Biosocial Perspectives on the Family

Catalog description

The implications of knowledge from behavioral endocrinology, behavior genetics, and evolutionary psychology for understanding family relationships and child development. HD FS 537. ( SOC 537 ) Biosocial Perspectives on the Family (3) Breakthroughs in the way biological variables are measured and modeled have generated new findings that greatly increase our understanding of the reciprocal influences between family relationships, child development, and biological factors. Specifically, advances in the study of hormones, genetics, evolution, pharmacology, and immunology have led to important advances in our knowledge of gender, becoming a parent, early child development, middle child, and adolescent development, parent-child relations, courtship and mate selection, quality of intimate relations, separation and divorce, incest, and dominance and family violence.Students are required to keep a journal of researchable ideas during the first five weeks of class. The purpose is to give students practice in identifying research needs and opportunities. The journal should include 4-6 research problems, each developed in 2-3 typed pages. The majority of each entry should be a clear statement of what knowledge gains would be realized by conducting the study and why they are important. The remainder of the statement should include consideration of the data you would use, measures of major variables, and analytic strategies. Think of it as a brief portfolio of thesis, dissertation, or research publication ideas.Entries on research projects in which you are already involved are not eligible for inclusion in the journal. On the last page of the journal, indicate which problem you would like to develop into a more detailed proposal during the remainder of the semester and why. Turn in the journal during week 5. I will evaluate your entries and comment on your selection idea. The rest of the semester will be spent on developing one of the ideas to a full-blown proposal (about 20 pages). You should turn in as many drafts as needed to receive a good grade for this segment of the course. I expect you to turn in three or more before the end of the semester. We will meet about each draft and go over my comments. Proposal drafts should be spaced out over the semester.The last week of the semester will be devoted to presentations of research proposals after which class members will offer comments and suggestions. Your grade will be based on the proposal draft you turn in the last week of the class. Twenty-one percent of the course grade is based on the research proposal.