Studying Development – nature-nurture debate

Question 1

Explain genetics

Answer 1

the ground plan for development
• Our bodies are made up of cells
• Genes in the cells provide instructions for the materials in the body for growth and development
• Humans all share a human genome
• Individuals vary through the different genetic constitution received from each parent
• Thus we inherit aspects of physical development from parents

Question 2

What is the nature nurture debate?

Answer 2

• Genes determine cells and growth, and provide a blueprint (called genotype)
• BUT this is influenced by external environment which provides
• the ‘building materials’ (food, water etc)
• many different experiences
• These interact with the genetic instructions
• Psychologists need to explore the difference between two individuals to see what is mostly influenced by genes or environment

Question 3

Why cant we do many experiments on this debate?

Answer 3

• Identical twins share same genes, therefore those raised in different environments offer unique insights into this debate – but not that many in the world
• Humans raised by other species ….Ethical concerns?

Question 4

What unfortunate case study can we use to research the debate?

Answer 4

Ukranian girl raised by dogs

Learned behaviour- Barking, panting, walking on hands and knees

Question 5

• Each behaviour an individual develops comprises some percentage of what?

Answer 5

genes (innate) and some percentage environment (nurture/ learned)

Question 6

What are the different terms used to discuss the development of behaviour?

Answer 6

• Canalisation
• Maturation
• Learning

Question 7

What is Canalisation?

Answer 7

• A term used to help consider the susceptibility of a behaviour to environmental influence
Rather than say things are either ‘instinct’ or ‘learned’
• Psychologists sometimes talk about how ‘rigid’ or ‘flexible’ a behaviour is…. Or how ‘modifiable’ or ‘canalised’ the development of that behaviour is.
• Rigid behaviour = less susceptible to environmental modification
• Flexible behaviour = more susceptible to environmental modification

Question 8

What is rigid?

Answer 8

• Some behaviours appear to be restricted genetically to a limited range of outcomes.
• A behaviour that is strongly canalised follows a genetic growth plan, and only very strong environmental impact can change it
e.g. babies babbling

Question 9

What is flexible?

Answer 9

• A behaviour that is more flexible and open to environmental influences
e.g. IQ, personality, trust
Taken from White (2013) Developmental Psychology from infancy to adulthood

Question 10

What is maturation?

Answer 10

• This is the emergence of instinctive behaviour patterns at a particular point in development
• Genetic instructions facilitate the expression of a certain behaviour pattern at a certain growth point or time period
• Age and / or time is important
• Sequence always goes in same order - environment can influence rate and speed but not ultimate skill level
• Example – puberty, gross motor development (physical)

Question 11

What is learning?

Answer 11

• The process of acquiring knowledge or experience
• Requires environmental influence of some kind
• There are many kinds of learning (e.g. social, from teachers)
• Within a wide range of variation, the way an animal behaves depends on what it learns from the environment
• Example – language concepts are learned from environmental influences

Question 12

What is life-span development? Baltes (1980)

Answer 12

• Pointed out that age-related trends looked at only 1 of 3 important influences on development throughout the life-span
• Normative age-related (strong link with chronological age)
• He said we also we need to look at
• Normative history-graded (influences for most members of that generation due to the historical time)
• Non-normative life-events (significant events that occur in a persons life)
Led to a third design for studying behaviour
(3) Cohort design
• Different cohorts (e.g. children born in different years) are compared at the same ages

Question 13

What is ‘Development in context’ (Bronfenbrenner) 1979

Answer 13

• Need to consider the environmental setting that the person is experiencing, or is linked to
• There is an interaction among all the processes and systems
Adapted from Bronfenbrenner (1979)
Nested circles
1. Microsystem – what individual experiences in a specific setting
2. Meosystem – influences from each setting in which the individual directly participants
3. Exosystem – settings in which the individual does not participant directly, but do affect the individual
4. Macrosystem – organisation of the society of subculture the individual is in
5. Chronosystem - includes
• major life transitions,
• environmental events and
• historical events that occur during development.

Question 14

What does recognising the links and issues suggests the importance of? Brofenbrenner

Answer 14

Recognising these links and issues suggests the importance of

1. trying to conceptualise and design investigations that extend beyond the micro level.
2. trying to understand the influences between the different levels and how this effects development.
3. considering the development throughout a specific life and the differences.