| Course | PS220 Child and Adolescent Psychology |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 400 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PS220 Unit 1
Why My Daughter Answers in Spanish to Her Grandmother: A PS220 Unit 1 Discussion Post on a Developmental Question
PS220 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
The writer, her daughter and the classmates are composite; the sources cited are real.
Initial Post
My question for this course comes from my kitchen. My daughter, Maya, is three. Her grandmother, who lives with us, speaks to her only in Spanish, and her preschool runs in English. Maya has never been taught to separate the two, yet she answers her grandmother in Spanish and her teacher in English, and when she plays with her stuffed animals, she gives one of them, the grandmother bear, Spanish lines. Sometimes she mixes words, saying "más juice" to me, but she almost never uses Spanish with her English-only friends.
I want to understand how a child that young knows which language goes with which person. I also want to know whether we are slowing her down. My sister worries that Maya knows fewer words than her cousin, who hears only English. I have read that bilingual children may know fewer words in each language but a similar number across both (Hoff et al., 2012), which reassured me, but I do not yet understand why.
A three-year-old who has never been taught the rule still knows which language belongs to which person.
My bigger question is about how development works. Is Maya's sorting of languages something she was born ready to do, something she learned from watching us, or both? I expect this course to give me better words for that question, and I want to follow her, at least in my imagination, through each stage we study.
My question for the class: what behavior in a child you know made you wonder how development works?
Reply to Jordan
Jordan, your nephew saying no to everything at two sounds like the stage Erikson connected to autonomy. Do you think his parents could offer him small choices to give the need for control somewhere to go?
Reply to Simone
Simone, your question about why teenagers take more risks with friends around is one I share. I have read that teens in a driving game took more risks when peers were watching (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005), which makes me curious about what is different in the teenage brain.
References
Gardner, M., & Steinberg, L. (2005). Peer influence on risk taking, risk preference, and risky decision making in adolescence and adulthood: An experimental study. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 625-635. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.4.625
Hoff, E., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M., & Parra, M. (2012). Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language, 39(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000910000759
What the PS220 Unit 1 assignment asks for
PS220's first board asks for a question about how children or adolescents develop, drawn from your own experience. Describe one behavior you have watched closely, in a child you know or in your own childhood, and explain what it makes you wonder. Frame the question so that theories and research later in the course could answer it, for example whether a behavior comes from biology, experience or both. If you mention a study, describe it accurately and briefly. Share only the family details you are comfortable posting. End with an open question for classmates about behaviors they have puzzled over. Replies should connect a classmate's example to a theory or study, or ask a question that sharpens it, rather than offering parenting advice.
How this PS220 Unit 1 example is built
Maya's mother opens with the kitchen scene: a grandmother who speaks only Spanish, an English-language preschool and a child who switches by listener. A stuffed bear with Spanish lines and a mixed phrase show the rule in play, under a highlighted line that the child knows which language belongs to which person without being taught. The post reports the sister's vocabulary worry and Hoff and colleagues' finding on combined totals, then names the bigger nature and nurture question and a plan to follow Maya through the course. Jordan's reply links a toddler's no to Erikson's autonomy stage, and Simone's links teenage risk with friends to Gardner and Steinberg's driving game.
Where the points sit in the PS220 Unit 1 rubric
Opening posts in PS220 are graded on a specific, observed behavior and a question the course can answer. Posts about children in general, or about a parenting philosophy, give classmates little to build on. A question framed around how development works, rather than what parents should do, earns more credit. Accurate mention of a study adds value but is not required. Respecting a child's privacy while describing behavior concretely is expected. The closing question should invite classmates' own observations. Replies earn their share when they link a peer's example to a developmental idea or sharpen the question. Careful, readable writing in the first person completes an opening post at this level.
Common PS220 Unit 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
The most common slip turns the post into parenting advice or a complaint about a child's behavior, with no question about development. Another is choosing a topic too broad, such as whether nature or nurture matters more, with no example. Students sometimes overshare family details that do not serve the question. Studies mentioned are often misremembered or exaggerated. Replies tend to agree or share a similar story. Before posting, describe one behavior in two or three sentences, write the developmental question it raises, check any study you cite against its source, and close by inviting peers to describe a puzzling behavior from their own lives.
Get a PS220 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 1 prompt and the rubric. A custom post poses a developmental question from your experience and invites classmates' views. It arrives within 24-48h, and the first is free. 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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PS220 Unit 1 questions, answered
What questions work for the PS220 opening post?
Anything you have wondered about a child's behavior, such as why toddlers say no or why teens take risks.
Can I write about my own child?
Yes, with only the details you are comfortable sharing.
How long are replies?
A few sentences offering a perspective or a question.
Where can I find a free PS220 Unit 1 sample paper?
This page holds the complete PS220 Unit 1 post about a composite bilingual three-year-old who sorts languages by listener, with two replies.
Does bilingualism slow vocabulary in the PS220 Unit 1 sample?
The post cites research showing that a bilingual toddler's word count in one language can trail a monolingual peer's while the two languages together come out about even.