Article 1 Review

The purpose of this assignment is to provide an opportunity to read and think critically about the ideas of early personality theorists (Freud, Jung, et al.) and how their theoretical frameworks relate to those of an alternate cultural framework (i.e., Eastern/Buddhist). For this assignment, I have chosen a reasonably short (although not simplistic) article titled “Conceptions of the Self in Western and Eastern Psychology” by Yozan Dirk Mosig, published in the Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. Mosig begins with an overview of the Western view (Freud, et al.) I would like for you to assume the reader (your professor) needs no summary of the Western perspective. In the summary section of your paper, please do not include Mosig’s summary of the Western conceptualization of the self. Instead, focus on his description of the Eastern perspective and how it contrasts with the familiar Western conceptualizations.

In general, the structure of an article review is quite flexible and will vary according to the type of article, (e.g., scientific experiment, book review, editorial, or theoretical article, etc). The assigned article is conceptual (idea-based) and not a scientific study. Therefore, you won’t find the typical introduction, method, results, and discussion sections found in an empirical journal.

Your task is to describe the author’s thesis, explain important concepts in a concise manner, and summarize the author’s most important conclusions along the way. This will be the summary, after which, you’ll add your critical analysis. Although a critique is personal, your statements should be well-reasoned and objective. Your critique will be more convincing when you present a logical basis for your statements. Please avoid making statements such as “I really enjoyed this article.” Instead, describe the attributes of the article that lead to your enjoyment.

APA style is much more than just APA formatting. In fact, students often focus tremendous efforts on formatting their papers, while completely ignoring style. Spend some time reading chapters 3 and 4 of the APA Publication Manual, you’ll be glad you did.