How to Select a Proper Topic for Your Psychology Research Paper Easily

A proper topic for your psychology research paper should match your course requirement, your word or page count, and your interests. Follow the steps below to select your best topic easily.

Course Requirements

What is the name of your psychology course? Is it general psychology or something more specific, such as developmental or social psychology? If the former is the case, your choice of topics is virtually unlimited and you can proceed to the next step. For a more specific course, you need to focus on appropriate topics.

General Direction

There are several common types of psychological research papers. Select among the following for the one that most appeals to you:

• A paper about a prominent psychologist: his or her biography, theories, contribution, and influence on future researchers.
• Analysis of a famous experiment, such as the Stanford Prison Experiment or the Asch Conformity Experiment – its methodology, ethics, or implications.
• Critical analysis of a psychological scholarly book or article – either a classical work, such as Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, or a recent one.
• A literature review – investigation of how a particular concept or phenomenon (e. g. prenatal development or seasonal affective disorder) has been described in psychological literature, what conflicting points of view exist, and how its perception changed over time.
• A case study of an individual or group. You will need to profile and analyze it according to a particular psychological theory or concept.
• A profile of a particular therapy such as group therapy or psychoanalysis to determine its advantages and disadvantages, common effects, and relevance.
• A report on a psychological experiment you conducted on your own. You may repeat a famous experiment in your sample to see whether the results will be different.

After you determine the general focus of your paper, you can proceed to craft your specific topic.

Word/Page Count

Does your paper have to be large or small? For small research papers, a critical analysis of a particular book or case will be a perfect choice. For a large paper, you may need to conduct an experiment of your own or an extensive literature review.

If you feel that your topic is too broad for your word count, try to narrow it down. For example, instead of “antisocial personality disorder,” focus on “diagnosing antisocial personality disorder in primary school children.”

Topic Examples by Specific Areas

• Abnormal psychology: eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
• Cognitive psychology: attention span, false memories, and judgment.
• Developmental psychology: gender roles, language acquisition, and learning disabilities.
• Social psychology: social cognition, nonverbal communication, and leadership.