The nature-nurture debate is all about whether genetics (nature) or our environment (nurture) is responsible for our behaviour and development. Early theorists believed that our personality, intellect, behaviour and gender role were determined by our genes and therefore could not be changed. But an increasing amount of evidence has proved these theorists wrong, and our development as an individual is learnt through the environment we live in. One developmental stage of an individual that psychologists have the nature-nurture debate about is the intelligence stage. The nature side of that intelligence is present at birth and we already have a set amount of intelligence.
When a baby is born with the sensitivity of arts, he or she may show distinctive taste of art naturally. However, even if human nature generally comes when an infant is born, it does not mean that it remains unalterable. However, some research shows some genes are malleable. Behaviorists such as Watson and Skinner believed that new born babies can be trained into any profession regardless of the babies’ heredity. This theory was totally different from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Ainsworth’s strange situation study illustrates such differences empirically, and distinguishes the varying degrees of security of attachment with respect to the exploratory and attachment behaviour displayed by her experimental subjects. Further research and analysis of the strange situation found that maternal sensitivity, infant characteristics, and social support are predictors of secure attachment, although their relative importance is debatable. Although strange situation provides useful insights about early close relationships, it is limited in certain aspects, especially in measuring the attachment of non-maternal early close relationships. The strange situation is a laboratory procedure devised to test the security of attachment between infants and their respective mothers to determine the types of attachment and nature of attachment behaviours. In Ainsworth’s original study, 56 family-reared infants of white, middle-class parents were involved in the eight episodes that followed a standard order for all subjects (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970, p. 53).
The Developing Child 1) Discuss the differences in theory about the essence of human beings according to John Jacque Rousseau and John Locke and tell what the debate between them came to be called. JR: believed people are born with skills and qualities that make them who they are. JL: babies are blank when being born, we learn only by experience which we are nurtured by others. The debate between this was called nature vs. nurture 2) True or False. Babies are born legally blind.
Some philosophers are empiricist-this is that they have a theory of having a posteriori knowledge (knowledge that is required through our sense experience) and that is of synthetic propositions (dependent on the world and our sense experience). A philosopher who claims that humans have innate knowledge of the physical world is Noam Chomsky, thus suggesting that he is a rationalist. Noam Chomsky argued that knowledge of language and grammar is innate. Chomsky believes that children learn language and grammar is learnt quite fast from children, so fast that it can’t be known through experience; this can be seen from Chomsky’s argument ‘the poverty of stimulus’. The argument states that as children are brought up from being taught language at a very slow pace with poor teaching children are not able to have a good grasp on language, therefore Chomsky claims that their linguistic grammatical skills are not known from experience, but it is innate knowledge which gets triggered through experience.
Critically review the contribution and influence of psychological theories to early Childhood education and Care curriculum development and childcare practitioner working practices. Throughout this essay I am going to discuss the cognitive development theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. These two theorists were influential in forming a scientific approach to analysing the development process involved in cognition. Cognition is the procedure involved in thinking and mental activity, such as problem solving, memory and attention (Flanagan, 1999, p.72). Both theorists said that a child’s cognitive development took places in stages but the way in which these theorists described the way children go through these stages was completely different.
The science of learning is a maze-like process with twists and turns that has puzzled and impressed scientists and educators alike for years. Nonetheless, recognizing the roles of the left side and right side of the brain is essential to understanding the human's ability to learn. The brain is divided into two halves: the left and right hemispheres, with each processing information differently. According to Slessenger (2011), a person's brain begins developing before they are even born. (At What Stage in the Womb Does a Baby's Brain Start Working, para.
All About Jellyfish Jellyfish are very unique, aquatic creatures. They are classified in the phylum Cnidaria. The body of a jellyfish consists of 95 percent water, and in some species the percentage can range up to 99. It is umbrella-shaped and made of a soft jelly-like material. The wall of a jellyfish body is very fragile.
Can intelligence change? To what extent is intelligence malleable? Extended Essay: Psychology Name: Candidate number: School: Nörre Gymnasium Word count: 37811 Abstract This essay investigated the research question: To what extent is intelligence malleable? It was necessary to start by presenting the debate on defining intelligence since there is not a complete consensus among psychologists, however, this paper accepted a definition which is generally accepted by respected psychologists; that ‘intelligence is the ability to deal with cognitive complexity’ (Gottfredson, 1998). In presenting and analysing empirical evidence such as Howe (1997) supporting the thesis that intelligence can, in fact, change under the right conditions and given enough time, a strong indication of malleability is provided.
Importance in the Brain 1 Understanding the human brain and how it develops could further our theory on how children develop. The brain is very complex and there have been multiple tests on how the brain works which would give answers to how children think, raised and developed. Knowing how long the brain takes to develop will also give a hint of reasoning on why children conduct wrong and correct decisions. Parents around the world want to raise their children in a correct manner, making the knowledge of the brain very important. If parents knew what power the brain possessed then the guidance for there child would insure simplicity with the process of development.