Human development

Question 1

Developmental Psychology

Answer 1

deals with the way that humans change throughout their entire lifespan

• four key areas:
  1. Human development
  2. Personality
  3. Abnormal behaviour
  4. Treating abnormal behaviour

Question 2

Nature vs Nurture

Answer 2

There is a central debate going on within developmental psychology related to how human beings develop and change, and how these changes occur.

To what extent are the changes that human beings go through a result of NATURE VERSUS NURTURE.

For example, lets think about the period of ‘storm of stress’ that accompanies adolescence.

Is the storm and stress an adolescence experiences the result of hormonal changes (nature) or social pressures (nurture)?

Contemporary developmental psychologists adopt an interactionist approach when it comes to understanding changes associated with human development.

Question 3

interactionist approach

Answer 3

the interplay of biological and environmental factors that influences human development

An interactionist approach suggests that we need to take into account the context in which human development occurs.

This means that as psychologists we need to be sensitive to how the South African context can effect human development.

What are the ways in which the South African context can have an impact on the development of children?

Question 4

developmental potential

Answer 4

In South Africa, there are multiple levels of adversity such as widespread poverty, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, physical disabilities and illnesses that prevent children from realizing their developmental potential.

Question 5

cycles of deprivation

Answer 5

In a context like South Africa, socio-political and socio-historical factors like apartheid have created communities that suffer from cycles of deprivation.
This means that people’s life chances are severely inhibited in terms of educational failure, and unemployment, which is often passed on to their children and their children’s children.

Question 6

Development

Answer 6

a sequence of age-related changes that occur as a person progresses from conception to death

Question 7

Four Stages of Human Development

Answer 7

1. The Prenatal Period
2. Childhood
3. Adolescence
4. Adulthood

Question 8

Prenatal Development

Answer 8

refers to the time of conception until birth.
In other words, the prenatal period usually encompasses nine months i.e. a woman’s pregnancy.

This period is marked by rapid development.
The course of prenatal developmental is divided into three phases:

1. The Germinal Stage (the first 2 weeks)
2. The Embryonic Stage (2 weeks to 2 months)
3. The Foetal Stage (2 months to birth)

Question 9

The Germinal Stage

Answer 9

This stage is brief; within 36 hours of fertilization, rapid cell division takes place, the zygote becomes a microscopic mass of multiplying cells.

This mass of cells slowly begins to migrate along the fallopian tube of the mother to the uterine cavity.

On the 7th day, the cell mass begins to implant itself in the uterine wall; this process takes about a week.

It is important to mention that many zygotes are rejected at this point; as many as one in five pregnancies end with the woman never being aware that conception has occurred.

During the implantation process, the placenta begins to form; the placenta is a structure that allows for oxygen and nutrients to pass into the foetus from the mother’s bloodstream and bodily waste to pass out to the mother.

Question 10

The Embryonic Stage

Answer 10

During this stage, most of the vital organs and bodily systems begin to form in the developing organism, which is now referred to as an embryo.

Structures such as the heart, spine, and the brain emerge gradually as cell division becomes more specialized.

Although the embryo is typically only about an inch long at the end of this stage, it’s already beginning to resemble a human-like figure.

Arms, legs, hands, feet, fingers, toes, eyes and ears are already discernible.

The embryonic stage is a period of great vulnerability, because virtually all the basic physiological structures are being formed.

If anything interferes with normal development of these organs and bodily systems during the embryonic stage, the effects can be devastating.

In fact, most miscarriages occur during this period.

Most structural birth defects are also due to problems that occur during the embryonic phase.

Question 11

The Foetal Stage

Answer 11

In the first two months, the embryo experiences rapid bodily growth, as bones begin to form.

The embryo now resembles what is called the foetus, during this stage.

The foetus becomes capable of physical movements as skeletal structures develop and harden.

Organs formed during the embryonic stage continue to grow and gradually begin to function.

Reproductive or sex organs start to develop during the third month.

During the final 3 months of the prenatal period, brain cells multiply at a brisk pace.

A layer of fat is deposited under the skin to provide insulation, and the respiratory and digestive systems mature.

All of these changes are preparing the foetus for life outside the cozy and supportive environment of its mother’s womb.

Sometime between 22 weeks and 26 weeks the foetus reaches the age of viability - the age at which a baby can survive in the event of premature birth.

The probability of survival is still pretty slim at 22 or 23 weeks, but it climbs steadily over the next month to an 85% survival rate at 26 to 28 weeks.

Question 12

Genetic Factors and Prenatal Development

Answer 12

Genetic factors refers to the ways in which prenatal development is effected by the predisposition of genetic disorders i.e. inherited genetic disorders that can negatively influence the development of the embryo and foetus.

There are two types of genetic disorders:

1. Gene abnormalities
2. Chromosome abnormality

Question 13

Gene Abnormalities

Answer 13

Refers to the consequences of defective genes that are passed on from generation to generation.

Defective genes convey faulty messages.

An example of this includes ethnically-linked gene abnormalities such as spina bifida.

Question 14

Chromosome Abnormality

Answer 14

Refers to a segment of one’s chromosomal DNA that exhibits irregularities.

The most common chromosome abnormality is Down Syndrome.

In more than 90% of cases with Down Syndrome, the condition arises as a result of an extra chromosome at the 21st pair, hence the name trisomy 21.

This means that there is a third copy of chromosome 21, when there are supposed to be only two for every chromosome.

Question 15

Environmental Factors and Prenatal Development

Answer 15

Although the foetus develops in the protective buffer of the womb, events in the external environment can affect it indirectly through the mother.

Because the developing foetus and the mother are linked through the placenta, a mother’s eating habits, drug usage, physical health and access to health care, among other things, can affect prenatal development.

Question 16

Maternal nutrition

Answer 16

The developing foetus needs a variety of essential nutrients.
It is not surprising, then, that severe malnutrition increases the risk of birth complications and neurological deficits for the newborn.
The effects of severe malnutrition are a major problem in underdeveloped nations where food shortages are common.

The impact of moderate malnutrition, which is more common in modern societies, is more difficult to gauge, in part because maternal malnutrition is often confounded with other risk factors associated poverty, drug abuse, limited access to health care etc.
Nonetheless, some studies have found a correlation between moderate maternal dietary deficits during the prenatal period and an infants’ apathy, irritability, and reduced immunity to infectious diseases.
These studies suggest that it is important for pregnant women to have nutritionally balanced diets.

Question 17

Maternal Drug Use

Answer 17

A major source of concern about foetal and infant well being is the mother’s consumption of drugs, including such widely used substances as tobacco and alcohol, as well as prescription and recreational drugs.
Most drugs consumed by pregnant women can pass through the membranes of the placenta.
All recreational drugs can be harmful, with sedatives, narcotics and cocaine being particularly dangerous.

Babies of heroin users are born addicted to narcotics, and have an increased risk of early death due to prematurity, birth defects, respiratory difficulties, and problems associated with their addiction.
Cocaine use during pregnancy is associated with a host of serious birth defects, including heart abnormalities and brain seizures.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy also carries risks.
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a collection of congenital (inborn) problems associated with excessive alcohol during pregnancy.
Typical problems include: microcephaly (a small head), heart defects, irritability, hyperactivity, and retarded mental and motor development.
Previous studies indicated that it was ok for pregnant women to drink in moderation, but ongoing research suggests that normal social drinking can have enduring negative effects on children, including deficits in IQ, reaction time, motor skills, attention span, math skills, increased impulsive, antisocial and delinquent behaviour.

Tobacco use during pregnancy is also hazardous to prenatal development.
Smoking produces a number of subtle physiological changes in the mother that appear to reduce the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the foetus.
Pregnant women who smoke have an increased risk for miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, and other birth complications.
Maternal smoking may also increase a child’s risk for sudden infant death syndrome, slower than average cognitive development, and attention deficit disorder.

Question 18

Maternal Illness

Answer 18

The foetus is largely defenceless against infections because its immune system matures relatively late during prenatal development.
The placenta screens out quite a number of infectious agents, but not all of them.
Thus, many maternal illnesses can interfere with prenatal development.
Diseases such as rubella (German measles), syphilis, cholera, smallpox, mumps, and even severe cases of the flu can be be hazardous to the foetus.
The nature of any damage depends, in part, on when the mother contracts the illness.

Genital herpes and AIDS are two very deadly diseases that pregnant women can also transmit to their offspring.
Genital herpes is typically transmitted during the birth process itself when newborns come into contact with their mothers’ genital lesions.
Herpes can cause microcephaly, paralysis, deafness, blindness, and brain damage in infants and is fatal for many newborns.
The transmission of AIDS may occur prenatally through the placenta, or through breast feeding.

Question 19

Prenatal Health Care

Answer 19

Many of the prenatal dangers that have been listed thus far are preventable if pregnant women receive adequate care and guidance from healthcare professionals.
Good quality medical care beginning early in pregnancy is associated with reduced prematurity and high survival rates for infants.
Because of poverty and a related constellation of problems, many women in South Africa receive little to no prenatal medical care.
This problem is particularly acute in rural areas and working class communities, especially amongst black South Africans.

Question 20

Childhood

Answer 20

Childhood is described as a wondrous time because of the rapid and momentous changes that children go through.

Often parents observe the growth of their children as seamless and magical, but in reality these growth spurts reflect an orderly, predictable, gradual progression.

Psychologists observe the progress that children make based on four types of development: motor, emotional, cognitive and social.

Question 21

Motor Development

Answer 21

Refers to the progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities.

Basic motor skills that children acquire include: grasping and reaching for objects, manipulating objects, sitting up, crawling, walking and running.
There are 2 principles/milestones that are essential to children achieving adequate motor development.

Question 22

The Cephalocuaudal Trend

Answer 22

referred to as the head to foot direction of motor development.
Children tend to gain control of their upper part of their bodies first before the lower part.
For example, infants learn to crawl first before walking, which requires upper body muscular and motor coordination.
Infants gradually shift from using their arms for propelling themselves to using their legs.

Question 23

The Proximodistal Trend

Answer 23

referred to as the centre-outward direction of motor development.
Children gain control over their torso before the extremities.
For example, infants initially reach for things by twisting their entire body, before they gradually learn to extend their arms.

Question 24

Maturation

Answer 24

the development that reflects the gradual unfolding of one’s genetic blueprint.

In other words, maturation is a product of genetically programmed physical changes that come with age, as opposed to experience and learning or the external environment.

Question 25

Motor Development discussion

Answer 25

Recent research, however, that has taken a closer look at the process of motor development suggests that infants are active agents rather than passive organisms waiting for their brain to and limbs to mature.

In other words, recent research has discounted the view of maturation as the sole explanation of motor development.

According to recent views, the driving force behind motor development is the infant’s ongoing exploration of their world, and their need to master specific tasks, such as grasping a larger toy or looking out the window.

It is interesting to note how the role of culture can also influence motor development.

Research shows that rapid motor development has been demonstrated in communities and cultures that stimulate or provide special practice for motor development.

On the other hand, relatively slow motor development has been observed in cultures that do not promote and discourage motor exploration.

This means that maturation has been oversimplified and overstated by certain researchers.

For instance, think about maturation and later motor skills that children learn like riding a bicycle, ballet or football skills. How much does maturation play a role in these skills?

Question 26

Developmental Norms

Answer 26

indicates the median age at which individuals display various behaviours and abilities.

Developmental norms are controversial because they make generalisations.

Developmental norms are useful because they become benchmarks along which parents measure the development of their children.

However, sometimes parents can expect their children to progress exactly at the pace specified in the norms.

What about the role of culture versus norms?

This is why it is important to consider variations from the typical age associated with the developmental norm.