Child Psychology (PSY 2030) Writing Assignment
Literature Review (150 points)

Due date:  	

Name:  	

Purpose of assignment is to measure students’ ability to:
1.	Explain the major theoretical perspectives in childhood developmental psychology, including the biological, psychodynamic, behavioral and sociocultural.
2.	Interpret research methods used by developmental psychologists to study childhood as a developmental period of the life span.
3.	Distinguish the differences between genetic and environmental factors that influence development during the period of childhood.
4.	Evaluate differences in the physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral changes that occur during childhood.
5.	Explain the issues related to parenting, schooling, and peer relationships during the period of childhood from the context of contemporary societal challenges.
6.	Apply ethical principles used to protect and promote the “best interest of the child”.
7.	Use information literacy skills to research individual/group papers, projects, and presentations related to child development.
Grading: This assignment is worth 150 points, 15% of the final course grade.

Directions: You are to prepare a 3-5 page (including cover and reference pages) paper that reviews the literature on a topic of interest in child psychology. Focusing on one period of development, you are to discuss your topic and its impact on child development.

1)	Provide description and definition of your chosen topic (i.e., autism and sensory motor development) using textbook information and child development literature.
2)	Discuss major theoretical approaches that contribute to an understanding of the topic of child development.
3)	Discuss the domains of development (i.e., physical, cognitive, psychosocial) as relevant to your topic.
4)	Discuss at least 3 bidirectional influences of the topic on the child and the contexts of development (i.e., parenting, schooling, relationships, society). Also include a discussion of the impact of genetic and environmental factors inherent to the topic.
5)	Select 4 data driven research articles published within the last 7 years relevant to your topic of interest. Integrate the findings of the articles into your discussion of the topic.
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6)	Evaluate the research methods employed by psychologists on this topic. Are the articles that you read correlational or experimental? Cross-sectional research or longitudinal? Do you feel the methods are adequate to address the topic? Why? Why not?
7)	Discuss your opinion (undergirded by textbook and readings) on this topic. Explain any future directions in research that you would take to promote the best interest of the child as it relates to your topic.

Your paper must be done using the APA formatting style (from the 6th edition American Psychological Association Style Manual) which includes:

1)	A title page with the title in the middle of the page, page number, your name, class and professor’s name;
2)	page numbering in the upper right corner beginning with 1 on the title page;
3)	in-text citations in APA format (that means the citation follows either the quote or the paraphrase of the information provided) and
4)	a reference page at the end (called References) in APA format.