Below is a list from which you will select one topic for the Week Two assignment, another topic for the Week Three assignment, and a third topic for both the Outline of the Final Paper and the Final Paper.  The topic you select for your Outline of the Final Paper and this Final Paper must be different from the topics you select for the Week Two and Week Three assignments.

The topics include:

• What do twin and adoption studies tell us about the effects of nature (i.e., genetic influences) and nurture (i.e., environmental influences) on human development? Select at least one of the main domains of human development (physical, cognitive, or social-emotional) for your answer.
• How much credit or blame do parents deserve for the way we are? Select at least one of the main domains of human development (physical, cognitive, or social-emotional) for your answer.
• To what extent are the lives of adolescents and young adults shaped by parental and peer influences?
• Why do we have a need to belong (to affiliate with others)?
• How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood?
• What are the factors that affect our well-being as middle aged and older adults?
• Why are some people attracted to members of their own sex whereas others are attracted to members of the opposite sex?
• How do memory and intelligence change as we age?
• Does an infant’s temperament shape his/her cognitive and socio-emotional development?
• Are babies pre-wired for survival?
• Are adolescents more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior than older adults?
• Can physical exercise affect cognitive performance in old age? Consider the time of occurrence of physical exercise (i.e., earlier in life or during old age) in your answer.
• Are there personality traits related to longevity?
• Does bilingualism improve brain functioning?
• Why do students in the United States tend to under-perform in math and science?

Once you have chosen your topic, examine the various theories of human development learned in the course and choose one or two that best assist you in understanding the issues involved in your topic. In your assignment address the following:

• Identify some of the major domains of human development and how they are impacted.
• Examine the physical, biological, emotional, cognitive, and/or social factors that are affected.
• Identify the stages of development that are affected and describe the cultural and historical perspectives of partitioning the lifespan that influence the interpretations of the available data on the topic.
• Describe the influences of family, culture, and environment and the roles they play.

Be sure to examine the available research in human development before completing this assignment.

Writing the Final Paper