3.11 - Summary
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Meaning of Development
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Today, we're discussing the meaning of development. Development refers to the pattern of progressive, orderly changes that begin at conception and continue throughout life. Can anyone tell me how development is perceived?
I think it includes physical changes like growth, but doesn’t it also involve changes in thinking and emotions?
That's correct! It's not just about physical changes but also cognitive and socio-emotional processes. These changes influence how we interact with others and perceive the world around us.
So, does this mean that development can also decline as we grow older?
Exactly! Development encompasses both growth and decline. For instance, while physical strength may decline with age, cognitive abilities can continue to develop under certain conditions.
What about the different factors that influence our development?
Great question! Several factors influence development, including heredity and the environment, which we'll explore more as we discuss the life-span perspective.
Can you help us remember these factors easily?
Sure! You can remember them with the acronym 'HEC' - Heredity, Environment, and Context - which encapsulates the primary influences on human development. Now, let’s recap the meaning of development.
Factors Influencing Development
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Let's discuss the factors influencing development more in depth. As mentioned, heredity and environment interact significantly in shaping who we become.
How exactly do these factors work together?
Good question! Heredity provides us with genetic predispositions, while the environment contributes context and experiences that can nurture or limit these predispositions. For example, a child with a genetic predisposition for high athletic ability still needs the training and encouragement from their surroundings.
Does this mean that two siblings can turn out differently even with the same parents?
Exactly! Even siblings grow up in the same environment but might have different responses or preferences, leading to distinct developmental paths.
What are some environmental influences that could affect development?
Environmental influences can include educational opportunities, parental support, social relationships, and even cultural factors. All of these play crucial roles in how an individual develops.
So these factors can influence everything from physical abilities to emotional well-being?
Absolutely! This interplay makes human development a complex and fascinating process. Now let’s summarize the key points regarding the factors of development.
Life-Span Perspective on Development
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Now let's look at the Life-Span Perspective on development. This perspective emphasizes that development is a lifelong process. Who can tell me some assumptions of this perspective?
Is one of the assumptions that development includes both gains and losses?
Yes! That's a key aspect. Development includes various dimensions that may increase at different rates while others may decline, creating a dynamic process. What else?
Development is also multi-directional, right?
Correct! It acknowledges that while some areas can improve, others may decrease. Can you think of an example where that might apply?
Maybe as people age, they become wiser but might also lose physical speed?
That's an excellent example! Wisdom can increase with experience, but physical agility can decline over time. Let's remember this through the acronym 'Lifelong - GEMS' for Gains, Experiences, Maturation, and Stability.
What other assumptions from the life-span perspective should we keep in mind?
Development is highly plastic and influenced by historical conditions, which means it's adaptive. Keep these assumptions in mind as we move into discussing specific developmental stages next!
Overview of Developmental Stages
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Finally, let’s overview the stages of human development. Each stage is marked by unique characteristics and challenges. Can anyone name the stages?
I believe they are prenatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age?
Exactly! Each stage has developmental tasks. Can anyone share what a developmental task might look like in adolescence?
Finding one’s identity or sense of self would be a crucial task during adolescence.
Great point! In every stage, the successful completion of these tasks allows individuals to progress healthily to the next stage. It's a stepping-stone process. Remember this is a continuous journey!
It sounds like stages build on one another.
Exactly! The skills and tasks learned in one stage influence the capabilities of the next. Let’s summarize the key stages we discussed regarding human development for our next lesson!
Introduction & Overview
Read summaries of the section's main ideas at different levels of detail.
Quick Overview
Standard
In this section, the concept of human development is defined, emphasizing that it encompasses not only physical growth but also cognitive and emotional changes throughout life. Key factors influencing development, including heredity and environment, are discussed, along with an overview of the stages of development: prenatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
Detailed
Detailed Summary
The section on Summary introduces the concept of human development, explaining it as a pattern of progressive, orderly changes occurring from conception to death. Development includes physical, cognitive, and emotional changes, influenced by heredity and environment.
Key Aspects Covered:
- Meaning of Development: It is defined as both growth and decline, occurring in various domains, influenced by biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional processes.
- Life-Span Perspective: Highlighting seven core assumptions, this perspective asserts that development is lifelong, multidirectional, and influenced by contexts such as culture and history.
- Factors Influencing Development: The interplay of genetics (heredity) and environmental contexts shapes individual differences in development.
- Stages of Development: The section provides a brief overview of different life stages — prenatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age — highlighting that each stage is characterized by significant changes and developmental tasks.
Understanding these aspects is critical for recognizing how human beings evolve through various phases of life and enhancing interpersonal relationships.
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Prenatal Development Influences
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• Prenatal development may be affected by maternal malnutrition, maternal drug use and some maternal illnesses.
Detailed Explanation
Prenatal development refers to the growth and changes that occur in a fetus during pregnancy. Factors such as the mother's nutrition are extremely significant. For example, if a mother lacks essential nutrients, this can lead to developmental issues in the baby. Similarly, if the mother uses drugs or suffers from illnesses, it can negatively impact the baby's health, potentially leading to birth defects or other complications.
Examples & Analogies
Think of prenatal development like nurturing a plant. If the plant doesn't get enough water or sunlight (like a fetus not receiving good nutrition), it may not grow properly or could become weak and unyielding. Just as a gardener must avoid harmful chemicals when caring for plants, expecting mothers should be cautious about their health and lifestyle.
Motor Development Trends
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• Motor development follows cephalocaudal and proximodistal trends. Early motor development depends on both maturation and learning.
Detailed Explanation
Motor development in children progresses in two primary patterns: cephalocaudal (from head to toe) and proximodistal (from the center of the body outward). For instance, infants typically gain head control before they learn to control their legs. This physical growth is influenced by biological maturation, meaning the development of the muscles and nerves, as well as learning through interaction with their environment, such as practicing reaching for toys.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine a baby learning to use a new toy. At first, the baby uses its arms to explore but gradually learns to sit up, which is akin to mastering a video game level. Just as players must complete one level before moving to the next, infants gain skills progressively as they grow.
Cultural Influence on Attachment
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• Cultural variations in child rearing can affect the patterns of attachment between the child and the caregiver.
Detailed Explanation
Child-rearing practices differ across cultures, which can lead to various patterns of attachment. For example, in cultures where independence is emphasized, children might develop a more secure attachment as they are encouraged to explore. Conversely, cultures that emphasize closeness may foster a different kind of attachment that could lead to different child behaviors and responses to stress.
Examples & Analogies
Think about how different families prepare for a dinner party. Some families might focus on making everything perfect and offer a lot of guidance, which can create a cozy but dependent atmosphere. Others might set the table and let children handle tasks themselves, fostering independence. Just like these different approaches can change a child’s behavior, so can various cultural child-rearing practices influence attachment styles.
Piaget’s Cognitive Stages
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• According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the main characteristics of the sensorimotor stage is the child’s gradual recognition of the permanence of objects. The preoperational stage is marked by certain deficiencies in thinking such as centration, irreversibility, and egocentrism.
Detailed Explanation
Piaget’s theory outlines stages of cognitive development. In the sensorimotor stage, infants learn that objects continue to exist even when they can't see them (object permanence). As they grow into the preoperational stage, children often think about one aspect of a situation at a time (centration) and may not understand that reversing actions can change outcomes (irreversibility), or struggle to see things from other people's perspectives (egocentrism).
Examples & Analogies
Consider how a young child may cover a toy with a blanket. If you remove the blanket, the child will expect to find the toy underneath because they believe it still exists. But if you hide the toy from the child’s sight, they may think it has vanished entirely. It’s like playing hide-and-seek but not understanding that just because you can't see your friend doesn't mean they're not there!
Concrete Operations and Conservation
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• During the concrete operations stage, children develop the ability to perform operations on mental representations, making them capable of conservation. The stage of formal operations is more abstract, systematic, and develops logical thought.
Detailed Explanation
In the concrete operations stage, children learn to think logically about concrete events and understand the concept of conservation – the idea that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or arrangement. For example, they can comprehend that the same amount of liquid in two different shaped containers is still the same amount. As they reach the formal operations stage, they begin to think abstractly and hypothetically, allowing them to plan for the future or consider potential consequences of actions.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine two identical clay balls. When one is flattened into a pancake, a younger child might say it has less clay simply because it looks different. In contrast, an older child knows that it’s still the same amount of clay just reshaped, similar to how rearranging furniture changes the look of a room but not the actual number of items.
Kohlberg’s Moral Reasoning
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• According to Kohlberg, moral reasoning progresses through three levels that are related to age and determined by cognitive development.
Detailed Explanation
Kohlberg proposed that moral reasoning evolves in stages, becoming more sophisticated as a person grows. Younger children may make moral decisions based on avoiding punishment or seeking rewards (pre-conventional), while older children start to consider societal rules (conventional), and finally, adolescents may develop personal ethical principles (post-conventional), weighing justice and human rights.
Examples & Analogies
Think of a child who steals candy. A younger child might not take the candy just to avoid being caught, whereas an older child might see it as wrong because it violates fairness rules. A teenager may understand the broader consequences of stealing and choose to respect others' ownership based on their values.
Adolescence Identity Development
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Chapter Content
• The growth spurt at puberty is a prominent event involving the development of reproductive maturity and secondary sex characteristics. According to Erikson, the key challenge of adolescence is to make some progress towards a sense of identity.
Detailed Explanation
Puberty marks significant physical changes, including growth spurts and the development of secondary sexual characteristics. During this time, adolescents must also navigate identity formation, striving to understand who they are and what they believe in, often contrasting their identity with those around them. Erikson emphasized that this quest for identity is crucial as it influences their future choices and behaviors.
Examples & Analogies
Think of adolescence like a teenager experiencing a new school year. Just as they might try different activities like sports or theater to find their interests, they also explore different aspects of their identity, trying on 'hats' to see which one fits best. It’s an experimental time where they’re figuring out their personal style before settling into their adult identity.
Adulthood and Transitions
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• During adulthood personality is marked by both stability and change. Many landmarks in adult development involve transitions in family relationships, including adjustment to marriage, parenthood, and children leaving home.
Detailed Explanation
Adulthood is characterized by a blend of stable personality traits developed earlier in life, while also experiencing changes due to new life events. Transitions such as marriage, becoming a parent, or children moving out can significantly alter one's roles and relationships, prompting individuals to adapt their behavior and expectations to these new dynamics.
Examples & Analogies
Imagine someone who has always been an independent traveler now adjusting to married life, planning trips that consider their spouse's preferences. This reflects how adulthood involves adapting longstanding traits to meet new demands, just like shifting gears in a car to navigate different terrains.
Physical Changes in Adulthood
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• Age-related physical transitions during adulthood include changes in appearance, memory, and in the cognitive domain.
Detailed Explanation
As individuals enter middle age and beyond, they often notice physical changes like wrinkles, weight changes, and shifts in energy levels. Cognitive functions may also experience some decline, especially in areas involving memory retention over time, which differs from the quick recall abilities seen in youth. However, some aspects, like accumulated wisdom, may improve with age.
Examples & Analogies
Think of a well-tended garden. With age, some plants may droop or require more care, reflecting physical aging. However, the garden's maturity brings a richer variety of flowers and resilience due to years of growth—just as older adults have rich experiences and insights shaped over the years, even if their physical capability may decline.
Key Concepts
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Human Development: The systematic process of change from conception through the lifespan.
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Developmental Stages: Phases of human life each characterized by specific physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes.
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Life-Span Perspective: Framework that views development as a lifelong process influenced by various factors.
Examples & Applications
A child learns to walk and talk during infancy, reflecting critical development tasks.
Adolescents begin to form their identities, influenced by social and cultural factors.
Memory Aids
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Rhymes
Heredity and environment, side by side, shape our lives and help us glide.
Stories
Once upon a time, a boy named Leo grew up in a garden tended by the sun (environment) and his roots (heredity) — together they made him bloom into a wonderful young man.
Memory Tools
To remember the stages of development: PreInfant Childhood Advocating Adults (Prenatal, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Old Age).
Acronyms
Life-Span Perspective can be remembered as 'G.E.M.', for Growth, Experience, Maturation.
Flash Cards
Glossary
- Heredity
The genetic transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring.
- Environment
The surrounding contextual factors that influence an individual's development.
- Developmental Tasks
Specific challenges or milestones individuals are expected to achieve at different stages of development.
- LifeSpan Perspective
A framework for understanding human development as a lifelong process, encompassing both gains and losses.
- Plasticity
The capacity for change in response to positive or negative experiences in development.
Reference links
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