CAS 315 Study Guide - Fall 2019, Comprehensive Final Exam Notes - Anxiety, Football, Memory
30 Nov 2019
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CAS 315
What does physical development matter?
Physical development matters because our physical make-up that includes genetic
material, the body and brain are the vessels of human experience. Hence we will review
how each of these (genes, bodily growth and brain development) impact outcomes.
Genetic influences on development begin at conception through a process called
meiosis. The processes involved in meiosis are articulated in your text. For our
purposes it is important to understand that through meiosis, individuals are ensured a
unique genetic make-up. Meiosis provides a unique and random combination of genetic
material to the gametes or sex cells (i.e., sperm and ovum). As such, new offspring will
have some combination of genetic material from both parents as well as some
chromosomal features not present in either parent. Meiosis therefore contributes to the
individual variability, or diversity of how children develop. Once the genetic blueprint is
established, mitosis, a second biological process duplicates the cells of the fertilized
egg (zygote) to preserve the path of human development.
Some genetic instructions are canalized. Canalization (as defined in your text) involves
tightly controlled genetic instructions that precipitate particular developmental patterns
and outcomes. Canalized characteristics occur across diverse environmental
conditions, with little to no encouragement. Canalization in other words, represents the
simple unfolding of genetic instructions. One example is the development of basic motor
skills (i.e., crawling, sitting and walking) as noted in the text. Barring extreme
circumstances these occur without training or prompting. Another example can be seen
with certain aspects of language development, where infants show patterns of cooing
and babbling during the first six months. Cooing represents repetitive vowel sounds and
is seen (or heard) within the first two months. Babbling occurs by about 6 months and is
evidenced by repetitive consonant/vowel combinations (e.g., babababababa). Click the
following underlined hyperlinks corresponding to Youtube videos representing cooing
and babbling for a demonstration of these language patterns. Canalized characteristics
therefore coincide with the principle of universality reflecting patterns or characteristics
evident in virtually all individuals. FYI - cooing and babbling is covered in chapter 9 -
Language Development.
Nature and Nurture
In the past, researchers have posed the question of whether developmental outcomes
are more due to nature (genetic and biological factors) or nurture (environmental
factors). Contemporary perspectives include how nature and nurture work together or
interact to affect outcomes. There are three types of perspectives outlined in your text
regarding how nature and nurture work together. These include the following.
1. A passive gene-environment relation where the child's genetic dispositions are
correlated to features in the environment. Here, genes are considered passive because
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they do not play a active role in shaping the environment. An example is a child who is
born into a family of artisans (e.g., painters, illustrators) who also has a genetic
disposition for such artistic expression. An important point here is that the child's genetic
dispositions are passive because the environment is adult determined. It is also
possible that the environment provided by adults does not correlate with the genetic
dispositions of the child. That is, not all children with artistic parents will share this
genetic disposition.
Remember meiosis!
2. An evocative gene-environment relation occurs when characteristics of the child
trigger certain types of responses from others. For instance, in this case because
a child is artistically inclined, he may evoke responses from adults that
encourage and affirm his sense of creativity. They may provide that child with
more creative tools. With this type of environment/genetic relation because a
child has certain genetic dispositions, adults respond in certain ways. Similarly,
responses of adults could be more negative when children's genetic dispositions
reflected traits adults found less desirable.
3. An active gene-environment relation occurs when children's genetic dispositions
influence environments that become available to children. The term "niche
building" is often used in relation to this type of relationship because children
seek out and more selectively attend to environments that are compatible with
their genetic dispositions. Children/adolescents with artistic inclinations therefore
may seek out opportunities that are consistent with these inclinations. Hence, the
child/adolescent is more active in finding and engaging in environments to suit
their needs. This type of active gene-environment relation is more likely as
children get older.
Accommodating Nature and Nurture
important points about acknowledging the role of nature and nurture in children's lives.
Some of these include the following.
1. Expect and make allowances for individual differences. I know, this may seem
obvious and cliché even. However, you may or may not be surprised that adults
often treat children preferentially based on such things as their academic
performance, temperament (e.g., easy going versus less easy going or difficult)
and even how they look. Such physical attributes include weight, skin tone and
gender. Hence, it is easier said than done. Meiosis reminds us that genetic and
therefore human diversity is to be expected. Hopefully it is accommodated as
well.
2. Remember how environmental factors influence virtually every aspect of
development. Most characteristics are not canalized therefore and genetic
dispositions are impacted by environmental input. When children are treated
more negatively, such as receiving less approval or affirmation because of
genetic dispositions (e.g., a temperament viewed as more difficult) such
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