Professional Documents
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Human Growth and Development
Human Growth and Development
abmartinez @ upm-psych101 2
The Stories of Jeffrey
Dahmer and Alice Walker
In 1988, Dahmer murdered three people. He
first met a 14-year old boy at a bus stop and
asked him to pose nude photos. Soon after they
arrived at Dahmer’s apartment, he had sex with
the boy, drugged him, strangled him, dismembered
him and smashed his bone with a sledgehammer.
In 1991, when he was arrested, the police found in
Dahmer’s apartment at least 15 dismembered
bodies, a head in the refrigerator and a heart in the
freezer, and a blue barrel of acid for leftovers
(Matthews, 1992)
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The Stories of Jeffrey
Dahmer and Alice Walker
Alice Walker was born in 1944. She
was the eighth child of Georgia
sharecroppers who earned $300 a year.
When Walker was 8, her brother
accidentally shot her in the left eye with a
BB gun. By the time her parents got her to
the hospital a week later (they had no car),
she was blind in that eye and it had
developed a disfiguring layer of scar tissue.
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The Stories of Jeffrey
Dahmer and Alice Walker
Despite the counts against her, Alice
Walker went on to become an essayist, a poet
and an award-winning novelist. She won the
Pulitzer Prize for her book “The Color
Purple.” Like her characters, especially the
women, Alice Walker overcame pain and
anger to celebrate the human spirit. Walker
writes about the people who “make it, who
come out of nothing…People who triumph.”
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Questions to Ponder:
1. What leads one child to grow up and
commit brutal acts of violence and
another to turn poverty and trauma
into a rich literary harvest?
2. How can we explain how one child
picks up the pieces of a life shattered
by tragedy, while another becomes
unhinged by life’s stress?
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What is Developmental Psychology?
Developmental
psychology
• Concerned with the changes in
behavior and abilities of man
over the course of development.
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The lifespan
perspective is a
view of human
development
that takes into
account all
phases of life,
not just
childhood or
adulthood
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Development is
lifelong—from
conception to old age
Development is
multidimensional—it
consists of biological,
cognitive and socio-
emotional dimensions
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Development is
multidirectional—some
dimensions of development
expand and others sink.
Development is
multidisciplinary—it
cuts across disciplines
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Development is
contextual—individuals
are changing beings in a
changing world, acting on
contexts such as biological
make-up, physical
environment, cognitive
processes, historical
contexts, social contexts
and cultural contexts. 11
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Development involves
growth, maintenance
and regulation—the
mastery of life often
involves conflict and
competition among three
goals of human
development: growth,
maintenance and
regulation.
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The Nature of
Development
As children, each of us
traveled some common paths.
Yet, we are also unique.
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What is human development?
Human development
• Refers to the pattern of
movement or change in
human capabilities that begins
at conception and continues
throughout the life span.
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ëThe pattern of change is complex because it is
a product of several
abmartinezdevelopmental
@ upm-psych101 processes.
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Processes of Development
SOCIO-EMOTIONAL
COGNITIVE PROCESSES—
BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES — involve changes in an
PROCESSES — involve changes in individual’s
involve changes an individual’s relationship w ith other
in an individual’s thought, people, changes in
intelligence, emotions and changes
physical nature. in personalit y.
language.
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These processes
are interwoven in
the development
of the individual
throughout the
human life cycle. BIOLOGICAL
PROCESSES
COGNITIVE SOCIO-
PROCESSES EMOTIONAL
PROCESSES
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@ The interaction of
heredity with
environment (nature vs.
nurture issue) has a great
effect on many behavioral
and psychological traits.
@ How much of our behavior
is due to inherited factors
and how much to
environmental factors has
been a cause of debate.
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@ Environment (nurture)—the
influence of parents, siblings,
family, friends, schooling,
nutrition, and all other
experiences in which a child is
exposed
@ Nurture includes family
dynamics, parenting, peer
relations, schooling,
neighboring quality, media,
culture and other biological
encounters such as viruses,
birth complications, physical
accidents, medical care, etc.
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• Hereditary (nature)—
influences based on the
genetic makeup of an
individual that influence
growth and development
throughout life.
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Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Y Questions to ponder on:
– Did you become this person
that you are now gradually—
like the slow, cumulative
growth of a seedling into a
giant oak tree?
– Or did you experience
sudden, distinct changes in
your development—the way
a caterpillar changes into a
butterfly?
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Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Y The debate on whether
development displays
continuity or discontinuity
has two components:
– The pattern of
development
– The connectedness of
development
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Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Y Is development smooth and
stable, with new abilities, skills
and knowledge gradually added
at a relative uniform pace
(continuous)?
Y Or does development occur at
different rates, alternatives
between periods of little change
and periods of abrupt, rapid
change (discontinuous?)
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Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Y Many behaviors follow a natural sequence of
development:
– Infants reach for an object before they are able to
pick them up
– We learn to walk before we run
– We learn to speak words before sentences
– We learn to count by rote before we understand
the concept of numbers
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Y Sequences in development usually proceed
from simple behaviors to those that are more
differentiated and complex
complex——there are orderly
sequences in development.
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Continuity vs. Discontinuity
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Do early experience rule
us for life?
“Early experience” advocates
Y Early
Early--experience advocates
emphasize the importance of
childhood experiences
Y They believe that, unless infants
experience warm, nurturing care
giving, they will not develop their
full potential. abmartinez @ upm-psych101 36
“Early Experience” Advocates
Y Early-experience doctrine
suggests that after a period of
early development, we
become relatively fixed and
permanent in our
developmental make-up.
Y It rests on the belief that life is
an unbroken trail on which a
psychological quality can be
traced back to its origin.
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Y The later-experience
advocates argue that
although early experiences
are important contributors
to human development,
they are not necessarily
more important than later
experiences.
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“The child is the father of man. ”
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The Jim and Jim Twins
Jim Springer and Jim Lewis are
identical twins. They were separated at the
age of four weeks and didn’t see one
another again until they were 39 years old.
Even so, they share uncanny similarities
that read more like fiction than fact. For
example, they have both worked as a part-
time deputy sheriff, have vacationed in
Florida, have driven Chevrolets, have had
dogs named Toy, and have married and
divorced women named Betty.
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The Jim and Jim Twins
In addition, one twin named his son
James Allan, and the other named his son
James Alan. Both like Math but not
spelling, and both enjoy carpentry and
mechanical drawing. They have chewed
their fingernails down to the nubs and
have almost identical drinking and smoking
habits. Both have hemorrhoids, put on ten
pounds at about the same time, and first
suffered headaches at the age of 18. They
also have similar sleep patterns.
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The Jim and Jim Twins
Jim and Jim have some differences as
well. One wears his hair over his forehead,
whereas the other wears it slicked back
with sideburns. One expresses himself
better verbally, the other is more
proficient in writing. For the most part,
however, they are more alike than
different.
The Jim and Jim twins were part of
the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared
Apart, directed by Thomas Bouchard and
his colleagues (1996).
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Genetic Foundations of Development
Plasticity—central tenet of
human growth which states that
people are molded by their life
experiences.
• defines one’s
nature—based on
Nature one’s biological
structures and
processes.
• involved in almost
Importance all aspects of
in human behavior,
psychology personality and
mental processes.
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Genes and Chromosomes:
The Code of Life
• chemical strands in the cell nucleus that
Chromosomes contain the genes
• 23 pairs in every human cell
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Heredity
Polygenic
• Most traits are influenced
by many genes
Multifactorial
• Most traits are influenced
by many factors
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Heredity
Genotype (genetic
potential)
• the arrangement of genes
underlying a trait but
outwardly invincible.
Phenotype (genetic
expression)
• the expressed or observable
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environment.
Heredity
Dominant trait
• The one trait that is expressed
when two competing traits are
present.
Recessive trait
• A trait within an organism that is
present, but not expressed.
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Principles of Genetic Transmission
Principle of dominance
• When either gene is dominant, the characteristic
is expressed; only when both genes are
recessive is the other characteristic expressed
DOMINANT RECESSIVE
Brown eyes Blue, gray or green eyes
Normal hair Baldness (in men)
Dark hair Blond hair
Normal color vision Color blindness
Freckles No freckles
Dimples No dimples
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Free earlobes earlobes
Principles of Genetic Transmission
Example: Huntington’s
disease—appears at the age
of 30-40 in which the
nervous system deteriorates
resulting to uncontrollable
muscular movements and
disordered brain function
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Hereditary Disorders
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
• a problem involving the body’s
management of protein, in which
the body fails to produce an
enzyme that breaks down
phenylalanine, an amino acid,
hence resulting to an abnormal
amounts of substance that
accumulate in the blood and
harm the developing brain cells.
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Hereditary Disorders
Tay-Sachs Disease
• the nervous system disintegrates
because of the lack of enzyme that
breaks down fats in brain cells, the fatty
deposits swell and the brain cells die;
• produces blindness and muscle
degeneration prior to death (occurring
mainly in Jews of Eastern Europe
ancestry)
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Hereditary Disorders
Sickle-cell anemia (SCA)
• A recessive gene abnormality that does not involve
metabolism; people have red blood cells that do not contain
normal hemoglobin and hence cause red blood cells to
become sickled and clogging small blood vessels,
preventing blood from reaching parts of the body
Example:
• Among the Bamba tribe in Africa, SCA
incidence is as high as 39%; one African
American in 400 has the disease
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Structural Defects in Chromosomes
Genetically Types
based problems
may also result
from physical
changes in the Autosomal
chromosomes. Sex-
disorders
chromosomes
disoders
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Autosomal Disorders
Down syndrome
• Caused by the presence of an extra chromosome
on the 21st pair;
• first described by physician John Langdon Down.
• Most frequent cause of mental retardation.
Turner’s syndrome
• Occurs when an ovum is fertilized by a
sperm that carries no sex chromosome
or when it is the ovum that has no sex
chromosome (45, XO);
• The baby appears female at birth, but
the ovaries have already disappeared,
they do not produce the hormones
necessary for sex differentiation (e.g.,
women do not develop breasts or
menstruate)
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Disorders of the Sex Chromosome
Klinefelter ’s syndrome
• Occurs when an ovum carrying two
XX chromosomes is fertilized by a
sperm carrying a Y chromosome
(hence, 47,XXY).
• The presence of Y chromosome causes
the child to have male appearance, but
is somewhat feminized because the
male hormone levels are low (they
have underdeveloped penis but
overdeveloped breasts
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Disorders of the Sex Chromosome
47,XYY—occurs when the sperm
provides two Y chromosomes,
hence 47,XYY males appear almost
opposite of 45,XO females because
they have large body built and
masculine personality
characteristics.
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“The history of man for
nine months preceding
his birth is probably far
more interesting and
contains more stunning
events than all the
years that follow.” –
20th Century
Samuel Taylor, 20
American poet-
poet-essayist
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It is the time from
conception to birth
and lasts about 266
days or nine months.
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It is a time of
tremendous growth—
from a single cell to an
organism complete
with brain and
behavioral capabilities.
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1. Germinal Stage —first two
weeks following conception
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y Occurs from 2 to 8 weeks
after conception:
vThe mass cells changes
from zygote to embryo
vRate of cell division
intensifies
vFormation of support
systems for the cell
vAppearance of organs
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Although the embryo at first is only
the size of an apple seed, all major
internal and external structures form
during this period.
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Thus, in 8 weeks, a single,
tiny undifferentiated cell has
proliferated into a complex
organism with millions of
cells differentiated into heart,
kidneys, eyes, ears, nervous
system and other structures,
with an increased mass of 2
million percent.
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• the process of organ
formation that takes place
during the first months of
prenatal development.
Organogenesis
• when organs are being
formed, they are especially
vulnerable to
environmental changes.
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Life-support
Systems:
Umbilical Amniotic
Placenta
cord sac
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Begins two months after conception and
lasts for 7 months, on the average.
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Although separate from the mother
in many ways during development,
the fetus is completely dependent
on her for survival during most of
the prenatal period.
These teratogens or
environmental influences such
With natural screening process,
as drugs, viruses and chemicals
90% of some kinds of
pass from the placenta into the
malformations end in
fetus ’ blood vessel and thus
spontaneous abortions.
affect fetal development and
cause birth defects.abmartinez @ upm-psych171 101
Sensitivity to teratogens begins about 3
weeks after conception.
Cephalocaudal direction
• the tendency of body parts to mature in a
head-to-foot progression (e.g., progression
of early postural and locomotor skills)
Reflexive smile—
Social smile—
does not occur in
occurs in response
response to stimuli;
usually appear to an external
stimulus, typically a
during irregular
face; appears until
patterns of sleep,
2-3 months, or as
not when infant is
in alert state. early as 3 weeks.
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Social referencing involves “reading”
emotional cues in others to help determine
how to act in a particular situation; “feeling
what others feel”
Children learn to
respond
appropriately,
learning physical
and emotional
self-control.
• Parents’ child-
rearing practices
are critical in
shaping the
children’s social
competence.