Controversies in Developmental Psychology

Gwen Stefani Yahin
BS Psychology 2B
CONTROVERSIES IN
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Nature vs. Nurture
Do genetic or environmental factors have a greater impact on your behavior? Do

inherited traits and life experiences play a greater role in personality formation? The debate
between nature and nurturing is one of the oldest topics in psychology. The discussion focuses
on the relative contribution of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human
development. Some philosophers, such as Plato and Descartes, have suggested that certain things
are either congenital or naturally occurring regardless of environmental influences.
Nativists take the position that all or most behaviors and traits are the result of heredity.
Proponents of this view believe that all our traits and behaviors are the result of evolution. The
genetic traits inherited from parents affect individual differences and make each individual
unique. For example, if a person had great academic success, was it due to a genetic
predisposition to success, or was it the result of a rich environment? If a man abused his wife or
children, was it because he was born with a violent tendency, or did he learn this from observing
the behavior of his parents? Some examples of biologically regulated properties (natural) are
certain genetic diseases, eye color, hair color, and skin color. Others, such as life expectancy and
height, have strong biological factors, but they are also influenced by environmental factors and
lifestyle. How a person behaves can be associated with influences such as parenting style and
learned experience. For example, through observation and strengthening, a child may learn to say
"please" and "thank you". Another child can learn to act positively by watching older children
act violently in the playground. Even today, psychological research tends to emphasize the
influence of one more than the other. For example, in biopsychology, researchers are studying
how neurotransmitters affect behavior, which emphasizes aspects of the nature of the debate.
Absolute pitch is the ability to identify the pitch of a musical tone without reference.
Researchers have discovered that this ability tends to be performed in the family and believes it
may be linked to a single gene. However, they also found that having a gene was not enough to
develop this ability. Instead, early childhood music training is necessary for this inherited ability
to manifest. Height is another example of a property that is influenced by nature's interaction
with the caregiver. All children may come from tall families, and they may have inherited those
genes for their height. However, if he is raised in a disadvantaged environment that is not well-
nourished, he may never reach the size he would have been able to reach in a healthier
environment. But throughout the history of psychology, this debate has been controversial many
times.
Today, most experts believe that both nature and upbringing influence behavior and
development. Nevertheless, this topic is furious in many areas. For example, discussions about
the origin of homosexuality and its impact on intelligence. Few people take a very immigrant or
radical empirical approach, but researchers and experts are still discussing how biology and the
environment affect behavior. More and more people are beginning to realize that asking how
inheritance and the environment affect a particular trait is not the right approach. In reality, there
is no easy way to unravel the many forces that exist. These effects include interacting genetic
factors, interacting environmental factors such as social experience and general culture, and a
mixture of genetic and environmental effects. Instead, many researchers today are interested in
how genes regulate environmental effects and vice versa.
Continuity vs. Discontinuity
We all experience change in our lives as we evolve. I have never really thought about or
paid attention to whether these changes occur over time or at intervals. Continuity theorists
believe that human development is a gradual, addictive process that occurs continuously without
sudden changes. In general, these theorists believe that the nature of our evolutionary change is
quantitative, meaning that the quantity changes. An example of a quantitative change is that a
child grows taller each year as he grows a certain number of inches over time. Discontinuity
theorists, on the other hand, argue that development progresses through several stages of sudden
changes, leading the child to a more developed level of functioning. According to these theorists,
qualitative changes occur in human development. That is, each time these particular changes
occur, it makes a big difference to the child. An example of this is the ability to speak, which is
acquired at the stage between infants.
Early vs. Late Experience
The second important consideration in developmental psychology concerns the relative

importance of early experience compared to later experience. Are we more influenced by early
childhood events, or do later events play an equally important role? Psychoanalytic theorists
tend to focus on events that occur in early childhood. According to Freud, many of the child's
personalities are fully established by the age of five. Indeed, if this is the case, those who had a
deprived or abusive childhood may never adapt or develop normally. Contrary to this view,
researchers have found that the effects of childhood events do not always have a dominant effect
on lifelong behavior, but childhood adversity is more pronounced in adulthood. There is
evidence that incomplete childhood can develop normally, correlating with high levels of stress
in well-tuned adults.
Abnormal Behavior vs. Differences
One of the biggest concerns for many parents is whether their child is developing
normally. Developmental milestones provide guidelines for the age at which certain skills and
abilities usually appear, but can be a source of concern if the child is slightly below normal. Past
development theories have focused on behavioral disorders, but more and more on individual
differences in development. Developmental theories in this area tend to explain behavioral
deficiencies, as psychoanalytic theory has traditionally focused on abnormal behavior. Learning
theories depend on the inherent impact of the environment on the individual, so individual
differences are an important part of these theories. Today, psychologists look at both norms and
individual differences in explaining child development.

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Gwen Stefani Yahin

Do genetic or environmental factors have a greater impact on your behavior? Do

Continuity vs. Discontinuity

Early vs. Late Experience

The second important consideration in developmental psychology concerns the relative

Abnormal Behavior vs. Differences

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