list of this

sample paper is color-coordinated to its corresponding footnote, with a brief description of what

each depicts.

https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/creating-reference-list.pdf

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 30

References

Acborne, A., Finley, I., Eigen, K., Ballou, P., Gould, M. C., Blight, D., Callum, M., Feist, M.,

Carroll, J. E., Drought, J., Kinney, P., Owen, C., Owen, K., Price, K., Harlow, K.,

Edwards, K., Fallow, P., Pinkley, O., Finkel, F., & Gould, P. P. (2011). The emphasis of

the day after tomorrow. Strouthworks.

Alone, A. (2008). This author wrote a book by himself. Herald Publishers.

Alone, A., Other, B., & Other, C. (2011). He wrote a book with others, too: Arrange

alphabetically with the sole author first, then the others. Herald Publishers.

American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics.

https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

(5th ed.). https://www.doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Positive transference. In APA dictionary of

psychology. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from https://dictionary.apa.org/positive-

transference

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Resource with 20 authors (maximum allowed by APA before special rule applies).

Entry by author who also appears as one of many authors in another resource (single author

appears first in list).

Multiple authors appear after same single-author resource.

Code of ethics.

Diagnostic manual.

Entry in a dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia, with group author.

Resource with corporate author as publisher.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 31

Andrews, P. M. (2016). Congruence matters. Educational Leadership, 63(6), 12-15.

Aristotle. (1994). Poetics (S. H. Butcher, Trans.). The internet Classics Archive.

http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html (Original work published ca. 350 B.C.E.)

Avramova, N. (2019, January 3). The secret to a long, happy, heathy life? Think age-positive.

CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/health/respect-toward-elderly-leads-to-long-life-

intl/index.html

Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones, K. P., & Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive

behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Iwamasa & P. A.

Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice a supervision

(2nd ed., pp. 287-314). American Psychological Association.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012

Benoit, M., Bouthillier, D., Moss, E., Rousseau, C., & Brunet, A. (2010). Emotion regulation

strategies as mediators of the association between level of attachment security and PTSD

symptoms following trauma in adulthood. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 23(1), 101-118.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10615800802638279

Brown, J. (2009). Ardent anteaters. Brockton.

Brown, M. (2009). Capricious as a verb. Journal of Grammatical Elements, 28(6), 11-12.

Journal article without DOI, from most academic research databases or print version.

Ancient Greek or Roman work.

Webpage on a news website.

Chapter in an edited book with DOI.

Resources by two authors with the same last name but different first names in the same year of

publication. Arrange alphabetically by the first initials.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 32

Cable, D. (2013). The racial dot map [Map]. University of Virginia, Weldon Cooper Center for

Public Service. https://demographics.coopercenter.org/Racial-Dot-Map

Canan, E., & Vasilev, J. (2019, May 22). [Lecture notes on resource allocation]. Department of

Management Control and Information Systems, University of Chile. https:// uchilefau.

academia.edu/ElseZCanan

Carlisle, M. A. (n.d.-a). Erin and the perfect pitch. Journal of Music, 21(3), 16-17. http:// make-

sure-it-goes-to-the-exact-webpage-of-the-source-otherwise-don’t-include

Carlisle, M. A. (n.d.-b). Perfect pitch makes sweet music. Journal of Music, 24(8), 3-6. http://

make-sure-it-goes-to-the-exact-webpage-of-the-source-otherwise-don’t-include

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, January 23). People at high risk of

developing flu-related complications. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/index.htm

De Vries R., Nieuwenhuijze, M., Buitendijk, S. E., & the members of Midwifery Science Work

Group. (2013). What does it take to have a strong and independent profession of

midwifery? Lessons from the Netherlands. Midwifery, 29(10), 1122-1128.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2013.07.007

Double, C. (2008a). This is arranged alphabetically by the name of the title. Peters.

Double, C. (2008b). This is the second (“the” comes after “arranged”). Peters.

Map.

PowerPoint slides or lecture notes.

Online journal article with a URL and no DOI; also depicts one of two resources by the same

author with no known publication date.

Webpage on a website with a group author.

Journal article with a DOI, combination of individual and group authors.

Two resources by same author in the same year. Arrange alphabetically by the title and then

add lowercase letters (a and b, respectively here) to the year.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 33

Fistek, A., Jester, E., & Sonnenberg, K. (2017, July 12-15). Everybody’s got a little music in

them: Using music therapy to connect, engage, and motivate [Conference session].

Autism Society National Conference, Milwaukee, WI, United States.

https://asa.confex.com/asa/2017/webprogramarchives/Session9517.html

Forman, M. (Director). (1975). One flew over the cuckoo’s nest [Film]. United Artists.

Fried, D., & Polyakova, A. (2018). Democratic defense against disinformation. Atlantic Council.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/democratic-defense-

against-disinformation/

Friedlander, M. L., Escudero, V., & Heatherton, L. (2002). E-SOFTA: System for observing

family therapy alliances [Software and training videos] [Unpublished instrument].

http://www.softa-soatif.com/

GDJ. (2018). Neural network deep learning prismatic [Clip art]. Openclipart.

https://openclipart.org/detail/309343/neural-network-deep-learning-prismatic

Goldberg, J. F. (2018). Evaluating adverse drug effects [Webinar]. American Psychiatric

Association. https://education.psychiatry.org/Users/ProductDetails.aspx?

ActivityID=6172

Goldman, C. (2018, November 28). The complicate calibration of love, especially in adoption.

Conference session.

Video.

Report by individual authors at a government agency or other organization.

Measurement instrument.

Clip art or stock image.

Webinar, recorded.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 34

Chicago Tribune.

Graham, G. (2019). Behaviorism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy

(Summer 2019 ed.). Stanford University.

https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2019/entries/behaviorism

Guarino, B. (2017, December 4). How will humanity react to alien life? Psychologists have some

predictions. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-

science/wp/2017/12/04/how-will-humanity-react-to-alien-life-psychologists-have-some-

predictions/

Hacker Hughes, J. (Eds.). (2017). Military veteran psychological health and social care:

Contemporary approaches. Routledge.

Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the science of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R. J.

Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 17-43). Guilford Press.

Hollander, M. M. (2017). Resistance to authority: Methodological innovations and new lessons

from the Milgram experiment (Publication No. 10289373) [Doctoral dissertation,

University of Wisconsin-Madison]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Hutcheson, V. H. (2012). Dealing with dual differences: Social coping strategies of gifted and

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adolescents [Master’s thesis, The College

Newspaper article without DOI, from most academic research databases or print version

Entry in a dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia, with individual author.

Online newspaper article.

Edited book without a DOI, from most academic research databases or print version.

Book chapter, print version.

Doctoral dissertation, from an institutional database.

SAMPLE APA-7 PAPER FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 35

of William & Mary]. William & Mary Digital Archive.

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Appendix

Annotated Bibliography

Cross, D., & Purvis, K. (2008). Is maternal deprivation the root of all evil? Avances en

Psycologia Latinoamericana, 26(1), 66-81. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.77.4.582

Weaving spiritual applications throughout the article, the authors incorporate a plethora

of references to substantiate that maltreatment has a direct connection to attachment

disorders. They provide articulate and heavily supported reasoning, detailing the specific

causes of maternal deprivation individually and then incorporating them in a broader

sense to answer the article’s title in the affirmative.

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childhood and adolescence: Direct and indirect mechanisms of developmental continuity.

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77(4), 582-597.

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(infancy to adolescence). There were direct parallels noted between increased

attachment/coherence and the child’s moral cognition, empathy development, and verbal

IQ. Toddlers who were able to regulate their own behavior later proved to excel in lead-

lag structures and language skills.

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 1

Transformation View and Christian Psychology

Ryan M. Harmon

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology, Liberty University

Author Note

No conflict of interest exists concerning this paper

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 2

Abstract

When something is changed from one form or appearance to another, it is transformed. In

the Christian context, transformation can be used to refer to a change in character or behavior

from one that is bad to better. For instance, when someone reforms from being a sinner to being

saved and accepts to change his evil ways and adopt the Christian way of living, they can be said

to have undergone a transformation. Understanding the concept of transformation and the

transformation view is instrumental in helping understand whether the transformation view will

be better standing alone than being integrated with Christian psychology. Establishing the

reasons why it works better as its own viewpoint or integrating it with other viewpoints can be

achieved through further research on what the transformational viewpoint entails.

TRANSFORMATION VIEW     3 
 
Table of Contents 
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................2 
Transformation View and Christian Psychology ..........................................................................4 
Christian psychology uses Biblical teachings in explaining human behavior, while the 
transformation view emphasizes the exploration of the opportunities in the world as a way of 
Glorifying God ............................................................................................................................4 
Some Characteristics of the Transformation view are in line with Christian Psychology ..............6 
The foundation of the Transformation view and Christian Psychology is based on scriptural 
truths ...........................................................................................................................................7 
The Transformation view shares the same goal as the integration view ........................................9 
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 10 
References ................................................................................................................................ 12

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 4

Transformation View and Christian Psychology

The transformation view is defined as a view of psychology that values and emphasizes

the idea of caring for the soul while maintaining respect for the historical aspects of psychology

and traditions and relates psychology with a moral view of faith and psychology (Johnson,

2010). The transformation view in the study and practice of psychology supports the notion that

we are our own limitation in that human beings are the ones who hold themselves back from

exploring everything that the world has to offer. This means that in order to achieve a

transformation, we must be open-minded when it comes to exploring the different aspects of the

world. Christian psychology, according to Myers, refers to the view that is held by conservative

Christians who believe that their understanding of humanity should only be guided by the

Biblical scriptures through the life, works, and teachings of Jesus Christ (Wolters, 2005, p.7).

The transformation view presents a scientific approach which emphasizes the use of our minds to

worship God by using scientific tools to explore humanity (Johnson, 2010, p. 229). This paper

seeks to discuss the transformation view and Christian psychology and establish whether the

Transformation view should stand as its own viewpoint on the relationship between Christianity

and psychology or should it be contained within the Christian psychology view.

Christian psychology uses Biblical teachings in explaining human behavior, while the

transformation view emphasizes the exploration of the opportunities in the world as a way

of Glorifying God.

The transformation view should be part of the Christian psychology view in terms of how

they explain the relationship between Christianity and Psychology. The transformation view

explains the relationship between Christianity and psychology by talking about the influence of

the scriptures on how people use the resources and knowledge that God has given them, like

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 5

scientific knowledge, to explore human understanding, while the Christian psychology view is

more conservative and believes that human behavior should be guided by the Biblical teachings

and nothing else (Johnson, 2010, p. 229). Therefore, making the transformation view part of the

Christian psychology view will help create a more unified understanding of Christianity and

psychology. In explaining human behavior, Christian Psychology integrates theology and science

in that it bases the explanation of human behavior on the Christian and biblical teachings like the

teachings of Jesus Christ. The transformation view is focused on transforming science into an

actual faith by encouraging people to explore the opportunities that have been presented to them

in the world out there as a way of worshipping God. This means using the knowledge that God

has given them to explore the various aspects of the world as a way of glorifying him, an

indication that the transformation view establishes Christianity and Psychology as closely related

concepts that can work together in understanding humanity. For example, using the scientific

knowledge that God has given them with the scriptures as the basis of their beliefs to explore the

scientific evidence which explains human behavior and living by the scriptures (Wolters, 2005,

p.7). The transformation view should not stand alone because it emphasizes the exploration of

the scientific aspect of the world by recognizing that it is God-given to explain human behavior,

while Christian psychology bases the explanation of human behavior on Biblical teachings,

which means that the eventual outcomes that they both seek are to glorify God by encouraging

people to lead their lives in ways that are appealing to God, guided by the Biblical teachings in

their behavior and exploring the various aspects of the world that have been provided to them by

God to glorify God. They are both focused on ensuring that people do good either by living

according to the scriptures by using the way Jesus lived his life as an example or by using the

resources that God has provided them to explore the world without holding back.

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 6

Some Characteristics of the Transformation view are in line with Christian Psychology

The transformation view has some characteristics that are closely connected to the

Christian psychology view of how Christianity and psychology relate, making their integration

possible for the generation of desirable behavioral outcomes, especially when guiding someone

towards leading a life that is more righteous as they both derive their roots from both Christianity

and Religion (Brown & Miller, 2005). The Christian psychology view sees the main goal of life

as achieving spirituality in the image of Jesus Christ when it comes to human behavior

influenced by the Biblical facts like the text in 2 Corinthians 3:18, which says, "And we all, who

with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with

ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (New International

Version, 1973, 2 Corinthians, 3: 18). This means that Christian psychology is about encouraging

individuals to behave in ways that are in line with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and be

guided by the Holy Spirit in their lives so that they can lead a righteous life as per the teachings

of the scriptures. This verse also seeks to encourage individuals in that if they lead righteous

lives as per the Biblical teachings, they will be transformed into the image of Christ and live in

glory. Christian psychology gets used in counseling to lead individuals towards leading a more

Christian way of life as per the teachings of Jesus Christ and in accordance with what the Bible

teaches to be rightful in the eyes of God. On the other hand, the transformation view sees

psychology as simply showing an act of love and encourages individuals to exercise care for

their soul and is more focused on living and practicing Christianity than living in a Christian

way. Therefore, the integration of Christian psychology and the transformation view in

discussing Christianity and Psychology would result in the creation of an enhanced

understanding of psychology and Christianity from both aspects of life where the two views can

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 7

contribute to each other and establish a more unified view of Psychology and Christianity. While

some of the characteristics of the transformation view may not be synonymous with the Christian

worldview, like, in terms of how they see psychology and leading a Christian way of life, the

difference in the characteristics will play a significant role in helping create a unified

understanding of Christianity and psychology when the transformation view is integrated to form

part of the Christina Psychology view.

The foundation of the Transformation view and Christian Psychology is based on

scriptural truths

The transformation view respects the historical aspects and traditions of psychology in

that, according to Jones, the traditions provide us with ways to understand the objective reality

which exists without our perceptions of realism (Johnson, 2010, P. 230). It should not stand

alone because, just like the Christian psychology view, its foundation explaining the relationship

between Christianity and psychology is based on the truths about humanity established in the

Biblical scriptures influenced by its commitment to the authority of the Bible, making its

fundamental basis similar to the basis that influences the formation of the concepts of Christian

Psychology (Johnson, 2010, p. 227). According to Jones, different denominations may have

different understandings of different aspects but may agree on the fundamentals resulting in

different understandings of what is taught in the scriptures concerning humanity, creating room

for them to explore other available ways of answering the questions that they cannot answer

based on their individual understandings (Johnson, 2010, p. 187). In the case of the

transformation view and the Christian Psychology view, their understandings of the relationship

between Christianity and psychology may have some different aspects which they may not agree

on, like living life as Christ did in Christian psychology and using what God has given

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 8

individuals to explore the world, they agree on the fundamentals in the sense that they both are

focused on glorifying God either by living as Christ did or by glorifying God by using the

resources and gifts he has given humanity.

Therefore, the transformation view should not stand on its own viewpoint on the

relationship between Christianity and psychology and should be contained within the Christian

psychology view because they both share the basic foundation, which is the foundation of

scriptural truths which they use in their explanations of how Christianity and psychology relate

(Johnson, 2010, p. 227). The transformation view uses Christian concepts like exploring what

God has given human beings and using it to glorify God. This fits into the Christian psychology

view because the teachings about using the knowledge and other resources that God has given us

to serve him are established in the Biblical scriptures in 1 Peter 4:10-11 which says, “Each of you

should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in

its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides so that in all things God may

be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen”

(New International Version, 1973, 1 Peter 4:10-11). This means that since the basis of the

formation of the transformation view on psychology and Christianity is the Biblical scriptures,

then it would make sense to have it contained within the Christian psychology view instead of

having it stand as its own worldview when used in establishing the relationship that exists

between Christianity and psychology.

Myers argues that transformational psychologists and Christian psychologists can work

together in understanding humanity in that the transformational psychologists can acquire new

knowledge of humanity through scientific research, then the Christian explanation of the origins

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 9

of modern science based on the scriptures can prepare us to respect and appreciate the scientific

revelations, resulting in the realities of faith making it possible to do psychology based on reality

and not our perceived needs and fantasies (Johnson, 2010, p. 227). This means that with the

transformation view forming part of the Christian psychology view, the Biblical and scientific

truths can be used to explain humanity from the Christian and psychological perspectives based

on reality established from scientific and Biblical facts derived from Christian psychology and

the transformation view. Myers believes that the psychologist who applies the transformation

view does both psychology and Christianity while maintaining respect for religion as religion

and science as science and building bridges between them to facilitate the effective integration of

the concepts of the transformation view into the Christian psychology view (Johnson, 2010, p.

228). This becomes instrumental for Christian psychologists in that they can now combine the

Biblical facts with the truths established by science to establish a new reality that can help

facilitate the establishment of a better understanding of how Christianity and psychology relate

in their explanation of the nature of humanity.

The Transformation view shares the same goal as the integration view

The goal of the transformation view is similar to the goal of the integration approach in

that they both seek to achieve a unified psychology of reality when talking about the relationship

between Christianity and religion (Johnson, 2010, p. 230). This means that transformation

psychologists would willingly integrate with another approach to explaining humanity to come

up with a more complex and unified understanding of reality. Both the transformation view and

the integration approach seek to unify with the goal of creating something more complex in its

unified form, in the integration of the Christian concepts and psychological science to enhance

the eventual outcomes that would be generated in Christian psychology (Johnson, 2010, p. 230).

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 10

In this case, the goal is to achieve an enhanced understanding of humanity. Since the

transformation approach supports the unification of varying concepts to establish something

complex, it would not be a good idea for it to stand as its own viewpoint because it would not

achieve the desired complexity outcome in explaining the relationship between Christianity and

religion and how they can be integrated to create a new reality in the understanding of humanity.

As such, having it contained within the view of Christian psychology will help achieve an

enhanced level of complexity when it comes to explaining humanity in the Christian and

psychological views through the integration of Biblical facts and psychology traditions. Jones

also states that he approaches psychology with commitments that are grounded on Biblical

teachings while also recognizing that there is a lot that could be learned from psychology and

science (Johnson, 2010, p. 277). This means that he agrees with the integration of some aspects

of science into Christian psychology, like the aspects of the transformation view into the

Christian psychology view, to establish an improved understanding of humanity.

Conclusion

The discussion above presents detailed reasons why the transformation view should not

stand alone as its own viewpoint when it comes to explaining the relationship between

Christianity and Psychology. When it stands on its own, the transformation view would not be

able to provide a strong explanation of the relationship between Christianity and psychology on

its own because as much as the basis of the view that individuals should use what God has given

them to explore humanity is based on the Biblical scriptures which say it is a way of glorifying

him, the view places more focus on science and less on religion. Christian psychology, on the

other hand, is more conservative and explains humanity in terms of doing what the scriptures

teach by acting as Christ did. This presents a situation where both views are missing something,

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 11

which means that they would present insufficient and probably biased approaches in explaining

the relationship between Christianity and psychology. Therefore, as much as the transformation

view may be based on Biblical scriptures in its approach to scientific research and psychology,

having it stand alone as its own worldview would not provide a sufficient or conclusive

understanding of the explanations of psychology and Christianity. There are likely to be some

gaps and unanswered questions concerning either psychology or Christianity in its explanations

of their relationship. Getting the transformation view to form part of the Christian psychology

view would create a unified understanding of the relationship between psychology and

Christianity to help avoid the existence of conflicting views from both approaches. Christian

psychology is more conservative about applying Biblical doctrines, while the transformation

view seems to lean more towards exploring the world, including science, in understanding

humanity. Therefore, when the two views are combined to create one unified understanding of

how Christianity and psychology relate, the outcome will be stronger, leading them to create a

better explanation of the relationship between Christianity and psychology.

TRANSFORMATION VIEW 12

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