PSY 3128 Chapter 2: Models of Development, Nature and Nurture in Adulthood
5 Jun 2018
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Chapter 2: Models of Development, Nature and Nurture in Adulthood
Life-Span Perspective: views development as continuous from childhood through old age. This extended outlook of
the life span also includes a focus on the contextual influences of development, which incorporates the effects of sex,
race, ethnicity, social class, religion, and culture.
Contextual Influences: life span change is a function of nature and nurture.
Developmental Science: need to look at multiple factors in development. We are gradually replacing the term
developmental psychology. This shit conveys this shift toward understanding the systematic effects of multiple
influences on the individual over time.
Geriatrics: the medical specialty of ageing.
Gerontology: interdisciplinary field that draws from biology, sociology, anthropology, the humanities, and other
behavioral sciences.
Early in the 20th century, developmental psychologists took a largely nature approach. The regarded growth in
childhood as a clock-like process that reflected the unfolding of the individual’s genetic makeup. According to these
early developmentalists, such changes reflected the influence of ontogenesis, or maturational processes as they unfold
within the child. Challenging the nature perspective was Jon Watson who took an extreme behaviorist approach and
espoused the importance of nurture.
Niche Picking: were the genetic and environmental factors work together to influence the direction of a child’s life.
Children literally pick out their niche in an area which they further develop their talents and abilities.
Organismic Model: proposes that heredity drives the course of development throughout life. Changes over time occur
because the individual is programmed to exhibit certain behaviors certain ages with distinct differences between stages
of life.
Mechanistic Model: behavior changes gradually over time, shaped by outside forces that cause them to adapt to their
environments. People who believe in the mechanistic model propose that growth throughout life occurs through the
individual’s exposure to experiences that present new learning opportunities.
Interactionist Model: takes the view that not only do genetics and environment interact in complex ways to produce
their effects on the individual, but individuals actively shape their own development.
According to the principle of plasticity in development, the course of development may be altered (is “plastic”),
depending on the nature of the individual’s specific interactions in the environment. With this framework in mind,
you will be able to place each theory of development into perspective. Theories proposing that development is the
result of ontogenetic changes fall within the organismic model. Learning theory, which proposes that development
proceeds according to environmental influences, is categorized in the mechanistic model. Theories that regard
development as the product of joint influences fit within the interactionist model.
The concept of reciprocity in development states that people both influence and are influenced by the events in their
lives (Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994). This means that not only are you shaped by your experiences, but you in turn
shape many of the experiences that affect you.
- This also includes the effect you have on your environment, and this in turn will affect subsequent events
in your life.
Sociocultural Models of Development
i. Ecological Perspective (Urie Bronnfrenbrenner, 1994)
a. Identified multiple levels of the environment as they affect the individual over time.
b. Research from the Whitehall II study provide compelling evidence to support the importance of
social factors in determining health status.
c. Overall, the ecological model’s emphasis on social context provides an excellent background for
understanding a concept central to social gerontology.
The Life Course Perspective
- Norms, roles, and attitudes about age have an impact on the shape of each person’s life.
- Within the life course perspective, specific theories attempt to link societies structures to the adaptation,
satisfaction, and well-being of the people who live in that society. Social gerontology focuses on an age
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Chapter 2: models of development, nature and nurture in adulthood. Life-span perspective: views development as continuous from childhood through old age. This extended outlook of the life span also includes a focus on the contextual influences of development, which incorporates the effects of sex, race, ethnicity, social class, religion, and culture. Contextual influences: life span change is a function of nature and nurture. Developmental science: need to look at multiple factors in development. We are gradually replacing the term developmental psychology. This shit conveys this shift toward understanding the systematic effects of multiple influences on the individual over time. Gerontology: interdisciplinary field that draws from biology, sociology, anthropology, the humanities, and other behavioral sciences. Early in the 20th century, developmental psychologists took a largely nature approach. The regarded growth in childhood as a clock-like process that reflected the unfolding of the individual"s genetic makeup.
