KEY THEMES & DEBATES Flashcards
Nature vs. nurture
Nature: Biological /genetic (innate) basis for abilities and behaviour …little benefit in trying to change them
Academic ability/potential predetermined
Little prospect of criminal rehabilitation
Diminished/no effect of diet and exercise
Nurture: Primarily product of environment/experiences …anything can be achieved by adapting environment
Weaker school performance - fewer/poorer experiences & opportunities
Criminal behaviour – learned from environmental exposures/pressures
Health determined by actions
Nurture & Behaviourism
Behaviour change driven by experience
Extreme view of child’s malleability
Scientifically studied
Conditioning principles still applied today
Nature & Maturational Theories
Abilities largely determined by genetic inheritance
Skills develop in similar, predictable sequences
Timetable of motor development (Gesell & Ames, 1940)
McGraw (1935): Study of inheritance - Johnny & Jimmy
CONTINUITY vs. DISCONTINUITY
Continuous Development (quantitative): Abilities grow in a smooth, gradual way
Discontinuous Development (qualitative):
Change occurs in leaps & bounds resulting in
qualitatively different stages of development
CRITICAL PERIODS IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Early deprivation impairs capacity to learn language
E.g., ‘Feral children’ – Victor of Aveyron
Great difficulty in later acquisition
DOMAIN-GENERAL OR -SPECIFIC
Domain General:
All controlled by same mental mechanisms
General, limited set of mechanisms
Operate uniformly, account for all change
Domain Specific:
Domains served by own specific mechanisms
Domains develop independently
Recognises strengths and weaknesses
STABILITY VS. CHANGE
How stable are our personalities?
Do traits persist through life or can they change over lifetime
Association over time, not necessarily same manifestation
Can we predict later characteristics from early ones?
Implications for intervention
Rutter (1998)
