Why do we develop the way we do?

Question 1

Nativist/nurture perspective

Answer 1

Innate part of our initial condition born well equipped to start to develop

Question 2

Empiricist perspective

Answer 2

John Locke stated babies are born as blank slates having to learn

Question 3

Francis Galton

Answer 3

Focus on nature, relating to Charles Darwin believing he was intelligent becuase of his parents. Believed in ‘eminent men’ in society they should have more children

Question 4

Genotype

Answer 4

Inherited instructions within the genetic code, determines how an organism lives, not all organisms with the same genotype look/act the same due to genetic factors

Question 5

Heritability

Answer 5

the extent to which genetic differences in a population contribute to the variation of an observed train/ behaviour

Question 6

Heritability coefficient

Answer 6

A value between 0 and 1 that estimates the extent to which a variation is due to genetic factors

Question 7

Phenotype

Answer 7

The observable characteristic that results

Question 8

Nurture

Answer 8

John B Watson, believed he can shape any person and mould them to who he wants no matter their genetics. Relates to Little Albert experiment fear by classical conditioning, resulting in Albert being scared of anything white and fluffy

Question 9

Active Development (Learning) Dynamical Systems theory

Answer 9

The interaction between the person and the environment shapes development, motor development is fixed not flexible. e.g., Esther Thelen showed stepping reflex is only repromoted again once the baby is put in water, when needed.

Question 10

Piaget’s views, in line with developmental systems theory.

Answer 10

Child is active in their own development, explores their own environment, constructs their own knowledge and shapes own development.

Question 11

Constructivist theory (Piaget)

Answer 11

Children must construct knowledge themselves, interact with things in order to understand them, really depends on the knowledge available to the infant.

Question 12

Life Span approach/ perspectives (Baltes 1987)

Answer 12

We continue to develop throughout our lives does not stop at 25.

Question 13

What are the three specific contexts in which development is influenced by?

Answer 13

1. Normative age-graded influences.
2. Normative history-graded influences
3. Non-normative life influences

Question 14

Passive Development (Maturation)

Answer 14

Arnold Gesell (1880-1961), development comes from within the genetic component, maturational blueprint. Sequence of change is fixed, rate of change variable, predicts motor development

Question 15

Continuous development

Answer 15

Learnt by experiences, Esther Thelen. Dynamical systems theory, development is not fixed but flexible

Question 16

Discontinuous development

Answer 16

Innate, not learnt, happens in stages. Piaget focus- all children progress through the stages in the same order. Stages are not bypassed. Cultural and environmental influences may affect the timing, age norms are an approximation.

Question 17

Holistic development

Answer 17

Idea that it is learnt by experience, changes in one aspect have important implications for other aspects (cognition, social development) look at the bigger picture e.g., walking and speaking happen all at once.

Question 18

Segmented

Answer 18

Innate, with some aspects of development occurring in isolation all processes separate happening by themselves, e.g., language.

Question 19

Stability

Answer 19

Innate

Question 20

Change

Answer 20

Learnt by experience

Question 21

Studying development: observation negatives

Answer 21

Darwin’s method of how he studied his children. Issue that it’s always selective there is no neutral stance, it’s informed and shaped by our theories, biases, pre conceptions etc. Observer influence is unwanted and needs to be minimised.

Question 22

Studying development: Observation positives

Answer 22

Written coding schemes make scientific observations verifiable. Unlike the experimental methods, the observational method has a large amount of ecological validity.

Question 23

Types of observations

Answer 23

Naturalistic, structured, participatory

Question 24

Other methods of studying development

Answer 24

Parent/teacher/peer reports. Photo elicitation, self reports, ethnography (observing the behaviour in the context that it takes place) Experiments: verbal/non verbal, neurophysiological (scans) Clinical method: observation and loosely structured experiments (Piaget)

Question 25

Types of time span research

Answer 25

Cross-sectional people of varying ages studied simultaneously. Longitudinal studied same people over a large period of time, sequential (mix of the 2) Micro genetic examines in detail the processes of developmental change as it occurs by repeat testing.