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File Edit Insert Format Arrange View Share Window Help Quiz 1 242 -Edited Tm Insert Table Chart Text Shape Media Comment Explain how both genetic and environmental factors work together to determin certain traits. You may use a specific trait as an example. (5points) Name 2 major influencers to the psychodynamic perspective. Name and briefly describe each ones theory. (4points) What are 2 types of conditioning discussed under the behavioral perspective? Briefly explain and give an example of each. (3points) What model/approach to cognitive development seeks to identify the way indi- viduals take in, use, and store information? (1point) Name the 4 topical areas of development we have discussed. Describe each topical area and give an example of each (4points). MacBook

Explanation / Answer

1) The interaction of genetic and environmental factors is complex, in part because certain genetically determined traits have not only a direct influence on children’s behavior, but an indirect influence in shaping children’s environments as well.

For example, a child who is consistently cranky and who cries a great deal—a trait that may be produced by genetic factors—may influence his or her environment by making his or her parents so highly responsive to the insistent crying that they rush to comfort the child whenever he or she cries. Their responsivity to the child’s genetically determined behavior consequently becomes an environmental influence on his or her subsequent development.

Similarly, although our genetic background orients us toward particular behaviors, those behaviors will not necessarily occur in the absence of an appropriate environment. People with similar genetic backgrounds (such as identical twins) may behave in very different ways; and people with highly dissimilar genetic backgrounds can behave quite similarly to one another in certain areas

In sum, the question of how much of a given behavior is due to nature, and how much to nurture, is a challenging one. Ultimately, we should consider the two sides of the nature– nurture issue as opposite ends of a continuum, with particular behaviors falling somewhere between the two ends. We can say something similar about the other controversies that we have considered. For instance, continuous versus discontinuous development is not an either/or proposition; some forms of development fall toward the continuous end of the continuum, whereas others lie closer to the discontinuous end. In short, few statements about development involve either/or absolutes .

5) The topical areas of development are:

Physical Development

The body’s physical makeup, including the brain, nervous system, muscles, and senses, and the need for food, drink, and sleep.

For example, one specialist in physical development might examine the effects of malnutrition on the pace of growth in children, while another might look at how athletes’ physical performance declines during adulthood

Malnutrition, declining athletic performance

"How does malnutrition affect the growth of children?"

Cognitive Development

Involves the ways that growth and change in intellectual capabilities influence a person’s behavior. Cognitive developmentalists examine learning, memory, problem-solving skills, and intelligence.

For example, specialists in cognitive development might want to see how problem-solving skills change over the course of life, or whether cultural differences exist in the way people explain their academic successes and failures. They would also be interested in how a person who experiences significant or traumatic events early in life would remember them later in life.

Learning, memory, problem solving skills, and intelligence across the lifespan

"How do people explain their academic successes and failures?"

"Can a person who experiences a traumatic event as a young child remember it when she becomes an adult?"

Personality Development

Involves the ways that the enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another remain stable or change over the life span

"Are there stable, enduring personality traits that persist throughout the lifespan?"

Social Development

Involves the way in which an individual’s interactions and social relationships grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life.

A developmentalist interested in personality development might ask whether there are stable, enduring personality traits throughout the life span, whereas a specialist in social development might examine the effects of racism or poverty or divorce on development

In addition to choosing to specialize in a particular topical area, developmentalists also typically look at a particular age range. The life span is usually divided into broad age ranges: the prenatal period (the period from conception to birth); infancy and toddlerhood (birth to age 3); the preschool period (ages 3 to 6); middle childhood (ages 6 to 12); adolescence (ages 12 to 20); young adulthood (ages 20 to 40); middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65); and late adulthood (age 65 to death).

Each of the broad topical areas of lifespan development—physical, cognitive, social, and personality development—plays a role throughout the life span. Consequently, some developmental experts focus on physical development during the prenatal period, and others during adolescence. Some might specialize in social development during the preschool years, while others look at social relationships in late adulthood. And still others might take a broader approach, looking at cognitive development through every period of life.

The above topical areas are summarised as follows for better understanding.

Orientation

Defining Characteristics

Examples of Question Asked

Physical development

Emphasizes how brain, nervous system, muscles, sensory capabilities, needs for food, drink, and sleep affect behavior

• What determines the sex of a child?

• What are the long-term results of premature birth?

• What are the benefits of breast milk?

• What are the consequences of early or late sexual maturation?

• What leads to obesity in adulthood?

• How do adults cope with stress?

• What are the outward and internal signs of aging?

• How do we define death?

Cognitive development

Emphasizes intellectual abilities, including learning, memory, problem solving, and intelligence

What are the earliest memories that can be recalled from infancy?

• What are the intellectual consequences of watching television?

• Do spatial reasoning skills relate to music practice?

• Are there benefits to bilingualism?

• How does an adolescent’s egocentrism affect his or her view of the world?

• Are there ethnic and racial differences in intelligence?

• How does creativity relate to intelligence?

• Does intelligence decline in late adulthood?

Personality and social development

Emphasizes enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another, and how interactions with others and social relationships grow and change over the lifetime

Do newborns respond differently to their mothers than to others?

• What is the best procedure for disciplining children?

• When does a sense of gender identity develop?

• How can we promote cross-race friendships?

• What are the causes of adolescent suicide?

• How do we choose a romantic partner?

• Do the effects of parental divorce last into old age?

• Do people withdraw from others in late adulthood?

• What are the emotions involved in confronting death?

2)The psychodynamic theories of personality are mainly composed of famous theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson and Alfred Adler.

Psychodynamic Theory is based on the premise that human behavior and relationships are shaped by conscious and unconscious influences.

Psychodynamic therapies, which are sometimes used to treat depressed persons, focus on resolving the patient's conflicted feelings. These therapies are often reserved until the depressive symptoms are significantly improved.

Key Concepts of Freuds Psychodynamic Theory

1. Primarily concerned with internal psychological processes
2. Importance of early childhood experiences
3. Existence of unconscious motivation
4. Existence of ego (rationality) & superego (morality)
5. Existence of defense mechanisms

The Psychodynamic Perspective

The term psychodynamic refers to a wide group of theories that emphasize the overriding influence of instinctive drives and forces, and the importance of developmental experiences in shaping personality. Early in their development, these theories focused solely on the influence of unconscious drives and forces, but they received much criticism and subsequent revision. Most recent psychodynamic theory places greater emphasis on conscious experience and its interaction with the unconscious, in addition to the role that social factors play in development.

Psychodynamic theories are in basic agreement that the study of human behaviour should include factors such as internal processes, personality, motivation and drives, and the importance of childhood experiences. Classic theories about the role of the unconscious sexual and aggressive drives have been re-evaluated to focus on conscious experience, resulting in, for example, the birth of ego psychology.

Erik Erikson: Theory of Psychosocial Development

The stages of Psychosocial Development involves challenges that a person must overcome in order for him to become successful in the later stages. First, at age 0 to 1 year, the child must have the ability to trust others; else he will become fearful later in his life as he would feel he couldn't trust anyone. Second, at age 1 to 3, he must develop autonomy, or he will suffer from shame and doubt in the future. Third, at age 3 to six, he must learn to assert himself by planning and leading activities, or he will feel guilty and remain a follower and decline leadership opportunities. Fourth, at age 6 to 12, the child must nurture a sense of pride and confidence through his achievements; else he will feel discouraged and will always doubt about what he can do. Fifth, at adolescence, the teenager must have a strong sense of identity; or else he will have personality problems as he becomes confused of what he wants to accomplish. Sixth, the young adult may be optimistic of the things around him because he is involved in an intimate relationship, or he may become pessimistic because he may not be committed in a healthy romantic relationship. Seventh, during middle adulthood, a person feels productive when he is able to contribute to the society through hard work, while he may feel the other way around when he fails to do his job well. Lastly, ego integrity in late adulthood brings about a joyful, positive personality while despair is felt by those who looked back at their early years and saw that they were unproductive.

3) Types of conditioning in behavioural perspective:

1) Classical conditioning

2) Operant conditioning

A behaviorist theory based on the fundamental idea that behaviors that are reinforced will tend to continue, while behaviors that are punished will eventually end.

CONTRIBUTORS

KEY CONCEPTS

What is the difference between operant conditioning and classical conditioning? In operant conditioning, a voluntary response is then followed by a reinforcing stimulus. In this way, the voluntary response (e.g. studying for an exam) is more likely to be done by the individual. In contrast, classical conditioning is when a stimulus automatically triggers an involuntary response.

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Operant conditioning can be described as a process that attempts to modify behavior through the use of positive and negative reinforcement. Through operant conditioning, an individual makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence[2].

The term “operant conditioning” originated by the behaviorist B. F. Skinner, who believed that one should focus on the external, observable causes of behavior (rather than try to unpack the internal thoughts and motivations)

Reinforcement comes in two forms: positive and negative. We will explain this below.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCERS

The goal in both of these cases of reinforcement is for the behavior to increase.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT

Punishment, in contrast, is when the increase of something undesirable attempts to cause a decrease in the behavior that follows.

The goal in both of these cases of punishment is for a behavior to decrease.

4) Informational processing approaches: The model that seeks to identify the ways individuals take in, use, and store information.

Information processing approaches to cognitive development seek to identify the ways individual take in, use and store information. Information processing appraohes grew out of developments in computers. they assume that even complex behaviour such as learning , remembering, categorizing, and thinking can be broken down into a series of individual, specific steps. They contend that children, like computers, have limited capacity of processing information. As children develop, though , they employ increasingly sophisticated strategies that allow them to process information more efficiently.

Neo piagetian theory suggests that cognitive development proceeds quickly in certain areas and more slowly in others. For example, reading ability and the skills needed to recall stories may progress sooner than the abstract computational abilities used in alzebra or trignometry. furthermore, neo-Piagetian theorists believe that experience plays a greater role in advancing cognitive development than traditional Plagatian approaches.

Assessing information processing approaches: Information processing approaches have become a central part of our understanding of development, but they do not offer a complete explanation of behaviour. For example, they pay little attention to behaviour such as creativity, in which the most profound ideas often are developed in a seemingly nonlogical, nonlinear manner.