Journal Set #1

Journal exercises are intended to be fun, provoke thought about a specific area or time of development and in many cases help you connect theories of development to your own experience. In each journal set you have 5 exercises to choose from. You will choose and complete 3, turning them in on the due date shown in the course calendar (attached to your syllabus). Each entry is worth up to 12 points. They will be graded on the following scale.

12 points. All item responses are clear, complete and thoughtful, using full sentences. Positions are justified using research data presented in class or in the text.

9 points. All items are responded to, most responses are clear and complete but some responses are not. Justification of some positions is weak or unclear.

6 points. At least 50% of the items have a response and those responses are complete and thoughtful, positions are justified clearly.

No points. All responses are incomplete and/or unclear.

I will deduct points for spelling and grammar errors as well!

Format

• Your journal entries may be neatly hand written or typed.
• Label each option clearly, (so I don’t have to guess at which one I’m reading).
• Staple all pages and please don’t use report covers of any type.
• Proofread for grammar, spelling and syntax.
• If you hand write you must use 8 ½ by 11 inch paper with clean edges and skip every other line as you write.
• If you type, double space using a 10 point font.

Options

Option 1

Your Cohort

1. In what year were you born?
2. What important historical events occurred at the time of your birth?
3. What important events do you remember as having affected you and your clasmates during your school years (for example, assassinations, space exploration, natural disasters, political upheaval, war)? Describe how these events influenced your development.
4. When you were in the fifth grade, what attitude did most of the people you knew have toward the following?

1. mothers who worked outside the home.
2. fathers’ roles in childrearing.
3. people of other ethnic groups
4. senior citizens.
5. couples without children
6. only children
7. handicapped children
8. birth control

Option 2

Theories of development

In chapter 2, five major theories of development are described, compared and evaluated. These are the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Erikson; the learning and social learning theories of Pavlov, Skinner and Bandura; epigenetic theory; Piaget’s cognitive theory and the Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. The following questions will help you focus on and clarify the similarities, differences and complementary aspects of the theories.

1. which of the major developmental theories are stage theories? Which are not?
2. Which theories emphasize conscious, individual organization of experience?

Which emphasize unconscious urges?
Which emphasize observable behavior?
Which focus on the interaction of nature and nurture?

3. Which theories emphasize the impact of early experience on development?
4. How does each theory view the child?
5. Which theories have been criticized:
   for being too subjective?
   for being too mechanistic?
   for being too deterministic?
   for neglecting the role of biological maturation in guiding development?

Option 3

Language Development

Chapter 6 discusses ideas about whether nurture (the environment) or nature (innate abilities) or the interaction of both account for how children acquire language. In this exercise, review the following examples of language use and decide whether each example provides evidence of nature or nurture or the interaction of both in language development. Provide an explanation for your reasoning.

Sample:

Whenever 8-month-old Juwan wants his mother, he calls out "mama" and she comes running. Consequently, Juwan utters "mama" much more frequently now than he did at 7 months of age.

Perspective: This example illustrates the nurture position. Juwan is rewarded by the attention of his mother when he says "mama" so his use of the word is increasing.

Option 4

Designing a Toy

Play is viewed as the major means through which physical, cognitive and social skills are mastered—especially during the preschool years. Your task is to mentally design a toy suitable for a 2- to 6-year-old child, keeping in mind the physical, cognitive and social needs of preschool children.

1. What is the name of your toy? How does the child play with it or use it?
2. How old is the child for whom the toy is intended? What features of the toy make it developmentally appropriate?
3. What domain or domains of development is your toy designed to stimulate? How does the toy stimulate that (those) domain(s)?
4. What are some of the specific features of the toy (for example size, shape, color, noise-making properties, etc.) that enhance its attractiveness and play value?
5. What considerations should be given to injury control when the toy is used?

Option 5

What’s in a restricted code?

Restricted codes aren’t just used by schoolchildren and they aren’t always the same.

1. Write down at least two expressions you use or have heard others use that your parents or grandparents would have trouble understanding.
2. Think of and write down at least two expressions your parents or grandparents use that you can’t understand or didn’t understand at first.
3. Write down an expression that you’ve heard young children use that you did not understand at first.
4. Do you currently use any of the expressions that you’ve listed above? Why or why not?

Journal Set #2

Journal exercises are intended to be fun, provoke thought about a specific area or time of development and in many cases help you connect theories of development to your own experience. In each journal set you have 5 exercises to choose from. You will choose and complete 3, turning them in on the due date shown in the course calendar (attached to your syllabus). Each entry is worth up to 12 points. They will be graded on the following scale.

12 points. All item responses are clear, complete and thoughtful, using full sentences. Positions are justified using research data presented in class or in the text.

9 points. All items are responded to, most responses are clear and complete but some responses are not. Justification of some positions is weak or unclear.

6 points. At least 50% of the items have a response and those responses are complete and thoughtful, positions are justified clearly.

No points. All responses are incomplete and/or unclear.

I will deduct points for spelling and grammar errors as well!

Format

• Your journal entries may be neatly hand written or typed.
• Label each option clearly, (so I don’t have to guess at which one I’m reading).
• Staple all pages and please don’t use report covers of any type.
• Proofread for grammar, spelling and syntax.
• If you hand write you must use 8 ½ by 11 inch paper with clean edges and skip every other line as you write.
• If you type, double space using a 10 point font.

 Options

Option 6

Case studies in identity status.

The following brief case studies each illustrate one the five identity statuses proposed by Erik Erikson and others; four of these are summarized in Table 16.1 of the text. For each of the following cases, decide which identity status is illustrated and explain your reasoning for your position.

1. Rudy. Rudy has changed his college major so many times that it will take him 6 years to graduate. Since his parents have pointedly objected to paying the expenses for tuition and room and board, Rudy has cheerfully taken on a variety of jobs, ranging from bartender to shoe salesman. He likes work that allows him time to think and be alone; his few friends are very much like him. Rudy’s grades are generally high, though his record is marred by several ‘incompletes’. He has had one ver satisfying intimate relationship and is searching rather anxiously for another. Rudy’s identity status is:
2. Melissa. Melissa’s parents are both doctors. In college she majored in French, spending a semester in France studying art and culture. Upon graduation she surprised her parents by announcing that she had applied to medical school. A close relationship with a hospice nurse and a summer job as a hospital volunteer had helped her arrive at the decision. Melissa’s identity status is:
3. Lynn. Lynn’s mother is a professor of women’s studies who is deeply involved in feminist politics. Lynn very much admires her mother, a strong woman who, as a single parent provided for Lynn while establishing her own career. Lynn believes that she, too, will be strong and independent. She avoids people (especially men) who either don’t see her in that light or try to make her be "more feminine". She certainly steers clear of her maternal grandmother, who (although pleasant) is a very disorganized and "artsy" person. Lynn’s college grades are very high and her course selections reflect an unwavering interest in psychology, politics and women’s studies. Lynn’s identity status is:

Option 7

The social clock and you.

1. Do the characterizations of adult development offered by Erikson, Maslow and other theorists discussed in the text seem to apply to you at this particular time in your life? Why or why not?
2. At what ages do you plan to start a career, marry, have children and retire? (If you’ve already done some of these, how old were you at the time?) What factors do you think have set or will set your social clock for these events?
3. Your sister is trying to decide between two potential marriage partners—one who is form her old neighborhood and shares her religious views and another who is from a different city and has different religious beliefs. Which one of these people do you believe is the better choice? Why do you feel this way?

Option 8

The 25^th high school reunion.

Imagine that you are preparing to attend you 25^th reunion (this would put you at about age 43-58 or so). If you are already that age or older, speculate about a later reunion and adjust the timeline as necessary to complete the exercise. Now, answer the questions with a vision of two versions of "who you are" at this reunion. First, create a life story in which you experienced no major setbacks or limitations to your potential or dreams. Then respond from a second, more realistic version that reflects the more typical biosocial, cognitive and psychosocial developmental patterns described in the text.

1. What issues in the biosocial domain of development will be most pressing to you at this time?
2. What issues in the cognitive domain will be most pressing to you?
3. How will your life story have been shaped by the settings of the social clock that was ticking during your adult years?
4. What career choices will you have made?
5. What relationship/family choices will you have made (for example, single, married or formally committed with children, divorced).
6. How will you have tackled the primary tasks of middle adulthood, as seen by Erikson (generativity vs. stagnation)?

Option 9

Media images of aging.

Our culture’s veneration of youthfulness is so great that it fosters ageist stereotypes that make it difficult to see older adults as they really are. These stereotypes are often perpetuated by the popular media of television, magazines, movies, novels and so on. This option asks you to investigate attitudes about aging as reflected in television programs. View at least five different television programs (different programs, not different episodes of the same program). Dramas, soap operas and situation comedies are good choices. Try to find at least two programs that aired in the 1950s or 60s. Make note of ageist stereotypes illustrated in the programs. After you have finished your observations, complete the following questions.

1. List the titles of the programs you watched, noting whether each is a current program or one from the ‘60s.
2. Briefly describe the elderly characters portrayed in these programs. Make note of any common themes or stereotypes about the elderly.
3. Compare and contrast the portrayal of older adults in the contemporary programs with their portrayal in the older program(s).
4. In your observations could you detect any distinction between adults who might be described as "young-old" and those who might be described as "old-old"?
5. What role do you believe the popular media play in perpetuating ageist stereotypes? What, if anything, could the media do differently?

Option 10

Coping with death and dying.