Psy/375 - Life Span Development

Life Span Development

The lives of human beings are in constant change. The changing process begins at conception, and doesn’t end until the person needs to face death. Those changes can be related to individual’s physical appearances and health, mental processes, personality developments, and cognitive processes. Psychologists have defined as life span development the physical and cognitive changes that individuals go through during the course of their lives (Meacham, 2013). 

The concept of life span development is adopted mainly by psychologists who target their studies to human development, and most of them understand that changes are permanently occurring in people’s lives, and are affected by the environment and the context in which they occur. While studying Sigmund Freud’s theory of development, it is possible to note that he focused mainly on the changes that occur in children. For instance, he believed that by the time the child turned five years old, he or she had already completed the personality development, and would carry those traits for the rest of his or her life (Cherry, 2013). The life span perspective of development, on the other hand, seeks to analyze the continuous changes that occur in all individuals, since those changes are not likely to stop at the teenage years. “Lifespan perspective is characterized by an emphasis on plasticity, interdisciplinary research and a multi-contextual view of the nature of development” (Boyd & Bee, 2009). Plasticity means that individuals maintain their ability to change throughout their whole lives, and not only during a certain period of time. It is safe to say that this theory does not support the idea that “you can’t teach new tricks to an old dog”. In fact, it believes that people at all ages can learn, change, acquire new habits and forget about old ones. 

It is impossible to study life span development without focusing some attention at the studies of Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson regarding the theme. Both psychologists have developed theories concerning stages of development and phases that children must go through in order to complete an appropriate psychological development. 

Freud’s theory is called Theory of Psychosexual Development. He believed that the experiences that children go through during their childhood are crucial for their development, and continue to influence and affect them throughout their lives. Freud explained that a psychosexual energy, also known as the libido, was a “driving force behind behavior” (Cherry, 2013). Each stage is characterized by a conflict, and if individuals completed each stage successfully, that would result in a healthy personality. But if the contrary occurred, and some trauma would occur during a certain stage, the consequences could be permanent, as in the case of fixations. The stages of development described by Freud are the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. The corresponding conflicts, or tasks, that occur during each stage are weaning, toilet training, sexual identity, learning and intercourse (Cherry, 2013).

Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, unlike Freud’s sole focus on the childhood, explains eight different stages that individuals pass from the time they are born until the late years of their lives. Each stage is characterized by a challenge that if not conquered, may represent problems in the future. During each stage, two conflict forces must be addressed and reconciled. Those stages are trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus role confusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and ego integrity versus despair. If the individual is successful at completing each stage, he or she will hopefully advance in life with the virtue mentioned in each stage, like trust, autonomy, identity, etc (Cherry, 2013).

One permanent debate concerning development is the one or nature versus nurture, or which affects the individual the most, the environment or heredity. This discussion compares the generic inheritance a child come to the world with against hoe the environmental factors will change and contribute to that child’s characteristics and personality. Both sides have some really important philosophers and thinkers backing it up. For instance, Descartes and Plato believed in the strength of nature in the development of an individual, and they suggested that some characteristics possessed by humans are inborn, and not affected by the environment. On the other hand, John Locke developed his famous “tabula rasa” theory, with which he explained is idea that children are born as blank slates, or in other words, lacking any knowledge or characteristics, which would all be acquired through life experiences (Cherry, 2013). Having to choose one side of the debate as more influential than the other is a difficult task. Both aspects play the same important role in the development of individuals. For instance, even children who were born into a violent family can turn out calm and friendly, despite his genetic characteristics. And at the same time, a child that grows up in a loving and caring family can end up being a psychopath. Both heredity and the environment influence equally the way individuals go through different stages of development, and hopefully acquire a healthy personality.

References

Boyd, D. and Bee, H. (2009). Lifespan Development (5th ed.). Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Cherry, K. (2013). Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm

Cherry, K. (2013). Freud's stages of psychosexual development. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/ss/psychosexualdev.htm

Cherry, K. (2013). Nurture versus nature. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/nindex/g/nature-nurture.htm

Meachan, W. (2013). What is lifespan development psychology?. Retrieved from http://wesleymeacham.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-Lifespan-Development-Psychology-Exploring-Development-Through-Lifespan

Psy/375 - Infancy and Early Childhood Development

Infancy and Early Childhood Development

The milestone that kicks off the beginning of child development is not necessarily birth. For infants, a healthy mental and physical development begins with a healthy pregnancy, as malnutrition or a poor diet while the mother is pregnant can represent negative consequences throughout the child’s entire life. There are several important areas of growth that will develop substantially in the first few years of a child’s life. Cognitive development, which refers to brain development, is what determines the child’s ability to learn. Other areas that will develop quickly are the psychosocial and emotional skills, physical growth and linguistic development. The caregivers have a great responsibility when it comes to allowing the child to develop and grow in a healthy and safe environment. Many researches have shown that a child who is introduced to early education has better chances of succeeding in social and cognitive skills. The influence of the parents in the healthy development of children is undeniable, but there are many different parenting styles that can play a different impact on the upbringing of children. 

It is well known that during the first two years of a child’s life is when he or she develops at the fastest rate. “A baby's physical growth occurs fastest during the first year. The average baby doubles his birth rate by age six months and triples it by one year. Motor skills develop rapidly starting at about 18 months, when most children learn to walk unaided. Cognitive and linguistic development accelerates around age 2. According to the Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting, the period from ages 2 to 6 years is the most important time for language acquisition” (Wood, 2010). For these reasons it is safe to say that the parents and the environment are crucial to allow for a healthy brain development, as during the first few months of their lives, infants learn to adapt and understand the environment around them, which is fundamental for the base of their intelligence. 

As mentioned before, there are many different parenting styles that impact drastically the way a child develops and interacts in society. “Developmental psychologists have long been interested in how parents impact child development. However, finding actual cause-and-effect links between specific actions of parents and later behavior of children is very difficult. Some children raised in dramatically different environments can later grow up to have remarkably similar personalities. Conversely, children who share a home and are raised in the same environment can grow up to have astonishingly different personalities than one another” (Cherry, 2013). There are three well known parenting styles, which one with its advantages and disadvantages. First, the authoritarian parenting, which expects children to follow strict rules established by their parents, at the risk of punishment for not compliance. The parents are not expected to explain the reasoning behind those rules, and it is common for them to say “because I said so” when asked the reason behind a rule.  These parents are not responsive to their children. “Children raised under this strict form of parenting are more likely to be quiet, conscientious, and obedient, but tend to be unhappy, and may be prone to guilt or depression throughout their lives They learn to internalize frustrations and tend to blame themselves during challenging situations. Often during adolescence, they rebel and leave home before age 20” (Stone, 2012). Second, there is the authoritative parenting, where like the authoritarian parents, these parents will set rules and expect them to be followed, but in a more democratic way. These parents are responsive to their children and prefer to talk and forgive instead of punish, and are also assertive instead of intrusive. “Authoritative parents raise successful, articulate children, content with themselves, appreciative of others, and well-liked by peers” (Stone, 2012). This parenting style is considered by many the most effective one, as it set boundaries and limits for the children but in a loving and respectful way. The third parenting style is the permissive parenting, which is also referred as indulging parenting, as the parents don’t try to discipline the children and make few demands. These parents don’t expect their children to be matured or controlled, and they avoid confrontation as much as possible. “Permissive parents are nurturing and accepting, and accommodate and welcome the opinions of the child. They tend to show an abundance of affection to their children and refrain from showing impatience. They consider themselves friends to their children and do not acknowledge the powerful influence they have on their children's development. Children raised in this environment tend to be unhappy and ineffective in peer relationships” (Stone, 2012). Other than these three main parenting styles, a fourth one also exists, the uninvolved parenting. This style is characterized by detached parents that other than fulfilling the child’s basic primary needs, don’t get involved in any kind of emotional and social development. A lot of times, these parents neglect their children. 

Early childhood education is a discussion that has become more popular over the past few years. Past generations did not put so much emphasis on the importance of getting very young children, toddlers even, started in educational projects. Nowadays, teaching children basic skills from the beginning is very important. It has been proven by researches that early childhood education is very beneficial for the cognitive development of children, and the positives consequences that come from it will help children throughout their whole lives. There are many different options new parents can choose when it comes to beginning the education process of their young children. The three main types of early childhood education are parental care, informal care and center care. The first, parental care, consists of keeping the children in their home environment, either with their mothers of fathers. In the past, the mom was usually the one who would stay at home with the kids, while the dad works, but nowadays it is very common for families have those roles inverted. Whichever parent stays at home with the children is the one responsible for introducing them the basic principles they will need by the time they start school, like colors, numbers, letters, etc. The second option, informal care, happens when the child is placed in the care of a nanny, babysitter, relative or family friend. The third option, the child care centers, offers an environment to the children that provides care and education.

References

Cherry, K. (2013). Parenting Styles. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/parenting-style.htm

Stone, D. (2012). Infancy and early childhood development. Retrieved from http://psychological-musings.blogspot.com/2011/02/infancy-and-early-childhood-development.html

Wood, L. (2010). Infancy and early childhood development. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/246216-infancy-early-childhood-development/

Psy/375 - Issue Analysis

After reading the selected critical issue, use the following questions to analyze the issue.  The word count for individual questions may vary but your responses should total 1,200- to 1,400-words for the entire worksheet.

1.      What are some of the strengths associated with the Pro side of the issue?  What are some of the weaknesses?

When answering the question regarding the true nature of the woman’s decision to work or not work, I’m going to assume that the “pro” side is the one that believes that it is, indeed, a woman’s choice to not work, as opposed to the “con” idea, which suggests that other elements are forcing women to step out of the business world.

The main strength of the “pro” argument is the fact that nature is on its side. For most women, the mother instinct is very strong, so deciding to be a more active part of the family, and have it as the main focus of her life is not an outrageous idea. It is very hard for some women to have other people, which can involve nannies, teacher or relatives, raise their children. Because of that, the decision to stay at home can be a very easy one for some women, who would much rather be close to their children than to be working all week.

One weakness of this argument is the other side of this same coin. For some women, especially in the competitive and fast-paced modern days, working and having a successful career is a lot of times a much more tempting idea than the one of staying home and raising a family. Women nowadays want to be independent and admired, which a lot of times can’t happen if they are stay-at-home moms. However, these women who have the desire to work still have to face endless obstacles before they can be successful professional, more than men. For a lot of women, what they would earn in a week of work is less than it costs to have their children being watched by a third person, which makes it a really hard decision. 

2.      What are some of the strengths associated with the Con side of the issue?  What are some of the weaknesses?

One strength of the argument suggesting that there are more factors influencing women’s decision of staying home instead of working is the fact that it is very well known how different the working conditions are for women and man. Although we are well into the 21^st century, women are still not treated equally to man when it comes to being appreciated and respected in a professional environment. Although a lot of times they are just as qualified, if not more qualified, than man, they still have to deal with a smaller payment, worse hours and other obstacles when compared to how man are treated and appreciated. This factor plays an important part in the decision-making process, as women still have to consider if it is “worth it” taking a job, when that is not ever a question for men.

One weakness associated with this same idea is the fact that times are changing, even if slowly. Nowadays, it is actually quite common to see the roles inverted in many families. Man can chose to stay at home taking care of the children, while women become more and more successful and work and can provide for their families better than her husband could. Because of this chance, this argument is weakened, since it represents a safe a comfortable alternative for women who want to work. By having their children taken care of by a person they can trust and won’t charge any money, they can devote themselves to work without having to sacrifice their peace of mind and their children’s safety.

3.      Based on the statements presented in this critical issue, which author do you agree with?  Provide supporting evidence.

After considering and analyzing both arguments, it is safe to say that I agree with sociologist Pamela Stone, who defends the idea that although women try to show society that staying at home with their children is their very own personal choice, I can understand that a lot of times that “choice” is forced upon them. When they have to deal with endless obstacles, like difficulty to find someone trustworthy to watch their kids, or having their entire paycheck serving only to pay the daycare, it is impossible to convince themselves that working is still a good idea, and they settle with being stay-at-home moms. There are obviously many exceptions to this idea, as so many women find true happiness when they can devote themselves to their family and loved ones. However, I still believe that in most cases, the decision to not work is based on more than just the desire of being closer to their children.

4.      Explore two other roles that can be acquired during early and middle adulthood, such as through parenthood, romantic relationships, and career.  How have these roles changed through the past generations?

The modern days brought with them many changes in several aspects of relationships. One role that has definitely changed a lot in the past few years is the role of main caregiver. Continuing on the previous discussion, it has been already stated that nowadays it is very common to see mothers being the primary financial provider while the fathers stay at home taking care of their children. A few decades ago, it was rare to witness this situation, as it has always been traditional to have women staying at home to raise their children, while man were the main providers and usually missed out of a lot of the milestones in their son’s and daughter’s development. Now, it is normal and accepted to see the other way. Women are respected for working hard to provide for their families, while man are satisfied to be more present in their children’s lives.

Another role that has changed a lot is the role of the spouse. Sadly, the institution of marriage is not respected anymore. The divorce rate in the United States is higher than 50%, one of the highest in the world, and I believe that is due to the fact that people have lost the desire to fight for their relationships and make them work. In the past, getting a divorce was shameful and a taboo. Nowadays, that is not the case anymore. People don’t have to supper any consequences from ending their marriages, at least not in society’s eyes. For this reason, when things start to go wrong, married couples just choose the easy way out, and end the relationship, while back in the day couples would even stay in a loveless relationship just to avoid the title of “divorced”. 

5.      What psychological adjustments are made during early and middle adulthood to adapt to aging and changes in life style?  How does this affect development?

Man and women have to learn to adapt themselves psychologically in order to welcome the several changes that happen as they age and get older. Women, for example, go through menopause around the age of 50. With the many body changes that they have to go through, also comes a need to adapt and accept what is going on in their lives. Men also go through many changes as they get older. Although not exclusive to them, it is very common to witness men going through a “midlife crisis”. However, this is not associated with any specific period of time or age. These crises can happen at any time or not happen at all, as it not a sure thing like the menopause women go through. Many factors can trick this, like the loss of a loved one or a change in the financial situation, but most of the time what happens is simply a reevaluation of values and ideas.

References

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through the life span. (8 ed., Vol. 1). New York: Worth Pub.

Psy/360 - Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

Language is an important mechanism used in most individual’s everyday life. It helps define their culture, their backgrounds, who they are and where their place in the world is. Most of us don’t put a lot of thought into what mental processes work together to allow an individual to express his thoughts and ideas through language, but it is impossible to analyze the language development process without factoring in the important role that cognition plays in that event. This essay intends to present different hypothesis that try to explain how cognition and language are related, and how deeply connected they must be in order to allow the proper functioning and interaction of individuals in society. As thinkers try to understand if people who speak different languages think differently, or if there is a certain level of cognitive development required to allow language skills acquisition, the debate concerned with the relationship between language and cognition is one that will see no end in the near future. 

Language can be defined as the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication. This system allows individuals to express and communicate thoughts and feelings by using speech sounds and written symbols. The scientific study of language is linguistics. There are four key features of language, which are phonemes, words, sentences and text. Phonemes-phonetics can be considered the most important key feature of languages, because this aspect is what makes each language different from one another. Phonemes are sounds usually indicated by slash symbols, and these sounds cannot be broken into smaller sounds. Phonetics studies the physical properties of those speech sounds, and what they mean. Words, the second key feature in languages can be defined as a unit of language formed by one of more spoken sounds. When words are put together, sentences are formed. Sentences are grammatical units of one word or more. Text refers to conversations, or a group of sentences put together to relay a message. The four levels of language structure and processing are phonemes, words, sentences, and texts. Phonemes make up words, which make up sentences, which make up texts.

Is language fundamentally different than other cognitive abilities, or does it involve the same mental processes and characteristics? It is still unknown to scientists how exactly language and cognition interact during the thinking process, or how fundamental language is for thinking. “Language accumulates cultural wisdom; cognition develops mental representations modeling surrounding world and adapts cultural knowledge to concrete circumstances of life. Language is acquired from surrounding language “ready-made” and therefore can be acquired early in life. This early acquisition of language in childhood encompasses the entire hierarchy from sounds to words, to phrases, and to highest concepts existing in culture. Cognition is developed from experience. Yet cognition cannot be acquired from experience alone; language is a necessary intermediary, a ‘teacher.’” (Perlovsky, 2011). 

Although language development is a process that most individuals take for granted, as many other cognitive functions, it must be learned. Children, for instance, not only have to learn the names for thousands of objects, feelings, situations, colors, animals, and more, but they also have to learn how to put those words together and form cohesive sentences. Chomsky developed in the 1950s an interesting concept of how and which mind mechanisms influenced the language process. “It seemed obvious to Chomsky that surrounding language cultures do not carry enough information for a child to learn language, unless specific language learning mechanisms are inborn. These mechanisms should be specific enough for learning complex language grammars and still flexible enough so that a child of any ethnicity from any part of the world would learn whichever language is spoken around.” (Perlovsky, 2011). Chomsky’s biggest innovation was to interpret language abilities as akin to a mental organ. He believed that children were born with a “language acquisition device” and some linguistic knowledge. He also believed that children did not learn how to speak solely by imitation adults, as they will often use incorrect verbal forms that they have not learned from adults, like “goed” or speaked”. These kinds of mistakes, according to Chomsky, happen because instead of just imitating adults, children extract rules from what they constantly hear. “Because the language imput to children is mfull of mistakes, stops and restarts, Chomsky felt that children could not learn the language using general purpose problem-solving or regularity-extraction skills” (Harris, n.d.). A lexicon, on the other hand, is the vocabulary of a language, and what the sounds mean in that language. It is impossible to know a language without knowing its lexicon, or its vocabulary. 

Scientists and psychologies have been trying for decades to understand to what extent is human thinking dependent on the possession and understanding of a language. Is it possible for humans to think without language skills? Some philosophers believe that it is conceptually necessary that all thoughts are dependent on language skills. On the other hand, there are philosophers that believe that thoughts are independent of language, not only conceptually but also metaphysically and causally (Carruthers, 2012). In between these two very different ideas, there are many others that believe that some language is necessary in the thinking processes, if not always, at least at times.

During the second quarter of the twentieth century, behaviorism was the predominant school of thought in psychology. Psychologists believed that most kinds on animal behavior were associated to the response to a stimulus. At that time, Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, presented the idea that because of linguistic differences in grammar and usage, speakers of different languages conceptualize and experience the world differently. He was impressed at the variety of grammatical forms and modes of conceptualization present in the many languages throughout the world. For instance, some languages do not have specific words for what we know as “left” or “right”, but use instead geocentric coordinates like east, west, north or south. He also though it was interesting how some cultures on known colors as light or dark, instead of having a specific name for each one. Eskimos, on the other hand, have countless words just to describe the snow. Whorf proposed than that all these cultural linguistic differences impact the cognitive processes of people in each of those cultures. He also proposed that a deep relation exists between language and thought. His theory, which was known as the Whorfian hypothesis (or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis), in its strongest formulation this hypothesis has it that the structure of one’s native language determines one’s conceptual categorization of the world. The Whorfian hypothesis generated a good deal of debate and empirical testing in the 1950s and 1960s. (Carruthers, 2012). Although Whorf’s ideas are still popular in some areas of social sciences, the cognitive revolution that occurred in psychology in the early years of his period made that some of his main ideas would fall into dispute amongst cognitive scientists, especially during the second half of the twentieth century.

The first half of the twentieth century presented an important question, as scientists, philosophers and psychologists tried to understand if the relationship between cognition and language was influenced by each language’s grammatical structures and vocabulary. With the upcoming arrival of cognitive psychology, a new question would arise: are cognition and language similar or different human abilities? This question has received many controversial answers for the past few decades. Nowadays, scientists emphasize that our species have evolved thanks to the distinction between different areas of human ability, either some natural to individuals, such as language and basic number use, and areas that require learning, like algebra or playing a musical instrument.

References

Carruthers, P. (2012). Language in cognition. Retrieved from http://faculty.philosophy.umd.edu/pcarruthers/Language%20in%20cognition.pdf

Harris, C. L. (n.d.). Language and cognition. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/psych/charris/papers/Encyclopedia.pdf

Leonid Perlovsky, “Language and Cognition Interaction Neural Mechanisms,” Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, vol. 2011, Article ID 454587, 13 pages, 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/454587