Development+writing

You are on the research team of either Jean Piaget or Erik Erikson (if you were born in June-Oct you are team Piaget, if you were born Nov-May you are Erikson). Both of these scientists have made their mark in the world of developmental psychology by theorizing about the “stages” of human development. Piaget identified four stages. Erikson’s model has eight. Piaget quicklink Erikson quicklink

Pretend that your elderly boss/scientist has recently been diagnosed with a debilitating illness. He lies peacefully in a hospital room, barely able to speak. Your team stands at his bedside alone; you are the only “family” of this ancient, distinguished man. His head turns slightly toward you, his eyes deliberately creep open, and he exhausts a long, slow sigh. He smacks his lips together before straining to provide what is possibly the last utterance of his notable life. “There’s another stage,” he whispers.

His head gently turns back original position. Staring blankly at the ceiling for a moment, his eyes carefully close, etenally closing the door on the stellar career of the man you’ve grown to know and respect like a grandfather.

Assignment: Your assignment is to develop a theory of what “stage” your boss might be referring to. Then, you must prepare the framework of an experiment that will test your theory. This assignment uses the concepts from developmental psychology and combines them with the principles of experimental research. The rubric below should guide you, but also feel free to be creative. After all, this is psychology class.

AP Psych – Developmental Psychology

Rubric: I. Theory (15 points): A good theory starts with a hypothesis, and a good hypothesis, in this case, starts with an examination of existing “stages” in your chosen scientist’s model. II. Experiment Design (30 points): A good experiment in developmental psychology typically fits one of two classifications: 1) Cross-sectional, or 2) Longitudinal. Choose which of these (or both) you will use, and thoroughly explain your decision. III. Experimental Procedure (30 points): All experiments, in any branch of psychology, have common components and rules to follow. Review your notes to correctly use any of the applicable following terms as you explain the experiment in your essay: a. Operational definitions b. Control group c. Experimental group d. Confounding variables e. Random assignment f. Experimenter bias g. Double-blind procedure h. Placebo i. Sample population

IV. Demonstration of understanding (25 points): Make sure that you include understanding of your researcher's findings and stages of development.

Template Intro: brief description in your own words, what the stages are and what your proposed new stage is, where it would fit, and why it isn't part of another stage.

Theory: State your hypothesis in one or two complete sentences.

Experimental design: Be clear about what design choices you have made

Experimental procedure: Explain the steps your study would go through, incorporate and demonstrate understanding of any applicable terms (ignore those that are irrelevant to your study)

Part IV should be demonstrated throughout the project.

Please type the assignment up and be ready to share on Monday.