Study of Human Development Flashcards
Human Development (Definition)
Human development is the multidisciplinary study of how people change and how they remain the same over time
4 Aspects of Human Development
(R. S. G. S.)
- Reflects the complexity and uniqueness of each person and their experiences
- Seeks to understand commonalities and patterns across people
- Grounded in theory
- Seeks to understand human behavior.
3 Fundamental Issues of Human Dev.
- Nature vs. Nurture
- Continuity vs Discontinuity
- Universal vs Context Specific Development
Nature vs. Nurture
- The degree to which genetic influences (nature) or environmental influences (nurture) determine the kind of person you are.
- Theorists and researchers recognize that development is always shaped by both
- Nature and nurture are mutually interactive influences.
Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Focuses on whether development smoothly progresses throughout the life span (continuity) or if it shifts abruptly (discontinuity)
Universal vs. Context-Specific Development
- Focuses on whether there is just one path of development or several
- Asks the question : Does development follow the same general path for all or is it different, depending on the sociocultural context?
The Biopsychosocial Framework
- It emphasizes that biological, psychological sociocultural and life cycle forces are mutually interactive
- It encompasses the life span and the different aspects of each phase of life
Biological Forces
- Includes genetic- and health-related factors that affect development.
- Some biological forces, such as puberty and menopause, are universal and affect people across generations
- Others, such as diet or disease, affect people in specific generations or within a small amount of people
Psychological Forces
- Includes all internal, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and personality factors that affect development
Sociocultural Forces
- Culture
- Includes interpersonal, societal, cultural, and ethnic factors that affect development
- Culture : the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors associated with a group of people
- Provides the context for development
Life-cycle Forces
- Reflects D
- Reflects I
- Provides C
- Reflect differences in how the same event affects people of different ages
- Reflects the influences of biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces
- Provides context for understanding how people perceive their current situation and its effect on them
Neuroscience
The study of the brain and the nervous system, especially in terms of brain-behavior relationships
- Reveals interactions between biological, psychological, sociocultural, and life-cycle forces
Theory
- Organized S
- Provides T
An organized set of ideas designed to explain development
- Provide testable explanations of human behaviors and the ways in which they change over time
Psychodynamic theories
- RC –> DA
- Freud –> P
- Erikson –> CLP
- Argue that development is determined by how well people resolve the conflicts they face at different ages
- This perspective can be traced to Sigmund Freud’s theory that personality emerges from conflicts experienced in childhood
- Building on Freud, Erik Erikson proposed the first comprehensive life-span view of psychosocial development
- Identified eight universal stages, each characterized by a particular struggle.
- Each stage has its own special period of importance
Learning theory
- L –> PB
- E –> WO
- T - B & SLT
- Focuses on how learning influences a person’s behavior
- Emphasizes the role of experience and that people learn from watching others around them
- Two influential theories in this perspective are :
- Behaviorism
- Social learning theory.
Behaviorism
( J → BS)
( S → OC)
- John Watson - Focused on the belief that babies were born a “blank slate,”
- B.F. Skinner - Fcused on operant conditioning
- Operant conditioning : includes reinforcement, punishment, and environmental control of behavior
Social Learning Theory
- Self Efficacy
- Proposes that people learn by observing others in what is called imitation or observational learning
- Bandura believed that self-efficacy helps determine when people will imitate others
- Self Efficacy : people’s beliefs about their own abilities and talents
Cognitive-developmental theory
- TP –> CK
(PT. IP. VST)
- Focuses on thought processes and the construction of knowledge
- Involves three distinct approaches:
- Piaget’s theory
- Information Processing
- Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory
Piaget’s Theory
- US –> CD
- C –> CK
- A four-stage universal sequence of cognitive development
- The child constructs knowledge in a new way during each stage
Information-processing theory
(MH & MS)
- Human cognition consists of mental hardware and software
- Mental hardware : cognitive structures
- Mental software : organized sets of cognitive processes
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
- The ways that adults convey to children the beliefs, customs, values, and skills of their cultures
- Emphasizes the idea that children’s thinking does not develop in a vacuum
Ecological and Systems Approach
(BEM & CEPF)
- D –> IEC
- Development is inseparable from the environmental contexts in which a person develops
- Two examples are :
1. Brofenbrenner’s ecological model
2. Competence-environmental Press Framework
- Two examples are :
Brofenbrenner’s ecological model
(Mi. Me. Ex. Ma.)
- Bronfenbrenner proposed that development occurs in a series of complex interconnected systems
- Identified four levels of the environment:
1. Microsystem
2. Mesosystem
3. Exosystem
4. Macrosystem.
- Identified four levels of the environment:
Competence-environmental Press Theory
- PAE GM –> C & EP
- Suggests that people adapt most effectively when there is a good match between :
- Their competence (abilities) and the environmental press (the demands put on them by the environment)
The life-span perspective
(M. P. HC. MC)
- LP –> GU & GO
- Argues that human development is a lifelong process of growing up and growing old, beginning with conception and ending with death.
- Key features of the life-span perspective:
a). Multidirectionality – development involves growth and decline.
b). Plasticity – one’s capacity is not predetermined
c). Historical context – development is determined by the historical period and culture in which we grew up.
d). Multiple causation – how we develop results from biological, psychological, sociocultural, and life-cycle forces.
- Key features of the life-span perspective:
The Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) Model
Selection, compensation, and optimization form a system of behavioral action that generates and regulates development
- Selection : occurs because of elective selection and loss-based selection
- Compensation : occurs when a person’s skills have decreased
Optimization : involves minimizing losses and maximizing gains
The life-course perspective
- VG –> BPS HC
- I–> I & S
3F
- ITE
- SIT
- IEE
- Describes how various generations experience the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces of development in their respective historical context
- Key feature is the interplay between the individual and society
- Involves three major factors:
1. The individual timing of events
2. The synchronization of individual transitions
3. The impact of earlier life events
