| Course | NU145 Psychology Across the Lifespan |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Stage analysis |
| Length | About 910 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BSN (prelicensure) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU145 Unit 2
Hard Crying at Drop-Off, a Toy Held Out at Pickup: A Stage Analysis of a Composite Thirteen-Month-Old at a Family Child Care Home, Read Through Bowlby's Phases and Piaget's Sensorimotor Substages
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NU145: Psychology Across the Lifespan
Unit 2 Stage Analysis
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The child and family are composite; milestone ages follow published checklists and are approximate, and no attachment classification is made from an everyday anecdote.
The Child
[Theo], composite, 13 months, has attended a family child care home three mornings a week for two months. His father drops him off at 8:00. Theo cries hard, reaching for the door, for about five to ten minutes, then plays with the provider and two other toddlers. At pickup he crawls quickly toward his father, holds out a toy truck, is picked up, and after a minute wants down to keep playing. At home he pulls to stand, cruises along the couch and has taken two steps alone. He drops objects from his high chair repeatedly, watching where they land.
Physical Development
Theo pulls to stand and walks holding on to furniture, which most children do by 12 months, and he has taken his first unaided steps. In the 2022 revision of the CDC milestone checklists, milestones were set at the age by which about three in four children reach them, and walking alone was placed at 15 months (Zubler et al., 2022). His two independent steps at 13 months are therefore within the typical window, not ahead of it or behind. Departure from expectation: not pulling to stand by 12 months, not walking by 18 months, or losing a skill he had would be reasons to ask the pediatrician. Walking at 13 months or at 16 months would both be ordinary.
Cognitive Development
Piaget described six substages of the sensorimotor period. Theo fits the fifth, roughly 12 to 18 months, the stage of tertiary circular reactions, in which a toddler varies an action deliberately to see what changes (Piaget, 1952). When he drops a spoon from the high chair, then a cup, then the spoon from higher up, and leans over to watch each land, he is not repeating an action for its own sake as a younger infant would; he is experimenting. Departure from expectation: a toddler who shows no interest in objects, no searching for a hidden toy, or no attempt to make things happen would raise questions. Variation in how much a child experiments is normal.
Social-Emotional Development
Bowlby defined attachment as a lasting emotional bond that leads a young child to seek closeness to a particular person, especially when frightened or distressed (Bowlby, 1982). He described phases: indiscriminate social responsiveness in the first months, then a preference for familiar people, then, from about six or seven months, clear-cut attachment, when the child protests separation from the attachment figure and uses that person as a secure base. Theo's crying at drop-off is separation protest, a milestone of this phase, not a problem.
His crying at drop-off is not a sign that something is wrong; it is evidence that his attachment is working.
What happens at pickup matters as much. In Ainsworth's laboratory observations, securely attached infants were often distressed when the parent left, sought contact on reunion, were comforted quickly and returned to play (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Theo's crawl to his father, the toy offered, a minute held and then a wish to play again, resembles that pattern.
That resemblance is as far as the analysis can go. Attachment classifications come from a standardized observation with trained coders, not from a home anecdote, so this paper does not classify Theo as secure or insecure. It says only that his behavior is consistent with a typical attachment relationship at his age.
Departure from expectation: no distress at all at separation along with no interest in the parent at reunion, or distress that does not ease at all after reunion, would be worth watching over time. Even then, one morning would not be enough to conclude anything.
How the Three Areas Connect
His new mobility lets him act on his attachment, crawling toward his father rather than only crying for him, and it lets him explore farther from his secure base. His experimenting with dropped objects depends on feeling safe enough to turn his attention to the world. Development in one area supports the others.
What the Provider and Father Can Do
Nothing in Theo's mornings calls for a change in routine, but the theories suggest what helps. A short, predictable goodbye, the same words and a wave at the window, gives him a pattern he can learn to expect, and the father's return at the same time each day confirms it. Sneaking out to avoid the crying tends to make separations harder, because the child cannot predict when the parent will vanish. The provider can offer a familiar object from home and greet him the same way each morning, giving him a second trusted adult to use as a base while his father is away. These steps do not stop the protest, which is healthy, but they help it settle sooner.
Stage Boundaries Kept Approximate
Each age given here is an approximate range. Piaget's substages overlap, Bowlby's phases shade into each other, and milestone checklists describe what most children do, not what every child must do. Placing Theo within a stage describes him; it does not grade him.
References
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Erlbaum.
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). Basic Books.
Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children (M. Cook, Trans.). International Universities Press.
Zubler, J. M., Wiggins, L. D., Macias, M. M., Whitaker, T. M., Shaw, J. S., Squires, J. K., Pajek, J. A., Wolf, R. B., Slaughter, K. S., Broughton, A. S., Gerndt, K. L., Mlodoch, B. J., & Lipkin, P. H. (2022). Evidence-informed milestones for developmental surveillance tools. Pediatrics, 149(3), Article e2021052138. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-052138
What the NU145 Unit 2 assignment asks for
Unit 2 often asks students to analyze a child at a particular age across physical, cognitive and social-emotional domains, placing each behavior within a developmental stage or milestone and explaining what would be atypical. Infancy and toddlerhood are common choices. Prompts usually expect named theorists, such as Piaget and Bowlby or Erikson, and current milestone sources rather than outdated charts. Instructors look for behaviors described before they are labeled, accurate stage placement and caution about drawing conclusions from limited information. Many want the domains connected rather than treated in isolation. Papers commonly run four to five pages, with original theorists and a milestone source cited in APA 7.
How this NU145 Unit 2 example is built
The analysis opens with Theo's mornings, his motor skills at home and his habit of dropping things from his high chair. The physical section places his first unaided steps in the typical window using the revised CDC checklists. The cognitive section reads the dropped spoon as a tertiary circular reaction. The social-emotional section defines attachment from Bowlby, reads the drop-off as separation protest with a highlighted line, then reads the pickup against Ainsworth. It declines to classify his attachment, with a margin note on why. A section on what the provider and father can do follows, then a short note on how the three domains connect and why stage boundaries stay approximate.
Where the points sit in the NU145 Unit 2 rubric
Stage analysis rubrics in NU 145 commonly award points for accurate description of development in each domain, correct use of stage theories, identification of typical and atypical patterns, integration across domains and APA writing. Description points depend on concrete behaviors. Theory points reward placing behaviors in the right stage or phase with the theorist's own terms. Points for typical and atypical patterns go to realistic warning signs with ages. Integration points are earned when domains are shown influencing one another, such as mobility enabling attachment behavior. Writing points cover organization, citation of original sources and an up-to-date milestone reference. Showing restraint about conclusions also earns credit.
NU145 Unit 2 help from the desk
Stage analyses often lose points by labeling behaviors without describing them, or by citing milestone ages from charts that have since been revised. Another common mistake is treating separation crying as a problem rather than an expected milestone. Some students classify attachment as secure or insecure from a single story, which the evidence cannot support. Others list domains separately with no link between them. Describe what the child does, place each behavior in a stage with the theorist's terms, give realistic signs of a departure, connect the domains and state what one observation can and cannot show. Check ages against the most recent checklist, and say which edition you used, since several milestones moved in 2022.
Get an NU145 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Infancy papers differ mainly in how old the child is and which theorists are required, sometimes Bowlby alone, sometimes Piaget and Erikson as well. Copy those details out of the Unit 2 instructions, add the grading criteria and any assigned case, and a stage-by-stage model with its departures boxes comes back. No cost for the first custom sample; allow 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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NU145 Unit 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NU145 Unit 2 sample paper?
This page presents the full NU145 Unit 2 stage analysis of a composite thirteen-month-old across physical, cognitive and social-emotional development, with departures from expectation and four sources. We can help you analyze a child at the age your prompt names.
Is crying at child care drop-off normal at thirteen months?
Yes. Separation protest is expected once a clear attachment forms, usually from about seven months. Settling within minutes and greeting the parent at pickup fit a typical pattern.
What is a tertiary circular reaction?
Piaget's term for a toddler varying an action on purpose to see what changes, such as dropping objects from different heights, typical of the fifth sensorimotor substage.
When do most children walk alone?
The 2022 CDC checklists list walking alone at 15 months, the age by which about three in four children have reached it. First steps at 13 months are within the typical range.
Why doesn't the NU145 Unit 2 paper classify Theo's attachment?
Attachment classifications come from a standardized observation scored by trained coders. A home anecdote can only be described as consistent with a typical pattern.