Life Span Development Discussions

Discussion 1:
1. Evaluate a television shows for gender-role stereotyping. Choose shows that children tend to watch. Please record the following information:
a. number of male and female main characters
b. personality characteristics of one male and one female from the show (use the Bem Sex-Role Inventory to determine masculinity, femininity, or androgyny)

2. Begin your posting by presenting the data you collected in the following format:
a. Television Program Name:
b. Brief description of the episode:
c. Number of male and female main characters:
d. Sex Type for each character (masculine, feminine, androgynous):

3. In a paragraph or two, address the following questions.
a. What do you think these models are teaching children about what it means to be a male or a female in our society?
b. Do you think these models are a fair representation of the way women and men act in the real world?

Discussion 2: This section’s thoughts for discussion involve the types of adolescent egocentrism. Imagine yourself as a professional interested in developing a prevention program aimed at adolescents’ risky behaviors. You are given the opportunity to present your ideas for a prevention program to a foundation interested in providing the financial support for programs that address at least one type of egocentrism. For this assignment, you will need to select one of the following risky behaviors: engaging in unprotected sex, teen pregnancy, drug use, alcohol use, joining a gang, or texting while driving. You will pitch your prevention program that addresses this risky behavior.
This assignment consists of four components.
1. In a short paragraph, please describe why it is important to address the risky behavior that you selected. At a minimum you should address the following questions: How many adolescents engage in or are affected by this behavior? What are the consequences of this behavior?
2. In a paragraph, please state and describe the type of egocentrism that your program will attempt to combat.
3. In a paragraph or two, describe the prevention program that you have developed. In doing so, please address the following questions:
a. Who will be allowed to participate in your program? In other words, are you targeting all adolescents or just a select few (e.g., those in high school, individuals from a specific gender or ethnic group, etc.)?
b. What will happen in your program? For example, if you are making adolescents participate in an activity, what will that activity be? Alternatively, if you are having the adolescents attend a workshop, what will happen at this workshop?
c. How will this program address your type of egocentrism? For example, if you choose to combat the invincibility fable, how will you program help adolescents see that they can be harmed?



Discussion 3: This week’s thoughts for discussion involve the “Sandwich Generation”. Often times, we describe people in midlife as the “Sandwich Generation” because they are sandwiched between caring for their children and caring for their parents. For this assignment, you will need to imagine yourself as a person in midlife who is faced with the task of providing some care for your children and your parents. Decide what your typical work week would look like. What activities/tasks would you engage in? How you would divide your time between these activities?
This assignment consists of three components.
1. Your post describing the questions outlined above.
2. Please explain your thought process behind these decisions. In other words, why/how did you select which activities/tasks that you would engage in and how you would divide your time? Did you base your decisions on certain characteristics of the family (e.g., age of children, income, # of hours worked)? If so, what was the most important characteristic that informed your decision?


Discussion 4: This week’s thoughts for discussion involve discussing what you learned from this course. This assignment consists of two components.
1. According to your readings on your textbook Life Span Development 12ed. ISBN:978-0-07-337021-7, how has your understanding of human development changes as a result of taking this course?Include a minimum of 2 ways your thinking has changed. Alternatively, you can list a minimum of 2 things that you learned from the course and how you plan to use this information.