P4-Depending on the town we live in can affect our development, and weather it is within a friendly caring neighbourly environment. If we are brought up in a rough unsafe environment our development of communication will decline, as there is not that safe loving atmosphere. If we live in an area high in crime this is likely to affected our upbringing and development as we will always feel uneasy and on edge. Pollution is a key factor as the area with breath in is polluted this will go into our body and can affect things such as our respiration system as pollution is a link to asthma such as petrol fumes this will then effect our individual development. The facilities we can access can effect our development and the level of service we receive in our environment, for instance if we have to wait a long while to see a health worker this may effect our development, and the standard of service depending on the area we live in will also effect us. (Michelle Bradley, notes, 2007)
P4- environmental influences work in different ways this can be direct to the child or form another person to the child. Children are immediately affected by the behaviour of other people in there family. However people in the family are influenced by wider issues, such as culture and economics.
P4- The next factor that can influence our development is genetic causes or inherited characteristics. The way in which we grow is often linked to inheritance. Height and build are both controlled by numerous genes. An individuals height, for example may depend on the portion of tall and short genes that they have inherited from their parents. Taller parents will have more tall genes and are therefore more likely to have taller children. ((Stretch, 2006)
P4- The genes we have from our parents, controls the sequence of human development, so we develop and learn how to walk and how to talk, these abilities unfold out from within a growing child. (D2) When the unfolding process happens and we learn to talk and walk it is known as maturation. Maturation is not just about genetics it is also the environment a person grows up in will influence how we develop. For example a foetus can grow according to the genetic pattern, but growth will also be influenced by the diet and habits of the mother, such as taking alcohol, as this will damage the nervous system at certain stages of the development.(Stretch,2006)
P4-Sometimes genetic influences pay a very heavily part on our development. Due to inheritance and the more dominant alles when a child is born we can sometimes inherit conditions such as down syndrome, this will effect a child’s development as it is slowed down and they are not able to reach the ‘normal’ expectations we consider. Another genetic condition is cystic fibrosis.
P4- The final area am going to consider is socio –economic factors. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
M3Secondly I am going to consider the nature, nurture approach when thinking about development. Our behaviour is often said to come either from inherited characteristics (our nature) or from experiences in our environment (our nurture). Certain actions will be classed as nature whilst others are considered as nurture. Nativists believe that abilities are present at birth, or develop gradually through the process of maturation. Empiricists believe that abilities are acquired through experience in the environment. (Brain, 2000)
M3-Many behaviourists have looked into what causes an action (the stimulus) and the action itself (the response), this assumes development arises from experiences around us, not from forces with in us. Actions do not come from inherited characteristics, but from experiences that we have had, so we assume our environment is important when governing what we are like. Watson claims “All our development comes from conditioning between certain stimuli in the environment, then it is the environment that shapes us, and not inherited characteristics. “ (Brain, 2000,quoted page 114) therefore he agrees more strongly with the nurture side of the debate.
M3-The earlier a particular ability appears, the more likely it is to be under the influence of genetic factors. However the fact that it develops some time after birth does not necessarily mean it has been learnt, as it could take time to mature. Different people believe different things regarding the nature, nurture debate, Rose et al concluded that “Genes do not determine intelligence, there is no one to one correspondent between the genes inherited from parents. What we inherit is the genotype the genes which are involved in the development of a particular trait. The first principle of development genetics is that every organism is a unique product of the interaction between genes and the environment at every stage of life.” (Gross,2004, quoted page 736) (M3) from Roses theory I feel they are saying without the genetic side you cannot consider the environment side of things as they work together. (Gross, 2004)
Gross Richard, (2004) Psychology The Mind Of Science And Behaviour, Hodder & Stoughton, Great Britain.
Stretch Beryl (2006) BTEC National Health Studies, Heinemann, Great Britain.
Btrain Christine (2000) Advanced Subsidiary Pyschology approaches and methods. Edexcel, Great Britain
