what influences development u1 aos1

hereditary

transmission of characteristics from biological parents to their offspring via genes at the time of conception

environment

experiences, objectives and the events to which someone is exposed to throughout their entire lifetime

examples of environmental factors

siblings, religion, culture, social media, etc.

nature

hereditary

nurture

environment

impacts of nature and nurture

individual development begins with their nature at conception and nurture determines how the genetic plan unfolds throughout life
50/50 impact

what factors shape human development

hereditary and environmental factors interact to shape developent

biopsychosocial model

an approach to describe and explain psychological development and wellbeing through the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors

psychological factors

internal mental processes and influences

psychological factors examples

learning and memory
ways of thinking
attitudes and beliefs
emotions
resilience

biological factors

physiologically based or determined influences, often not under our control

biological factors examples

genes
age
sex
race
disease
hormones

social factors

influences from the external environment in which we interact with others

social factors examples

interpersonal relationships
education
socioeconomic class
cultural values
religion

emotion

complex reaction pattern to a personally significant event or matter that involves a mixture of physiological responses, subjective feelings and expressive behaviour

elements of different emotions

subjective feelings
expressive behaviour
physiological responses

subjective feelings

inner, personal experience of an emotion

expressive behaviour

outward sign that an emotion is being experienced and such behaviour can be either intentional or unintentional
eg. facial expressions, posture

physiological responses

bodily change that occurs during experiencing an emotion

emotional development involves:

regulating emotions
expressing emotions appropriately
correctly interpreting emotions in others and yourself

attachment

the emotional bond which forms between an infant and another person

when do attachments form

first 12 months

types of attachment

secure
insecure avoidant
insecure resistant
disorganised

secure attachment

infants show a balance between dependence and exploration using their caregiver as support to explore unfamiliar environments
feel safe and can depend on caregiver
result of caregiver consistently meeting needs of infant

insecure avoidant attachment

infant does not seek closeness or contact with caregiver and treats them like a stranger
result of neglectful or abusive behaviour

insecure resistant attachment

infant inconsistently wants to be close with caregiver and is anxious even when they are there
infant cannot depend on caregiver
result of caregivers who are not responsive to infants needs

disorganised attachment

type of insecure attachment characterised by inconsistent or odd and contradictory behaviours by an infant when separated from or reunited with a caregiver

attachment impact on development

infants who formed secure attachments tend to have good self esteem, seek social support when needed and have trusting, lasting relationships
infants who formed insecure attachment may experience higher rates of anxiety, inner turmoil, lack trust in other and are reluctant to form close relationships

factors influencing attachment

genetics
temperament
early life experiences

genetics

infants have primary drive to form attachment
genetically inherited behaviours such as crying, smiling, vocalising to encouraging connection with caregiver
adaptive and evolutionary as survival chances improved

temperament

type of temperament can influence the caregiver's responsiveness and appropriateness of care/attention given
(eg. more attentive in response to an "easy" child due to being able to more accurately "read" their signals)

early life experiences

if caregiver is sensitive and responsive to infant, a secure attachment is most likely to form
demographic factors like home/family environment can affact attachment
cultural factors can influence attachment

summary of harlows findings

contact comfort is a crucial factor in a human infant

beliefs before harlow's experiment

infants only formed attachment to their mothers because they provided food and nutrition

summary of ainslow's findings

different attachment styles

schema

a conceptual framework a person uses to make sense of the world

piaget's theory

cognitive development is a process of adaption to the changing world around us through assimilation and accomodation

assimilation

process of taking in new information and fitting it into and making it part of a pre

accommodation

changing a pre

4 stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor
preoperational
concrete operational
formal operational

sensorimotor stage

0

objective permanence

the understanding that objects still exist even if they cannot be seen, heard or touched

goal directed behaviour

to perform and successfully complete a sequence of actions with a particular purpose in mind

pre operational stage

2

symbolic thinking

ability to use symbols such as words and pictures to represent objects that are not physically present

egocentrism

the tendency to perceive the world solely from one's own point of view

animism

belief that everything which exists has some kind of consciousness eg. rusty bike is raining cloud is 'sad'

concrete operational stage

7

mental operations

the ability to accurately imagine the consequences of something happening without it actually needing to happen

critical period in an animal

imprinting

conservation

to the understanding that certain properties of an object can remain the same even when its appearance changes

classification

ability to organise objects or events into categories based on common features that set them apart from other categories

formal operational

12 years and over
more complex thought processes
abstract thinking
idealistic thinking
logical thinking
solve problems systematically

abstract thinking

a way of thinking that does not rely on being able to see, visualise, experience or manipulate in order to understand something

idealistic thinking

comparing yourself and others to a perfect standard

social development

the way in which individuals' interactions with others changes over time

observational/vicarious learning

someone uses observations of another person's actions and their consequences to guide their future actions

processes of observational learning

attention
retention
reproduction
motivation
reinforcement

attention

involves the learner actively closely watching the model's behaviour and its consequences
whether we pay attention depends of characteristics of learner eg. motivation, capabilities or characteristics of model eg. attractive, liked, high status

retention

the observer must store a mental representation of the model's behaviour and the consequences in their memory
the more meaningful the representation is made, the more accurately we will be able to replicate the behaviour when necessary

reproduction

learner must have the physical and mental capabilities to imitate the behaviour they observed
physical ability

motivation

The learner must want to imitate the behaviour
reason that makes learner inclined to learn behaviour eg. is the behaviour useful? does it provide incentive or reward?

reinforcement

the motivation to reproduce the observed behaviour and increases the likelihood of reproduction
reinforcement = more likely
punishment = less likely

types of reinforcement

external reinforcement: learner themself experiences pleasant consequences from other people
self reinforcement: learner feels pleased about meeting standards that they set for themselves
vicarious reinforcement: learner observes the model experiencing pleasant consequences for their behaviour, without the learner experiencing the consequence directly

maturation

the biologically programmed process of growth that has a fixed sequence and facilitates all aspect of out development as we grow
determined before birth
biological
certain experiences need to occur as a source of nurture

plasticity

the brain's ability to change as a result of experience
certain periods in infancy and childhood are more suited to acquiring certain psychological functions

sensitive periods

optimal developmental period for a specific function or skill to be learnt in the fastest and easiest way
learning can occur outside of sensitive period but it will: take longer to learn, be harder to learn and will not be learned as well

critical periods

the narrow, rigid developmental period in which a specific function or skill must be learnt

first language acquisition

critical
needs to occur within first 5 years of life
if not, person will never be able to acquire language

sensitive period in animals

socialisation in puppies

second language acquistion

sensitive
much easier and faster to learn up until age of 12
higher potential to learn this language to a greater level of fluency if acquired young

typical behaviour

behaviour that would usually occur and is appropriate and expected in a given situation

atypical behaviour

behaviour that differs markedly in some way from what is expected in a given situation

perspectives on typical and atypical behaviour

social norms, cultural perspective, statistical rarity, personal distress, maladaptive behaviour

social norms

widely held standards that govern what people should and should not do in different situations, especially in relation to others

cultural perspectives

each culture and ethnic group has its own set of norms about what is considered acceptable behaviour
differs between cultures

statistical rarity

typical and atypical behaviour can be determined by how often or how rarely they occur in a large group of individuals
(data can be plotted in a bell shaped graph and the ends with less people is 'atypical')

personal distress

if personal distress is a reasonable response to such events and is appropriate to their culture, it is typical
if the distress is so intense, disruptive and persistent that it interferes with the person's capacity to function adequately for a prolonged period, it is atypical

adaptive behaviour

any behaviour that enables the individual to adjust to the environment appropriately and effectively
enables a person to satisfactorily carry out their everyday life tasks and meet their personal and social responsibilities
considered typical

maladaptive behaviour

any behaviour that is detrimental, counterproductive or otherwise interferes with the individual's ability to successfully adjust to the environment and fulfil their typical roles in society
considered atypical

characteristics of 'normality'

freedom from disabling thoughts
capacity to think/act in organised and effective manner
freedom from disabling feelings
freedom from extreme emotional distress
ability to cope with the ordinary demands and problems of life
the absence of clear

neurodiverse

people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are considered atypical, and therefore deviate from what is considered typical or normal in the population

neurotypical

people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are typical, conforming to what most people consider normal in the population

neurotypical characteristics

traditionally good communication
can focus for long periods
able to function in distracting environments without sensory overload
able to adapt to changes in routine

neurodivergent characteristics

express themselves through creativity
may not be able to focus for long periods
detail focused
very observant and may get distracted
difficult to adapt to change, especially if it is sudden

psychologist

a professional trained in the science of how people think, feel and behave
can only work as a psychologist or use that title if formally registered by the relevant board

how do psychologists help

may help address intrusive and anxious thoughts and identify ways to manage them

psychiatrist

a medical doctor who has obtained additional qualifications to specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses

how do psychiatrists help

may prescribe medication to help manage symptoms for more complex mental health disorders eg. schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

organisations

offer a range of services 24/7 online or over to phone like counselling, immediate support or information about mental health disorders

how to organisations help

may provide over the phone counselling when patient is feeling overwhelmed and is need to immediate help

mental health workers

professionals who provide support, care and treatment to individuals experiencing mental health issues in various settings like community centres, hospitals and private practices

how do mental health workers help

may link patient and their family with mental health management programs

assessing mental health

collecting and interpreting information about how a person thinks, feels and behaves in order to make a diagnosis

steps of assessment

face to face interview
behavioural observations
psychological tests

how are disorders diagnosed

DSM

diagnostic criteria

the signs and symptoms used for the diagnosis of a specific type of disorder

categorical vs dimensional classification

categorical: yes no judgement
dimensional approach: considers disorder along a continuum on which people have a varying degree of the disorder

diagnosis

process of identifying the type of disorder affecting an individual on the basis of its signs and symptoms

culturally responsive practices

acting in ways that respond to the needs of diverse communities and demonstrating an openness to new ideas that may align with different cultural ideas, beliefs, and values
important to ensure everyone feels acknowledged, appreciated and respected