Test 3 Notes PowerPoint 9 Road Map Stability over time The truth about the early years What qualifies as disordered The Tabla Rasa myth Gender differences Abuse and Neglect The Role of Language Social Development Peers Behavior in Childhood Why Should We Care Assumption of most criminologists Childhood doesn t really matter for crime Criminal motivation changes during adolescence Causes of crime have instantaneous effects Crime starts at 12 and ends at 18 The Truth about Infancy Childhood Infants manifest measurable differences in behavior personality Expansion of neuronal pathways greatest during first 3 years of life Differences are for the most part not fleeting but stable Childhood differences adolescence Infancy differences childhood Early Behaviors What s normal What isn t What s possible Behavioral mostly non contextual Infants cry scream thrash arms and legs grab pull smile etc Infants don t know social rules Rude disgusting behavior often normal What is troublesome Red Flags Constellation of age inappropriate behaviors AIB AIB that persist across time and context AIB that interfere with healthy development Example of normal temper tantrums at 2 years old on a fairly regular basis Example of AIB temper tantrums on a regular basis at 8 years old Even Bigger Red Flags Behaviors very proximate to crime The child about 5 to 10 years old who repeatedly Disrupt class Lies Cheats Destroys property Intentionally hurts people physically or verbally CONSIDERED BEHAVIORALLY DISORDERED Video The Science of Early Childhood Development How Disordered is Disordered Criteria for Behaviorally Disordered Pattern of Symptoms At least short term stability Evident in several settings Symptoms are relatively severe Symptoms interfere with child s ability to navigate developmental challenges Is Criminal Behavior a Mental Disorder Raine 1993 Caution Don t Over Diagnose Normal Most children display a variety of behavioral problems that are fleeting 18 months pushing taking toys without asking occasional biting kicking or hitting Happens less frequently as they age by 4 or 5 these behaviors should virtually stop Occasional class disruption lying destroying property should decline drastically by age 8 until adolescence Continuity in Problem Behaviors Constantly fussy infants Stress out parents Many continue difficult temperament Fussy infant rambunctious toddler Rambunctious toddler hyper impulsive child Severe impulsivity adolescent offending Extent of Stability 1 to 2 year old stability 80 4 to 8 year old stability 62 3 to 11 year old stability 50 3 to 15 year old stability 50 Specifically 50 of those labeled difficult to manage hyperactive and inattentive at age 3 were behaviorally disordered at age 15 Why The Stability Cumulative continuity Early behavioral problems generate a slew of other risk factors What kinds How might infant problem behaviors generate stability in childhood problem behaviors How might childhood problem behaviors generate adolescent problem behaviors including delinquency How might adolescent problem behaviors lead to adult criminal activity Video Early recognition of childhood developmental problems Educational video Boys Girls Differ Boys problem behavior Act out fight hurt injure one another Girls internalize problems depression eating disorders anxiety relational aggression In general boys show more continuity in problem behavior over time Why do you think this is measurement Salience The Tabla Rasa Myth Tabla Rasa Blank Slate Babies are born as blank slates Why is this a myth Can newborn behavior be a function of socialization Infants vary tremendously in temperament from the beginning Why Causes of Newborn differences Newborns have different Genes Prenatal environments Obstetrical complications Result different central nervous systems i e brain Different socialization cannot explain behavioral and temperamental variation Ex Does every car run equally well on the same gasoline Is quality of gas randomly assigned to each car Can Socialization Play a Role As time passes Yes But Remember Socialization does not occur in a vacuum on a blank slate infant child Children are primed to learn things as a certain level of efficiency Quality of socialization is not randomly assigned to children Leads to problems of causal inference What does randomly assigned mean Why does it help us infer causality What is Development Complex mix of human systems that converge to produce behaviors Humans develop physically cognitively emotionally socially etc Dimensions of development interrelated Ex Normal social development entails increased understanding of complex social input and social patterns as we age How Does Social Development work Context sensitivity Social development is reflected in increasing context sensitivity Awareness of contextual behavioral expectations Awareness of how certain conduct can lead to environmental conflict Awareness that behavioral control is necessary to navigate social world Genetic Epigenetic influences Why Normative Development Requires Increasingly advanced but normative cognitive functioning memory recall internalized regulation As children mature social experiences can reinforce neuromuscular development alter epigenome as well Construction of neural pathways linking axon to dendrite increases throughout life Abnormal Development Severely Delayed fine and gross motor skills Delayed language development vocabulary receptive language delays and unintelligible speech Why are these signs of abnormal development What does this have to do with becoming behaviorally normal Most Relevant Socialization Early childhood and Infancy is the time where socialization is most likely to have a lasting effect on behavior Why Not all socialization is equally relevant Why Most relevant Severe abuse Abuse Stressful environment Severe neglect absence of bonding object Severe Abuse during Infancy Childhood Abuse prolonged exposure to intense stress What does this do to brain Triggers over activation of H P system Stimulates excessive release of cortisol through bloodstream High basal levels Impacts developing brain effectively engages Sympathetic Nervous System and shuts down higher brain functions learning memory verbal abilities etc Ex shock fear Severe Neglect During Infancy Childhood Early social bonds matter to the extent that they are virtually non existent neglect Two hormones oxytocin Vasopressin related to social bond formation High baseline levels better bonding