| Course | SBS 105 Introduction to Psychology |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 7 |
| Paper type | Psychological disorder paper |
| Length | About 1,025 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SBS 105 Module 7
Winter Comes Early in Fairbanks: Personality, Seasonal Depression and Two Treatments That Work
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
SBS 105: Introduction to Psychology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Winter Comes Early in Fairbanks: Personality, Seasonal Depression and Two Treatments That Work
Alex, twenty-nine, moved from Phoenix to Fairbanks, Alaska, in August to take an engineering job with a pipeline company. Alex loved the long summer evenings, went climbing on weekends and made friends at work quickly. By late October, as daylight shrank toward six hours, things changed. Alex began sleeping ten hours a night and still felt tired, craved bread and sweets, gained eight pounds, stopped climbing and began eating lunch alone at the desk. Alex's mother, back in Phoenix, said she had felt the same way every winter when the family lived in Michigan. Alex wondered whether this was just adjustment or something more. This paper uses Alex's situation, which is invented, to explain a psychological disorder and the evidence for its treatment. It is an educational example, not clinical advice.
Defining the Disorder
The diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals does not list seasonal affective disorder as a separate diagnosis. Instead, it describes major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern: episodes of major depression that regularly begin at a particular time of year, most often fall or winter, and remit at a particular time, most often spring, over at least two years, without other explanations such as seasonal job stress. Major depression itself involves at least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest along with other symptoms, such as changes in sleep and appetite, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and feelings of worthlessness. Winter depression often features what clinicians call atypical symptoms: oversleeping, increased appetite, craving carbohydrates and weight gain.
Alex's symptoms fit the description of a depressive episode with these features, but one winter is not enough to establish a seasonal pattern. Only a qualified clinician could make a diagnosis.
Personality as Part of the Picture
Personality refers to a person's characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. The widely used Big Five model describes traits including emotional stability, its opposite being neuroticism, and conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and openness. People higher in neuroticism tend to experience negative emotions more intensely and are at greater risk for depression. Alex has always described being a worrier, which suggests higher neuroticism.
Personality is not fixed, however. Roberts et al. (2006) combined results from dozens of longitudinal studies that followed people over years. They found that average levels of personality traits changed across the life course: people tended to become more emotionally stable, more conscientious and more socially dominant between about twenty and forty, while some traits changed later in life. The finding matters for Alex because it shows that a tendency toward worry and low mood is part of a changing picture, not a permanent sentence.
Why Alex, and Why Now
The diathesis-stress model explains many disorders as the product of a vulnerability, the diathesis, and a stressor that triggers it. Alex's diathesis includes a family history of winter depression, suggesting a possible biological sensitivity, and a temperament inclined toward worry. The stressors arrived together in Fairbanks: a dramatic loss of daylight, cold that limited outdoor activity, distance from family and the demands of a new job. In Phoenix, where winter days remain long and sunny, the vulnerability may never have been tested. Neither the vulnerability nor the stress alone would explain Alex's symptoms; together they do.
Light Therapy
Golden et al. (2005) conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of light therapy for mood disorders. Of the many studies they screened, relatively few met their standards for rigor. In those that did, bright light treatment and dawn simulation, a gradual brightening of a bedroom light before waking, both significantly reduced symptoms of seasonal depression compared with control conditions, with effect sizes they considered comparable to those of many antidepressant medication trials. Bright light therapy usually means sitting near a light box that delivers intense light, often for about thirty minutes in the early morning.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Rohan et al. (2015) compared two treatments in a randomized trial with adults who had winter depression. One group received six weeks of cognitive-behavioral therapy adapted for seasonal depression, delivered in group sessions twice a week, which focused on changing negative thoughts about winter and scheduling enjoyable activities. The other group received six weeks of daily light therapy. Both groups improved substantially, and the two treatments did not differ in their effects on depression severity or remission at the end of treatment. The study showed that a psychological treatment could work as well as light in the short term, offering a choice for people who prefer one approach.
Comparing the Options
| Feature | Bright light therapy | Cognitive-behavioral therapy for seasonal depression |
|---|---|---|
| What it involves | About thirty minutes near a light box most mornings | Group or individual sessions; changing thoughts and planning activities |
| Evidence | Meta-analysis of rigorous trials supports it | Randomized trial showed similar short-term improvement to light |
| What it asks of the person | Daily time each morning through winter | Attending sessions and practicing skills between them |
| Advantages | Starts working within weeks for many | Teaches skills a person can reuse |
| Cautions | Should be guided by a clinician, especially for people with eye conditions or bipolar disorder | Requires access to a trained therapist |
What Alex Could Do
The responsible first step is to see a clinician, describe the symptoms and the family history and ask about evaluation. If a seasonal pattern is confirmed or suspected, Alex could discuss light therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy or both. Meanwhile, the research on activity scheduling suggests small steps: returning to the climbing gym once a week, eating lunch with coworkers and spending time outdoors during the brief midday light. Alex might also plan ahead for next autumn, starting treatment or activity plans before symptoms return.
Conclusion
Alex's winter in Fairbanks illustrates how a disorder can emerge when a vulnerability meets a new stressor. Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer show that personality traits like Alex's tendency to worry can change over adulthood, Golden and colleagues show that light therapy reduces seasonal depression and Rohan and colleagues show that cognitive-behavioral therapy can work as well in the short term. Understanding the disorder, its causes and its treatments makes it easier to seek the right help early.
References
Golden, R. N., Gaynes, B. N., Ekstrom, R. D., Hamer, R. M., Jacobsen, F. M., Suppes, T., Wisner, K. L., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2005). The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders: A review and meta-analysis of the evidence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(4), 656-662. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.4.656
Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.1
Rohan, K. J., Mahon, J. N., Evans, M., Ho, S.-Y., Meyerhoff, J., Postolache, T. T., & Vacek, P. M. (2015). Randomized trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy versus light therapy for seasonal affective disorder: Acute outcomes. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(9), 862-869. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14101293
What the SBS 105 Module 7 instructions ask for
Personality and psychological disorders fill the seventh module of SBS 105, and students are usually asked to describe a disorder, explain its causes with a recognized model and review evidence for treatment. Use the Module 7 page in your classroom as the authority; Alex is fictional and the paper is educational. Describe the symptoms using current diagnostic language accurately. Explain how personality and life circumstances may contribute. Use a model such as diathesis-stress. Compare treatments using research. Avoid diagnosing real people, and give APA 7 references for each study. Explain what each treatment would ask of the person day to day, since that affects whether people stick with it.
How the SBS 105 Module 7 example is put together
Alex moved to Fairbanks in August for a pipeline engineering job. By November, with about six hours of daylight, Alex slept ten hours, craved carbohydrates, gained weight, lost interest in climbing and stopped joining coworkers for lunch; Alex's mother had a history of winter depression. The paper explains major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern as the diagnostic manual describes it. Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer (Psychological Bulletin) support the view that Alex's lower emotional stability is a tendency that can change, not a fixed sentence. The diathesis-stress model combines family history and temperament with the stress of short days and a new place. Golden and colleagues (American Journal of Psychiatry) support light therapy, and Rohan and colleagues (American Journal of Psychiatry) show cognitive-behavioral therapy adapted for seasonal depression worked about as well in the short term. A table compares the treatments, and the paper ends with steps such as seeing a clinician and planning for next autumn.
Where the marks sit in the SBS 105 Module 7 rubric
A first-year paper on a disorder gains most of its marks from three things: describing the condition correctly, explaining its causes with a clear model and weighing treatment evidence fairly. This example uses the diagnostic language correctly, explains the seasonal pattern and avoids diagnosing a real person. The diathesis-stress analysis connects family history, personality and environment in one explanation. The treatment section compares two options with evidence from a meta-analysis and a randomized trial, and notes what each requires, such as daily light sessions or weekly therapy. Bringing in research on personality change addresses the module's personality topic while countering the idea that traits are destiny.
SBS 105 Module 7 help: mistakes that cost marks
Disorder papers often list symptoms copied from a website or diagnose a real person, which an introductory paper should not do. Use accurate terms from the diagnostic manual and keep the case hypothetical. Another weakness is naming one cause, such as lack of sunlight, without considering vulnerability and stress together. Compare treatments with research rather than opinion. Note what each treatment demands of the person. Finally, include when to seek professional help, since the paper's value depends on accurate, responsible information. A closing section on practical next steps, framed as questions to raise with a clinician, keeps the paper useful without overstepping.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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SBS 105 Module 7 questions, answered
What does SBS 105 Module 7 usually ask for?
Aspen's SBS 105 covers personality and psychological disorders in this module, so describing a disorder, explaining its causes and reviewing treatment evidence is typical. Check your Module 7 prompt.
What is seasonal affective disorder?
A pattern of major depression that begins and ends at about the same time each year, most often in fall and winter.
Does light therapy work for seasonal depression?
Golden and colleagues' meta-analysis found bright light therapy reduced symptoms in well-designed trials of seasonal depression.
Where can I find a free SBS 105 Module 7 sample paper?
This page has it free: a paper on personality and seasonal depression in an invented young adult who moved to Fairbanks.
Does personality change in adulthood?
Yes. Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer found traits such as emotional stability and conscientiousness tend to increase through young and middle adulthood.