| Course | PSYC 290N Lifespan Development |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Adolescence stage paper |
| Length | About 530 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | BSN general education |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PSYC 290N Week 5
Adolescence Stage Paper Placing a 17-Year-Old in an Identity Status: Exploration and Commitment Assessed Separately, Timing of Puberty Noted, an Argument That Shows Abstract Thinking and What the Adults Around Should Stop Doing
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PSYC 290N: Lifespan Development
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Adolescence Stage Paper Placing a 17-Year-Old in an Identity Status: Exploration and Commitment Assessed Separately, Timing of Puberty Noted, an Argument That Shows Abstract Thinking and What the Adults Around Should Stop Doing
The Adolescent
D., 17, a high school senior, interviewed on October 14 with a parent's consent and D.'s assent.
Identity Status
Identity research classifies adolescents by two things: whether they have explored alternatives and whether they have committed (Marcia, 1966). Exploration: D. has not explored careers; D. said, "My mom's a nurse and my grandma was a nurse, so I'm going to be a nurse." Commitment: firm; D. has applied only to nursing programs. Commitment without exploration is foreclosure.
Evidence It Is Foreclosure and Not Achievement
Achievement would require a period of exploring alternatives. When asked what else D. had considered, D. said, "Nothing really." When asked what D. likes about nursing, D. described the family's stories rather than any experience of D.'s own.
Diffusion, the other status without exploration, would show no commitment at all. D.'s firm plan rules it out. Moratorium would show active exploration without commitment, which D. also does not describe.
Timing
D. went through puberty earlier than most classmates, at about 11. Early puberty is linked in some research to earlier pressure to act older; D. said D. "always felt like the responsible one." That fits a pull toward early commitment.
That link is suggestive, not proven for D. Plenty of early-maturing adolescents explore widely, and D.'s family history of nursing may explain the early commitment on its own.
The Argument That Shows the Thinking
When I asked whether everyone should be required to volunteer in their community, D. said, "It depends on whether it's really helping or just a requirement. If it's forced, people might do a bad job and it wouldn't help anyone." Considering a hypothetical and weighing an abstract principle against its consequences shows formal operational thinking (Spielman et al., 2020).
Rules, Conventionally Kept
D. described following the school's honor code because "it's fair to everyone," reasoning based on social agreements.
That reasoning appeals to fairness among people who agreed to the code, which is typical of many adolescents. D. did not argue from principles that would override the code, nor from fear of punishment.
What the Adults Should Stop Doing
D.'s family praises the nursing plan often. Foreclosure is not a problem in itself, but adults could stop treating the decision as settled and ask D. what D. has seen of nursing, or suggest a job shadow, so the commitment can be tested by D.'s own experience.
Limits
One interview cannot place an identity status firmly. D. may be exploring in ways D. did not share.
A follow-up after a job shadow would show more. If D. explores and still chooses nursing, D. would move toward achievement, and the commitment would rest on D.'s own experience.
References
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3(5), 551-558. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0023281
Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e
PSYC 290N Week 5 instructions, in plain terms
Interview one adolescent, with a parent's consent and the adolescent's assent, and state both first. Use Marcia's identity statuses to assess exploration and commitment separately, quoting the adolescent. Place the adolescent in a status and rule out the other three with evidence. Note the timing of puberty if relevant, and be careful about linking it to identity without evidence. Use one argument the adolescent made to show the level of reasoning. Describe how the adolescent talks about rules. Close with what the adults around the adolescent might change and what a follow-up could show. Avoid treating any status as a problem in itself.
How this PSYC 290N Week 5 example is built
The adolescent section names D., 17, interviewed on October 14 with consent and assent. The status section applies Marcia (1966), quoting D. on following a mother and grandmother into nursing, and finds commitment without exploration. A section rules out diffusion, moratorium and achievement. The timing section notes puberty at about 11 and D. feeling like the responsible one, and calls the link suggestive. The reasoning section quotes D.'s view on required volunteering as formal operational thinking, citing Spielman et al. (2020). The rules section describes the honor code. The adults section suggests a job shadow, and the limits section proposes a follow-up. A final section notes that one interview cannot fix a status and proposes a follow-up after a job shadow.
Reading the PSYC 290N Week 5 grading rubric
Faculty look for exploration and commitment assessed separately and the status argued with evidence. A paper that labels the adolescent from one remark loses the most. Credit goes to consent and assent stated, quotations for each dimension, the other statuses ruled out, careful handling of puberty, one argument used as evidence of reasoning and practical suggestions for adults. Treating foreclosure as a stage rather than a flaw earns marks. Marcia's original paper belongs in the references in APA form. The adolescent should be protected by an initial and described with respect for their choices. Ruling out each of the other three statuses with a quotation shows the classification was argued rather than assumed.
PSYC 290N Week 5 help: mistakes that cost points
Papers most often lose points by confusing foreclosure with achievement because the adolescent sounds confident. Another common gap is claiming formal operational thinking without an example. Some papers treat early puberty as a cause rather than a possible influence. Others criticize the adolescent's choice. If the adolescent you interview is exploring, place them in moratorium and show the exploration. A paper that ends with a respectful suggestion, such as a job shadow, and a follow-up question shows how identity research can help adults support a young person. Ask open questions about what else the adolescent has considered, and wait; first answers are often short.
Get a PSYC-290N Week 5 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 5 assignment and any template your classroom supplies, and a custom PSYC-290N paper on adolescence comes back inside 24-48h, the first one free. Name the account of identity your section uses, because the four positions carry different labels between textbooks and the example holds one set throughout.
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PSYC 290N Week 5 questions, answered
Can I write about myself at that age?
Many sections allow it and the writing has to change when you do. Memory supplies a mood reliably and an order of events badly, so keep the claims to things with a date: a school changed, a commitment made and dropped. Classify the position from evidence you can state, and treat anything you only remember feeling as illustration.
My textbook calls the four positions something else. Which set wins?
Whichever your section assigned, and say so once. Names differ between texts while the two underlying questions do not, so define the position you are using in your own words on first use and then hold the terminology steady. Switching vocabularies halfway through is what costs points, not choosing the less common set.
Does the paper need a passage on risk-taking?
Only if your section calls for one. When it does, keep it developmental rather than clinical: what the reasoning of this band makes likely, credited to an account, not a catalog of dangers and nothing resembling advice. The sample handles it as a consequence of how a person at this position weighs a future against a present.
Where can I find a free PSYC 290N Week 5 sample paper?
The PSYC 290N Week 5 paper placing a 17-year-old in an identity status, with exploration and commitment assessed separately, is reproduced in full here.
Which identity status fits D. in the PSYC 290N Week 5 sample?
Foreclosure, because D. is firmly committed to nursing but has not explored other paths; diffusion, moratorium and achievement are each ruled out with D.'s own words.