Human Growth and Development (1/3) Flashcards
General Topics
Development
systematic changes and continuities in the individual that occur between conception and death
Areas of developmental systematic change
- physical development
- cognitive development
- psychosocial development
Theories of development fall into these categories
- learning (behavioral/social learning/info-processing theories)
- cognitive theories
- psychoanalytic (Neo-Freudian/ego psychology theories)
- humanistic psychology/self theories
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
- Quantative or qualitative
- Continuous or discontinuous
- mechanistic or organismic
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Qualitative
1a.
change in structure or organization (e.g., sexual development)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Quantitative
1b.
change in number, degree, frequency (content changes - e.g., intellectual development) - measured
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Continuous
2a.
changes are sequential and cannot be separated easily (e.g., personality development)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Discontinuous
2b.
certain changes in abilities or behaviors can be separated from others (argues for stages of development) (e.g., language development)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Mechanistic
3a.
the reduction of all behavior to common elements (e.g., instinctual/reflexive behavior)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Organismic
3b.
- because of new stages, there is change or discontinuity
- more than stimulus-response
- organism is involved including use of cognition
- (e.g., more/ethical development)
Self-concept
your perception of your qualities, attributes, traits
Self-concept at:
Birth
infants have no sense of self
this changes in early months
Self-concept by:
24 months
most infants show signs of self-recognition
- can identify social categories they are in (ex. age, gender, “who is/isn’t like me”)
- exhibit various temperaments
Self-concept at:
Pre-school age
very concrete and physical
- by age 8ish, can describe inner qualities
Self-concept by:
Adolescence
become more abstract and psychological
- stabilization of self-concept attributes continues
- cultural/family factors influence development of some traits
Developmental concepts
Nature
Nature vs. Nurture
genetic and hereditary factors
Developmental concepts
Nurture
Nature vs. Nurture
learning and environmental factors
Developmental concepts
Genotype
genetic (inherited) makeup of the individual
Developmental concepts
Phenotype
the way genetic makeup is expressed through physical and behavioral characteristics
Developmental concepts
Tabula rasa
John Locke
children begin as a blank slate, acquiring characteristics through experience
Developmental concepts
Plasticity
lifespan development represents an easy and smooth transition from one stage to the next
Developmental concepts
Resiliency
ability to adapt effectively despite experience of adverse experiences
Neurobiology
Neuroscience
the missing link in mental health professions
Counselors use different theories to promote release of various neurotransmitters to promote related brain changes
Neurobiology
Neurotransmitters
- affect various cognitive, emotional, psychological, behavioral reactions that people have to their life experiences
- carry messages between neurons that stimulate reactions in brain
- these reactions stimulate different parts of the brain for different outcomes
Neurobiology
Acetycholine
important for memory, optimal cognitive functioning, emotional balance, control
Neurobiology
Serotonin
affects feelings, behaving, thinking; critical for emotional/cognitive processes; vital to sleep/anxiety control
Neurobiology
Dopamine
important for emotional wellness, motivation, pleasurable feelings
Neurobiology
GABA (gamma amino butyric acid)
reduces anxiety, promotes relaxation and sleep
Abraham Maslow is associated with this theory
humanistic psychology
- researched self-actualization by interviewing the best people he could find who escaped the “psychology of the average”
Maslow
Hierarchy of needs
people are always motivated to higher-order needs
Maslow
1st level of hierarchy
food/water
Maslow
2nd level of hierarchy
security/safety
Maslow
3rd level of hierarchy
belonging/love
Maslow
4th level of hierarchy
self-esteem/status
Maslow
5th level of hierarchy
self-actualization
- full realization of creative/social/intellectual potential through internal drive
Maslow
Levels of the hierachy
self-actualization (cognitive)
self-esteem/status (social)
belonging/love (social)
security/safety (physiological)
food/water (physiological)
Robert Havighurst is associated with this theory
Developmental task theory
- stages of growth: each requires completion of the last for success and happiness
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Developmental tasks
- arise from physical maturation, influences from culture/society, personal values/desires
- the skills, knowledge, behaviors, attitudes a person acquires through physical maturation, social learning, and personal effort
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Infancy and early childhood (0-6 YO)
learning to walk/talk, potty train, foundations of reading
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Middle childhood (6-12 YO)
learning physical skills for games, play with kids of same age, personal independence, gender social roles
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Adolescence (13-18 YO)
accepting body as it goes through changes, preping for partnership/family life/career, developing ethical system/ideology as a guide for behavior
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Early adulthood (19-30 YO)
finding a partner, achieving a social role, starting home/family/career, developing civic responsibility
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Middle age (31-60 YO)
achieving adult civic/social responsibilty, assisting own teenage children, developing adult leisure activities, adjusting to physiological changes
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Later maturity (61-death)
adjusting to decreasing physical strength/health/retirement, meeting social/civic obligations
Maturation hypothesis
in behavioral sciences
behavior is guided exclusively via hereditary factors, but certain behaviors will not manifest themselves until the necessary stimuli are present in the environment
- individual’s neural development must be at a certain level of maturity for behavior to unfold
- counselor strives to unleash inborn abilities, instincts, drives
- childhood and past are important topics
Freud, Erikson, Gesell (who used one-way mirror to observe children) would be considered maturationists
Behaviorism
John Watson, Pavlov, Wolpe, and B.F. Skinner are associated with this theory
Behaviorism
Today, clinical applications of Skinnerian principles (and those set forth by behaviorists are called ABA (applied behavior analysis)
empiricists are behaviorists because empiricism = experience (empiricism is the forerunner of behaviorism). changes are quantitative
organicism is the opposite - developmental strides are qualitative (ex. gestalt)
- mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa - John Locke) and the child learns to behave in a certain manner
- passive theory - mind is a computer that is fed info
- Locke’s idea of empiricism - knowledge is acquired by experience. all behavior is the result of learning
Watson & Skinner (Behaviorism)
Behaviorism
environment manipulates biological and psychological drives and needs resulting in development
Watson & Skinner (Behaviorism)
Reward
a positive reinforcing stimulus which maintains or increases behavior
Watson & Skinner (Behaviorism)
Punishment
termination of a positive-reinforcing stimulus or beginning of a negative stimulus
- causes behavior to weaken/drop out
Law of Effect
Edward Thorndike
when a stimulus-response connection is followed by a reward (reinforcement), that connection is strengthened
- behavior’s consequences determine the probability of its being repeated
Conditioning Principles
Classical conditioning
food = salivation -> bell = salivation
Conditioning Principles
Operant conditioning
using rewards and punishments to modify behavior
Conditioning Principles
Reinforcement schedule
can be continuous or variable
Behaviors established through variable or intermittent reinforcement are tougher to extinguish
Conditioning Principles
Fixed ratio
Reinforce after a fixed number of responses
Ex. getting paid after every 5th day of work
Conditioning Principles
Variable ratio
reinforce, on average, after every nth (e.g., 5th) response
Ex. slot machine paying out intermittently (ex. after 3/10/5/1 pulls)
Think Ratio = # Responses
Conditioning Principles
Fixed interval
reinforce after a fixed period of time
Ex. getting a compliment after every 30 minutes of testing
Conditioning Principles
Variable interval
reinforce, on average, after every nth (e.g., 3rd) minute/hour/etc.
Ex. receiving an email - can’t predict when, and it varies over time
Conditioning Principles
Spontaneous recovery
after a rest period, the conditioned response reappears when conditioned stimulus is again presented
Conditioning Principles
Stimulus generalization
once a response has been conditioned, stimuli that are similar to the conditioned response are also likely to elicit the conditioned response
ex. they generalized Little Albert to be scared of all fluffy animals after the initial rat
Conditioning Principles
Successive approximation
shaping behavior by first rewarding the general behavior, then only rewarding behavior that is closer to the target behavior
Psychodynamic theories focus on
unconscious processes rather than cognitive factors (ex. psychoanalytic)
Freud is associated with this theory
psychoanalytic
There is an interaction between internal needs and environment
Psychoanalytic approach: stages of psychosexual development
Oral (birth to 18 months)
1
mouth and lips
conflict: weaning from breast/bottle feeding
fixation may lead to behaviors like smoking, overeating, or excessive talking
Psychoanalytic approach: stages of psychosexual development
Anal stage (1-3 YO)
2
anus and bowl control
conflict: toilet training/self-control
fixation: anal-retentive (overly neat and organized) or anal-expulsive (messy and rebellious)