Chapter 1 The Study of Human Development Theory and Research Human Development Human development is the study of patterns of change and stability in human growth throughout the life Human development has the following characteristics o Systematic organized Ex crawl before they walk o Adaptive to internal and external conditions o Life span Development life long process that takes a scientific approach the field of study that examines patterns of growth change and stability in behavior that occur throughout the entire life span Domains of Development Physical development focused on development of body structure development involving the brain nervous system muscles and senses and the need for food drink and sleep o Ex effects of malnutrition on the pace of growth in children how athletes physical performance declines during adulthood Cognitive development development of ones intellectual capacity think and learn Personality development ones consistent patterns and behaviors developing involving the ways that the enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another change over the lifespan Social development focused on how we interact with other people Periods of the Life Span The life span periods are social constructions constructed by society o Childhood o Adolescence o Adulthood when you are an Adult Smoke cigs Buy alc Fight in a war Vote Get married Own health insurance What we will study Prenatal period conception to birth Infancy and Toddlerhood birth to 3 Early Childhood 3 to 6 Middle Childhood 6 to 11 Adolescence 11 to 20 Emerging and Young Adulthood 20 to 40 Middle Adulthood 20 65 Late Adulthood 65 over Influences on Development o DNA Chromosomes Genes Heredity Environment Maturation o Changes over time Contexts of Development o Parents siblings schools neighborhoods communities Contexts environments philosophies institutions Family each family is unique Socioeconomic Status SES influences amount of resources each individual has available to them Gender Roles what it means to be male or female expectations on people based on these roles Culture o Ethnicity o Language o Religion o Geographic Location Influences Cntd Normative o Normative age graded influences Biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group regardless of when or where they are raised ex crawl before walk ex all individuals lose baby teeth before adult teeth o Normative history graded influences everyone in particular group have experiences this ex everyone alive during 9 11 everyone experiences this current event ex the use of Facebook of technology at this time Nonormative influences everyone does not experience these influences o Specific atypical events that occur in a particular person s life at a time when such events do not happen to most people o Affects the individual like a unique circumstance Ex disease disability trauma divorce death of parent Continuous vs Discontinuous Change Continuous change gradual development in which achievements at one level build on those of previous levels quantitative the underlying developmental processes remain the same over the life span Discontinuous change development that occurs in distinct steps or stages with each stage bringing about behavior that is assumed to be qualitatively different from behavior at earlier stages o Ex cognitive development Nature vs Nurture how much of a person s behavior is due to genetics nature or due to the environment nurture predetermined o Nature one s abilities and characteristics are inherited and We inherit through our DNA chromosomes and genes much of the way we act and think o Nuture one s social and environmental influences shape their behavior Family socioeconomic status etc o These two issues are on a continuum with each issue on one end Major Theoretical perspectives of Development Psychoanalytic Learning Cognitive Contextual Evolutionary Sociobiological Freud s Psychoanalytic Theory The theory proposed by Freud that suggests that unconscious forces act to determine personality and behavior Sigmund Freud making connection from childhood development to adulthood Unconscious forces that motivate human behavior o Sex life o Aggression death with these components Parts of personality the reasons the way people think and behave has to do o Id first part that develops during infancy the infant is wanting their needs to be met fed diaper change etc want to feel warm and comfortable o Ego last aspect what balances the id and the superego Pleasure principle Reality principle o Superego second aspect of personality that incorporates rules laws and expectations of society toddler stage do s and the don t s what we are taught to do and not to do Morality principle Id wow I want cake even tho its very early in the morning Supergo you don t need that cake its too early Ego well its okay to eat a small piece of cake and maybe ill go for a walk later so ill feel better about it Psychosexual stages o A series of stages that children pass through in which pleasure or gratification is focused on a particular biological function and body part o Oral birth to 12 to 18 months Breastfeeding bottle feeding pacifiers teething If they didn t have these needs met or too much they may be fixated orally as an adult o Anal 12 to 18 months to 3 years Potty train control of bowel movements how to hold and when to let it go If they have trouble with this it may affect how they are as adults based on fixation from this stage o Phallic 3 to 6 years o Latency 6 years to puberty o Genital puberty through adulthood Erikson s Psychosocial Theory Erik Erikson believed the way that we develop is on our personality being influenced on society culture and relationships Influence of society and culture on developing personality Covers 8 stages across the lifespan o Balancing positive tendency with the negative one crisis that needs to be resolved o If you struggled at one stage it would be hard to be successful throughout the other stages 1 Trust vs Mistrust infant 18 mo need to develop trust from caregivers when meeting their needs acceptable to mistrust certain environments strangers Learning Behaviorism Behavioral perspective the approach that suggests that they keys to understanding development are observable behavior and outside stimuli in the environment o Classical conditioning a type of learning in which an organism responds in a particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not
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