PSY 5130 - 6.

The final paper reflects a culmination of your learning throughout this course. Choose one of the following two topic categories:

• Your life journey
• The life of a historical figure, such as Florence Nightingale, President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Ghandi, or Muhammad Ali. (These are just examples; select your example from any period and from any historical category you find meaningful.)

Write a paper on the life journey of you or the person you selected. Your paper should do the following:

• Describe the life journey of the person who is the subject of your study.
• Apply Freud’s, Erikson’s, or Maslow’s theory to discuss and explain the development of the person’s life that is your subject, addressing each of the seven stages listed below.
• Evaluate whether and in what ways the theory has explanatory power for each stage of the life under examination.
• For any life stages for which the theory was unable to adequately explain, model, and/or otherwise cast light on the life, critique those shortcomings of the theory and identify those unique characteristics of the life that explain the divergence between the life and the theoretical conception.

The following stages of life must be included:

• Prenatal and Infancy
• Early childhood
• Middle childhood
• Adolescence
• Emerging adulthood
• Adulthood (assuming you or your historical figure has reached 30)
• Late adulthood (if you or your historical figure have reached or did reach that stage).

Writing requirements are:

• 3,000-4,000 words in length
• Support your application and evaluation of the theory to the life with citations from the course textbook and at least four outside peer-reviewed resources.
• Document and citation formatting should adhere to APA style, with the exception that if your study is of your own life, you may write in first person.
• All requirements noted on the grading criteria are to be followed.