Problem 1: All development is influenced by the interaction of family and world, history, socioeconomics, and culture. One theorist that considered those complex interactions was Uri Bronfenbrenner. Reflect on your life up to this point. Pick one age and briefly describe yourself and your world (small and big) at that time. Identify one influence from each of Bronfenbrenner's systems (microsystem, mesosystem etc) and explain how it affected you and/or the systems that you were part of.
Problem 2: One of the contemporary theories in dev psych is Erikson's model. Choose one of Erikson's stages and think of an event that occurred in that stage for you. Describe the event, how old you were, who was there, where you were, how you and those around you responded, etc. Apply Erikson - explain how your experience and response illustrate Erikson's ideas about the stage you were in and how Erikson would explain the role of other people in your response to the event and your development.
Problem 3:
A. Research methods - this part of the question is a review from general psychology. Describe the similarities and differences between correlational research and experimental research. Be sure to provide original examples. Discuss the importance of experimental research in developmental science, and whether it is always possible to do experimentation.
B. Lifespan development science has two primary research designs - longitudinal and cross-sectional. Explain each of them, discussing the strengths and limitations of each. Explain how these two designs can be combined for a third research strategy - cross-sequential design.
Problem 4: Explain the difference between chromosomes and genes, and how they are related to each other. Explain how twins occur, and the discuss the difference between monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Explain genetic disorders and explain chromosomal disorders. Differentiate between them and give an example of each. This video segment focuses on a specific disorder. Identify whether the disorder is genetic or chromosomal. Notice how context (family, culture, socioeconomics) affects the developmental experience of these children - discuss the interactions that you see between the contexts.
Problem 5: Genes do not predetermine all of our characteristics - environment interacts with our genes to shape how they are expressed. Respond to the following questions after reading this article "Can stress really Change Your Genes?" , and watching these videos "Genes and Development" and "Why Inheritance is Weirder Than We Thought":Epigenetics: Why Inheritance Is Weirder Than We Thought How does the environment impact the expression of genes through the epigenome (and vice versa)? What are some aspects of your current life/lifestyle that could be impacting your epigenome?
Problem 6:
A. Name and describe each of the three stages of prenatal development. Then go on to explain the possible impact of teratogens at each stage. Specifically look at what physical structures are most likely to be impacted at each stage, and consider the role of critical periods in development as part of your discussion.
B. Maternal stress is now understood to be a potential teratogen. As with all teratogens, the amount of stress and the duration of exposure to stress both make a difference in the impact. Use the information from this video as well as the other resources I've provided and discuss the potential impact of maternal stress at each stage of prenatal development.