Developmental Psychology Project

Developmental psychology is the study of how people change across the

lifespan. This unit can be daunting because it covers changes across several
domains (e.g., physical, cognitive, social) throughout several stages from
prenatal through old age. However, this unit also has many real world
applications that can make it particularly interesting. In order to get the
most out of our study of development you will be working with your team to
create a project that applies several of the theories and terms from this unit
of study.
Your project must demonstrate understanding of EACH of the following:

Maturation
Piagets stages
Eriksons stages
Vygotskys theory
Attachment theory

You may propose any project which will allow you to demonstrate your
understanding of the above. Some suggestions are listed below:

* Design a new school that provides a developmentally appropriate

education for each of the following: infants, preschoolers, elementary
schoolers, middle schoolers, high schoolers. Be sure to address physical,
cognitive, and social needs of each age group. Create an attractive brochure
advertising your school.
* Create a board game that takes a person through each of the different
stages of development from infancy through adulthood.
* Make a video that demonstrates each of the stages and concepts.
Interview people from each of the stages and include demonstrations and
commentary.

* Create a large, illustrated, themed timeline of the entire lifespan.

Incorporate the stages proposed by each of the above theorists as well as
Kohlberg. Add an appropriate illustration to each of the stages that
represents (literally or symbolically) that stage.
* Make a playlist of life. Select one song for each stage of development from
birth through old age. Write an explanation of how each song represents
that stage.
* Choreograph an interpretive dance that incorporates all of the various
stages. Write an explanation of how each stage of the dance represents the
stages of development.
* Design a formal research proposal for a cross-sectional or longitudinal
study examining some aspect of development over the lifetime. Include
details about your research design, methods, materials, step by step
procedures, and what data would be analyzed. Be sure to explain why crosssectional (or longitudinal) is the best choice for your study.