POTENTIAL RESEARCH TOPICS

Electronic Research Assignment - Potential Research Topics

Electronic Research Assignment - Potential Research Topics

Potential Topic 1

A study of the impact of nature and nurture on the theory of development

This topic was chosen because of its broad nature and specific research demands. The subject area is directly linked with human behavioral approaches and the role (and relevance) of nature (and nurture). The related article chosen for this potential research topic is A Uni?ed Theory of Development: A Dialectic Integration of Nature and Nurture by Arnold Sameroff of the University of Michigan. The article was published in Volume 81, Issue Number 1 in the January/February 2010 edition of Child Development. The author for the selected article asserts that there is a need to acknowledge the influence of nature and nurture on the evolution of characteristics that come forth as individual differences (Sameroff, 2010). The author has exercised a dialectical perspective in an attempt to highlight the relationship between the context and the individual. This has allowed the author to converge upon the development of a unified theory of development; essentially meant to bring together the factors of regulation, personal change, context and the representational models of development (Sameroff, 2010).

Potential Topic 2

A study into the impact of explanations for individual differences amongst different social groups

This particular topic was chosen on account of its potential to unravel the mystery behind the individual differences between Black and White Americans. The topic was also selected because an investigation in this subject area has the potential of multilateral implications on human behavioral approach. The related article selected for this potential research topic was The Perennial Debate: Nature, Nurture, or Choice? Black and White Americans' Explanations for Individual Differences by Toby Epstein Jayaratne, Susan A. Gelman, Merle Feldbaum, Jane P. Sheldon, Elizabeth M. Petty, and Sharon L.R. Kardia. The article was publsihed in Review of General Psychology in the first issue of the 13th edition in 2009. The authors made use of the three most commonly accepted human characteristics of choice, genes and the environment (Jayaratne, Gelman, Feldbaum, Sheldon, Petty, & Kardia, 2009). Data was collected through representative samples (Black and White) in which respondents expressed their perception of the degree to which each of the three factors influenced the evolution of individual differences. Most notably, the study holds relevance because the research process found black respondents to be more in favor of choice; in comparison to while ...