Do Early Life Experiences Affect Development

931 Words4 Pages
Do Early life experiences affect Development? Angel Tresco PS300: Research Methods I Unit 9 Assignment There are those that say that even as infants our sensory experiences begin to shape us, and that the effect of our environment gets stronger over time. We are born with given genetics which of course cannot be changed it is how we are ‘wired’. Learning and experience some say will shape how children develop. Whether or not a child’s emotional, nutritional, intellectual, and medical needs are met all play a very important role in the development of a child and in turn who they become as an adult. There are others who believe that there are many properties of the brain that are strictly genetically organized and therefore do not depend on outside influence. Some believe that if a person is mean or angry or commits crimes it is because they are genetically predisposed to do so. On the contrary a person with a happy demeanor is that way because they are genetically predisposed. Some believe that if you do not pick up a crying baby they will forever have trust issues. Others think that this baby will learn to soothe itself and will be just fine in the world. The first research study was done as a long-term, prospective longitudinal study of more than 1,000 children who were tracked from infancy through age fifteen. This method was used because they were trying to make predictions about patterns of associations that had to be observed over time because that is exactly in fact what they were studying; the effects over time of early experiences. The second study was study was done with complex sampling, the participants were chosen at random shortly after they had given birth. Home visits were then conducted at 7, 15, 24 and 48 months old. These visits were by research assistants who asked questions and had the child perform and participate in different

More about Do Early Life Experiences Affect Development

Open Document