Lifespan Development Project

Please read through each section below.

1. The saying: Research the digital library and/or Internet resources to find some information
about the origin of the saying: “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” Where did this folk
theory come from? How old is this saying? What is it supposed to mean? Share your findings
about how it applies to lifespan human development.
2. The person and the theory: Select a recent news article about a life event of an individual.
It can be health related, accident related, educational, or even achievement-oriented. It will
be one “slice in the lifespan of that person.” Give a brief summary of what happened to that
individual and include the lifespan developmental stage/age as part of your summary (i.e.
Infant, child, adolescent, or adult and the chronological age).
To bring it all together, you will need to theorize how the “twig” (person) may have been bent.
Select at least three major developmentalist assumptions such as nature/nurture,
behaviorism, genetic code, sociocultural, or any other developmental concepts from your
textbook. In your presentation, discuss how these developmental concepts may have
contributed to this person’s situation before, during and after the life event featured in the
news article.
3. a PowerPoint presentation with script: Your presentation should be approximately
8-10 slides. Take the major points from the previous deliverables and create the presentation
in PowerPoint. Write a script (about 1 page long) in Microsoft Word as if you are giving your
presentation to a live audience.