puberty schedule

Reaction Paper Assignments:

Papers must be double-spaced, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, and one-inch margins. Follow APA guidelines for all papers. (Note: The font for this syllabus is Arial, not an APA acceptable font. I use it for readability.) You may use an APA template such as http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general 

and click on the second link for an APA template . You may also explore this entire Website and view the Webinars, and read further in the APA section of the site. For these short papers, you should omit the abstract page. Do not send title page, paper, and reference page as separate documents. Each reaction paper is one document. Another Website that is helpful in formatting and citing is https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/25/  

You may also use the format generator Son of Citation Machine for interactive help at http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-book

Reaction Paper #2 Instructions

Puberty refers to the years of sexual maturation and physical growth marking the end of childhood. For most adolescents, one of the most important aspects of puberty is when it occurs – where they are in their development compared to their peers. Many develop around the same time as their peers, but some develop relatively early or late. There are four pubertal timing categories that have received considerable attention from researchers: early developing girls, early developing boys, late developing girls and late developing boys. The experience of developing early or late can be challenging for an adolescent and can affect many aspects of their life including body image, self-concept, relationship with peers of the same sex as well as the opposite sex, academic performance, and likelihood of problem behaviors. 

Consider the following scenario about Casey who is 14: 

Casey is a freshman in high school and is attending his first high school dance. He is a late-maturing male. Dates are not required, which Casey likes because he prefers to go with his friends. Although Casey is interested in girls, they do not seem to pay much attention to him at the dance. A few of his friends dance with a girl, especially the athletic ones who always seem to be selected over him for the prime positions in sports. Casey feels anxious and embarrassed, and does not feel very good about his less developed body. He has a good relationship with his friends but is not popular with most of the kids. At the dance, a few of the popular boys convince Casey to go outside and smoke some pot. Using the advantages and disadvantages of a late-maturing male, how is this night likely to unfold for Casey? Do not list the disadvantages and advantages. Just support your description of Casey’s experiences with a brief reference to the impact of maturational timing on adolescent adjustment. 

Now consider another 14-year-old adolescent, Sandra. For Sandra, puberty started early, at about age 8. Therefore, she is considered an early-maturing female. She is also a freshman in high school and just attended her first high school dance. Create a scenario describing what Sandra is likely to experience at the dance and support your response with what you learn about her pubertal timing category. 

Before you begin to write the paper, you may want to read the literature on timing of puberty. Your response to the above scenarios should be a reaction to their different pubertal schedules. In summary, speculate on how these two adolescents may behave in other social situations, how they are likely to experience relationships, friendships, leadership roles, academics, college, and mention other future or long term consequences of their pubertal timing. Your response should not contain in-text parenthetical citations unless you include a direct quote from an outside reference. Simply follow the APA template. The only reference you will need to list is the REVEL text, or any other relevant literature. Be sure to read the material before reacting to these scenarios. Do not copy/paste the above scenarios into your paper. This paper should be a minimum of one full page in length. You should have a title page and a reference page.  

Grading: Papers are graded as a whole when the deadline has passed. Grades and comments are posted within 10 academic days of the deadline. All assignments are automatically checked for plagiarism and any student found guilty of plagiarizing work will be given a grade of 0 for the assignment.

Grading Criteria for Reaction Papers: The prescribed format for writing each page of the paper is detailed in the description of the assignment. Additionally, papers are to be written according to APA guidelines. Three equally weighted criteria are used in evaluating this assignment: (a) completeness in adhering to the guidelines for assignment completing; (b) accuracy between each assignment description and its respective psychological application; and (c) creativity and variety in the psychological application