Understanding The Self 1

Issues on
Human
Development
MODULE 3
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• -At the end of this module students should be able to learn
the different aspects of human development
• -Students should identify the different aspects of human
development
• -Students should understand the different aspects of human
development
WHAT IS HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT?
WHAT IS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?
Human development is defined as the
process of enlarging people's freedoms
and opportunities and improving their well-
being.
WHAT IS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT is also a
branch of psychology that studies—and
strives to optimize—the elements that help
people live healthy and fulfilling lives.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
• The capability for long and happy life

• Freedom to decide
• More choices for people
The capability for long and happy life
• Lead a life in dignity

MAJOR CORE ISSUES
OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
MAJOR CORE ISSUES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
• Nature vs. Nurture
• Continuity vs. Discontinuity
• Stability vs. Change
• Early Experience vs. Later Experience

NATURE VS. NURTURE
NATURE VS. NURTURE
NATURE is where human
behavior is determined
by genes.
NATURE VS. NURTURE
NURTURE is where human
behavior is influenced by the
environment.
Nature - biological inheritance
• Behavior is caused by innate
characteristic
• Refers to all of the genes and
hereditary factors
• Aspects of development are
distinctly biological
• Plato and Descartes support on
inborn ideas.
• Language acquisitions emphasize
the biological influence
Nurture- environmental experiences
• One's behavior is determined by
the environment.
• John Locke's concept of tabula
rasa.
• Depends on environmental
influences and NOT genes.
• Puberty can be affected by the
environment
• Language acquisitions
emphasize influences of learning
INTERACTION
BETWEEN
NATURE AND NURTURE
INTERACTION BETWEEN
NATURE AND NURTURE
• Behavior is often a result of the

interaction between nature AND
nurture.
INTERACTION BETWEEN
NATURE AND NURTURE
• Our genes influence how we

interact with our environment
INTERACTION BETWEEN
NATURE AND NURTURE
• Reciprocal interaction between

nature and environment
The debate over the relative contributions
of inheritance and the environment usually
referred to as the nature versus nurture
debate is one of the oldest issues in both
philosophy and psychology.

Philosophers such as Plato and Descartes
supported the idea that some ideas are inborn.
On the other hand, thinkers such as John Locke
argued for the concept of tabula rasa—a belief
that the mind is a blank slate at birth, with
experience determining our knowledge.

CONTINUITY VS.
DISCONTINUITY
CONTINUITY VS. DISCONTINUITY
- Two competing theories in
developmental psychology
Continuity
• Gradual process over
several weeks, months,
years.
Continuity
• Change is gradual.
• Quantitative - aumenting the
same types of skills that were
already there.
Discontinuity
• Sequence of stages in which
change is qualitatively rather
than quantitatively
Discontinuity
• Abrupt shift
• Qualitative - new ways of
understanding emerge at specific
times.
Continuity vs. Discontinuity

Continuity vs. Discontinuity

STABILITY VS. CHANGE
STABILITY VS. CHANGE
We become older renditions of our
early experience or develop into
someone different from who we are at
an earlier point in development.

Stability
• What mothers do during pregnancy
can be a big impact on the child's
development and behavior in later
life.
Change
• Change theorists feel that
childhood events do not necessarily
have a dominating effect over
behavior throughout life.

Psychoanalytic theorists
• Psychoanalytic theorists tend to focus
on events that occur in early childhood.
• According to Freud, much of a child's
personality is completely established by
the age of five.

Early Experience vs.
Later Experience
• A second important consideration in
developmental psychology involves the
relative importance of early experiences
versus those that occur later in life.

Psychoanalytic theorists
• Psychoanalytic theorists tend to focus
on events that occur in early childhood.
• According to Freud, much of a child's
personality is completely established by
the age of five.

ABSTRACTION
EXPLANATION
ABSTRACTION EXPLANATION
• The key to development is the interaction
of nature and nurture rather than either
factor alone (Rutter, 2001 as quoted by
Santrock, 2002). In other words, it is a
matter of "both- and" not "either-or."

• To summarize, both genes and environment are
necessary for a person even to exist. Without genes,
there is no person; without environment, there is no
person (Scarr andTheWeinberg, 1980, quoted by Santrock,
capability for long and happy life
2002).
• Heredity and environment operate together - or
cooperate and interact to produce a person's
intelligence, temperament, height, weight...
ability to read and so on.

• Genes produce proteins throughout the life
span, in many different environments. Or they
don't produce these proteins, depending on
how harsh or nourishing those environments
are. (Santrock, 2002).

ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
• 1. Who are pro-nature? Pro-nurture? Are there
additional reasons you can give in favor of
nature/nurture? Who are neither for nature nor
nurture? Why?
ANALYSIS
• 2. Who go for continuity? Discontinuity? Can
you give additional arguments to defend
continuity/discontinuity? Who are in between
continuity and discontinuity? Why?
ANALYSIS
• 3. Who claims stability is more correct than
change? Change is more correct than stability?
How the First Nine
Months Shape the Rest
of Your Life?
How the First Nine Months Shape the Rest of Your
Life?
• What makes us the way we are? Why

are some people predisposed to be
anxious, overweight or asthmatic?

Life?
• How is it that some of us are prone to

heart attacks, diabetes or high blood
pressure?
Life?
• There's a list of conventional answers

to these questions. We are the way
we are because it's in our genes.

Life?
• We turn out the way we do because of our
childhood experiences. Or our health and well-
being stem from the lifestyle choices we make
as adults.
Life?
• But there's another powerful source of influence
you may not have the pollutants, drugs and
infections you were exposed to during gestation
your mother's health and state of mind

Life?
• While she was pregnant with you your mothers

bealthhaped you as a baby and continue to
affect you to this day.
Life?
• This is the provocative contention of a field
known as fetal origins, whose pioneers assert
that the nine months of gestation constitute the
most consequential period of our lives,

Life?
• In the literature on the subject, which has exploded over

the past 10 years, you can find references to the fetal
origins of cancer, cardiovascular disease, allergies,
asthma, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, mental illness.

Life?
• At the farthest edge of fetal- origins research, scientists

are exploring the possibility that intrauterine conditions
influence not only The
ourcapability
physical health but also our
for long and happy life
intelligence, temperament, even our sanity.

Life?
• As a journalist who covers science, I was intrigued when I

first heard about fetal origins. But two years ago, when I
began to delve more deeply into the field, I had a more
personal motivation:
Life?
• I was newly pregnant. If it was true that my actions over
the next nine months would affect my offspring for the rest
of his life, I needed to know more.Of course, no woman
who is pregnant today can escape hearing the message
that what she does affects her fetus.

Life?
• She hears it at doctor's appointments, sees it in

the pregnancy guidebooks: Do eat this, don't
drink that, be vigilant but never stressed.
Life?
• Expectant mothers could be forgiven for feeling
that pregnancy is just a nine-month slog, full of
guilt and devoid of pleasure, and this research
threatened to add to the burden.

Life?
• But the scientists I met weren't full of dire
warnings but of the excitement of discovery and
the hope that their discoveries would make a
positive difference.
Life?
• Research on fetal origins is prompting a
revolutionary shift in thinking about where
human qualities come from and when they
begin to develop.
Life?
• It's turning pregnancy into a scientific frontier:
the National Institutes of Health embarked last
year on a multidecade study that will examine
its subjects before they're born.

Life?
• And it makes the womb a promising target for
prevention, raising hopes of conquering public-
health scourges like obesity and heart disease
through interventions before birth.

Life?
• Time Magazine, October 4, 2010

Question
Complete the
sentence.
Question
Complete the sentence.
• With regard to the nurture-nature,

continuity-discontinuity and change-
stability the wiser stand is?

1. *Nature vs. Nurture*
• Both genetic factors (nature) and environmental
influences (nurture) interact to shape
individuals. Instead of seeing them as opposing
forces, it's essential to recognize how they
influence each other throughout a person's life

2. *Continuity vs. Discontinuity*
• Development can be seen as both continuous and
discontinuous. While some traits, like personality,
may develop gradually over time, others, such as
specific skills or stages of cognitive development,
can emerge more abruptly.

3. *Change vs. Stability*
• Human behavior is both stable and capable of
change. Certain core traits may remain stable
throughout life, but experiences and environments
can lead to significant changes, especially during
critical developmental periods.

As far as our discussions are
concerned, which statement is
correct and which one is wrong? Put a
check (/) before the correct
statement and mark the wrong one. If
you mark a statement *, explain why.
SYNAPSES STRENGTHS
SYNAPSES STRENGTHS
• 1. Read the published book The
Nurture Assumption, by Judith Harris
(1998).
SYNAPSES STRENGTHS
• 2. State in not more than 2 paragraphs the
thesis of Judith Harris book. . a. Watch
"Lonely Only" in your YouTube.
SYNAPSES STRENGTHS
• 3. Debunking the Myths About Single Children.
b. In 1896 Granville Stanley Hall described only
children as "deficient on the social side,"
"petted," "humored," "indulged," and "spoiled."

SYNAPSES STRENGTHS
Today, many consider this a myth-

what do you think?
SYNAPSES STRENGTHS
For related articles, refer to TIME Magazine, July
19, 2010 issue. State in not more than 10
sentences the position expressed in the YouTube
and in the Time Magazine.

SYNAPSES STRENGTHS
• 4. Watch "The battle between nature and
nurture", Irene Gallego Romero, TEDxNTU.
What conclusions can you derive from the
battle between nature and nurture?

• Judith Harris's thesis in "The Nurture
Assumption" challenges the traditional
belief that parenting styles are the primary
influence on a child's development.
• She argues that peer interactions play a more
significant role in shaping personality and
behavior, suggesting that social environments,
rather than parental guidance, ultimately
determine a child's outcomes.

• Regarding the perception of only children, the
video "Lonely Only" counters Hall's historical
view, showing that only children can be well-
adjusted and socially capable.
• Many studies support the notion that only
children often excel academically and are not
necessarily spoiled or deficient socially.
• The TIME Magazine article reinforces this by
highlighting research that debunks myths
surrounding only children, indicating that their
experiences can be quite positive and that they
often develop strong social skills.

• From Irene Gallego Romero's TEDx talk, it
becomes clear that the nature versus nurture
debate is not a simple dichotomy; rather, both
genetics and environmental factors intertwine to
shape who we are.

• It emphasizes the complexity of human
development and suggests that understanding
this interplay can lead to better insights into
behavior and personality formation.
Most theories of
development fall under
three broad areas:
Most theories of development fall under three
broad areas:
• 1. Theorist Erik Erikson expanded upon Freud's ideas by
proposing a stage theory of psychosocial development.
Erikson's theory focused on conflicts that arise at different
stages of development and, unlike Freud's theory,
Erikson described development throughout the lifespan.

broad areas:
• 2. LEARNING THEORIES - focus on how the
environment impacts behavior. Important learning
processes include classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, and social learning.

broad areas:
• 3. COGNITIVE THEORIES - focus on the
development of mental processes, skills, and
abilities. Examples of cognitive theories include
Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

broad areas:
• 4. ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR VS. INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES - One of the biggest concerns of
many parents isThewhether or not their child is
capability for long and happy life
developing normally.
broad areas:
• 5. Psychoanalytic theories -are traditionally focused

upon abnormal behavior, so developmental theories
in this area tend to describe deficits in behavior.
REFLECTION
REFLECTION
• Relate what you learned here to your
personal development. Reflect on your
own personal development.
REFLECTION
• What has helped you become the person
that you are now? Is what you have
become a product of the mere interaction
of heredity and environment?

REFLECTION
• Is what you have become a product of the
mere interaction of heredity and
environment?The capability for long and happy life
REFLECTION
• Or is what you have become a product of
both heredity and environment interacting
and what you have decided or determined
yourself to become?
END OF
DISCUSSION
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

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Issues on

• The capability for long and happy life

• Lead a life in dignity

• Early Experience vs. Later Experience

• Behavior is often a result of the

• Our genes influence how we

• Reciprocal interaction between

philosophy and psychology.

experience determining our knowledge.

The capability for long and happy life

The capability for long and happy life

an earlier point in development.

behavior throughout life.

the age of five.

versus those that occur later in life.

the age of five.

matter of "both- and" not "either-or."

ability to read and so on.

are. (Santrock, 2002).

• What makes us the way we are? Why

anxious, overweight or asthmatic?

• How is it that some of us are prone to

• There's a list of conventional answers

we are because it's in our genes.

your mother's health and state of mind

• While she was pregnant with you your mothers

most consequential period of our lives,

• In the literature on the subject, which has exploded over

asthma, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, mental illness.

• At the farthest edge of fetal- origins research, scientists

intelligence, temperament, even our sanity.

• As a journalist who covers science, I was intrigued when I

that what she does affects her fetus.

• She hears it at doctor's appointments, sees it in

threatened to add to the burden.

its subjects before they're born.

through interventions before birth.

• Time Magazine, October 4, 2010

• With regard to the nurture-nature,

stability the wiser stand is?

influence each other throughout a person's life

can emerge more abruptly.

critical developmental periods.

"petted," "humored," "indulged," and "spoiled."

Today, many consider this a myth-

and in the Time Magazine.

battle between nature and nurture?

determine a child's outcomes.

often develop strong social skills.

shape who we are.

Erikson described development throughout the lifespan.

conditioning, and social learning.

Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

• 5. Psychoanalytic theories -are traditionally focused

of heredity and environment?

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