Order instructions:
This paper will focus on the role of social interactions in early childhood, roughly ages 2-6.
Please compare and contrast your own social experiences from ages 2-6 with those of another child (a specific child, rather than children in general) who was born in a different generation than you. You can choose any child to make this comparison, but please choose a child you personally know rather than a celebrity or character from a book/show. What similarities and differences do you notice in the two of your social interactions? What possible explanations can be made for the similarities and differences? Be specific. In your analysis, please discuss factors such as: play, aggression, parental guidance and involvement in peer interactions, emotional expression, availability of toys, the role of preschool and other organized institutions, and so on. What research supports the trends you notice about the similarities and differences between your experiences and the other child’s? What do you know about developmental norms that supports or challenges your assessment?
Please include page numbers on each page of the paper. You are NOT required to include a separate title page or abstract page, but I will expect that there is minimal room on the first page devoted to your name and identifying information if you choose not to have a title page. If you choose to use a title page, great – this is excellent practice. Please note that title pages, abstract pages, and References pages do NOT count toward the total number of required pages of text.
Consistent with APA style, you are required to use in-text citations to support your work. Please see me if you have difficulty finding scholarly sources (e.g., Wikipedia does not count as a scholarly source). The best places to look for sources are in published books and peer-review scholarly journals (check PsychNet/PsychInfo and Ebscohost through our Learning Commons website). Please note that APA style requires the use of BOTH in-text citations AND a separate reference page. Therefore, when you write a sentence in the paper, attribute borrowed ideas to the original author right there in the sentence. For example, you could reference a study you read by adding this to the end of the sentence: (Landman, 2016). Or, you should say “Landman (2016) stated that…..” Then, later on in the References page, you will provide all of the identifying information needed for that source. Your final, separate page (does not count toward 2-3 page total) should be a References page with a minimum of three references (one of which can be your class textbook). If you would like assistance in using APA format, the following website offers a great resource: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
In the past, I received a few questions regarding what types of sources students are supposed to find if the paper relates to their own experience. That is a great question, as it will be nearly impossible to find sources that support your description of yourself or a child you know. However, you should find sources to support your descriptions of the psychological concepts you are applying to you and this other child. For example, if you describe how your favorite game to play as a six year old was hopscotch but your six year old nephew likes to go on YouTube in his free time, you will not be able to find a source about hopscotch or YouTube specifically. Instead, you’ll want to focus on looking for sources to help you describe the changing nature of kids’ play due to the increase in technology. Therefore, the sources should be incorporated to support your explanation of the class concepts (not your description of yourself or another child). Look for sources that help you define your constructs or highlight similar research that has been done on that topic.
A few tips to help you earn the maximum amount of points possible:
• You should use no more than 1” margins, 11 or 12 point font, and double-spaced text
• Organization is key – a well-organized paper will include a brief introduction, a clearly planned body of the paper with which the reader can follow along, and a brief conclusion
• Keep verb tense consistent throughout your paper (i.e., all past tense or all present tense)
• Keep 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person perspective consistent throughout your paper. APA prefers that writers write in third person perspective (he/she/it/they/one/etc.). For this paper, it is okay if you use 1st person perspective given that you are discussing your own experiences, but always avoid 2nd person perspective (you/your) unless it’s part of a direct quote
• Avoid contractions in formal papers
• Always insert a “page break” between the end of your text and the start of your References page; that way, no matter what you add/delete from the body of your paper, the references will always start flush at the top of their own page
• In APA papers, write out numbers under 10 (e.g., “eight”) and use numbers
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