Step-By-Step Assignment Instructions

less 
1. Make a summary of the knowledge you acquired in the first week. Record yourself while you
summarize (see instructions for audio- and video-recording below). Click the tab page [My
submission] and share the URL of your recording.

From research it’s known that assignments and feedback are more personal and more clearly when
peers can hear each other because they can hear the actual person and hear different tones of
voices. This is beneficial for the learning outcome. That is why we kindly ask you to audio/video
record this specific assignment. In case this is not possible for you, you can write down your
submission.

2. Try to include at least:

• The developmental systems approach

• The theories of Bronfenbrenner and Gottlieb

• An explanation why this approach requires an interdisciplinary approach

• An example of how this approach can be applied in practice.

3. After submitting your work, review the submission of your fellow participants. To do so, click
[Review your peers] in the top left menu. You will only have access to fellow participants’ work after
submitting your own assignment. We also ask you to give peer feedback by audio- or video
recording.

Instructions for audio-recording

1. Go to www.soundcloud.com and create an account (or sign in if you already have a SoundCloud
account)

2. Record your answer to the assignment via your computer, mobile phone etc. You can also directly
record via SoundCloud (under ‘Upload’ in the right upperhand corner, click ‘Start new recording’)

3. In the right upperhand corner, click on ‘Upload’. Pick ‘Choose a file to upload’ if you recorded your
answers via your laptop/phone etc. Or, click on ‘Start a new recording’ if you want to record audio
directly on SoundCloud.

4. Insert the title of your submission.

5. Select ‘Track will be private’. In that way, only people with the URL are allowed to play the audio
recording.

6. Click on Save.

7. Share your URL by coping the link under ‘share your new track’.
Review criteria
 
Your assignment will be graded on whether you:

• Explain the developmental systems approach

• Refer to the theories of Bronfenbrenner and Gottlieb

• Explain why this approach requires an interdisciplinary approach

• Provide an example of how this approach can be applied in practice

Welcome to the first lecture of the course “Understanding development from synapse to
society”. In this lecture I will first go into the question: “What is development?”. You will
see that there is much disagreement about this complex issue. Next, I will help you
understand development from a developmental systems approach. This approach will
be adopted throughout the course. I explain this approach using two influential theories.
I explain these theories because they can help you organize your thinking about how
various interacting factors can influence development at multiple levels of organization,
from synapse to society. So let’s start with the question: “What is development?” Most
developmental scientists will agree that development implies systematic and successive
change. Unfortunately, this is where the consensus ends. Therefore, there are no “facts”
regarding development. Only interpretations in the context of the particular theory or
perspective a scholar adopts. Historically, a number of issues regarding development
have been heavily debated, and strongly influenced theory. Here I will focus on one
particular issue that has colored perspectives on development for over 2000 years: The
extent to which development is determined by nature, our genes, or nurture, the
environment. According to the developmental systems approach nature and nurture
continually interact and through this interaction contribute to development. Nature never
affects development directly, it always acts in the context of the internal and external
circumstances. Similarly, effects of the environment on an organism will depend on the
heredity-related characteristics of that organism. It is important to realize that this also
implies that asking yourself in what relative proportions nature and nurture contribute to
a given behavior is fruitless. Nature and nurture are not independent and additive. They
are inherently fused. The idea that the course of development is not set in stone (or our
genes), but depends on a continuous interaction with the environment has great applied
significance: If you don’t believe that development can be influenced by the
environment, it makes no sense to devise interventions to support development. The
developmental systems approach argues that development can be influenced. This also
implies that there is not one course of development. Children grow up in distinct
contexts – unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can
result in different paths of change. The challenge then, is to understand how, where and
when we can best intervene. All this complexity is captured by the developmental
systems approach. In summary, this approach assumes that development is influenced
by interacting factors at multiple levels of organization. Now that we have discussed the
general idea of what development is according to the developmental systems approach
let’s go into a bit more detail. I will now discuss two influential developmental systems
theories. These theories are relevant because they can help you organize your thinking
about how various interacting factors influence development at multiple levels of
organization. The first theory I will discuss, was introduced by Uri Bronfenbrenner, a
Russian-born American developmental psychologist. Bronfenbrenner called his model
the bioecological model. It describes how development is molded by a child’s
biologically influenced dispositions in interaction with influences from its surroundings,
the ecology. According to this theory, the environment is a complex system consisting of
interacting layers, or nested systems, that together affect development. The model
distinguishes 5 subsystems each of which I will now briefly discuss. The first system is
the microsystem. This system is the innermost level of the environment and consists of
activities and interactions of the child with its immediate surroundings. Examples are the
interactions between the child and his parents at home, or between the child and a
teacher at school. It is important to note that the bio-psycho-social characteristics of the
individuals in such interactions, are part of the micro-system. Interactions between a
child and a teacher, for instance, will depend on characteristics of the particular child
and characteristics of the teacher. Individual differences or developmental changes in
these characteristics influence the nature of the activities and interactions in a particular
microsystem, and vice versa. In day-to-day life individuals move through various micro
systems. The second system is the mesosystem. This system encompasses
connections between all the microsystems related to an individual at a given moment in
life. For instance, when parents are involved in school life and exchange experiences
and information with school, development in both settings can benefit. Academic
learning can be carried over in the home, and knowing what is going on at home may
improve teacher-child interaction. The mesosystem also includes stable features of
people in the immediate surroundings of the child, such as their Social-Economic-
Status. The third system is the exosystem. This system refers to social settings that do
not contain children but nevertheless affect children’s experiences in immediate
settings. Examples are parents workplaces and health and welfare services in the
community. Parents work, for instance, may facilitate special leave when children are ill,
but can also cause stress that affect how parents respond to their children at home.
Another example is parents social network for providing advice, and social
companionship. All these factors indirectly affect the child. The fourth system is the
macrosystem. This system consists of cultural values, laws, customs, and resources.
The priority that the macro system gives to a child’s needs affects the support they
receive at the more proximate levels of the environment. For example, a country may
have laws regarding paternity and maternity leave, or the standards of child care, which
will impact on the lives of individual children in that country. The final system is the
chronosystem. This system refers to the continuous influence of time on all other
subsystems and their interactions. Indeed, change over time is a defining characteristic
of development. Time influences children at the individual level, in terms of their
physical, intellectual, and personality characteristics. Time also influences the
developmental challenges and opportunities that affect children at the various levels of
the environment. For instance, the arrival of a new sibling has very different
consequences for a home bound toddler compared to a school-age child with many
relationships and activities beyond the family. In this example the timing of an
environmental change affects its impact. So how can the theory of Bronfenbrenner help
you organize your thinking about development? It does so by providing you with a clear
framework for ordering and structuring the great myriad of factors that can influence
development. As such it can help you to keep an overview. However, the strength of
Bronfenbrenner’s theory is mainly in describing how environmental influences can be
organized at various levels. Therefore, I will also discuss a theory with more emphasis
on the levels within the individual. This theory was introduced by another American
developmental psychologist, Gilbert Gottlieb, and is called the model of Probabilistic
epigenesis . This model describes how genetic activity, neural activity, behavior, and
environment are all bidirectional related. The term “epigenesis” refers to a change in
genetic expression as a result of environmental influences. Gottlieb argued that the
emergent products of development are epigenetic, not just genetic. Although this idea is
now widely accepted, it was highly controversial when Gottlieb first introduced the idea.
He included the term “probabilistic” in the name of his model to indicate that the
developmental outcome of certain influences is often not certain as it depends on so
many different factors. Thus, specific gene-environment interactions may increase or
decrease the probability of development in a certain direction. In his model the most
basic level of organization is that of gene activity. Genes provide the blueprint of the
organism from which proteins are constructed in the cells. Genetic activity thus refers to
the kind and amount of proteins that are made. Proteins do most of the work within cells
and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and
organs. As such, genetic activity gives rise to neural and other structures, which allow
us to function and interact with the environment. Conversely, genetic activity is
influenced by each of the three other levels: neural activity, behavior and the
environment. So, the model proposes bidirectional relations within and between the four
levels or organization. In addition, these relationships are assumed to be dynamic: they
may constantly change over time. Gottlieb argued that taking into account the dynamic
bidirectionality of influences between levels is a prerequisite to ever successfully link
genes and nervous systems to behavioral outcomes. What I just discussed are two
examples of developmental systems theories. Many more of such theories exist, that all
stress the importance of including multiple levels of description when trying to
understand development. And because of the implied complexity, all of these theories
stress the need for interdisciplinary collaborations to attain a meaningful understanding
of development. The major implication is that it is useful to search for characteristics of
people and their contexts that, together, can influence the design of policies and
programs promoting positive development. This is an effort that goes well beyond
science alone and bears relevance to everyone who is interested or involved in
fostering optimal development of children in one way or another. In this lecture I have
explained how development can be understood from a developmental systems
perspective. In addition, I explained two theories that describe systematic ways of
composing various influences on development at multiple levels of organization inside
and outside the individual. This provides you with a framework for appreciating the
complexity of development, during this course and beyond. In the next lecture I will
explain what it takes to study development from a developmental systems approach.
Welcome to the first lecture of the course “Understanding development from synapse to
society”. In this lecture I will first go into the question: “What is development?”. You will
see that there is much disagreement about this complex issue. Next, I will help you
understand development from a developmental systems approach. This approach will
be adopted throughout the course. I explain this approach using two influential theories.
I explain these theories because they can help you organize your thinking about how
various interacting factors can influence development at multiple levels of organization,
from synapse to society. So let’s start with the question: “What is development?” Most
developmental scientists will agree that development implies systematic and successive
change. Unfortunately, this is where the consensus ends. Therefore, there are no “facts”
regarding development. Only interpretations in the context of the particular theory or
perspective a scholar adopts. Historically, a number of issues regarding development
have been heavily debated, and strongly influenced theory. Here I will focus on one
particular issue that has colored perspectives on development for over 2000 years: The
extent to which development is determined by nature, our genes, or nurture, the
environment. According to the developmental systems approach nature and nurture
continually interact and through this interaction contribute to development. Nature never
affects development directly, it always acts in the context of the internal and external
circumstances. Similarly, effects of the environment on an organism will depend on the
heredity-related characteristics of that organism. It is important to realize that this also
implies that asking yourself in what relative proportions nature and nurture contribute to
a given behavior is fruitless. Nature and nurture are not independent and additive. They
are inherently fused. The idea that the course of development is not set in stone (or our
genes), but depends on a continuous interaction with the environment has great applied
significance: If you don’t believe that development can be influenced by the
environment, it makes no sense to devise interventions to support development. The
developmental systems approach argues that development can be influenced. This also
implies that there is not one course of development. Children grow up in distinct
contexts – unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can
result in different paths of change. The challenge then, is to understand how, where and
when we can best intervene. All this complexity is captured by the developmental
systems approach. In summary, this approach assumes that development is influenced
by interacting factors at multiple levels of organization. Now that we have discussed the
general idea of what development is according to the developmental systems approach
let’s go into a bit more detail. I will now discuss two influential developmental systems
theories. These theories are relevant because they can help you organize your thinking
about how various interacting factors influence development at multiple levels of
organization. The first theory I will discuss, was introduced by Uri Bronfenbrenner, a
Russian-born American developmental psychologist. Bronfenbrenner called his model
the bioecological model. It describes how development is molded by a child’s
biologically influenced dispositions in interaction with influences from its surroundings,
the ecology. According to this theory, the environment is a complex system consisting of
interacting layers, or nested systems, that together affect development. The model
distinguishes 5 subsystems each of which I will now briefly discuss. The first system is
the microsystem. This system is the innermost level of the environment and consists of
activities and interactions of the child with its immediate surroundings. Examples are the
interactions between the child and his parents at home, or between the child and a
teacher at school. It is important to note that the bio-psycho-social characteristics of the
individuals in such interactions, are part of the micro-system. Interactions between a
child and a teacher, for instance, will depend on characteristics of the particular child
and characteristics of the teacher. Individual differences or developmental changes in
these characteristics influence the nature of the activities and interactions in a particular
microsystem, and vice versa. In day-to-day life individuals move through various micro
systems. The second system is the mesosystem. This system encompasses
connections between all the microsystems related to an individual at a given moment in
life. For instance, when parents are involved in school life and exchange experiences
and information with school, development in both settings can benefit. Academic
learning can be carried over in the home, and knowing what is going on at home may
improve teacher-child interaction. The mesosystem also includes stable features of
people in the immediate surroundings of the child, such as their Social-Economic-
Status. The third system is the exosystem. This system refers to social settings that do
not contain children but nevertheless affect children’s experiences in immediate
settings. Examples are parents workplaces and health and welfare services in the
community. Parents work, for instance, may facilitate special leave when children are ill,
but can also cause stress that affect how parents respond to their children at home.
Another example is parents social network for providing advice, and social
companionship. All these factors indirectly affect the child. The fourth system is the
macrosystem. This system consists of cultural values, laws, customs, and resources.
The priority that the macro system gives to a child’s needs affects the support they
receive at the more proximate levels of the environment. For example, a country may
have laws regarding paternity and maternity leave, or the standards of child care, which
will impact on the lives of individual children in that country. The final system is the
chronosystem. This system refers to the continuous influence of time on all other
subsystems and their interactions. Indeed, change over time is a defining characteristic
of development. Time influences children at the individual level, in terms of their
physical, intellectual, and personality characteristics. Time also influences the
developmental challenges and opportunities that affect children at the various levels of
the environment. For instance, the arrival of a new sibling has very different
consequences for a home bound toddler compared to a school-age child with many
relationships and activities beyond the family. In this example the timing of an
environmental change affects its impact. So how can the theory of Bronfenbrenner help
you organize your thinking about development? It does so by providing you with a clear
framework for ordering and structuring the great myriad of factors that can influence
development. As such it can help you to keep an overview. However, the strength of
Bronfenbrenner’s theory is mainly in describing how environmental influences can be
organized at various levels. Therefore, I will also discuss a theory with more emphasis
on the levels within the individual. This theory was introduced by another American
developmental psychologist, Gilbert Gottlieb, and is called the model of Probabilistic
epigenesis . This model describes how genetic activity, neural activity, behavior, and
environment are all bidirectional related. The term “epigenesis” refers to a change in
genetic expression as a result of environmental influences. Gottlieb argued that the
emergent products of development are epigenetic, not just genetic. Although this idea is
now widely accepted, it was highly controversial when Gottlieb first introduced the idea.
He included the term “probabilistic” in the name of his model to indicate that the
developmental outcome of certain influences is often not certain as it depends on so
many different factors. Thus, specific gene-environment interactions may increase or
decrease the probability of development in a certain direction. In his model the most
basic level of organization is that of gene activity. Genes provide the blueprint of the
organism from which proteins are constructed in the cells. Genetic activity thus refers to
the kind and amount of proteins that are made. Proteins do most of the work within cells
and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and
organs. As such, genetic activity gives rise to neural and other structures, which allow
us to function and interact with the environment. Conversely, genetic activity is
influenced by each of the three other levels: neural activity, behavior and the
environment. So, the model proposes bidirectional relations within and between the four
levels or organization. In addition, these relationships are assumed to be dynamic: they
may constantly change over time. Gottlieb argued that taking into account the dynamic
bidirectionality of influences between levels is a prerequisite to ever successfully link
genes and nervous systems to behavioral outcomes. What I just discussed are two
examples of developmental systems theories. Many more of such theories exist, that all
stress the importance of including multiple levels of description when trying to
understand development. And because of the implied complexity, all of these theories
stress the need for interdisciplinary collaborations to attain a meaningful understanding
of development. The major implication is that it is useful to search for characteristics of
people and their contexts that, together, can influence the design of policies and
programs promoting positive development. This is an effort that goes well beyond
science alone and bears relevance to everyone who is interested or involved in
fostering optimal development of children in one way or another. In this lecture I have
explained how development can be understood from a developmental systems
perspective. In addition, I explained two theories that describe systematic ways of
composing various influences on development at multiple levels of organization inside
and outside the individual. This provides you with a framework for appreciating the
complexity of development, during this course and beyond. In the next lecture I will
explain what it takes to study development from a developmental systems approach.