HDFS 01 16 2014 Each of us develops Partly like all other individuals Partly like some other individuals Partly like no other individuals The Jim Twins Part time sheriffs Drove Chevrolets Vacationed at same beach in Florida Had dogs named Toy Married women named Betty Had a son named James Alan Liked math but not spelling Enjoyed carpentry Chewed fingernails to the nub Identical drinking and smoking habits Had hemorrhoids Put on 10lbs at the same time Similar sleep patterns Had headaches that began at age 18 and both used the same words to describe them Twins who are reared apart since birth are as similar to twins that are reared together since birth Life Span Perspective 1 Development is a life long process Every stage of development involves particular tasks 2 Multidirectionality 3 Plasticity development can take many directions the degree to which characteristics can or cannot change throughout the lifespan 4 Development must be viewed in historical context social movements technology war 5 Contextualism development must be studied in various contexts o size of high schools Small and big to see differences development is an ongoing interaction between a changing individual in a changing environment Reciprocal Influence the individual influences and is influenced by his or her environment 6 Multidimensionality biological cognitive social and emotional factors interact to affect the study of human development should involve collaboration across various fields of study development 7 Multidisciplinary Developmental Age Classifications Infancy and Toddlerhood birth 2years Early Childhood 2 6years Middle Childhood 6 11 years Adolescence 11 18 years Early Adulthood 18 40 years Middle Adulthood 40 65 years Late adulthood 65 and older Nature the influence of heredity on development or biologically based predispositions 01 16 2014 Jerome Kagan wrote a book called Gaylins Prophecy o Gaylin said that each of us is born with a particular temper o 4 humors exitable sluggish etc o nurture guy o Certain qualities are determined by nature and seem to be pretty stable Inhibited and uninhibited children 20 of kids were as children inhibited Inhibited children who are somewhat uncomfortable in new situations Fearful Less apt to smile at someone they don t know Tended to be inhibited all their life and that depending on upon life circumstances that some of the kids could cope better with the inhibitedness Nurture forces in the environment that influence development Parenting practices Being able to go to college the schools you go to Nutrition diet Circumstances in the womb how well she took care of herself birth complications viruses Genetic traits evoke particular environments Traits which have a substantial genetic predisposition Intelligence Verbal ability Vocational intersect Scholastic achievement Memory Extroversion sociable outgoing introversion more reserved Neuroticism anxiety feeling secure insecure Openness imaginative independent vs confirmative Conscientiousness disciplined organized careful Agreeableness trusting helpful cooperative Video about Tendencies Twins were he same in personality intelligence Different sizes weights heights head size different IQ s Differences in how far the mother and father went in school Set point of intelligence but if there s environmental influence differences can occur Baby Einstein Videos 2007 Study Were more hurtful then helpful Studied by Drs Christakis and Simmerman at Univ of Washington Evidence to suggests that videos may impede language development for infants ages 8 16 months 17 drop in vocabulary for babies who watched videos compared to babies who didn t watch videos but instead engaged in face to face interactions with adults language development flourishes with face to face interactions now a typical 2 year old is watching 3 hours of TV per day Disorders which have a substantial genetic predisposition Depression anxiety Autism Alzheimer s Disease Schizophrenia Alcoholism When researchers report that traits are heritable they typically mean that genes account for 30 60 of the variation you see in that trait Nurture means 40 70 of the variation Always an interaction between nature and nurture The environment modifies or enhances traits to which we are predisposed Can bring out or suppress traits Stability vs Change Is personality stable over time Scientific Investigation Goals Description Average trends Explanation why do we develop as we do Optimization how can we help people to develop in a positive direction Science is not defined by what it studies but how it conducts investigations Theory a set of assumptions that attempt to describe predict or explain a phenomenon Vast majority of research is quantitative turn observation into Correlational relationship between variables vs experimental Quantitative and correlational research numbers research Cycle of Science Observations Theory Hypotheses Systematic Observation follows rules not just casual observations Support or modify Theory Theory again Correlational Research the goal is to describe the strength and direction of the relationship between 2 variables Is there a relationship between the amount of conflict in a marriage and the marriage ending in divorce o There is no relationship between the two Result a correlation coefficient that ranges in value from 1 to 1 Strength the size of the correlation o Weak 20 o Moderate 40 o Strong 90 increases decreases Direction the sign of the correlation o Positive as one variable increases the other variable Ex 64 class attendance and grades o Negative as one variable increases the other variable Ex 64 having a pet and blood pressure The more alcohol you consume the lower your grades In correlational research we can predict one variable from the other BUT correlation DOES NOT equal causation There may be a third variable which causes the correlation between two variables Research Question Is there a relationship between X and Y Ex Is there a relationship between intimacy in friendships and the gender of the individual We have to concepts Gender and Intimacy We must operationalize our concepts by either Providing a clear definition of the concept OR designating a particular measurement instrument to measure the concept Questionnaire Corneal s Intimacy Scale How important is it to you to disclose personal information to your How important is it to you that you express your feelings to your How important is it to you that your friends express