*Watch/skim through Season 1 of the Gilmore girls- on netflix & study at least two parent/child relationships.
***** class textbook! Holden, G. W. (2021). Parenting: A dynamic perspective (3rd ed). Sage. (I have the Kindle version)
Overview: The TV series needs to include at least parents from two families. Their children can
range in age from the prenatal period through adulthood.
Objectives:
To apply theoretical perspectives and research concepts about parent-child relations to
contemporary parenting issues.
To develop writing skills by applying theory and/or research evidence current issues in the
field of parenting and child/adolescent development.
Procedure: Students will watch one season (13-15 episodes) of a television series that features at
least two families, specifically, two parent-child dyads (one parent can be a single parent) in
different nuclear families. Any season can be analyzed, but Season 1 might be easiest because
the writers are probably invested in introducing families in a rich way (to hook viewers in).
Format
This paper should be approximately 2000 total words (8½ double-spaced pages), excluding
Title Page and References).
Include a Title Page and Reference Page(s) listing the course-related resources cited in the
paper (e.g., text, lecture, DVD). Use APA style (following the 7th edition of the APA Style
Manual) for citations, references and formatting of your paper. A guide to using APA style
has been posted and a sample paper will be posted in Canvas in the Assignments/Project
folder.
2
Part 1: Descriiption of the Families
In approximately 1 page, describe the two families whose parents will be analyzed in the rest of
the paper. Include information that is relevant to the variables we have studied this semester such
as gender, adult personality (Big 5), marital quality, length of marriage, whether the parents
intended to become parents, number and age of children, socioeconomic status (education,
occupation), neighborhood context, extended family involvement, level of family stress, and so
on (reviewing Holden Ch. 5 should help with this). If you are discussing a topic addressed by
Holden, Harrist, and/or Steinberg, ALL of these sources that are relevant should be cited.
Part 2: Theory Application
We will have learned about multiple theories across the semester, some that are specifically
about parenting and some that are relevant to parenting. Your Theory Handout should be
helpful. This section should take approximately ¾ page per theory (i.e., 2½ pages).
Choose three (3) theories we have studied this semester. Include a citation (from texts or
lecture) for each theory and the name of the theorist.
Give a short summary of each of the three theories (include the theorists’ names) wherein
you describe your understanding of what the theory proposes as it relates to parenting or
parent-child relations.
Describe how each of the three theories is illustrated in specific parent-child (P-C)
interactions and/or parent-child relationships depicted in the TV series. To do this, you will
need to describe the P-C interaction or relationship first, then apply the theory.
Part 3: Research Application
The non-theoretical things we have learned about this semester are based on research findings.
In approximately ¾ page per topic (i.e., 4½ pages):
Choose six (6) research-based topics (concepts and findings) related to parenting that we
have learned about this semester.
o Research-based topics include basically anything we’ve studied other than theory,
because everything Dr. Harrist has lectured about and everything you’ve read about in the
Holden textbook is based on research findings.
o Use key words in the text and lecture PPs as well as the Parent-Child Relations Model to
get ideas for what topics you might apply to the TV show.
o Topics (concepts and research findings, therefore, might include things like parenting
goals and values, culture and parenting, parents’ socialization of child social competence,
marriage and the transition to parenthood, parenting style, parent personality and infant
temperament, parental sensitivity, infant routines, promoting brain development, parental
acceptance and rejection, autonomy-granting, parenting and child emotion regulation,
structuring, synchrony, punishment and discipline, emotion coaching, etc. You may also
choose topics that your classmates presented in the Team Presentations.
o These concepts must apply to parents or children in the show in the same way in which
we studied them. For example, it would not be appropriate to talk about the emotion
regulation (ER) of an adult in the show, but it would be appropriate to talk about it
regarding a child or adolescent in the context of how parents promote ER, or how they
respond to a child with poor ER.
3
Part 3: Research Application, cont.
o As you write about research, if you use concepts that come directly from a theory, do
mention the theory and theorist (e.g., if you are writing about modeling and imitation,
mention social learning theory and Bandura).
For each topic, describe how you saw it illustrated in the TV show.
o First describe what you have learned about the topic from class. For example, if you are
writing about an infant character’s temperament, first describe what “temperament”
means and what we know about how it relates to parenting.
o Next, describe how you saw the topic illustrated in the show. Be specific. For example, if
writing about the infant character, describe what specific temperament characteristics you
saw (e.g., high emotionality) and what scene(s) in the show helped you make that
decision. Or if you claim, “The parenting goals differed in these two families,” describe
the specific goals you saw represented in each family and how you knew those were their
goals. You will be able to make a stronger case by giving more than one example.
Part 4: Critical Analysis: Comparison of the Parents
Finally, write a section (approximately ½ page) comparing the two sets of parents (or one set of
parents to one single parent). Describe how they are similar and different and speculate about the
main reason for their differences.
Additional Notes about the Project
A sample paper (i.e., a template to follow) will be uploaded to Canvas in the Project module.
This demonstrates current APA style (title page, headings, etc.) as well as how to present the
required pieces of the assignment. The sample is in pdf form, but your submission needs to be
a MS Word document so that comments may be added (by the TAs or Dr. Harrist).
An annotated sample paper created by the APA is available here (link). This explains the
elements that are expected in a student paper using APA style.
A grading rubric for the project (for both the Draft and the Final version) will be uploaded in
Canvas. Use these to check over your paper before you submit it.
References:
o Include APA style in-text citations for the research topics. For example, if you are
writing about emotion regulation, you would cite Chapter 7 of Holden’s text as
(Holden, 2021, Ch. 7).
o At least 4 class lecture/PPs should be referenced. Other references can be textbooks,
DVDs, YouTube clips, and/or in-class activities.
o You should use no outside references (i.e., no articles, books, or websites that we
have not used in class). Everything you cite should be something that has been
assigned, presented, or discussed in our course this semester.
!!!! Must ONLY use sources from textbook or Powerpoints used in class. Tried to upload some of the powerpoints but it wouldn’t let me.. We are not supposed to cite outside sources, so if you need more information over a certain topic/theory I can send the powerpoint that correlates with that.
