Psychology Topics for a Research Paper

I remember the day when I told my father that I wish to graduate in psychology, he was furious and told me point-blank that it was bad choice for an education, much less to be a career field. But I did not bog down from choosing psychology as my major in college.

Over the years, I hardly regretted that decision, well... except when I had to find a topic for my research paper. It was then, I had some belated but daunting second thoughts as the deadline for my dissertation submission was approaching.

Now that it's all water under the bridge, let me guide you with my insight and experience in searching for a good research topic.

Just like you, I scurried for some research topics in the field of psychology, asking help from friends, teachers, and even family. In the end, their suggestion was of no avail to me as I wanted to write a dissertation on something 'worth writing'. I have scrambled down what can be probable topics.

As my specialization was child psychology, I was keenly interested to know the social development of an autistic child. Childhood autism is an interesting but challenging subject for a research paper as the behavior of the autistic kid is extremely volatile and limited.

Child sexual abuse victims and effects of child abuse on their mental and social development is often researched upon by the collegians and academia alike.

1. Teenage Pregnancy
2. School Violence and Bullying
3. Dealing with Adolescent Depression
4. Impact of Foster Parenting On Childhood
5. Passive-Aggressive Behavior in Kids Towards Parents

Corporate culture has now attracted a multitude of researchers to dig deep into the psyche of business and reasons behind money-making. The retail sector as well as the advertisement industry use this research to pump up their sales and raise graph lines.

Consumerism and its effect on a common household is a good topic and can be easily researched on.

1. Success of Autocratic Leadership Style in Corporates
2. Impact of Outsourcing
3. Suicide Resulting from Job Stress
4. Impact of Economic Recession on Blue Collar Jobs
5. Job Satisfaction From Money or Job Profile?

The father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud, has left us with an open Pandora's box with the realm of sexuality and cognitive behavior intermingling with each other. Ever since Freud came out with his outrageous theories on psychoanalysis and dream interpretation, there have been numerous studies on similar issues.

Abnormal psychology is so intriguing that hardly anyone would like to miss out on a lecture on this topic. Cognition of a serial killer is not only a fascinating topic but also, difficult as hell to research on. Of course, you got to rely on the secondary data only as the subject of your research would hardly wait around for you to ask questions

• Role of Heredity in Bipolar Disorder
• Exhibitionism and Sexual Perversion in Young Males
• Wandering Amnesia and its Effect on Social Life
• Multiple Personality Disorders
• Alcohol Addiction - Chief Cause behind Child Sexual Abuse?

Since psychology is an ocean deep subject, it can hardly be covered with just mentioning a few subjects. If you are adamant to research on a topic which is unique per se, then paranormal psychology might make your bones tingle if you are ready to explore the horizons of psychic abilities.

This subject has as many admirers as there are skeptics. Rest assured that your paper would definitely become a talk of the town or campus.

Team bonding in a sport, mob behavior, drug addiction, cognitive behavioral therapy, personality development, different types of psychological illness etc. are just a tip of the iceberg where psychology topics are concerned.

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorders in 9/11 Survivors
• Homeless People - A Study of Their Gradual Decline to the Streets
• Suicidal Tendencies in Teenagers
• Serial Killer Groupies Psychology
• Self Harming Disorder in Youth

• Nervous Breakdown at Workplace
• Role of Stuffed Toys in the Development of Infants
• Impact of Marriage Counseling on a Couple
• Binge Eating Disorder in Middle Aged Women

• A Study on Pavlov Theory
• False Memory Syndrome and the Truth Behind it
• Psychopathology in Children
• Childhood Onset Schizophrenia
• Substance Abuse Disorders in Teenagers

• Rehabilitation of One-Time Offenders
• Deinstitutionalized Mentally Ill Women and Effect on Their Families
• Sigmund Freud's Interpretation of Dreams
• Type A Behavior in Teenagers
• Social Phobia
• Coping With Medical Stress

The purpose of writing a paper is to document the in-depth research on a topic by truly understanding the concept behind it. You can provide your own insights and findings while concluding the paper. While writing a psychology research paper, make sure that you corroborate your analysis with adequate proofs in order to make it informative and well-written piece.

The realm of psychology is quite vast and there are numerous topics to choose from which will suit your purpose. But keep in mind that you need to do a thorough research and that's why you need to choose a topic which is already studied properly in academic materials rather than picking out a purely speculative or debatable topic like A Study on the Trauma Victims of Alien Abduction.

Coming back to my story, my quest for a research paper topic ended with Effect of Parental Bereavement on a Child.