NATURE AND NURTURE

Nature - Our genetic influences – inborn traits

Nurture - Environmental influences (everything non-genetic)

Nature and Nurture: the extent to which development is influenced by biological inheritance and /or environmental experiences.

• Nature proponents argue that an evolutionary and genetic foundation produces commonalities in growth and development.

• Nurture proponents emphasize the importance of both the biological and social environments.

Nature - People behave the way they do because they are animals who act in accordance with their animal instincts and are determined by their biology.

Nurture -  People behave the way they do because they are determined by the things other people teach them, the things they observe around them, and because of the different situations they are put in.

DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUE

Stability and Change

 - the degree to which early traits and characteristics persist through life or change

• Stability: traits and characteristics are the result of heredity and early life experiences

• Change: traits and characteristics can be altered by later experiences

• Role of early and later experiences is hotly debated

Continuity and Discontinuity

  - focuses on whether development is either:

• A process of gradual, cumulative change (continuous)

• A set of distinct stages (discontinuous)

Evaluating Developmental Issues:

• Most developmentalists acknowledge that development is not all-or-nothing

• There is debate regarding how strongly each of these issues influences development

THE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT 

   Conceptions of Age

• How relevant is chronological age to understanding a person’s psychological development?

• How should age be conceptualized?

  Chronological age

• number of years that have elapsed since birth

  Biological age

•  a person’s age in terms of biological health

 Psychological age

• an individual’s adaptive capacities compared with those of other individuals of the same chronological age

  Social age

• social roles and expectations related to a person’s age