The mini research proposal is designed to help you explore and consolidate course material into a meaningful written narrative and to improve your scientific thinking and writing. More specifically, the objective is to produce a research proposal that you write up as a 250-word abstract. Every word counts! During the semester we will spend time discussing each concrete step you need to take and each question you need to answer to write this research proposal: What is a research topic? What is a literature review? What is a hypothesis? What are methods and measures? How does one test a hypothesis? For your information, here is the syllabus of the course: Developmental Psychobiology: Overview: The study of developmental psychobiology uses multiple perspectives to study the development, psychology, biology, and evolution of human behavior. The research discussed here will highlight and compare human and animal models to shed light on how social relationships and biological mechanisms interact and contribute to mental health. Basic and Applied Science: Although much of the course content and assignments are concerned with basic

science, it is important to consider questions about how this work applies to everyday life. Are some individual more sensitive to their environments than others? Can

individuals exposed to early adversity or chronic stress “catch up,” or are they scarred for life? Can the practices and institutions of society (policies, laws,

schools, parenting, etc.) be used more effectively to optimize human development?