Racial identity

What does “race” mean to young children? School-aged children? Does racial identity occur in stages or continuously?

The topic is identity and/or its development. St u d y
Within the subject of identity, you are encouraged to select a topic that is: 1) PS Ch 0 lo
an area of personal interest to you, 2) related to your field of study, and/or 3) y gy
an area outlined by the text or classroom discussions. If you are really not
sure what to research and write about, skim the list of possible topics below. Papers are not worth writing if you
are not interested in what you are exploring!

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development: This is a rather broad topic, so my recommendation is to
select one of his first five stages, and explore that stage in the context of a particular situation (e.g.,
resolution of Initiative vs. Guilt through participation in play-based preschool).

Gender identity in pubertal adolescents: How do males and females envision being male and female
while they are undergoing the changes of puberty?

Racial identity: What does “race” mean to young children? School-aged children? Does racial identity
occur in stages or continuously?

Criticism and praise in identity deveIOpment: In the age of participant trophies and avoidance of
constructive criticism, how can accurate, reliable identity formation occur?

Sexual identity: This can mean identity based on sexual orientation, identity based on sexual priority, or
both.

Religious identity: How important is one’s faith to how they see themselves and live their lives?

Please come to me with any questions or if you need help to narrow down or finalize your topic; you do not
need me to approve your topic.

You must use at least three resources for the paper, and can include journals, newspapers, books, quality
Internet sources, and/or personal communications. I highly encourage you to use the Internet – but NOT
Wikipedia! If you choose to use the text as a resource, you must use three additional resources. All citations and
references must be formatted according to the APA style; samples are attached to these guidelines.

The structure/nature of your paper will be dependent upon your topic. If it is a topic you are just learning about,
a descriptive paper probably makes the most sense. If it is a topic that you have had some experience with, a
persuasive paper is a better way to go. If you are not sure how you want it to go, please talk to me. You may use
“I” if it is apprOpriate, and may interview people if it deepens your understanding of your topic.