Assignment 3: Research Essay• APAC attributes assessed

Assignment 3: Research Essay• APAC attributes assessed

Assignment 3: Research Essay• APAC attributes assessed: GA 1, 2, 3 & 6
Value: This assignment is a formal research essay worth 35% of your overall grade for the unit.
Human Development Simulation
The Simulation can be accessed via the PSY286 homepage on LMS. Under ‘Simulation’, click on ‘Human Development’, and then ‘Enter’. The Simulation is based on the life of ‘Jenny’, beginning from infancy and continuing through to late adulthood. You will need to make decisions about Jenny’s characteristics (e.g., is she born a healthy full-term baby or a pre-term baby with ongoing health issues?), her family background (e.g., her parents’ occupation and SES), and then some of the challenges she faces along her developmental pathway.
The research essay questions are based on some of the ‘decisions’ that must be made at different stages in Jenny’s life. To understand these decisions in context you will need to complete the simulation.
Please note: it will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the simulation. If you leave the simulation before completing it, your progress will not be saved. That is, when you go back to the simulation you will need to start from the beginning again. Once completed, you will be able to download a Pdf document that outlines the choices available and the choices that you made for Jenny, for you to reflect on.
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Essay Questions
After completing the Simulation you are required to choose one of the following research topics:

1. Infancy: Twelve-month-old Jenny
Decision 2: Brother’s School Play
Jenny’s mother wishes to attend the school play in which Jenny’s older brother has a part. She is unable to get a babysitter and decides to leave Jenny in the crèche while she attends the performance.
• There has been much debate about the placement of very young children in day care or early learning centres. With reference to infants’ cognitive, psychological and social development, discuss the implications of placing young children (i.e., infants – pre-school age) in long day care.
o Consider the following article, which had been placed in Resources on LMS.
Harrison, L. J. (2008). Does child care quality matter? Associations between socio-emotional development and non-parental child care in a representative sample of Australian children. Family Matters, 79, 14-25.

2. Pre-schooler: Four-year-old Jenny
Decision 1: Shopping
Jenny’s mother has to go shopping, and takes Jenny with her. While her mother is distracted, Jenny decides to ‘help out’ by going to a different store to look for another item on the shopping list. Jenny’s mother is both frightened and angry when she notices that Jenny is just about to cross a busy street by herself. She grabs Jenny and scolds her.
• Spare the rod, spoil the child!
Present an argument outlining the reasons why parents should OR
should not be allowed to physically punish (i.e., smack) their children,

PSY286 Psychology: Human Development 11 with reference to the cognitive, psychological and social impact of physical punishment on child development.
o Consider the following article, which has been placed in Resources on LMS.
Durrant, J. (2012). Physical punishment of children: Lessons from 20 years of research. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 184, 1373-1377.
Letters: Child discipline. [Four letters presented on the topics of child discipline: Weak evidence for a smacking ban; Parents need techniques for behavioural control; Occasional smacking does no harm; and Parents must be in charge of their children].

3. Middle Childhood: Nine-year-old Jenny
Decision 2: Test at School
Jenny has an important test coming up at school, and is given some practice examples for homework. When she gets home she decides that she would rather play instead. Jenny’s mother becomes concerned that Jenny won’t perform well on the test and ‘bribes’ Jenny to do her homework. She then sits with Jenny and works through the practice exercises with her.
• “The attempt to prevent our kids from struggling for fear it might scar
their permanent records is, instead, scarring them for life”.
(Heather Choate Davis, Elijah & the SAT: Reflections on a hairy old desert prophet and the benchmarking of our children’s lives).
Discuss this quote with reference to parenting styles, particularly the phenomenon of ‘helicopter parenting’, and how this might impact on a child’s cognitive, emotional and social development.
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o Consider the following articles, which have been placed in Resources on LMS.
LeMoyne, T., & Buchanan, T. (2011). Does ‘hovering’ matter? Helicopter parenting and its effects on well-being. Sociological Spectrum, 31, 399-418.
Odenweller, K. G., Booth-Butterfield, M., & Weber, K. (2014). Investigating helicopter parenting, family environments, and relational outcomes for millennials. Communication Studies, 65, 407-425.

4. Adolescent Stage: Fourteen-year-old Jenny
Decision 2: Cyber Attack
Jenny joins the netball team at school but is not as experienced as some of the other team members and consequently doesn’t play as well as they do. Some of the team members make scathing remarks about Jenny’s ability on a social media site, and she is devastated by the viciousness of their comments.
• “Educators are increasingly faced with the challenge of keeping students safe at school – not only in their physical space, but also in a virtual world that has become a very dangerous environment, with few rules and very little oversight”
(Hoff & Mitchell, 2009, p. 652).
Discuss this quote in relation to the effects of cyber bulling on adolescents’ cognitive, emotional and social development.
o Consider the following article, which has been placed in Resources on LMS.
Hoff, D. L., & Mitchell, S. N. (2009). Cyberbullying: Causes, effects, and remedies. Educational Administration, 47, 652-665.
PSY286 Psychology: Human Development 13

5. Young Adulthood: Eighteen-year-old Jenny
Decision 1: The Boyfriend
Jenny has developed a relationship with a man who is considerably older than she is. Her parents disapprove of this man. Although she is 18 years old, they forbid her to meet him again and ‘ground’ her for the following month.
• Close attachments are considered “essential to normal cognitive, social and emotional development” (Sigelman, De George, Cunial & Rider, p. 585).
Discuss this quote in relation to the phenomenon of ‘hookups’ (i.e., uncommitted sexual encounters) and their implications for the development of close attachments in romantic relationships.
o Consider the following articles, which have been placed in Resources on LMS.
Fielder, R. L., & Carey, M. P. (2010). Prevalence and characteristics of sexual hook-ups among first-semester female college students. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 36, 346-359.
Garcia, J. R., Reiber, C., Massey, S. G., & Merriweather, A. M. (2012). Sexual hookup culture: A review. Review of General Psychology, 16, 161-175.

6. Middle Adulthood: Thirty-five year-old Jenny
Decision 2: Lost Job
Due to the economic downturn, both Jenny and her partner, Shawn, have lost their jobs. Shawn’s parents have offered to let the family stay with them until they get ‘back on their feet’, and Shawn and Jenny have agreed that under the circumstances it would be wise to accept the offer.
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• Discuss the potential psychological and social implications of long- term unemployment on individuals, their families and society in general.
o Consider the following articles, which have been placed in Resources on LMS.
Gallie, D., Paugam, S., & Jacobs, S. (2003). Unemployment, poverty and social isolation: Is there a vicious circle of social exclusion? European Societies, 5, 1-32.
McClelland, A., & Macdonald, F. (1998). The social consequences of unemployment. Business Council of Australia. Retrieved from http://library.bsl.org.au/jspui/bitstream/1/266/1/social_consequence s_of_unemployment_AMcClelland.pdf
Westacott, J. (2017, September 2). Economic growth our greatest tool in the fight against poverty. The Weekend Australian. Retrieved from http://www.bca.com.au/media/economic-growth- our-greatest-tool-in-the-fight-against-poverty

7. Mid-late Adulthood Stage: Fifty-five year-old Jenny
Decision 2: Ageing parents
Jenny’s parents are getting older and their health is deteriorating. Jenny is being called on more and more to help them. She is finding this increasingly stressful as she is still working and has other family commitments (e.g., she is helping to take care of her grandson, Max, while her daughter, Stacey, works). Jenny’s mother has a fall and fractures her leg, and Jenny must now decide if she can help out even more or if she must place her parents in an aged care facility.
• “The challenges [of being a sandwich generation caregiver] have a tremendous impact on the overall lifestyle of middle-aged adults,
PSY286 Psychology: Human Development 15

including personal time, career development, and financial stability”
(Riley & Bowen, 2005, p. 52).
Discuss this quote in relation to the concept of ‘carer burden’ and how it might impact on the well-being of middle-aged adults tending to the needs of both their children and their aging parents.
o Consider the following articles, which have been placed in Resources on LMS.
Grundy, E., & Henretta, J. C. (2000). Between elderly parents and adult children: A new look at the intergenerational care provided by the ‘sandwich generation’. Ageing & Society, 26, 707-722.
Riley, L. D., & Bowen, C. P. (2005). The sandwich generation: Challenges and coping strategies of multigenerational families. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 13, 52-58.

8. Reflecting on the final outcome: Eighty-five-year-old Jenny
Jenny’s husband, Shawn, died several years ago, and Jenny finds that she is regularly attending funerals these days. She reflects back on her life: on all the important relationships and what they have meant to her.
•
“Deep in earth my love is lying
And I must weep alone” (Edgar Allan Poe, written in 1847, the year of his
wife’s death)
Compare and contrast the Parkes/Bowlby Attachment Model and the Dual Process Model of bereavement.
o Consider the following article, which has been placed in Resources on LMS.
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Parkes, C. M. (2002). Grief: Lessons from the past, visions for the future. Death Studies, 26, 367-385.
Please note:
• Formal essay structure is required for this assignment.
• Do not refer to ‘Jenny’ or the Simulation scenarios in your assignment.
• Once you have chosen your topic, you will need to conduct research and base your argument on this research. Your essay should not be merely descriptive (i.e., essentially summarising the research/empirical literature on the given topic).
• There is a 1500 word limit on this assignment. Please note that the 1500 word limit is the maximum number of words that you are allowed for this assignment. As such, if your assignment exceeds this word limit, once the limit is reached, reading will stop. The section within the word limit will be marked as if it is the complete assignment. NO leeway will be given above this limit.
The word count INCLUDES all words from the initial word of your essay to its final word, but it EXCLUDES the title, abstract and reference list. The computer word processing package that you use for producing your assignments will have a word count function for checking the length of your assignment. Please be mindful that in-text references also count as words.
• Referencing using APA style is required.
• Each student must develop his/her own essay. There are severe
penalties for collusion and plagiarism.
• This essay assignment must be submitted in electronic copy and must include a completed cover sheet.

Thank you. I will try to complete the simulation soon and send you the pdf file. My due date for this assignment is this 11/11 at 12 midnight.

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