Week 2: Developmental Psychology PDF

lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - Complex issues can be systemaDcally organised Useful for preventaDve programs True or False. No one theory of human development is universally accepted. True What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory? - Emphasis on social interacDon in development. Higher mental funcDons. - Zo...

lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - Complex issues can be systemaDcally organised Useful for preventaDve programs True or False. No one theory of human development is universally accepted. True What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory? - Emphasis on social interacDon in development. Higher mental funcDons. - Zone of proximal development: has been dePned as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving & the level of potenDal development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboraDon with more capable peers - Vygotsky views interacDon with peers as an eTecDve way of developing skills & strategies - He suggests that teachers use cooperaDve learning exercises where less competent children develop with help from more skilful peers - ScaTolding, guided learning, cooperaDve learning WEEK 2 True or False. Simple physical characterisGcs, such as height, are almost totally determined by geneGcs. False True or False. GeneGc inMuences start from the point of concepGon, and environmental inMuences start from the point of birth. False True or False. If a mother conGnues drink moderately during pregnancy there will be a deSnite impact on the development of her baby. False What is meant by ‘nature versus nurture’? This debate within psychology is concerned with the extent to which parDcular aspects of behaviour are a product of either inherited (i.e. geneDc) or acquired (i.e. learned) characterisDcs. - Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is inbuenced by geneDc inheritance and other biological factors. o It has long been known that certain physical characterisDcs are biologically determined by geneDc inheritance. Colour of eyes, straight or curly hair, pigmentaDon of the skin and certain diseases (such as HunDngdon’s chorea) are all a funcDon of the genes we inherit. Other physical characterisDcs, if not determined, appear to be at least strongly inbuenced by the geneDc make-up of our biological parents. o Height, weight, hair loss (in men), life expectancy and vulnerability to speciPc illnesses (e.g. breast cancer in women) are posiDvely correlated between geneDcally related individuals. These facts have led many to speculate as to whether psychological characterisDcs such as behavioural tendencies, personality aeributes and mental abiliDes are also “wired in” before we are even born. o Those who adopt an extreme heredity posiDon are known as naGvists. Their basic assumpDon is that the characterisDcs of the human species as a whole are a product of evoluDon and that individual diTerences are due to each person’s unique geneDc code. In general, the earlier a parDcular ability appears, the more likely it is to be under the inbuence of geneDc factors. o CharacterisDcs and diTerences that are not observable at birth, but which emerge later in life, are regarded as the product of maturaDon. That is to say we all have an inner “biological clock” which switches on (or oT) types of behaviour in a preprogrammed way. The classic example of the way this aTects our physical development are the bodily changes that occur in early adolescence at puberty. Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - - - - However naDvists also argue that maturaDon governs the emergence of aeachment in infancy, language acquisiDon and even cogniDve development as a whole. o Examples of an extreme nature posiDons in psychology include Bowlby's (1969) theory of aeachment, which views the bond between mother and child as being an innate process that ensures survival. Likewise, Chomsky (1965) proposed language is gained through the use of an innate language acquisiDon device. Another example of nature is Freud's theory of aggression as being an innate drive (called thanatos). Nurture is generally taken as the inbuence of external factors amer concepDon e.g. the product of exposure, experience and learning on an individual. o At the other end of the spectrum are the environmentalists – also known as empiricists (not to be confused with the other empirical / scienDPc approach). Their basic assumpDon is that at birth the human mind is a tabula rasa (a blank slate) and that this is gradually “Plled” as a result of experience (e.g. behaviorism). o From this point of view psychological characterisDcs and behavioural diTerences that emerge through infancy and childhood are the result of learning. It is how you are brought up (nurture) that governs the psychologically signiPcant aspects of child development and the concept of maturaDon applies only to the biological. o For example, when an infant forms an aeachment it is responding to the love and aeenDon it has received, language comes from imitaDng the speech of others and cogniDve development depends on the degree of sDmulaDon in the environment and, more broadly, on the civilizaDon within which the child is reared. o In contrast Bandura's (1977) social learning theory states that aggression is a learnt from the environment through observaDon and imitaDon. This is seen in his famous bobo doll experiment (Bandura, 1961). Also Skinner (1957) believed that language is learnt from other people via behaviour shaping techniques. However in recent years there has been a growing realizaDon that the quesDon of “how much” behaviour is due to heredity and “how much” to environment may itself be the wrong quesDon. Take intelligence as an example. Like almost all types of human behaviour it is a complex, many-sided phenomenon which reveals itself (or not!) in a great variety of ways. The “how much” quesDon assumes that the variables can all be expressed numerically and that the issue can be resolved in a quanDtaDve manner. The reality is that nature and culture interact in a host of qualitaDvely diTerent ways. It is widely accepted now that heredity and the environment do not act independently. Instead of defending extreme naDvist or nurturist views, most psychological researchers are now interested in invesDgaDng the ways in which nature and nurture interact. For example, in psychopathology, this means that both a geneDc predisposiDon and an appropriate environmental trigger are required for a mental disorder to develop. This realizaDon is especially important given the recent advances in geneDcs. The Human Genome Project for example has sDmulated enormous interest in tracing types of behaviour to parDcular strands of DNA located on speciPc chromosomes. Newspaper reports announce that scienDsts are on the verge of discovering (or have already discovered) the gene for criminality, for alcoholism or the “gay gene”. What are the factors which interfere with healthy prenatal development? - Teratogens o A teratogen is an agent, which can cause a birth defect. It is usually something in the environment that the mother may be exposed to during her pregnancy. It could be a prescribed medicaDon, a street drug, alcohol use, or a disease present in the mother which could increase the chance for the baby to be born with a birth defect. About 4 to 5 percent of birth defects are caused by exposure to a teratogen.  MedicaDons: thalidomide, diethylsDlbestrol (DES) • Non-medicinal drugs – Foetal alcohol syndrome, foetal alcohol  Maternal disease: Viruses, bacteriological & parasiDc diseases, STDs, HIV/AIDS  Environmental hazards: Physical, biological, chemical, radiaDon Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 The ebect of teratogens is inMuenced by what factors? - Timing of exposure (CriDcal periods for development in Prst trimester) - Intensity and duraDon of exposure (More exposure = more damage) - Number of other harmful inbuences - Biogenic vulnerability of mother and baby What environmental factors are harmful to prenatal development? Age of mothers o 35 years>higher risk of inferDlity and down syndrome infant o Teenager (higher risk for low birth weight babies, sDllbirths, birth complicaDons) DomesDc violence o Stress, family dysfuncDon Weight gain Cigareees, alcohol, drugs What are some of the things the mother can do to assure the well-being of the foetus? - Know the risk factors (weight gain, cigateees, alcohol, drugs, signs of pregnancy complicaDon) - Rest, exercise, personal hygiene - PreparaDon for labour and birth - ETecDve use of the health care system. - Prenatal care - Diet and nutriDon What must recessive genes be paired with in order to be expressed? Must be paired with another recessive gene to be expressed (e.g., blue eyes, colour-blindness, baldness, type O blood, PKU) Dominant genes are always expressed in______________. Phenotype. e.g., brown eyes, curly hair, facial dimples, type A blood, HunDngton’s disease DeSne Alleles: Alternate geneDc forms (i.e. genes that can produce alternaDve expressions of a characterisDc) DeSne Co-dominance: Both alleles expressed (e.g. AB blood type) DeSne polygenic traits: ATected by many genes and environment What are some geneGc abnormaliGes? - Chromosome abnormality (e.g. Down syndrome) - Dominant gene disorders (e.g. HunDngton’s disease) - Recessive gene disorders (e.g. Sickle-cell disease) - MulDfactorial (e.g. congenital heart disease) What are the stages of prenatal development? - ConcepDon (zygote) - Germinal (0 - 2 weeks) o Blastocyst implants in uterus wall - Embryonic (3 - 8 weeks) o Umbilical cord connects embryo to placenta o AmnioDc sac develops o Growth and development of major organs and systems - Foetal (9 weeks – birth) o Bones form; growth Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 o Complexity of systems and features increase What are the two pajerns of development? - Cephalocaudal (head to tail) - Proximodistal (centre to extremiDes) What are the types of foetal presentaGon at birth? - Cephalic - Breech - Transverse What are the stages of labour? - First stage: up to 10cm cervix dilaDon o TransiDon to full dilaDon - Second stage: culminates in birth - Third stage: expulsion of placenta and umbilical cord What are some problems that can occur during labour? - Faulty power o Oxytocin can induce labour - Faulty passageway o Placenta previa - Faulty passenger o Breech, cephalopelvic disproporDon - Caesarean secDon o When vaginal delivery is unsafe o ExpectaDons and dirculDes of parents with disabiliDes What are some challenged aker birth for the family? - Learning new parenDng skills - Rearranging family schedules - MeeDng economic demands - Need social and emoDonal support - Other children need involvement in the preparaDon and a role in the event - Keep rouDne and allow Dme for older children What are the major medicaGons used during childbirth and what are their ebects on the baby? - Analgesics (medicaDon type) o PosiDve eTects for mother: An injecDon during the Prst stage of labour to reduce pain. Causes some drowsiness and euphoria. o NegaDve eTects for the baby: May cause drowsiness & decreased responsiveness for Prst few hours amer birth or longer; naloxone hydrochloride (Narcon) can be used to reverse these eTects. - Local anaesthesia - Spinal (medicaDon type) o By injecDon into spinal canal in controlled doses when cervix is fully dilated (beginning of second stage of labour); numbs sensory & motor nerves so that mother’s pelvic area & legs cannot more voluntarily. o PosiDve eTects for mother: Mother can remain awake & aware during labour & delivery; can be used for either vaginal or caesarean birth; is highly eTecDve in eliminaDon pain. o NegaDve eTects for baby: No negaDve eTects reported. - Epidural o By injecDon during acDve phase of Prst stage of labour to numb sensory nerves amer their exit from spinal canal. o PosiDve eTects for mother: Pain & sensaDons are generally eliminated; mother is awake; some voluntary movement is preserved, although it is less eTecDve because a woman’s sense of posiDon & tension are blocked by the medicaDon. Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - o NegaDve eTects for baby: No negaDve eTects reported. General anaesthesia o A mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen is inhaled; is less commonly used than blocking agents. o PosiDve eTects for mother: Easily administered, rapid onset of eTect; anaestheDc of choice in emergencies in which Dme is criDcal and baby must be delivered quickly. o NegaDve eTects for baby: Decreases alertness & responsiveness following birth. WEEK 3 What is the appearance like of an infant at birth? Red skin, vernix (white waxy substance on skin), lanugo (Pne downy hair), head may be elongated from pressure of birth canal. What is the Apgar scale? - A system of raDng newborns’ health immediately following birth based on heart rate, strength of breathing, muscle tone, colour and rebex irritability. Developed in the 1950’s by Dr Virginia Apgar, the name is also used as an acronym for appearance, pulse, grimace, acDvity, respiraDon. True or False: Brain controls infant’s states of sleep and wakefulness, and amount of internal and external sGmulaGon experienced. True. Sleep enables infant to shut out external sDmulaDon and obtain general physical rest. Newborns sleep an average 16 hours per day; 6 month olds sleep an average 13 to 14 hours per day. True or False. With physical maturaGon, there is eventual less night Gme fussiness with infants. True. What is Non REM sleep? A relaDvely quiet, deep period of sleep. Breath regularly & more slowly, muscles become limper What is REM sleep? - A relaDvely acDve period of sleep, named amer the rapid eye movements that usually accompany it. - May be a way for the brain to sDmulate itself, vital for the growth of the central nervous system (CNS) o Drowsiness o Alert inacDvity o Alert acDvity o Distress True or False. Newborn infants able to see but lack acuity. True. - Able to see about 20 to 25 cm, distance from mother’s breast to her face - Able to track moving objects and scan interesDng sights - By six months visual acuity improved to near adult level, improved scanning and tracking - Scanning enhances percepDon and percepDon enhances scanning - Infants’ developing knowledge of objects and events promotes paeern percepDon – evident in facial recogniDon True or False. True or False. Infants show preference for human face. - True o Around 2 months infants can scan a sDmulus, combine its parts into an organised whole and recognise and prefer their mother’s facial features o Five months – infants able to perceive emoDonal expressions of faces o Possibility that face speciPc regions of the adult cortex are funcDoning from birth Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected])