Impact of life experiences on development

FinalProjectTemplate-6.docx

Note to students: This template is provided to support the development of your project. Please remove this note and all other instructions from your paper before submitting. Note places where information is highlighted – these indicate points where your personal information should be entered. Remove highlighting and parentheses before entering your information. Use standard capitalization rules.

The Impact of Life Experiences on Development

Walden University

(STUDENT NAME) The Impact of Life Experiences on Development

This section is the introduction to the paper, including a thesis statement. Provide an overview of the significance of life experiences on development, using resources to support key statements. Adhere to APA format. This section is generally ½ - ¾ of one page.

Event I: (EVENT NAME)

For this event, provide a brief description of life event, including an identification of whether the event was age-graded, history-graded, or non-normative. Provide an analysis of the influence of life event on your identity development, including theoretical support. Be sure to demonstrate critical thinking and analysis in describing cognitive, psychological, and/or social impact. Use resources to support statements, including the course text and at least one additional peer-reviewed resource.

Remember to separate key points into paragraphs. Make sure your writing meets graduate-level standards, including being free from errors in spelling and grammar; please also adhere to APA format guidelines. Resources used in this section should be included in References. This section is generally about 1 ½-2 pages in length.

Event II: (EVENT NAME)

For this event, provide a brief description of life event, including an identification of whether the event was age-graded, history-graded, or non-normative. Provide an analysis of the influence of life event on your identity development, including theoretical support. Be sure to demonstrate critical thinking and analysis in describing cognitive, psychological, and/or social impact. Use resources to support statements, including the course text and at least one additional peer-reviewed resource.

Remember to separate key points into paragraphs. Make sure your writing meets graduate-level standards, including being free from errors in spelling and grammar; please also adhere to APA format guidelines. Resources used in this section should be included in References. This section is generally about 1 ½-2 pages in length.

Event III: (EVENT NAME)

For this event, provide a brief description of life event, including an identification of whether the event was age-graded, history-graded, or non-normative. Provide an analysis of the influence of life event on your identity development, including theoretical support. Be sure to demonstrate critical thinking and analysis in describing cognitive, psychological, and/or social impact. Use resources to support statements, including the course text and at least one additional peer-reviewed resource.

Remember to separate key points into paragraphs. Make sure your writing meets graduate-level standards, including being free from errors in spelling and grammar; please also adhere to APA format guidelines. Resources used in this section should be included in References. This section is generally about 1 ½-2 pages in length.

Event IV: (EVENT NAME)

For this event, provide a brief description of life event, including an identification of whether the event was age-graded, history-graded, or non-normative. Provide an analysis of the influence of life event on your identity development, including theoretical support. Be sure to demonstrate critical thinking and analysis in describing cognitive, psychological, and/or social impact. Use resources to support statements, including the course text and at least one additional peer-reviewed resource.

Remember to separate key points into paragraphs. Make sure your writing meets graduate-level standards, including being free from errors in spelling and grammar; please also adhere to APA format guidelines. Resources used in this section should be included in References. This section is generally about 1 ½-2 pages in length.

Conclusion

This section includes a paraphrased restatement of the thesis from the introduction, followed by key points from the body of the paper which support the thesis statement. Share new thoughts or perspectives gained from analysis and their impact. Be sure work adheres to APA format. This section is generally ½ - ¾ of one page.

References

All resources used in the assignment should appear here. For an assignment of this length, 6-9 resources are a good target; these should include the assigned course textbook and a selection of peer-reviewed resources from the past 5 years that support your key points. DO NOT USE WEBSITES such as Wikipedia or About.com, nor any other resources which are not peer-reviewed.

COUN_6215_FinalProjectGuidelines.docx

The Impact of Life Experiences on Development

Complete a 7- to 9-page (not including title page and references) paper with the following criteria:

Choose four events from your life which you believe had a significant impact on your development. There must be at least one event from childhood, one from adolescence, and one from adulthood; the fourth event may be in any one of those three stages. The events should be specific and have occurred at a single point in time – do NOT use broad stages or longer periods of time. If you are unsure whether your identified events meet criteria, please reach out to your faculty and ask!

For each of the four life events selected, do the following:

· Describe the life event as age-graded, history-graded, or non-normative.

· Explain how the event was significant to your development and why, including how it impacted or changed you cognitively, psychologically, and/or socially.

· Explain how the event and its associated changes influenced your identity development through your lifespan.

· Support your statements with developmental theory and integration of knowledge you gained throughout the course. This should include citations for the course textbook (Broderick & Blewitt, 2025) and at least one additional peer-reviewed article published within the past 5 years for each event.

Remember this is not a narrative of your life, but rather an analysis of developmental influences using yourself as the case study. Your introduction should include an overview of the significance of life experiences on development; your conclusions should include a brief recap of key points in your paper, and any new perspectives gained from your analyses.

The Final Project will be evaluated according to the Final Project Rubric located in the Course Information area. Be sure that the Final Project is written using APA format and the final project template (found in Week 1 of the course).

The Final Project is due Day 7 of Week 9. Please refer to the Final Project area in Week 9 for submission details.

FinalProject--EventCategorizationandTips-6.docx

Event-based Influences on Development

Age-Graded Events (Normative)

· Occur in a similar way for most people in a particular group

· Affect most people within a given culture at about the same age (this age may vary, though, in different cultures)

· Examples: entering and finishing school, parenthood, marriage, entering the workforce, death of parents, retirement, etc.

History-Graded Events (Normative)

· Common to a particular cohort: a group of people who share a similar experience

· These are generally major historical events so large in scope that they affect the lives of virtually everyone (may have some differences, though, across cultures/geography)

· The impact may vary depending upon the age at which they are experienced (as well as other influential factors).

· Examples: War, 9-11, Recession, COVID-19 Pandemic, etc.

Non-Normative Events

· Experiences that most people do not have, or that occur at times other than the ‘norm’

· Generally unusual occurrences that have a major impact on one’s life

· Examples: Death of a parent when the child is young, death of children before oneself, certain illnesses, abuse, divorce, … but can also be positive life events as well (perhaps the opportunity to experience another culture when young, the birth of a sibling once you are older, embarking upon a second career, etc.

Bonus: Sociocultural-graded influences

· Different effects depending on race, age, economic status, location, etc…

· Not an identified event category, but rather a contextual consideration for analyzing impact of events

· Consider the intersectionality of these influences on how the event impacted you

TIPS & REMINDERS:

~ In addition to the above influences on development, which you are required to identify for each life event, consider also exploring those events within the framework of Bronfenbrenner’s theory (way back in Chapter 1 as well) in exploring the various systems at play in your life at these points in time. Remember to connect each event with various developmental theories appropriate to the stage and to cite your sources/provide evidence from the literature! Consider the influences of gender, culture, sexuality, nature vs. nurture, developmental tasks, etc. There is so much to pull from – your challenge is going to be focusing on just a few pieces and doing that well.

~ Finally – don’t forget to include support in both your introduction section and conclusion! These are essential components and points will be lost for failing to include these as well-formulated sections or if they are lacking in theoretical support.

COUN6215FinalProjectTemplate.docx

Note to students: This template is provided to support the development of your project. Please remove this note and all other instructions from your paper before submitting. Note places where information is highlighted – these indicate points where your personal information should be entered. Remove highlighting and parentheses before entering your information. Use standard capitalization.