1

Human Development -

Heredity and Environment

Objectives

To understand the concept of heredity and its role on physical, intellectual

and personality development

To understand different developmental disorders

To understand pre and post natal environment and its effect on the
growth and development of the child

SUMMARY

Two most important factors in children development are ‘Heredity’ and

‘Environment’ (both determinants of health) where child spends most of
the time majorly being in preschool and otherwise at home with family
and friends, these two are very important considerations playing vital role
in childhood development.

By environment, we mean all those physical and social factors that affect
and influence the development of the child like the home, the family, the
neighbourhood, the companions, the school, the teachers, the political
and religious agencies, the society in general. No individual is the same at
maturity as he was born. Any or all of the environmental components can
affect the health of the person. Everything that influences the child apart
from himself from what he inherited from his parents is his environment.

Both Heredity & environment together play equally important role in the
formation of human nature. However, in some cases it has been proved
that heredity plays more significant role in children development being in
preschool or at home. At the same time, there have been evidences
showing that in some other cases environment has played a significant
role in formation of human nature.

Thus as parents, have both the factors in their hands and both the
parents can together make the best efforts to improve the child. As pre-
primary teachers have no control on the child’s heredity. Yet can improve
the environment. Thus as a good teacher, we should provide rich and
stimulating environment which would promote the healthy development
of the child.
2

Module 1: Introduction

Hereditary instructions carried by the chromosomes influence

development throughout life by affecting the sequence of growth, the
timing of puberty, and the course of aging. It is estimated that the
genetic information carried in each human cell would fill thousands of
1000-page books (in fine print). It effects eye color, skin color, and the
susceptibility to some diseases. It underlies maturation and the orderly
sequence of motor development. Exerts considerable influence over body
size and shape, height, intelligence, athletic potential, personality traits,
and a host of other details.

Nucleus of every cell of human body consists of 46 chromosomes -

threadlike structures

Chromosomes transmit coded instructions of hereditary behavior. We

receive one-half of our chromosomes (and genes) from each parent.
[Child who inherits 2 X chromosomes (X X) will be a female. Child who
inherits an X chromosomes paired with a Y chromosome (X Y) will be
male.]

Genes are scattered on each chromosome-smaller areas on

chromosomes. There are genes determining eye color, skin color, sex.
Each gene carries instructions that affect a particular process of personal
characteristic. There are at least 100,000 genes in every human cell, and
perhaps more. In some cases, a single gene is responsible for a particular
inherited feature, such as eye color. Most characteristics, however, are
polygenetic, or determined by many genes working in combination. Genes
are made up of DNA.

DNA [deoxyriboneucleic acid] is a long, ladder like chemical molecule that

is made up of smaller molecules. The order of these smaller molecules, or
organic bases, acts as a code for genetic information.

Dominant genes - When a gene is dominant, the trait it controls will be

present every time the gene is present. The brown gene is dominant.
Recessive genes - When a gene is recessive, it must be paired with a
second recessive gene before its effect will be expressed. The blue gene is
recessive.

Human development is a complicated process. Neither heredity nor

environment shapes the entire course of development. Heredity and
environment are complimentary to each other in the developmental
process.
3

Module 2: Role of Heredity on Development

• Heredity is defined as ‘the sum total of potentialities inherited at

birth”.

• Heredity must be given an environment to function, whereas

environmental factors can contribute only to genetic potentialities of
a living and growing organism.
• Heredity sets the limits to success in attaining these potentials
depending on the environmental influences or facilities.

• Physical Development: Heredity has a greater effect on physical

and motor development, such as size, strength, appearance and
metabolism. But on the other hand certain prenatal conditions such
as maternal nutrition, infections of mothers, x– rays, emotional
trauma during pregnancy have significant effect on physical
development of the foetus. Nutrition in early childhood period
directly influences the body growth and physical activity. Children
who suffer from protein deficiency are stunted and are retarded in
development.

• Intellectual Development: Heredity sets limits beyond which

environment cannot enhance or retard intelligence. Heredity
determines specific capacity in some areas of intellectual
functioning. But on the other hand a highly intelligent person may
not be able to make use of his inherent capacities (eg. memory,
reasoning, creativity) due to environmental restrictions.

• Personality Development: Certain traits like activity levels,

sociability and temperament are found to be genetically determined.
Such personality traits which are determined by inherited potential
are more resistant to change.

Heredity Factor

“Heredity is the transfer of traits from one generation to another with the
help of chromosomes” Physical and Mental (emotional) are two traits
together play a significant role in transfer of total personality from
parents to off springs.
4

Physical Traits : Instances for physical traits are height, body structure,
shapes of different parts of body, heart-trouble, diabetes, baldness,
asthma, etc.

Mental Traits : Mental and emotional traits are intelligence, memory

power, interests and talent in music, art, literature, dancing etc. even
cruel nature, cool-headed nature, etc. come under these traits.

Laws of Heredity

Like produces like : According to this law, human being will produce
human beings.

Only certain traits are transformed : According to this law, the dominant
traits get transferred more easily than the recessive traits.

Convergence of two lives : According to this law both the parents play an
equally important role in converging their traits to their off springs.

Module 3: Inherited abnormalities

Inherited abnormalities or developmental disorders appear due to

variations in chromosomes or metabolic conditions. Some of the
developmental disorders are:

Down’s syndrome: It is one of the types of mental retardation which

occurs due to abnormal pairing of chromosomes. An extra chromosome is
found on the 21st pair. It is characterized by distinctive physical
appearance. The child with this syndrome has almond shaped eyes, small
skull, chin, small ears, short broad neck, hands and feet, flat nasal bridge,
sparse hair and very low intelligence quotient.

Turner’s syndrome: It is due to the sex chromosome abnormalities. The

Turner’s syndrome is the result of lack of sex chromosome in females
(X0). The person is characterized by below normal intelligence, short
stature and deformity of neck, forearm and failure to develop secondary
sexual characteristics.

Trisomy –X syndrome: It is a chromosomal disorder (47, XXX), in which

girls are born with an extra X chromosome. They reach menopause earlier
than the normal females. They have slightly lower intellectual levels, are
5

often quiet and passive. They may have delayed development of speech
and motor skills than normal females with XX chromosomes.

Klinefelter’s syndrome: The Klinefelter’s syndrome is a result of extra

chromosomes in males (XXY) and is characterized by small genitals, lack
of sperms. Sometimes the individual exhibits antisocial behavior.

XYY Syndrome: Boys born with XYY syndrome are characterized by an

extra Y chromosome, appear normal. They are tall, have severe acne
during adolescence, are poorly coordinated, may exhibit impulsive
behaviors and have lower intelligence. This is caused due to problems in
cell division during sperm production. Presence of extra Y chromosome
produces aggressive and anti social behaviors.

Phenylketonuria: It is a metabolic disorder which results due to absence

of hepatic enzyme- phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH. When phenylalanine
accumulates, it is converted into phenylpyruvate, which is injurious to
nervous system. The defect which is transmitted by autosomal recessive
gene results in progressive mental retardation in majority of untreated
individuals.

Polydactyle: It is a condition where individual has an extra finger or toe.

Module 4: Environment
Human growth and development is influenced by a several factors, many
of which are beyond our control. While heredity and genes certainly play a
large role in terms of determining size and health, there are also
environmental factors at play. An understanding of these environmental
factors can help individuals and communities to play a part in ensuring
that human growth and development are not adversely affected.

Environment refers to all conditions to which an individual is subjected to

in the course of development starting from foetal development to old age.
It comprises of prenatal conditions such as mother’s age, nutritional
intake, health status, medical care, drugs and post natal conditions such
as child rearing practices, cultural expectations, experiences, facilities and
opportunities.
6

Based on its nature, environment is divided into prenatal and postnatal

environment.

Prenatal environment: It is also called as internal or intrauterine

environment where the child grows.

Age of mother: Ideal age for healthy child birth falls between 25-30
years of age of the mother. However, other factors being ideal, women
can deliver healthy babies even up to 40 years. But the tendency for later
age pregnancies being unsuitable for healthy growth of foetus is also true.
It is found that a woman after 35 years could produce irregular or
abnormal eggs which result in Down’s syndrome, leading to mental
retardation in the child.

Maternal Nutrition: The developing foetus derives food from the blood
stream of the mother through placenta and umbilical cord. Any nutritional
deficiency in the mother’s food intake would result in nutritional deficiency
in the fetus and its growth suffers. Low birth weight, premature and still
births can result from such a condition.

Maternal diseases: When a mother is exposed to German measles or

syphilis, it would result in mental retardation and physical abnormalities
in the baby.

Emotional stress: Emotional stress in the mother influences the fetus

through glandular changes which could result in complicated deliveries
and miscarriages.

Radiation: Frequent exposure to X–rays during pregnancy may result in

developmental disorders such as microcephaly, stunted growth and cleft
palate.

Drugs: Some drugs that the mother may consume have severe negative
effects on the foetus. Especially drugs like amphetamine may lead to
negative effects on brain development.

Rh Incompatibility: Difference with blood composition of foetus and

mother leads to the biochemical incompatibility. The Rh negative mother
produces antigens which enter into foetal blood stream. Antibodies are
formed in the foetus through placenta. RBC of foetus is destroyed and it
7

prevents the supply of oxygen to fetus resulting in erythroblastoses

(destruction of RBC).

First born children are not affected by this blood incompatibility since the
antigens are not yet developed by the mother’s blood. The next
pregnancy could become problematic for the foetus.

Postnatal environment: It is called external environment. Based on

quality of environment, it is further divided into enriched and
impoverished.

Enriched environment: It provides stimulation to the child and

enhances inherited potentialities. An enriched environment provides child
with opportunities for exploration and to realize its own strengths and
inborn capacities. It is rich in verbal, social and physical stimulation. It
provides variety and quality in the stimulation offered. It involves high
level of adult interaction with the child to channelize its inbuilt potentials.
An optimal/ enriched environment is one which is carefully constructed
according to the needs and abilities of the child.

Impoverished environment: It is a kind of environment where even

basic needs of the child are not fulfilled. It does not provide scope and
opportunity for child’s growth and development, child’s inner potentials
and does not cater to the child’s optimal development.

On the contrary, it hampers the child’s potentials and capacities for

development.

Structural levels of environment

Bronfenbrenner (1979) used the word ecology to refer to the interactions
of the person and his or her social and physical setting. The ecology of
human development involves the scientific study of progressive, mutual
accommodation between an active growing human being and the settings
in which the developing person lives. The interaction between the
developing person and the environment is viewed as a reciprocal
relationship. The ecological environment includes immediate settings
(home, school, work) and interaction between immediate settings and
larger settings. The ecological environment is composed of four structural
levels.
8

The Micro system: This system involves the interaction between the
developing child in an immediate setting or context. For instance,
interactions between child & mother, father, teacher and peers.

The Meso system: This system involves the relationships among the
various settings or contexts in which the developing child finds
himself/herself. Ex: school and family, family and peer group.

The Exo system: This system includes the primary social structures that
influence the developing child, though the child does not directly
participate in this system. Ex: formal/informal institutions such as
governmental structures, neighbourhood communities and work places.

The Macro system: It consists of the broad general values, beliefs,

ideologies, rules and regulations of the society, which influence the ways
specific institutions organize and function. Eg: cultural values, legislations,
governing bodies and institutions.

All these layers of environment influence the growth and development of

the child in different and important ways.

Module 5: How heredity and environment work together

Today many developmental scientists have come to regard a solely

quantitative approach to the study of heredity and environment as
simplistic. They see these two forces as fundamentally intertwined.
Instead of looking at genes and experience as operating directly on an
organism, they see both as part of a complex developmental system
(Gottlieb, 1991, 1997; Lickliter & Honeycutt, 2003). From conception on,
throughout life, a combination of constitutional factors (related to
biological and psychological makeup) and social, economic, and cultural
factors help shape development. The more advantageous these
circumstances and the experiences to which they give rise, the greater is
the likelihood of optimum development.

Let’s consider several ways in which inheritance and experience work

together:

For example, depends largely on biological processes, which are

genetically regulated. Even so, a range of sizes is possible, depending on
environmental opportunities and constraints and a person’s behaviour.
9

In societies in which nutrition has dramatically improved, an entire

generation has grown up to tower over the generation before. The better-
fed children share their parents’ genes but have responded to a healthier
world. Once a society’s average diet becomes adequate for more than one
generation, however, children tend to grow to heights similar to their
parents’. Ultimately, height has genetic limits; we don’t see people who
are only 1 foot tall or who are 10 feet tall.

Heredity can influence whether a reaction range is wide or narrow. For

example, a child born with a defect producing mild cognitive limitations is
more able to respond to a favorable environment than a child born with
more severe limitations. Likewise, a child with greater native intelligence
is likely to benefit more from an enriched home and school environment
than a child with normal intelligence

Cognition and personality are more subject to variations in experience the

kinds of families children grow up in, the schools they attend, and the
people they encounter. Consider reading. Before children can learn to
read, they must reach a certain level of cognitive, language, and
perceptual skills. No 2-year-old could read this sentence, no matter how
enriched the infant’s home life might be. Environment plays a large part
in reading skills development. Parents who play letter and word games
and who read to their children are likely to have children who learn to
read earlier than if these skills are not encouraged or reinforced.

Conclusion

Two most important factors in children development are ‘Heredity’ and

‘Environment’ (both determinants of health) where child spends most of
the time majorly being in preschool and otherwise at home with family
and friends, these two are very important considerations playing vital role
in childhood development.

By environment, we mean all those physical and social factors that affect
and influence the development of the child like the home, the family, the
neighbourhood, the companions, the school, the teachers, the political
and religious agencies, the society in general. No individual is the same at
maturity as he was born. Any or all of the environmental components can
affect the health of the person. Everything that influences the child apart
from himself from what he inherited from his parents is his environment.
10

Both Heredity & environment together play equally important role in the
formation of human nature. However, in some cases it has been proved
that heredity plays more significant role in children development being in
preschool or at home. At the same time, there have been evidences
showing that in some other cases environment has played a significant
role in formation of human nature.

Thus as parents, have both the factors in their hands and both the
parents can together make the best efforts to improve the child. As pre-
primary teachers have no control on the child’s heredity. Yet can
improve the environment. Thus as a good teacher, we should provide rich
and stimulating environment which would promote the healthy
development of the child.
11

Glossary

Chromosomes - Threadlike structure made up of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

DNA- A complex molecule with a double helix shape that contains genetic
information.

Down syndrome - A chromosomally transmitted form of mental retardation,

caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Environment- all those physical and social factors that affect and influence the
development of the child

Genes -Units of hereditary information composed of DNA.

Heredity- the sum total of potentialities inherited at birth.

Polydactyle- It is a condition where individual has an extra finger or toe.

Assignments :

Preparing charts, flip book, flash cards etc eg:

1. Prepare a chart to present the differences between Growth and Development

2. Prepare flash cards to explain the principles of Growth and Development with
pictures

Quiz:

1. Children who are taller for their age during early childhood years are taller during
adulthood also. By this observation which of the following principle of development is
proved.

(1) Development is the product of maturation and learning

(2) Development is predictable

(3) Rate of development remains constant

(4) Early development is more important than later development

Ans: 2
12

2. On the whole the sequence in which a child develops, follows two trends.

(1) Learning and Maturation

(2) Constant and correlated

(3) Growth and development

(4) Cephalo-caudal and Proximodistal

Ans:4

3. You did not start speaking on the day you were born, instead you developed

speech gradually. This is a principle of _________________.

(1) development is predictable

(2) development proceeds stage by stage

(3) rate of development remains constant

(4) development is correlated

Ans:2

4.Human development is based on certain principles. Which of the following is not a

principle of human development ?

(1) Continuity

(2) Sequentiality

(3) General to Specific

(4) Reversible

Ans:4
13

FAQ’s

Q: What is the relationship between heredity, environment, and intelligence (IQ

scores)?

Ans: The environment has a huge impact on your IQ level, but your IQ level
seemingly comes from your gene pool. However the Flynn Effect states that IQ
levels are changing on the daily.

Q: Are identical twins really identical?

Ans: With respect to the phenotype (i.e. physical characteristics), identical is not
necessarily an ideal word to describe monozygotic (i.e. "identical") twins. To begin
with, there are a wide variety of environmental influences during development in the
uterus that causes each twin to develop differently such as differential sharing of
nutrients or vascular interactions in monochorionic placentas. Additionally, some soft
tissues of the head and face tend to be influenced by the limited space in the human
uterus which was primarily designed for one foetus. Therefore, head shape can be
quite different between infant identical twins although these differences may only be
transitory. Later in development, a wide variety of environmental factors can
influence the likeness of identical twins. One twin's preference for a particular sport
or physical activity or even intellectual activity (i.e. reading fantasy novels) can
greatly impact their individual physical or personality development. For this reason,
nearly all identical twins can be distinguished by parents or anyone who knows them
well. It would preferable to refer to them as monozygotic twins in order to recognize
their obvious individuality. On the other hand, monozygotic twins who are separated
at birth and raised in different environments can sometimes exhibit genetically
determined behaviors that influence their innate selection of their environment and
when reunited later in life can resemble each other very strongly, even more so that
some monozygotic twins who had shared the same essential environment. Likewise,
monozygotic twins may subconsciously inherit the desire for more similar life
experiences than regular siblings.
14

Q: What types of traits are considered to be genetically based?

Ans: Generally, traits such as height, weight, hair color, hair texture, and eye color
have a consistent genetic basis. These traits are usually predictive of zygosity status

Q: What are genetic disorders?

Ans: A genetic disorder is a disease caused in whole or in part by a change in the

DNA sequence away from the normal sequence. Genetic disorders can be caused
by a mutation in one gene (monogenic disorder), by mutations in multiple genes
(multifactorial inheritance disorder), by a combination of gene mutations and
environmental factors, or by damage to chromosomes (changes in the number or
structure of entire chromosomes, the structures that carry genes).

References:

Craig, G.J. (1976). Human Development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall INC.

Fabes, R., & Martin, C. L. (2006). Discovering Child Development (pp. 74-76). New
York: Pearson Education.

Papalia, D.E., & Old, S.W. (1978). Human Development. London: Mc. Graw Hill Inc

Video:

Amniocentisis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9itd1Ot-kg

education-portal.com/.../lesson/iq-and-environment-and-genetic-influenc...
geneed.nlm.nih.gov › TOPICS

www.cuny.tv/show/childdevelopmentsteppingstones/PR1005151