Chapter-3.pptx hajakakakansbsjskjsbshs.hshs

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1. Chapter 3: Issues on Human Development

2. Preliminary Activity Be able to watch the video and answer the following questions with utmost honesty and effort; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbSgU41FIac 1. Is development due more to genetics or environment? Give examples of traits/characteristics that fall under genetics and environment. 2. Does development occur slowly and smoothly, or do changes happen in stages? 3. In your opinion, do early childhood experiences have the greatest impact on development or are later events equally important?

3. Developmental Psychology Issues and Debates Here are some of the basic questions within the realm of developmental psychology and what many psychologists today believe about these issues. Nature vs. Nurture 1. The debate over the relative contributions of inheritance and the environment usually referred to as the nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in both philosophy and psychology.

4. 2. Philosophers such as Plato and Descartes supported the idea that some ideas are inborn. On the other hand, thinkers such as John Locke argued for the concept of tabula rasa —a belief that the mind is a blank slate at birth, with experience determining our knowledge. 3. Some aspects of development are distinctly biological, such as puberty. However, the onset of puberty can be affected by environmental factors such as diet and nutrition.

5. 4. Early Experience vs. Later Experience 5. A second important consideration in developmental psychology involves the relative importance of early experiences versus those that occur later in life. Are we more affected by events that occur in early childhood, or do later events play an equally important role? 6. Psychoanalytic theorists tend to focus on events that occur in early childhood. According to Freud, much of a child's personality is completely established by the age of five. If this is indeed the case, those who have experienced deprived or abusive childhoods might never adjust or develop normally.

6. 7. In contrast to this view, researchers have found that the influence of childhood events does not necessarily have a dominating effect over behavior throughout life. Many people with less-than-perfect childhoods go on to develop normally into well-adjusted adults. 8. A third major issue in developmental psychology is that of continuity. Does change occur smoothly over time, or through a series of predetermined steps?