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Human Development-Modules 5-7. Modules 5-7. Nature vs. Nurture. Watson clearly stated that development took place from a purely nurture stance
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Nature vs. Nurture • Watson clearly stated that development took place from a purely nurture stance • Gesell stated that development was a biological process and believed that development took place through a series of genetically determined changes that take place over the course of one’s life
Maturation-genetic map – cannot alter this However, this does not mean that environment cannot affect anything
Demonstrated that an enriched environment will increase cell weight and add to the number of dendrites on the neuron Marion Diamond An impoverished environment decreases cell weight, may lead to a loss of cells and the number of dendrites will be reduced (synaptic pruning) Baby’s Brain
Bronfenbrenner and contextualism • Most developmental theorists today recognize the importance of the interactive effect of nature vs. nurture. • Bronfenbrenner created the theory of contextualism, that is, you must look at the complete interaction between one’s microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, etc.
Continuity or Discontinuity • Continuity model-changes in children are quantitative – they take place in small steps so that they are not as noticeable (Piaget most notable) • Discontinuity model-changes in children are qualitative – they take place in sudden transformations or abrupt leaps-dev. is stable throughout stage, but suddenly changes
Stable or Unstable? • Does temperament and personality stay stable over time? Freud believed that by early childhood, your personality was set and could not be changed-usually by age 6. • Or, do people have the capacity to change? • Many personality theorists today believe that there are certain consistencies in behavior over time, but that we can be shaped by environment
Critical vs. Sensitive Periods Critical Period Sensitive Period A sensitive period is when we should learn a task or skill, however, if we do not learn it by that time, we will be able to pick up the task, yet more slowly. i.e., learning a second language • A critical period is when we must learn some skill or task. If we don’t learn it by a certain time, it may become very difficult or impossible to learn the task. • i.e., language development
Physical Growth and Development In Infancy Cephalocaudal & Proximodistal Patterns • Cephalocaudal sequence in which greatest growth occurs at top (head), working its way to neck, shoulders, middle truck, so on… • Proximodistal sequence in which growth starts at center of body & moves toward extremities
Cepahalocaudal development – head to toe Proximodistal development – inside out Development inside the womb and out
Principle of hierarchical integration – simple skills must be met before more complex skills can be achieved i.e., learning how to hold pencil precedes writing Principle of independent systems – different rates of growth within the body i.e., height and weight can be independent of each other Physical development
Height and Weight • Infants double their birthweight by four months of age, tripled it by their first birthday, & grow an inch a month during their first year • By 2 years of age, infants weigh approximately 26 to 32 pounds & have reached about one-half of their adult height
The Brain • Child is born with 100 billion nerve cells • Neuron - nerve cell that processes information at cellular level. • Dendrites receive information from other neurons, muscle or glands • Axon transmits information • Myelin sheath speeds information transmission • Axon ends are the terminal buttons of the neuron
Developmental Studies • In order to study development of human beings, we use several different designs: • 1. Longitudinal • 2. Cross-sectional • 3. Sequential
Reflexes of children • Rooting reflex – • You can often stroke the baby’s cheek and see this reflex
Eyeblink Reflex • Reflexive blinking that protects baby from bright lights and foreign objects.
Sucking Reflex • Babies instinctively begin to suck at objects placed in the mouth.
Moro Reflex • When the baby hears a loud noise or their head falls back, they may instinctively extend arms out, arch its back and bring arms toward each other as though they are trying to grab someone.
Palmar and Plantar Grasp Reflex • Palmar-Curling of the fingers around an object that touches the palms. • Plantar-Stroke bottom of foot, curl toes
Tonic Neck Reflex • The tonic neck reflex, or fencer response, is present at birth • This reflex usually disappears by 4-9 months.
Babinski Reflex • Babinski's reflex occurs when the great toe flexes toward the top of the foot and the other toes fan out after the sole of the foot has been firmly stroked • abnormal after the age of 2.
Sensory Development • Discerning faces - 1 month old babies appear to be able to distinguish mother’s face from stranger’s as long as they hear the mother’s voice as well • At 3 months, baby appears to distinguish mother from stranger with face alone
Sight • Babies are born legally blind with a vision of 20/600 – you need to be no more than 8 inches from their face • By 6 months they are at 20/100 – you need to be at least a few feet away • By 9 months they are at 20/60 – they can see you across the room
For the first couple of months, babies will be able to distinguish patterns, but tend to respond to blacks and reds • By 5 or 6 months, babies begin to discern colors • A word about pastels
Hearing • By 1 month, babies can distinguish between the smallest variations in sound • By 6 months, they have developed the ability to understand and make all of the sounds necessary for their language structure
Touch • Newborns have a well-developed sense of touch and will, over time, come to use this sense a lot • Babies will begin to explore their world using tactile sensations, which is why many of the toys for infants have different textures
Smell • 1-day-old infants can distinguish between some smells • 1 ½-month-old infants can distinguish between the smell of their mother and that of a stranger (which is why people tell you to leave the baby with something that has your smell on it)
Taste • Newborns appear to prefer the taste of sweet and salty and dislike bitter-tasting things • It has been observed that during pregnancy infants will lick the placenta wall which may help to develop a sense of taste
Depth Perception • Visual cliff experiment -
Visual Cliff Experiment • 3-month-old babies would have their heartbeat decrease when approaching the “ledge” • 6-month-old babies would have their heartbeat increase when approaching the “ledge” – would not crawl across, although some did when mother prompted them to
Depth Perception • Three-dimensional vision does not develop until about 4 months • Brain needs experience to develop 3-D vision • Crawling builds 3-D vision.
Temperament • Thomas and Chess did a longitudinal study on American babies and found: • 40% of the babies were easy • 15% of the babies were slow-to-warm-up • 10% of the babies were difficult • 35% of the babies were a mixture of the three
Follow-up studies later showed: • Easy babies more likely to be popular, social, independent and successful • Difficult babies were more likely to be involved in the law and we less popular and less well-liked
Social Development • Up to 1 ½ years – child engages in solitary play • 1 ½ to 2 years – child engages in parallel play in which they play side by side, doing the same thing as playmate, yet there may be no interaction • 15 to 24 months – begin to imitate peers, go back and forth, imitate parents
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT • 2 years – begin to have preferences in playmates, however, up to 3 years, gender of friends does not seem to matter. • 3 to 3 ½ years – cooperative play – children begin to play with each other and interact • 3 years – social pretend play – imitate adult roles with peers (doctor/patient)
Gender roles – how have they changed? Gender identity-how does one gain a sense of their gender? Social learning theory-we become what we see? Gender
