Nature, Nurture, Human Diveristy (4)

quizlet: http://quizlet.com/63795777/nature-nurture-and-human-diversity-flash-cards/

Nature v. Nurture
behavior genetics= study of our differences, weighing effects of heredity and genetics vs. environment (non-genetic influences)

• bio review: in nucleus of cell, chromosomes contain DNA(spiral molecule containing genes)
• 23 pairs of chromosomes
• genome=complete set of instructions for making an organism
• traits can be determined by gene complexes: many genes acting together
• twin biology: heredity and environmental studies on identical and fraternal twins
• twins separated at birth share similar personality, intelligence, abilities, attitudes, interests, fears, brain waves, heart rates
• adoption studies: adopted children are unlike their adoptee parents and siblings
• they have greater risk of psychological disorder, higher IQ than adoptive parents, and are more altruistic 
• often have a good upbringing: adoptive homes are heavily screened 

Temperament Studies 

• can see a person's temperament as early as infancy
• heredity influences temperament--identical twins have more similar temperament than fraternal twins
• heritability= extent to which variation among individuals can be attributed to their differing genes
• as environment becomes more similar, heredity has greater role in determining individuals' differences

Gene-Environment Interaction

• we adapt in relation to our environment 
• genes are self-regulating--they are not like blueprints, but instead a series of responses that are enacted when exposed to certain environments
• our genetically-influenced traits evoke certain responses in others
• "siblings experience their parents differently, depending on their personal qualities"

Molecular Genetics

• identifying specific genes that influence our behavior
• genetic tests help predict who is likely to experience psychological disease

Evolutionary Psychology

• fox experiment= selective breeding of the tamest foxes from each successive generation creates a whole new breed of pet-like foxes
• focus: what makes us alike as human beings?
• we fear snakes and heights because of natural selection among our ancestors
• behavioral and biological similarities arise from our shared human genome
• evolutionary explanation of human sexuality
• males are more likely than females to initiate sexual activity, assume that female kindness is a sign of desire
• Russell Clark+Elaine Hatfield study--men more willing to have sex with strangers
• women are more relational, men, more recreational 
• men prefer young, fertile-looking women
• women prefer dominant, bold, mature, affluent men
• note: Much critique surrounds this evolutionary view. Evolutionary explanations of sexual behavior don't necessarily align with modern moral beliefs. 
• sexes are far more alike than they are different

Environmental Effects

Parental Influences:

• identical twins who share a placenta have more similar personalities
• enriched v. impoverished environments: Rozenweig experiments--rats in enriched environments had more neural pathways than rats in impovrished environments
• early enriching activities actually increase children's intelligence: reading to your baby, even while still in the womb, playing an instrument as a kid etc.
• siblings are often very different: shared environmental influence= 10% similarities 
• nurturing environment still important: parental nurture is much like nutrition
• how parents respond to the expression of your genes is important!

Peer influences:

• into teenage years, peers become more important
• we desire to fit in, be accepted, cooperate become popular 

Cultural Influences:

• culture= behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, traditions transmitted between generations
• we can evolve beyond our genetics--culture changes faster than genetic makeup can change: consider life in the 1940s vs. life today, there is a vast difference in a short period of time
• norms between cultures vary greatly: personal space in the USA is about arm-length
• differences between individualist and collectivist cultures
• individualist: nurtures individuals' identities
• collectivist: group identity is favored

Gender Roles

• culture determines our behavior: so is gender behavior determined by culture?
• gender identity: how a person views themselves in terms of gender
• social-learning theory: gender is learned through punishment, reward, like all other behaviors
• gender schema theory: combines social learning and cognition--we form a schema of our gender, then use that as a lens through which we view the world

Human Development

• competent newborns: infants born with reflexes that aid in survival
• rooting reflex= when touched on cheek. they open mouth in search of nipple
• crying is a signal to parents--"feed me!"
• habituation= babies show more attention to new things than to things they are habituated to
• developing brain overproduces neurons: at 7 months, 28 billion, at birth, 23 billion
• maturation= development of brain based on a series of genetic instructions, which causes development of traits in sequence
• sitting unsupported-->crawling-->walking
• our earliest conscious memories are from the age of about 3 1/2, before then, brain is developing so quickly that memories are easily overridden with new information
• by the age of 5, we have a sense of self and increased long-term memory

Cognitive Development

• jean piaget: most important child development psychology--discovered that kids aren't just ignorant, their brains are actually wired differently and their thought process is unlike that of an adult
• schema: mental framework in which we place new experiences
• assimilation- incorporate new understanding into schema
• accommodation- adjusting and modifying schema when given new information
• jean piaget's theory about stages of human development:
• sensorimotor (birth--age 2): experience world through senses and actions
• don't grasp simple logic, such as object permanence
• after piaget, we discovered that sensorimotor kids understand gravity and can count (he was wrong!)
• pre-operational (age 2--age 6/7) represent things with words or images, some intuitive reasoning
• don't understand conversion (fill two flasks with same amount of water)
• egocentricism: can't understand others' points of view
• theory of mind: ability to understand others' mental state
• concrete operational (age 7--11) logical thinking, analogies, arithmetic 
• after piaget, we discovered that kids can solve basic logic problems around the age of 7
• formal operational (age 12+) abstract reasoning- symbols, planning, cause+effect
• Piaget was mostly right, which is awesome. His theory did have a couple of flaws, however. 

1. development is a continuous process-- not broken up into blocks like Piaget believed
2. children express mental abilities+operations at earlier ages
3. formal logic is only a small part of cognition

Social Development

• children develop strong attachment to primary caregiver
• stranger anxiety develops at about 8 months-- age which infants can form schemas for familiar faces and cant assimilate new faces
• origins of attachment- previously believed they were attached to what nourished them
• harlow: raised baby monkeys alone with a blanket, monkeys became attached to blanket as if it were their mother (comfort, warmth)
• imprinting=process by which some animals form attachments during a critical period
• critical period= optimal period when certain events must take place for proper development to occur

Attachment Differences

• 60% of kids express secure attachment= can cope with exploring new environment without parent
• 30% of kids have insecure attachment= cling to caregivers and can't explore new environments alone (can't cope!)
• when mother returns, they are angry and passive aggressive
• relaxed, attentive care-giving encourages secure attachment
• separation anxiety peaks at 13 months
• day care= responsive adults-good, improves thinking and language
• increases aggressiveness and defiance in children (must fight to be noticed)
• deprivation of attachment
• withdrawn, easily frightened, trouble developing speech, psychological issues
• if mistreatment is stopped before the age of 2, effects can be reversed by adolescence
•  self-concept: sense of identity, personal growth- starts at 6 months
• 1 year- can recognize themself in the mirror
• 8-10 years- self image is stable
• child-rearing styles
• authoritative: demanding, but responsive to child’s needs
• explain reasons for rules, symbiosis of relationship
• authoritarian: strict rules and expectation of obedience
• no explanation of rules, no negotiation
• permissive parents: submit to child’s demands, no punishment

Adolescence

• between childhood and adulthood
• puberty= sexual maturation, girls go first, so they are taller than guys
• develops primary sexual characteristics and secondary characteristics
• brain growth- new neurons stop growing, pruning begins
• increase in myelin sheath in frontal lobe--attention, planning, decisions
• stops developing at age 25
• new level of social awareness. Can think about: your own thinking, what others are thinking, what others think about you, question society and parents
  Developing Morality
• kholberg gave children moral dilemmas, asked for explanations of their answer
• preconventional morality (9 yrs or younger): obedience, avoiding punishment
• conventional morality (early adolescence): laws upheld for their own sake
1. people seek approval of others
• postconventional morality: affirms people’s agreed-upon rights or follows personally perceived ethical principles

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

1. Trust vs. Mistrust= infancy-1 year: if needs are dependably met, infants develop a basic sense of trust
2. autonomy vs. shame and doubt= 1-2 years: toddlers learn to exercise will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities
3. initiative vs. guilt= 3-5 years: preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent
4. competence vs. inferiority= 6-puberty: children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior
5. identity vs. role confusion= teen-20s: adolescents work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are
6. intimacy vs. isolation= 20s-40s: young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated
7. generativity vs. Stagnation= 40s-60s: in middle age, people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose

integrity vs. despair=60s+: when reflecting on their lives, the older adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or despair

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