WEEK 1 / SLIDE 1 Flashcards
The 3 goals of Developmental Science
- Describe Development
Explain Development
Apply Development
Theories!
Describing Development; What does development look like?
Gradual Changes but basic format does not change (Coral Reef Fish)
Quantitative
Distinct / unique features in separate stages not in a gradual format (Frogs)
Qualitative
Describing Development in Qualitative vs Quantitative Changes is not Clearcut (Especially for Humans) but ___________
Reading, writing: ______
Motor skills: qualitative
But overall it is more of a combination (different stages of writing, even motor skills despite only occurring at a distinct stage still needs quantitative gradual buildup)
quantitative?
qualitative
Individual Differences
Age onsets
Gender
Genetics (Sets some, NOT ALL, boundaries for specific traits)
Rates of Change (Unique strengths, learning)
Forms of Skills (Different Cultures focus on different sports, activities)
Whether children who are relatively low to high on a certain characteristic or behaviour at a particular point in time are also relatively low / high at other times
Stability
The impressive capacity of humans to adapt to changing environments and experiences
Plasticity
The younger you are, the more________ you have because of the tremendous amount of brain growth and connections (synapse) being formed
Plasticity
Biological endowment, Genes
Nature
Environmental (physical, social) Influences
Nurture
Interaction of Biology and Environment
Gene-Environment Interactions / Epigenetics
Child-Development research provides insights into intriguing questions regarding human nature
Children adopted from inadequate orphanages in Romania; human nature is sufficiently flexible, but the ________ of experiences is also important
First _________ critical for overcoming any adversity as an infant, but those that don’t before _______ rarely catch up to the_________ that those who did could reach
timing
6 months
highest boundary
Developmental Cascades
Change of one kind can have positive or negative Cascading effects on other kinds of changes, immediately and / or later (A “Whole” Child)
Cascades within time
Concurrent Influences across domains and / or between the developing child and environmental experiences
Eg; language and emotional expression
E.g; Temperament and parental control
Changes at one period result in changes at a later period in the same or a different domain
e.g., early parenting quality and later academic/emotional development
Cascades over time
Concurrent Influences across domains and / or between the developing child and environmental experiences
Eg; language and emotional expression
E.g; Temperament and parental control
Cascades within time
turtle technique
- Effective approaches helping children manage anger and other negative emotions
- Results in studying the turtle technique shown to benefit emotional regulations in preschoolers and lasts for at least 2 years
Gain knowledge and information that
can help parents and teachers in
rearing and educating children
Raising Children (Apply / Goal 3 of Developmental Sciences)
Inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies that affect children and families
Book Reading
Early intervention / investment
Programs
Investments at earlier ages yield greater benefits
Heckman Equation
Knowledge of child development permits informed decisions about social-policy questions that affect children
Research can inform social policies, such as those involving testimonies from preschool children
Policies
History: Early Philosophical Perspectives
4th Century B.C.:
The beginnings of the __________
Plato: ___________
nature‐nurture debate
innate knowledge; Self-control and discipline.
Aristotle: knowledge comes from experience; Fitting to the needs of the individual child
Early Philosophical Perspectives
-original sin (inherently bad and passive creatures)
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
Early Philosophical Perspectives
- innate purity (inherently good and actively involved
in development)
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
