Freud’s three essays on the Theory of Sexuality

Introduction Sigmund Freud’s Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality is one of the most influential works in the history of psychology and psychoanalysis. First published in 1905, this groundbreaking work challenged contemporary views on human sexuality and laid the foundation for much of Freud’s later work. In these essays, Freud introduced several key concepts … Read more

Efficacy of treatments for Social Anxiety Disorder & depression symptoms

1. Introduction Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), previously named social phobia, was first introduced as a mental health illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), 3rd Edition in 1980 (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1980). Upon the recent completion of the DSM 5th Edition (APA, 2013; DSM-5), SAD has remained a dominant disorder … Read more

Gender roles and child development

According to Webster’s Dictionary, ‘The gender binary is the classification of sex and gender into two distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine.’ In western society, Gender is viewed as strictly a binary and this conservative view of gender affects the way children learn to express and develop gender roles. Transgender is a … Read more

The relationship of differential treatment to children’s social and emotional development

Chapter I Introduction Parents act differently with different children, being more positive with one child and more negative with another (Rauer & Brendal, 2007). These behavior have negatively affects not only the child who receives more negative feedback but also affected other siblings as well. The child who receives negative treatment develops negative portray about … Read more

Occupational therapy for children and teens with behavioural disorders

“The more I think about child development usually imagine a locomotive crossing uncharted territory and may at any time, derailed and go to tread new paths, many of them dangerous and treacherous. The earlier observe and identify such ‘course corrections’, soon have the chance to restore order and replace the ‘locomotive’ in the right track. … Read more

Child development

A child’s development starts from an infant, toddler, adolescent then to adult. According to (Davies, 2011) infants have lower tolerance for frustration, increased attachment behaviour, difficulty in falling asleep and waking up in the middle of the night from frightening dreams. Infants need stimulation interesting objects responsive people to interact with and speak to (Bjorklund … Read more

Synthesizing the Behavior Systems Approach with the Dynamical System Principles

There are a few development theories discussed in Child and Adolescent Development by Gary Novak and Martha Pelaez. Development is defined by Novak and Pelaez as a change over time (Novak & Pelaez, 2004). These theories suggest ideas on how children and adolescents develop, including changes in interactions across the life span. Development looks at … Read more

The Adventure Gap and the Importance of Outdoor Exposure

As society becomes increasingly centralized around technology the time children spend immersed in the outdoors decreases across the nation. Today’s society has put engagement in the natural world aside, revolutionizing parenting by sticking children in front of screens. Additionally, the outdoor community has seen a lack of racial and economic diversity since it’s beginning. Ensuring … Read more

Cognitive development (draft)

Cognition Cognitive development involves how children think and gain their knowledge of their world around them through learning factors and genetics. Areas of cognitive development mainly focus on . Language development . Memory . Intellegence . Reasoning When born infants begin to learn to use their senses to explore the world around them. Most newborns … Read more

Theories of child development

The field of child development seeks to identify and explain changes in the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of children and adolescents (McDevitt & Ormrod, “Chapter 1/ Making a Difference in the Lives of Children and Adolescents”, p. 4). There are several theories that exist when it comes to child development; these theories include the … Read more

Biological, social & cognitive causes of sex differences in children’s play behaviour

Sex differences are defined by Hines as “any psychological or behavioural characteristic that differs on average for males and females of a particular species” (Hines 2004). Sex differences are often observed in children’s play behaviour. An example of this is differences in toy preferences. Girls often prefer dolls, doll furnishing and kitchen supplies whereas boys … Read more

Preoperational stage of child development (2 – 7 years)

Cognitive development begins in childhood, continues throughout a person’s entire life, and can be defined differently by different psychologists. For psychologist Jean Piaget, cognitive development comes down to the cognitive-developmental theory which states that children are constantly actively creating knowledge as they learn and explore their world. Piaget divides this development into four main stages; … Read more

How to write a psychology essay

Writing a psychology essay is similar to writing any other essay requiring planning, intensive research, understanding the topic, and research analysis before beginning to write the essay.

It is different from other essays in the sense that, a psychology essay questions about your understanding on a situation or reaction. For example, a psychology essay may question your understanding on the role that genetics play in collaboration with various environmental issues, which relate to schizophrenia’s two hit theory. The essay may specifically require you to relate your discussion on neurological antecedents, which are related to schizophrenia.

In any psychology essay, an individual first conducts research on the topic or question, and outlines the essay before proceeding to write the final essay. When the essay is complete, the following step involves reviewing the essay, and proofreading it. This guide will discuss how psychology essays differ from other types of essays, and provide a guide on how to write them. It is advisable that the opening paragraph captures the attention of your reader, and directs them to the topic of your essay. A good way to do this is by using facts, and statistics relating to the discussion of the essay.

Planning how to write a psychology essay

It is important to plan your essay carefully before starting it. Avoid looking at the key words and topic in a hurry, and begin writing the essay without planning. Suppose you are required to write an essay about neurological antecedents, which is related to schizophrenia, do not just write about antecedents and schizophrenia because the essay will not be focused on the main assignment. Planning gives you a good opportunity to organize yourself how you will attack the essay topic, the time you need to allocate for research, and what you need to allocate for writing the essay.

Research and analysis

Learning how to write a psychology essay involves a lot of research and analysis. The best place to start a topic research is in a University library with an academic database. Many university libraries provide access to various psychology databases, such as PSYCInfo and PSYCHNET Using these libraries based databases over the internet can provide you with relevant information through academic websites like http://www.allpsych.com, and http://scholar.google.com. These websites are both professional journals , and publish peer reviewed psychological articles. The internet provides an excellent place to conduct research by accessing the various professional association sites, which contain links to different sites containing related information.

In the writing stage, indicating references is easier when you highlight the phrases from a journal article. It is easier to remember the information you have highlighted when organizing the essay. This makes the information available including the reference.

Outlining the essay

Prolific writers can decide to avoid this part. An outline preparation is important in college essays because it offers a guide in writing the essay, and assists in organizing the essay. Preparing an outline helps you remain focused on the topic. Preparing an outline ensures that every important area of the essay is discussed and relevant information is used to support the arguments presented. An outline well prepared makes the work easy for you in writing the rest of the article by filling additional details from the reference on the various supporting points outlined.

Writing the essay

An essay’s flow is as important as its outline, which assists you to write the essay fast. The following essay areas may be used using or without subheadings.

I. Introduction

It is characterized by information, which captures the attention of a reader using figures, facts, and describes the background of the problem including the essay’s objective. For example, in a study to identify depression in various adoptive parents, signs and symptoms are similar to those for post-partum depression in mothers who have given birth although there is an insufficient record about this issue.

II. Research question

A research question should be identified after stating the topic area. A research essay or literature essay requires only the research questions. In a quantitative essay, a hypothesis on the essay is stated.

III. Literature review

This section of your psychology essay is intended to offer an insight into the research question using evidence presented in the various scholarly literatures. In the essay, your presentation is required to be followed by literature review in a critical analysis format.

IV. Conclusion

This section should summarize everything discussed in the essay, and to ensure that the reader does not have any questions, which need clarification. A good conclusion does not leave the reader seeking more information from the essay. Effective conclusions draw a reader’s attention using words like, “In conclusion…” which direct the reader to the concluding remarks.

Many psychology essays use the APA format. Another format commonly used is the Harvard style. It is important to take note of the paper formatting instructions because instructors deduct points when the correct paper format is not followed.

After you complete writing the essay, it is important that you proofread it to correct spellings, and grammar mistakes in the essay. Use an updated grammar and spell check software to check for all grammatical mistakes.

We hope you gained a lot from reading our free ‘how to write a psychology essay’ guide.