human development #1

           What is human development?

  • scientific study of continuity and change in human beings from conception until death 

  • goal of developmental psychology: describe, explain, and optimize growth across the life span 

Why study human development? 

  • enriched, more complex understanding of: 

    • self and others 

      • as changing, dynamic beings 

  • understand how to facilitate healthy development at any age 

  • what systems/structures facilitate or inhibit optional growth & development 

  1. the only constant in life is change 

    1. “No one ever steps in the same river twice…” Heraclitus

    2. to grow & develop is to change 

    3. “You Can’t Go Home Again” (T. Wolfe) 

  2. we are multifaceted beings 

    1. physical/biological: we are embodied beings with complex interplay between our bodies and minds

    2. psychosocial: the integration of the psychological and social (relationships, identity, finding one’s place in the world)  

    3. cognitive: intellectual skills such as attention, memory, learning, reasoning, ability to process information 

    4. cultural: the influences of the larger environment in which we develop

  3. individuals are product of nature & nurture

    1. nature/nurture are inextricably interwoven in a dynamically interactive way 

  4. we experience both continuity & discontinuity in development 

    1. development consists of both a gradual accumulation of small changes as well as significant qualitative changes 

    2. qualitative changes

      1. transitions/turning points: significant changes in roles/status (e.g: starting school, puberty, first job; leaving home; substantial change in direction) 

  5. we are bo                                                                                  b bb th similar & dissimilar to others 

    1. some parts of human development are experienced by all, some by some, and some by just one 

    2. cohorts: group of persons born at the same historical time & experience particular social changes within a particular culture at approx. same age 

    3. but are not experienced in the same way 

    4. unique life events: things that happen to us outside our control may cause relatively abrupt changes & produce long lasting effects 



  1. we are narrative beings 

    1. we learn about, and understand, our lives, and our families/loved ones by the stories we construct & tell ourselves & each other 

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (EST)

↪What are the systems & structures that influence a child’s development? 

  • ecology: scientific study of the interaction of organisms & their environments 

  • primary focus of EST

    • the interaction between child (nature) & environment (nurture) produces development 

    • to understand who someone is, we must understand the environment & how the child interacts with it 

  • assumptions: 

    • individuals & environment are constantly fluid, dynamic, changing 

    • Development is a “transactions progress” between person & environment 

    • as individuals grow they understand & engage their ecosystem with more complexity and agency 

  • EST consists of 3 components 

    • 1. person

    • 2. proximal processes

    • 3. contexts: 5 types 

  • Concept #1: the person

    • physical, psychological, social attributes of a person influences their experiences 

    • thus, different people experience the same setting on very different ways 

  • Concept #2: proximal processes 

    • frequent, long term. Increasingly complex activities a person engages within a particular setting 

    • *proximal processes are the mechanisms that foster growth & development 

      • spending time and learning from my parents and siblings 

  • Concept #3: 5 types

    • contexts: one’s environment consists of five concentric circles 

    • ranging from immediate face to face setting to border, encompassing social contexts 

      • a) microsystems: setting where proximal processes occur, consisting of specific activities, relationships, and roles 

        • examples: living room, classroom, daycare, friend’s house, sports fields 

  • Developmentally Optimal Microsystems Will Have: 

    • 1. engaging/stimulating activities that are varied, frequent, and grow in complexity 

    • 2. relationships are characterized by warmth & reciprocity 

      • Bronfenbenner: “somebody has to be crazy about that kid” 

    • 3. Mesosystem

      • the connections between a person’s microsystems 

      • a growth enhancing mesosystem will contain: 

        • microsystems: that are mutually supportive 

        • multiple “links” of adults & peers that share multiple settings 

    • 4. Exosystem

      • settings that do not involve the developing person but nevertheless affect them 

      • provide specific examples of being significantly affected (positive/negative) as a child/adolescent by settings that you did not participate in 

    • 5. Macrosystem

      • sociocultural influence (belief systems, values, cultural practices, economic/educational systems) 

      • a child may be influenced by multiple, overlapping cultural, national, religious macrosystem

    • 6. Chronosystem

      • time: development occurs in a historical context

        • one’s development is not only effect by people, activities, settings, and culture but also by historical events 

  • Take Away Lessons from EST

    • 1. Children develop through relationships. Proximal processes are essential 

    • 2. A child’s development is inextricably linked with the context in which it occurs 

Attachment

  • the close emotional tie between infant and caregiver 

Stranger Anxiety/Separation Distress 

  • general wariness of unfamiliar adults/sadness at separation from caregivers 

  • in every culture beginning about 8 months 

The Science of Attachment 

  • Sigmund Freud/Psychoanalytic view: strong attachment is a product of infant’s biological need for nourishment 

  • Harry Harlow’s Contact Comfort Study 

    • the surprising importance of contact comfort in the formation of an infant's love for its mother

    • contrary the predictions of psychoanalytic theory, physical contact with the mother was more important than food in the formation of attachments 




Testing Infant/Caregiver Attachment

  • Mary Ainsworth

    • securely attached infants will use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the world 

  • attachment quality is assessed in the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (ASST):

    • a series of separations & reunions between infants & their caregivers in an unfamiliar playroom

    • most important episode is reunion episode 

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation 

  • quality of attachment has four basic patterns: 

    • securely attached 

    • insecure - resistant

    • insecure - avoidant

    • disorganized - disoriented 

  • secure attachment: seeks comfort from the caregiver during the reunion and then return to independent play

    • uses the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore 

  • insecure-resistant attachment: show ambivalent responses during reunions, first approaching caregiver & then pushing away 

    • may actively resist any attempts to be comforted 

  • disorganized-disoriented attachment: display contradictory behavior

    • both drawn to and fearful of caregiver’ frozen postures, sitting and staring 

 

Possible Causes of Attachment Style 

  • parent’s ability to create a warm, sensitive relationship

  • child’s temperament 

  • dynamic/relational issues 


Intergenerational Transmission

  • infant’s attachment quality is related to the parent’s own attachment with parents 

  • disorganized-disoriented infants can be explained by mother’s trauma history 


Adult Relationships

  • Bowlby: attachment effects 

    • an internal working model

      • a sense of self, other people & new situations/stable interaction patterns 

      • our relationship with caregiver is template we carry over to new relationships 


Questions to Consider: 

  • do caregivers “shape” or “discover” their child’s personality? 

  • how do nature/nurture interact in childhood development? 


Temperament 

  • temperament: stable (over time & situations) behavioral/emotional directions to the environment due to genetic profile


Focus on temperament shows: 

  1. child’s behavior is not only a product of environmental influences 

  2. children differ in susceptibility to environmental stressor


Common ways of describing temperament 

  • bold/cautious; inhibited/uninhibited

  • fussy, restrained, exuberant, timid, fearful, anxious, impulsive, active, passive 


9 dimensions of temperament 

  1. activity level: how active is the child?

  2. rhythmicity: regularity of bodily functions

  3. approach/withdrawal: (bold/timid): initial reaction toward novel people/situations

  4. adaptability: ability to modify/soothe initial reactions (e.g.:anger, joy, fear, frustration)

  5. intensity of reactions: amount of energy put into positive/negative reactions  

  6. threshold of responsiveness: level at which child notices a stimulus 

  7. quality of mood: are reactions positive or negative? 

  8. distractibility: extent to which child can be easily interrupted from current activity/mood 

  9. attention span: length of time engaged in task with no interference 


Temperamental Clusters 

  1. difficult children: high withdrawal, low rhythmicity, negative mood, low adaptability, high intensity of reaction 

  2. easy children: high approach, high rhythmicity, positive mood, high adaptability, low intensity reaction 

  3. slow to warm up children: high withdrawal, slow to adapt, low intensity negative reaction 


Parenting Styles: D. Baumrind

  • parenting behaviors & attitudes that set the emotional climate & expectations for parent/child interactions 

  • parenting styles based on 2 dimensions  

    • responsiveness: degree of warmth/support/acceptance shown towards child 

    • demandingness: degree of expectation of adherence to standards/compliance 

  1. authoritarian: high demandingness/low responsiveness 

    1. oriented to obedience, authority, compliance

    2. power assertive, unidirectional communication  

  2. authoritative: high demandingness/high responsiveness 

    1. child does have some autonomy but clear, firm standards & limits are enforced 

    2. child’s perspective is respected and responded to, dialogical approach 

  3. permissive/indulgent: low demandingness/high responsiveness

    1. Responsive to child’s needs but little expectation of child self-regulation 

  4. rejecting/neglecting; indifferent: low demandingness; low responsiveness 

    1. caregiver focused on own needs rather than child’s 

    2. no limits or monitoring a child’s behavior 


Bidirectionality of Parent-Child Interactions 

  • parents affect children’s characteristics, and vice versa

  • over time, this effect reinforces and perpetuates each party’s behavior 

  • the child’s characteristics are one of the strongest influences on parenting styles

  • child’s temperament (easy, difficult, slow to warm) as well as attractiveness impacts parenting 

  • SES: working class parents more likely to use authoritarian parenting

  • high SES parents more likely to use democratic dialogical parenting style 

  • ethnic/cultural differences: authoritarian parenting may be more accepted, and successful, in traditional/non-Western, communitarian based cultures