Analyse a case study with reference to two personality theories In this essay, you will analyse one of the two case studies with regards to two personality theories of your choice. The length should be no more than 1000 words (-/+10%, including in-text references/excluding the reference list).
Essay Overview Choose one of the two case studies (Rachel or Michael) outlined below to analyse. You need to link the characteristics of the case studies to two personality theories of your choice. You do not have to restrict yourself to theories from the lectures. Anything that is of interest/can be applied as long as it is of psychological origin and relevant in this essay. You can choose two theories from a broader umbrella theory (e.g., analyse two trait theories).
You can also choose two theories from different approaches (e.g., use one theory from the nomothetic, and another one from the idiographic approach). You will need to be critical and analytical in your approach, so do make sure that the theories you choose are suitable for this. You also need to back up your observations with relevant research.
Structure Always begin an essay with a couple of lines to set the scene – what is the essay about and what will it discuss? After you have chosen the personality theories, write an introductory paragraph outlining the characteristics/importance of the theories. The introductory paragraph should lay groundwork for the main body, where you analyse the case studies in relation to the theories. Introduce the same theories that you will use later in the analyses. In the main body, outline how the case study relates to theories and research. You should use recent research to convince the reader about the links between the case and the theories. For example, you may want to analyse Rachel with a reference to theory X. You could have a look at the literature for theory X and some aspects of Rachel’s behaviour/attitudes/history (e.g., X and friendships, X and entrepreneurship, X and creativity, X and manipulativeness, X and bullying, X and strive to succeed etc etc). You could then make a case for theory X and applicability to Rachel via the empirical literature. It is important that you identify how your two chosen theories explain the behaviour differently. This can feed into your brief conclusion. Are the two theories sufficient in explaining the person in the case? Is there a need for additional theories? Please note that you don’t have to analyse every single feature of the case study as this is only a short essay. You don’t have to explain the case study again- just write about each feature you will be talking about briefly, and then look at how the theories have been tested in research, linking the case study to the theories. The main aim of this essay is for you to illustrate that you can take the theory and research and apply it to people and real behaviour.
