Basic Questions

Question 1

Nature and nurture

Answer 1

• development primarily influenced by biological inheritance or by environment
• Darwin: biology
• Locke: no built in knowledge -> tabula rasa (blank slate)
• today: both continuously

Question 2

Continuity and discontinuity

Answer 2

Continuity: adding more of the same skills that were there to begin with
Discontinuity: Progress through distinct stages with specific milestones

Developmentalists say NURTURE is continuous
Those who say NATURE describe it as discontinuous

Question 3

Critical and sensitive periods

Answer 3

• Critical periods: crucial time when specific events occur
  E.g. at 6-7 sex organs are critical to form normally
  Existence for critical periods in psych is less established
• Sensitive periods: optimal for development
  If behavior is not well established there it’s harder to later