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APA National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula
III. DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAIN
Standard Area IIIA: Lifespan Development
Content Standards
After concluding this unit, students understand:
IIIA-1. Development as a lifelong process
IIIA-2. Research techniques used to gather data on the developmental process
IIIA-3. Theories of development
IIIA-4. Issues surrounding the developmental process (nature/nurture,
continuity/discontinuity, stability/instability, critical periods)
Content Standards With Performance Standards and Suggested Performance
Indicators
CONTENT STANDARD IIIA-1: Development as a lifelong process
Students are able to (performance standards):
IIIA-1.1 Describe physical, social, and cognitive changes from
the prenatal period throughout the lifespan.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Illustrating developmental changes in physical, cognitive, and social development
- Describing research on child development
- Hypothesizing on the interaction of physical, cognitive, and/or social changes in behavior
- Inferring how peer relationships change over time
- Describing similarities and differences in development across cultures
- Discussing the relative importance of peers’ versus parents’ influence in different cultural groups
- Examining the role of psychology in enhancing the life of older adults
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IIIA-1.2 Examine the nature of change over the lifespan.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators)
- Describing how social roles change over time
- Examining how culture, ethnicity, race, age, religion, gender, social class, ability/disability, and sexual orientation, and so on affect our lives over the lifespan
- Discussing quality of life issues related to aging
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IIIA-1.3 Identify the complex cognitive structures found in
the early development of infants and young children.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Citing research on the capabilities of infants and young children
- Comparing contemporary research on early views of infant capabilities with current understanding
- Discussing the role of the caregiver in promoting child development
- Explaining how cultural practices in child-rearing may influence cognitive development
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IIIA-1.4 Apply lifespan principles to personal experience.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Comparing their own life experiences with general patterns of others from their generation
- Predicting their own developmental changes over time
- Describing transition from childhood to adolescence
- Explaining the transition from adolescence to adulthood
- Projecting themselves into late life adulthood (i.e., post 65)
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CONTENT STANDARD IIIA-2: Research techniques used to gather
data on the developmental process
Students are able to (performance standards):
IIIA-2.1 Explain the distinguishing characteristics of the
longitudinal and cross-sectional methods of study.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Describing key features of each research technique
- Evaluating strengths and weaknesses of each research technique
- Demonstrating how certain research techniques relate to specific developmental issues
- Identifying behaviors and characteristics across generations
- Explaining the advantages of using animals to study lifespan issues
- Relating details of a specific longitudinal or cross-sectional study and its impact for understanding human development
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CONTENT STANDARD IIIA-3: Theories of development
Students are able to (performance standards):
IIIA-3.1 Explain various developmental models.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Explaining components of various developmental models (e.g. Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg).
- Applying developmental theories to life situations
- Identifying limitations of stage theories
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IIIA-3.2
Recognize how biological and cultural notions of gender shape the experiences
of men and women.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Explaining the differences between sex, identity, and roles
- Exploring effects of gender discrimination on development throughout the lifespan
- Explaining how gender identity develops
- Exploring how gender expectations may differ depending on ethnicity and acculturation
- Identifying biological factors that may lead to gender differences and similarities
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IIIA-3.3 Examine the development of ethnic identity.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Analyzing case studies that illustrate ethnic identity development
- Exploring effects of ethnic discrimination on development
- Identifying commonalties across racial and ethnic boundaries
- Examining theories on multiracial and multiethnic identity and the contexts in which they were developed
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IIIA-3.4 Explore developmental theories as they relate to cultural
bias.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators)
- Identifying how cultural differences affect development, such as in collectivist versus individualist cultures
- Evaluating strengths and weaknesses of developmental theories, such as Erikson’s stage of identity versus role confusion, from the perspective of different cultures
- Exploring effects of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation on the understanding of human development
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CONTENT STANDARD IIIA-4: Issues surrounding the developmental
process (nature/nurture, continuity/discontinuity, stability/instability,
critical periods)
Students are able to (performance standards):
IIIA-4.1 Describe the role of critical periods in development.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Giving an example of a critical period in development
- Evaluating significance of critical periods in development
- Explaining difficulties of research in the area of critical periods
- Linking cortical development to enriched environments during critical periods
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IIIA-4.2 Explain the issues of continuity/discontinuity and
stability/instability in development.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Giving an example to illustrate continuity or discontinuity in development
- Citing research concerning stability or instability of traits over time
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Standard Area IIIB: Personality and Assessment
Content Standards
After concluding this unit, students understand:
IIIB-1. Distinguish between personality and personality constructs
IIIB-2. Personality approaches and theories
IIIB-3. Assessment tools used in personality
Content Standards With Performance Standards and Suggested Performance
Indicators
CONTENT STANDARD IIIB-1: Distinguish between personality and
personality constructs
Students are able to (performance standards):
IIIB-1.1 Define personality as the individual’s unique
way of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Identifying their own thoughts, feelings, and behavior in a personal experience
- Describing how personality can explain individual differences and individual consistencies
- Evaluating the influence of variables such as culture, family, and genetics on personality development
- Exploring the impact of sociocultural factors on personality development, including ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability/disability, and so on
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IIIB-1.2 Explain the role of personality constructs as a framework
for organizing behavioral phenomena.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Describing a historical example of personality explanations
- Differentiating the situational basis for personality versus enduring aspects of personality
- Identifying their personal constructs for explaining behavioral phenomena
- Describing how personality constructs can guide research
- Hypothesizing on the difficulties personality researchers have studying personality
- Discussing how bicultural and multicultural individuals may express different personality dimensions (e.g., code-switching) depending on the cultural context
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CONTENT STANDARD IIIB-2: Personality approaches and theories
Students are able to (performance standards):
IIIB-2.1 Explain the characteristics of the psychodynamic,
cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, and trait approaches.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Comparing how different personality approaches address the influence of free will and determinism
- Analyzing how each approach would assess a case history
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IIIB-2.2 Identify important contributions to the understanding
of personality.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Diagramming Freud’s structure of personality and describing his role in initiating study in the area of personality
- Describing the influence of external stimuli, modeling, and situational context on behavior
- Exploring the significance of self-perception and needs on an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions
- Classifying primary dimensions, such as emotional stability or extraversion, as a way to organize behavioral phenomena
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CONTENT STANDARD IIIB-3: Assessment tools used in personality
Students are able to (performance standards):
IIIB-3.1
Distinguish between objective and projective techniques of personality
assessment.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Naming popularly used self-report measures and projective tests
- Comparing the validity and reliability of objective and projective assessment techniques
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IIIB-3.2 Describe tests used in personality assessment.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
- Explaining key features of tests, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the NEO-PI-R, California Psychological Inventory, and 16 Personality Factors (16PF)
- Identifying the possible applications of personality assessment
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