Assignment 2

Assignment: Steve and Sigmund Freud

Personality theories are not meant to be simply studied—they are developed to help understand people. Your work in this course is designed to give you opportunities to apply theories and consider their effectiveness. That work begins with this Assignment and a guy named Steve.

The case study of Steve from the Week 2 Learning Resources describes a man whose desire for a relationship with women does not extend beyond the physical and sexual. Perhaps you know or have known people like Steve. You may have your own theories on their behavior—or been consistently stumped by it. For now, set aside any preconceived notions about Steve. For this Assignment, you will work from the details in the case study to analyze Steve’s behavior and apply a Freudian approach to determine the cause of Steve’s attitude toward women.

To prepare:

• Read about Steve in Case Study: Sigmund Freud, found in this week’s Learning Resources.


• Review other Week 2 Learning Resources on Freud and his psychoanalytic theory.


• Consider how Freud’s theories of psychosexual development would explain Steve’s behavior, including the stage at which Steve is likely fixated and, according to Freud, why.

By Day 7

Submit a 2- to 3-page paper that includes the following:

• Briefly explain Freud’s views on the levels and structure of personality in general.


• Analyze how Freud’s ideas explain Steve’s behavior. In your answer, be sure to identify the stage of psychosexual development in which Steve is likely fixated.


• Based on what you have studied so far, evaluate how well you think psychoanalytic theories explain human behavior in general.

Note: Support the responses within your Assignment with evidence from the assigned Learning Resources. Provide a reference list for resources you used for this Assignment.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.


• Click the Week 2 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.


• Click the Week 2 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.


• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.


• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.


• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 2 Assignment Rubric

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:

Submit your Week 2 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Assignment by Day 7

To submit your Assignment:

Week 2 Assignment