Based on your review of the most recent, relevant research findings on your chosen topic, submit a final version of your literature review paper, integrating feedback received from your instructor. Be sure to include a research/focal question, synthesis of the literature you reviewed, well-established conclusions, and points of discussion and/or future research.

• Begin the review by defining the objective of the paper. Introduce the reader to your focal question. What is this question intended to address? You may state your “question” in the form of a problem if you like. Describe the topic for your literature review and why you chose this topic. Explain why you think it is important. It is also useful to tell the reader how the review is organized in your introduction section, before you the transition into the body of the review.

• Organize your literature review paper by themes/theories/concepts, rather than article by article. If there is one major theme you want to highlight, state the theme. If there are three major themes or streams of thought on the topic, briefly name them—and then organize the balance of your literature review around those three streams. Think of themes, theories, concepts, lines of thought, and ideas as organizing strategies for your literature review. Your creativity in this assignment is not the content or findings but the clarity with which you organize the review and create a context for understanding the focal question.

• When you are done introducing the first line of thought, create a new paragraph to discuss studies which present another line of thought or opposing view.

• Your literature review should hit the high points of each article. You should not discuss a single article, one by one, like a grocery list. Zero in on the main theme or finding and then move on to the next theme. Remember, this is a synthesis, an integration of all the things you have learned. You are creating a discussion on paper, which in turn gives the reader a context for understanding where the scholarship has been, where it is currently, and where it likely will be heading next. Provide enough details to help the reader understand the significance of the studies you cite without “rebuilding Rome.” Be sure to evaluate the studies and offer critical comments on any shortcomings you’ve observed or that have been reported by the authors.

• Discuss the main findings and their implications. Given the results of your literature review, what is/are the prevailing argument(s)? What research question could you ask in order to further develop this area of study and contribute to the existing body of knowledge? Complete your review by drawing conclusions about your body of research and identifying gaps in the research which still remain to be explored, maybe even by you! Make an argument as to why your research question is important and relevant to the current work being done on your topic.

APA format, 4 pages

Topic Proposal

Steven Jones

PSY/492

May 7, 2015

Professor Gonzalez

Hereditary and Environment: Influence on psychological developments

One of the biggest controversies that behavioral psychologists contend with is the evidence of the existence of a possible link between heredity and environment, and their impact on human psychological developments. Sharp criticisms have emerged on the idea that environmental factors have significant impacts on human psychological functioning and development (Rutter, Pickles, Murray & Eaves, 2001). This problem demands research and revisiting to settle the controversy over whether environmental factors have implications on psychological functioning. Furthermore, many researchers have attempted to explain how peer environment work together with genetic variables to influence human’s social developments. Such researches have mostly confined their scope to adults. However, there exists a dearth in knowledge and literature on how peer environment works together with genetic variables to impact young children and teenagers’ social development.

My knowledge on this area of study touches on five distinctive domains of individual differences in behavior: personality, cognitive abilities, social attitudes, psychopathology, as well as psychological interests. This corresponds with the current position held by researchers on the topic. For instance, according Ehrlich and Kennedy (2005) the aforementioned elements greatly determine the interplay between human psychological differences and environmental impact. Nonetheless, I believe that the research topic will give me the opportunity to expand my understanding of the topic. I would like to extend beyond the basic knowledge on social attitudes, cognitive influences, and personality.

I chose this topic because I am greatly interested in the subject of human development. As a psychologist it will be important for me to have adequate knowledge on the subject and understand the factors that influence development. I believe that study on the interplay between heredity and environment will expand my understanding of the various problems experienced by humans as they develop from one stage to another. The other reason why I chose this topic is that I have always longed for a platform and an opportunity to contribute to knowledge and understanding in the field of psychology. I can only do this through research.

References

Ashley, D., & Orenstein, D. M. (2005). Sociological Theory: Classical Statements (6th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Pearson Education.

Bouchard, T. J., & McGue, M. (2003). Genetic and environmental influences on human psychological differences. Journal of neurobiology, 54(1), 4-45.

Brendgen, M. (2014). The Interplay between genetic factors and the peer environment in explaining children’s social adjustment. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 60(6), 101-109.

Cialdini, R. B., Demaine, L. J., Sagarin, B. J. et al. (2006). Managing social norms for persuasive impact. Social Influence 1, pp. 3–15

Ehrlich, P. & Kennedy, D. (2005). Millennium assessment of human behavior. Science 309, pp. 562–563

Garcia, E. (2002). Student cultural diversity: Understanding and meeting the challenge (3r.ed.). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Gintis, H. (2007). “A Framework for the Unification of the Behavioral Sciences.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30, pp. 1-2

Hockenbury, K. & Hockenbury, C. (2010). Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers

Layton, R. (1998). An Introduction to Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rutter, M., Pickles, A., Murray, R., & Eaves, L. (2001). Testing hypotheses on specific environmental causal effects on behavior. Psychological bulletin, 127(3), 291.

Shaffer, D., & Kipp, K. (2013). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.