Unit 8 human development

Human development: 

Notes:

1. Nature v. Nurture 

• To what extent does heredity and the environment influence our behavior.  

2. Continuity v. Discontinuity

•  Whether or not development is gradual cumulative change (continuity) or does it happen in distinct changes. 

3. Stability v. Change 

• The issue is whether or not personality traits present during infancy are carried throughout life.

Physical development: 

4. Prenatal development 

5. Behavior of infants

6. The first two years

• these years are the most crucial for the child’s braindevelopment

7. Adolscence:

• dramactic increase of sex hormones

8. Aging

9. Jean Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development:

• Jena Piget developed a series of cognitive development after decades of careful observation of children.

• Critics of Piaget fault him for not awknowleging that children mvoe throughout these stages at different rates/ not understanding that change is more gradual then continuious.

• His focus was mainly children.

10. Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of cognitive devleopment:

    • Vygotsky emphasized maturation (nature) and developmental stages (discontinuty)

Today psychologists believe that BOTH influence our behavior but to what extent is what they disagree on. 

1. Nature: 

• Genetic behavior 

• Maturation: Biological growth process 

1. Nurture: 

• Intellectual structures that are LEARNED 

• The environment shapes up
  
  

2. Continuity: Behaviorists that focus on this topic study quantitative changes like height and weight. 

• A number amount

2. Discontinuity: Behaviorists like Piaget focus on distinct qualitative changes in kind, structure and organization. 

• Qualitative data 

• Structure and organization 

3. Stability: 

• Psychoanalyst 

• Childhood personality remains the same 

3. Change: 

• Change theorist 

• Personality changes with life experiences 

4. Womb 

• Behind with fertilization and ends with birth 

• Zygote: is the period of when the egg is fertilized and rapid cells division occurs (up to 2 weeks) This is also referred to as the Germinal stage 

• Embryo: from 3-8 weeks this week; the organs begin to develop. (AKA Embryonic stage)

•  Fetus: from 9 weeks on; begins developing into a human being. (AKA Fetal stage) 

5. Behavior/ process of infants

• Newborns are equipped with basic reflexes that increase the chances of survival. 

• Rooting reflex: the response of a newborn being touched on the cheek and turning their head looking for the nipple. 

• Grasping reflex: when the infant closes his or her fingers around an object. This is soemtimes called the palmer grasp.

• Moro reflex: when a loud noise or sudden reflex and the newborns automatically flings their arms out. 

• As the infant grows many of these reflexes disappear dude to them gaining control over these actions.

• Hearing is the dominant sense at birth for the first couple of months.

6. The first two years

• Brains development proceeds rapidly form birth

• Body proptions change as the limbs and torso grow so head is now in proportion to body.

• Physically the baby musocskeletal system grows from head to tail. this enables the baby to lift its head, roll over, creep, stand, and even walk.

7. Adolscene

• The defing feature within this stage is puberty which is sexual maturation.

• Primary sex characterisitcs are only reproductive organs

• Secondary sex characteristics are only the nonreproductive organs like breasts or body hair.

• Girls will begin puberty 2 years before their first period

8. Aging

• Females at around age 50 will experiance menopause which ultimatley stops a period in all cessing the ability to reproduce.

• Lenses of their eyes thicken decreasing the amount of light being let in decreasing their near sight.

• The ability to detect high pitche sounds decrease.

• If we stay physically, socially mentally, and having a healthy diet can slow down the process of aging.

9. Jean Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development:

• Schemas: mental representations that organize the information that we process into our brain

• Assimilation,(“SS” = stays the same): fitting information into exsiting schemas

• Accomodation,(“CC” = creates change): we modify our schemas to fit new information

STAGES OF JEAN PIAGETS THEORY:

• Sensoirmotor (birth - 2 years): Experiances the world throught their senses; Object Permanance (8-10 months is when they gain it) and stranger anxiety (8 months; they fear those who they don’t know).

• Preoperational (2-7 years): Sees the world through language and mental pitcures; egocentrisim (wanting to play NOW, not understanding others POV) and pretend play.

  • animisim also develops through this stage which is a doll or animal having real life thoughts or feelings

• Concrete operational (7-11 years): Can beging to think logically about events and objects; conservation and math equations.

• Formal operational (12- adult): can think with abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking; abstract logic.

10. Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of cognitive devleopment:

    • Internalization: absorbing information from a specificed social enviromental context.

    • Scoiocultural theory emphasizes the role of social interaction and cultural tools in shaping cognitive development, suggesting that learning occurs through guided participation and collaboration with more knowledgeable others.

    • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): the difference between what a learner can do without help and what they can achieve with guidance from a skilled partner. This concept highlights the importance of support and scaffolding in the learning process.

    • Fluid intelligence: the ability to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge.

    • Cryrstallized intelligence: the ability to utilize knowledge and skills that have been acquired over time, often through education and experience.