Research Activity: Choose Your Theory
Now that you have navigated through the Riverbend City: Meet the Washingtons interactive media piece, for the assignment,Write a 2–3-page paper based on one of the children or teens.
After choosing a character, you will apply a theory and its concepts to the person you selected based on his or her age group. You will then consider the physical development of the brain for the character as well as how brain development affects attitudes and behaviors at that age. Last, you will note ethical considerations a psychological professional would need to consider in working with this individual.
Below are the steps that will help to make sure you have the pieces to complete the assignment. It may be helpful to review the assignment instructions for context.
Choose Your Theory
In the assignment, Apply at least one cognitive or psychosocial theory to your chosen family member. Possible theory choices include, but are not limited to, the following. Review your textbook for information on these theories.
Liam Washington (Age 5)
• Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
• Vygotsky’s social development theory.
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Choose Your Theoretical Concept
You will also need to find one scholarly article in the Capella library studying the effect of a theoretical concept for the age group of your chosen family member. Below is a list of theoretical concepts you could choose that may be easier to research.
Theoretical Concepts to Consider
Liam Washington (Age 5)
• Pretend play.
• Egocentric speech.
• Private speech.
• Non-social activities.

Review Brain Development
Along with theory and concepts, you will also consider how the brain is physically developing at the age of your chosen character. Review the appropriate chapters in your textbook.
Review the APA Code of Ethics
You will also consider the appropriate ethics a psychological professional would need to apply to working with your chosen character. Review the APA code of ethics.
Assignment Instructions
MEET THE WASHINGTONS: CASE STUDY
Assignment Preparation
If you have not done so, complete the Riverbend City: Meet the Washingtons interactive media piece in the studies for this week. You may also refer to the Research Activity in this unit for more details and examples of theories and theoretical concepts you can apply to your chosen family member.
Make sure you have done the following before starting the assignment:
• Choose a character from the interactive media piece to study.
• Select at least one cognitive or psychosocial theory to apply to your chosen family member and review your textbook for information on the theory.
• Choose a theoretical concept for the age group of your member and find at least one scholarly research article that supports this concept.
• Review the brain activity for the character.
• Review the APA code of ethics to identify ethical issues to consider when working the character.
Assignment Instructions
Write a 2–3-page paper using the information you found related to your chosen family member’s development. Analyze your chosen family member’s cognitive or psychological development and their physical brain development. Based on the theory you choose, the research article that supports the theory, and the brain development of the family member you selected, describe why the character is displaying the attitudes and behaviors depicted in the case study media piece. Describe ethical issues to consider when working with your family member.
Submission Requirements
Use the APA Paper Template [DOC] to complete the following:
• Write a 2–3-page paper.
• Use in-text citations in the paper and create title and reference pages.
Assignment Requirements
Your assignment should also meet the following requirements:
• Written communication: Writing should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: References and citations should be formatted according to current APA Style and Format guidelines.
• Length of paper: 2–3 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page and references page.
• Resources: One peer-reviewed source, your textbook, and the APA code of ethics.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.