Physiological changes occur throughout our lives and can have significant effects on our self-esteem. Some of these changes can be more significant than others. As argued in Chapter 4 of the course textbook, physical events that occur during our life (i.e., puberty, loss of senses, illness) may have physiological effects.

Using the theoretical knowledge you have gained from your required reading for this week, discuss a time in life, based on personal or vicarious experiences, when you felt that physical changes were most impactful to you (early childhood, middle childhood, young adulthood, middle age). Share only information that you are comfortable with, or you may use another’s experiences or a fictitious example.

Consider the following questions as you discuss:

• Do you believe neural plasticity was a significant variable during this chosen stage of your (or another’s) life? Why or why not?
• Did synaptic pruning, based on this event, alter the way you now view the world? If so, what about your worldview changed? Explain.
• Did the event shape who you are as a person (your identity)?
• Based on your knowledge and your experiences, indicate the advice you might give to someone who is experiencing something similar?
  • What ethical considerations are associated with the advice you give?

Be sure to cite the textbook within your writing, when appropriate, supporting your assertions and advice to another.

N-Z

Shriner and Shriner (2014) state that

“Teenagers who have close relationships with their parents are less likely to initiate sexual activity at an early age (Bynum, 2007). Further, parents who have a good line of com­munication with their adolescents seem to delay the onset of sexual activity as well (Aspy et al., 2007)”. (Shriner & Shriner, 2014, section 10.2, para. 11)

This is further substantiated by additional research, located in your required resources: Sutton, Lasswell, Lanier, and Miller’s (2014).

• Based on your personal and vicarious experiences, assess whether you agree with this research or not. Support your explanation with supporting examples or with scholarly citations.
• Describe a real-life event that could interfere with the research findings. (Example: Sarah recently lost her grandmother and has felt very sad. She finds this subject hard to talk to her parents about. There is also a boy who has given her a great amount of attention lately and seems open to listening to her.) Share only information that you are comfortable with, or you may use another’s experiences or a fictitious example.

Before you submit your discussion, you are encouraged to review the Writing Center’s Grammarly (Links to an external site.) page, which includes a link to The Grammarly Guide (Links to an external site.), set up a Grammarly account (if you have not already done so), and use Grammarly to review a rough draft of your assignment. Then, carefully review all issues identified by Grammarly and revise your work as needed

Peer Responses: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers, at least one of whom was assigned the content area different from yours, in a minimum of 300 words (each reply), by Day 7 (Monday). Based on your understanding of the reading, add important information to the conversation. Are there additional things that should be discussed about this content? How does this content support our understanding of human development?

Instructor Responses: Review any instructor feedback on your postings. Often feedback is shared to help you to elevate your level of critical thought or make corrections. Reply based on this feedback to advance your understanding of the content addressed.

Observe the following guidelines for all responses:

• Remember that discussion forums should be conversations; dialogue is encouraged throughout the course.
• Provide a courteous and interactive learning environment.
• Continue to monitor this discussion through 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Day 7 of the week and reply to anyone (instructor or classmate) who has chosen to respond to your original post.
• Your grade will reflect the quality of your initial post, the depth of your peer replies, and your active support of forum dialogue.
• Your responses should demonstrate that you have read the existing replies on the board. (In your response, mention information and viewpoints already expressed by existing responses to the same post.)