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Nature vs. Nurture: The Big Question
Core Debate: How much of our behavior is due to inherited traits (nature) versus environmental influences (nurture)?
Evolutionary Psychology
Key Idea: Evolutionary forces have shaped human behavior to maximize survival and reproduction.
Focus: How natural selection has influenced our behaviors and mental processes.
Example: Evolutionary psychologists suggest that men are attracted to younger women and women are attracted to older, more established men because it increases the chances of successful reproduction.
Behavior Genetics
Key Idea: Examines the role of both genetics and environment in shaping behavior.
Methods: Studies of twins (identical vs. fraternal) and adopted children to identify genetic and environmental influences.
Twin Studies
Identical Twins: Develop from a single fertilized egg and share 100% of their genes.
Fraternal Twins: Develop from separate eggs and share 50% of their genes, just like regular siblings.
Key Findings: Identical twins are more alike in many traits (personality, intelligence, interests) than fraternal twins, suggesting a strong genetic influence.
The Minnesota Twin Project (Bouchard)
Focus: Studied identical twins raised apart.
Key Finding: Even when raised in different environments, identical twins showed surprising similarities in IQ and personality, emphasizing the role of genetics.
Adoption Studies
Key Findings:
Adopted children's personalities are more similar to their biological parents, indicating genetic influences.
Adoptive parents influence their children's attitudes, values, manners, faith, and politics, showing environmental factors.
Adopted children often have higher IQs than their biological parents, demonstrating the positive impact of a nurturing environment.
Nature vs. Nurture: Understanding the Influences
Heritability: The degree to which differences in traits within a group are due to genetic differences, not environment.
Key Point: High heritability means differences are mainly due to genes. Low heritability means differences are mainly due to environment.
Example: Identical twins have low heritability for most traits, since their differences are largely environmental.
Environmental Influences on Behavior
Prenatal Environment: Factors in the womb, like maternal nutrition and stress, can impact development.
Early Experiences: Experiences during childhood shape brain development and neural connections.
Enriched Environments: Lead to greater brain growth and complexity in both rats and humans.
"Use It or Lose It" Principle: Unused neural connections weaken and disappear.
Peer Influence:
Selection Effect: We tend to choose friends who are similar to us.
Peers are powerful socializers: They influence our styles, opinions, and behaviors.
Parental Influence: Parents shape our values, beliefs, and long-term goals.
Culture: Shared behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions of a group. Different cultures have different norms (expectations for behavior).
Examples of Cultural Differences:
Personal Space: The comfortable distance we maintain from others.
Expressiveness: How openly we display emotions.
Pace of Life: How quickly or slowly things move in a culture.
Cultural Influences on Development
Child-Rearing Practices
Individualism:
Emphasis on personal goals and independence.
Children encouraged to express themselves and pursue their own interests.
Collectivism:
Emphasis on group goals and harmony within the group (often the family).
Children taught to prioritize the needs of the family or community over their own.
Gender Development
Nature vs. Nurture:
Nature (Biology): Genetic differences between males and females (sex chromosomes and hormones) contribute to gender.
Nurture (Environment): Social and cultural factors also shape gender identity and roles.
Key Terms:
Gender Roles: Societal expectations about how men and women should behave.
Gender Identity: One's internal sense of being male, female, or another gender.
Gender-Typed: Acquiring behaviors and characteristics associated with a particular gender.
Traditional Gender Roles
Females:
Expectations: Nurturing, emotional, dependent, focused on home and family.
Males:
Expectations: Independent, assertive, leaders, providers, less emotional.
Social Learning Theory and Gender
Key Idea: Children learn gender roles through:
Observation and Imitation: Watching and copying the behavior of others.
Rewards and Punishments: Receiving approval or disapproval for certain behaviors.
Remember:
While cultural differences exist, there is also great variation within cultures.
Gender roles can evolve over time and vary across different societies.
Gender Schema Theory:
Key Idea: Children learn cultural expectations about gender and then adjust their behavior to fit those expectations.
Example: A child might avoid playing with dolls because they see it as a "girl's toy."
Prenatal Development
Conception: The moment when a sperm fertilizes an egg, creating a zygote (the first cell of a new individual).
Genetics:
Chromosomes: Each parent contributes 23 chromosomes, containing thousands of genes that determine the child's traits.
Genes: Made of DNA, they are the basic units of heredity.
Sex Determination: The 23rd pair of chromosomes determines the baby's sex (XX for female, XY for male).
Stages of Prenatal Development:
Zygote (0-2 weeks): The fertilized egg undergoes rapid cell division.
Embryo (2-8 weeks): Major organs and body systems begin to form.
Fetus (9 weeks to birth): The developing organism grows rapidly and organs continue to mature.
Age of Viability (around 24 weeks): The fetus can potentially survive outside the womb with medical assistance.
Prenatal Influences: Genetic and Environmental Factors
Genetic Factors:
Phenylketonuria (PKU): A genetic disorder that prevents the breakdown of a certain amino acid, which can lead to intellectual disability if not treated.
Other Genetic Disorders: Can affect development in various ways.
Tay-Sachs Disease: A fatal genetic disorder that causes the breakdown of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Down Syndrome: A genetic disorder caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, leading to intellectual disability and physical characteristics.
Environmental Factors (Teratogens):
Maternal Illness:
Rubella (German Measles): Can cause blindness, deafness, heart defects, or stillbirth.
Syphilis: Can cause mental retardation, physical deformities, and miscarriage.
AIDS: Can be transmitted to the baby during pregnancy or childbirth.
Drug Use:
Illegal Drugs: Cocaine and other drugs can cause addiction in the baby.
Legal Drugs: Even some prescription or over-the-counter drugs can harm the fetus.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to physical and cognitive impairments.
Smoking: Reduces oxygen and nutrients to the fetus, leading to low birth weight and potential brain damage.
Takeaway: Teratogens are chemicals/agents that can harm the child inside of the womb.
Newborn Reflexes
Rooting Reflex: Turning the head and opening the mouth in response to a touch on the cheek.
Sucking Reflex: Sucking on anything that touches the lips.
Startle (Moro) Reflex: Throwing out arms and legs, then pulling them in, in response to a loud noise or sudden movement.
Babinski Reflex: Toes fan out when the sole of the foot is stroked.
Important Note: These reflexes disappear after the first few months as the baby's nervous system develops and more voluntary movements take over.
Maturation and Cognitive Development in Childhood
Maturation: The biological growth process that unfolds naturally, relatively unaffected by experience.
Motor Development: While the sequence of motor skills (rolling over, sitting, crawling, walking) is universal, the timing can vary between individuals.
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Core Idea: Children actively construct their understanding of the world through interactions with their environment.
Schemas: Mental frameworks that organize and interpret information.
Assimilation: Fitting new information into existing schemas.
Accommodation: Adjusting or creating new schemas to fit new information.
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years):
Infants learn through their senses and actions.
Key Milestone: Object Permanence - Understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.
Preoperational Stage (2-7 years):
Children develop symbolic thinking and language but are limited by:
Egocentrism: Difficulty seeing things from another person's perspective.
Lack of Conservation: Not understanding that quantity remains the same even if appearance changes.
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years):
Children begin to think logically about concrete events and objects.
Key Milestones:
Master Conservation
Understand basic math operations
Formal Operational Stage (12+ years):
Adolescents develop abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking.
Can think about possibilities and solve problems systematically.
Piaget's Theory
Piaget's Influence: His stage theory remains influential, but modern research suggests:
Development is a continuous process, not always in distinct stages.
Children may achieve certain cognitive skills earlier than Piaget proposed.
Formal logic is just one aspect of cognition; other forms of thinking are important too.
Attachment
Stranger Anxiety: The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, starting around 8 months old.
Attachment: The emotional bond between a child and their caregiver.
Harry Harlow's Monkey Experiments: Demonstrated the importance of contact comfort (physical closeness and warmth) in forming attachments.
Types of Attachment (Mary Ainsworth)
Secure Attachment: Children feel comfortable exploring, use their caregiver as a secure base, and seek comfort from them when distressed.
Insecure Attachment:
Avoidant: Children seem indifferent to their caregiver's presence and don't seek comfort when they return.
Anxious/Ambivalent: Children are clingy and anxious, become very upset when the caregiver leaves, and may be difficult to soothe upon their return.
Key Points:
Responsive Caregiving: Leads to secure attachment, important for healthy social and emotional development.
Attachment Styles: Can influence later relationships and social interactions.
Long-Term Effects of Attachment:
Secure Attachment: Often linked to better social skills, self-esteem, and emotional adjustment.
Insecure Attachment: Can lead to difficulties in relationships and emotional regulation, but not always.
Important Note: Attachment style is influenced by the child's environment and early caregiving experiences.
Parenting Styles (Diana Baumrind)
Authoritarian: Strict rules, high expectations, little warmth or responsiveness. Children tend to be obedient but may lack social skills and self-esteem.
Permissive: Few rules, lots of freedom, little discipline. Children may be impulsive and struggle with self-control.
Authoritative: Sets clear expectations and limits but is warm and responsive. Encourages independence and communication. Children tend to be well-adjusted, responsible, and successful.
Uninvolved: Neglectful and emotionally detached. Children may experience low self-esteem and emotional difficulties.
Adolescence and Puberty
Puberty: The physical changes leading to sexual maturity, marking the start of adolescence.
Impact on Self-Image: Early or late maturation can significantly affect how adolescents feel about themselves.
Early Maturation:
Boys: May have advantages in sports and popularity but also face increased risk of delinquency.
Girls: May experience more social attention but also body image issues and emotional difficulties.
Late Maturation:
Boys: May face teasing and self-esteem challenges.
Girls: May experience less social pressure but might feel left out.
Adolescence and Development
Late Maturation:
Girls: May have a social disadvantage in early adolescence but tend to be more satisfied with their bodies later on.
Cognitive Development in Adolescence:
Formal Operational Stage (Piaget): Adolescents develop the ability to think abstractly, reason hypothetically, and consider consequences. This allows for a deeper understanding of moral principles.
Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg)
Key Idea: Moral reasoning develops in stages, influencing our judgments and actions.
Levels of Moral Development:
Preconventional Morality:
Focus: Self-interest, avoiding punishment and seeking rewards.
Typical of young children.
Conventional Morality:
Focus: Upholding social norms, laws, and authority.
Typical of adolescents and many adults.
Postconventional Morality:
Focus: Universal ethical principles and individual conscience, even if they conflict with laws.
Not everyone reaches this stage.
Psychosocial Development (Erik Erikson)
Key Idea: We face a series of psychosocial crises throughout life, and resolving them successfully leads to healthy development.
Stages of Psychosocial Development:
Trust vs. Mistrust (0-18 months):
Infants learn to trust or mistrust the world based on the consistency of care they receive.
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (18 months - 3 years):
Toddlers develop a sense of independence or shame and doubt, depending on how much control they're given.
Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years):
Children explore their world and develop a sense of purpose or guilt, depending on how parents respond to their initiatives.
Industry vs. Inferiority (6-11 years):
Children develop a sense of competence or inferiority by comparing themselves to peers in school and other activities.
Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-20 years):
Adolescents explore different roles and identities to form a strong sense of self.
Intimacy vs. Isolation (20-30 years):
Young adults seek to form close, loving relationships.
Generativity vs. Stagnation (30-65 years):
Adults contribute to the next generation through work, family, or community involvement.
Integrity vs. Despair (65+ years):
Older adults reflect on their lives with a sense of satisfaction or regret.
Early and Middle Adulthood (20-65 years)
Social Development
Early Adulthood: Focus often on career and establishing intimate relationships.
Midlife Transition (40s): A period of reflection and possible questioning of life choices.
Middle Adulthood: Generally a time of stability and acceptance, with a focus on the present and future.
Marriage, Children, and Family:
Marriage rates are declining, while cohabitation and divorce rates are increasing.
Women's Roles:
Most married women with school-age children work outside the home.
Working women often face the "second shift" of housework and childcare.
Many women report greater satisfaction and fulfillment from working.
Late Adulthood (65+ years)
Physical Changes:
Hair thins and grays, skin wrinkles, height decreases slightly.
Sensory abilities and reaction time decline.
Physical stamina decreases.
Theories of Aging:
Genetic Programming Theories: Cells have a built-in lifespan, leading to aging and eventual death.
Wear-and-Tear Theories: The body's mechanical systems wear out over time.
Cognitive Changes:
Fluid Intelligence (declines): Ability to reason and solve new problems.
Crystallized Intelligence (stable): Accumulated knowledge and skills.
Memory:
Slower processing speed affects memory retrieval.
Episodic memory (personal events) is most affected by age.
Staying mentally and physically active can help preserve memory.
Social World of Late Adulthood:
Disengagement Theory: Aging involves a gradual withdrawal from society and relationships, allowing for self-reflection and preparation for death.
Activity Theory: Successful aging involves staying active and engaged in social activities. Continuing the activities enjoyed in earlier life promotes well-being.
Death and Dying (Elisabeth Kübler-Ross)
Five Stages of Grief: People facing death or loss often experience these stages, though not always in a linear order:
Denial: Disbelief or shock.
Anger: Frustration and resentment.
Bargaining: Trying to make deals or promises to change the situation.
Depression: Sadness and withdrawal.
Acceptance: Coming to terms with the reality of the situation.
Key Points:
Theories of Aging: Different perspectives on how and why we age.
Cognitive Changes: While some decline is normal, staying mentally active can help preserve cognitive function.
Social Engagement: Both disengagement and activity theories show the importance of social connections for well-being in late adulthood.
Stages of Grief: A model for understanding the emotional process of dealing with loss.
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