issues on human dev.docx

Issues on Human Development  INTRODUCTION ------------ - Nature versus Nurture - Continuity versus Discontinuity - Stability versus Change   Nature ====== - Behavior is caused by innate characteri...

Issues on Human Development  INTRODUCTION ------------ - Nature versus Nurture - Continuity versus Discontinuity - Stability versus Change   Nature ====== - Behavior is caused by innate characteristics :The physiological/biological characteristics we are born with. - Behavior is therefore determined by biology. - Also a Determinist view- suggests all behavior is determined by hereditary factors: *Inherited characteristics, or genetic make-up we are born with.* - All possible behaviors are said to be present from conception. - *Genes* provide the blueprint for all behaviors; some present from birth, others pre-programmed to emerge with age. - Is a developmental approach: Nurture ============================= - An individuals behavior is determined by the environment- the things people teach them, the things they observe, and because of the different situations they are in. - Also a determinist view- proposes all human behavior is the result of interactions with the environment. Nurture ============================= - [Behaviorist theories] are nurture theories: - Born an [empty vessel]- waiting to be filled up by experiences gained from environmental interaction. - No limit to what they can achieve: - The quality of the environment is KEY - Behavior is often a result of the interaction between [nature **AND** nurture]. - An individual\'s characteristics may elicit particular responses in other people e.g. **Temperament**: how active, responsive or emotional an infant influences in part determines their caregivers responses. **Gender:** people tend to react differently to boys and girls due to expectations of masculine and feminine characteristics. - **Aggression:** Displaying aggressive behavior create particular responses from other people.  - Furthermore, continuity and discontinuity disagree with one another in how they assess the changes that someone undergoes throughout the course of their life.The continuity theory examines the way someone changes in a quantitative and continuous respect. Discontinuity theory, on the other hand, looks at these changes through the lens of a qualitative analysis with an emphasis on the discontinuous nature of how someone changes. ### Is Child Development continuous or discontinuous? ### What is the theory of development? - deals with the issue of whether or not personality traits present during infancy endure throughout the lifespan. - The stability-change debate describes the developmental psychology discussion about whether personality traits that are present in an individual at birth remain constant or change throughout the life span. - For example, does a naturally extroverted and talkative baby remain that way for their entire life? The stability vs. change debate is one of the fundamental questions in developmental psychology along with nature vs. nurture.Typically cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are used in research concerning stability vs. change. Change ----------------------------- - Studies of children have often revealed impressive stability over time in aspects of development such as the attachment to their parents or in personality. - Sigmund Freud was one of the first psychologist to emphasize the critical nature of our early experiences for our later development. He believed that how we resolve our sexual and aggressive urges is strongly tied to the nature of our personality as adults.  - What makes us the way we are? - There\'s a list of conventional answers to these questions. We are the way we are because it\'s in our genes. We turn out the way we do because of our childhood experiences. Or our health and well-being stem from the lifestyle choices we make as adults. - But there\'s another powerful source of influence you may not have considered: your life as a fetus. The nutrition you received in the womb; the pollutants, drugs and infections you were exposed to during gestation; your mother\'s health and state of mind while she was pregnant with you --- all these factors shaped you as a baby and continue to affect you to this day.