All about development and the factors that influence it.
Prenatal all the way to death.
Course overview:
● Office hours are the hours before; Learning Lounge | Level 3 | IKBLC. 10-11;
● TAs; Ariana and Bella
● Learning modules for different life stages; prenatal, natal, childhood, adolescence,
adulthood; access on canvas
● Study guides for quizzes
● Send email via canvas
● 3 day grace period after which late penalty kicks in; deduction by 5% everyday BUT
after 7 days grade = 0 BUT doesn’t apply to final exam
Get it out of the way.
In term academic concession for extenuating circumstances; needs to be made IN ADVANCE.
U can bring one page double-sided HANDWRITTEN notes for quizzes.
Exam breakdown:
● 5 quizzes per term; 7% of final grade each; will take place in class; MCQs
● Two assignments; first is due Sept 24th
● First few classes are on childhood development
● Apply 3 different theorists to make sense of childhood memory and analyze which
theorist does the best job of making sense of the memory
● Assignment 2 due in Nov; act as a child development expert and answer questions u
came up w using course material
● Final exam; 20% of final grade; 3 questions in last class and have a week to complete
that as FINAL EXAM
● In class participation activities submitted on paper or through canvas; worth 5%; each
participation is worth half a percent; 12 participation activities throughout the term;
SURPRISE.
Alot of old white mfs talk about child development but not alot of them agree.
Module review days; Bella will answer qs and tell u what to pay attention to.
Oct 9th; holiday; MAKEUP Monday; it’ll happen on Thursday
Human development
We’ll be learning about theories to make sense of the world; they give us the why. There’s a
ton of theories about child development; some that contrast or fail to align sometimes.
There are 4 big picture questions that theorists answer/frameworks:
● Nature or nurture
● Active or passive
● Do personalities remain stable or change
● Is development continuous or does it happen in stages
Nature vs Nurture:
● Way back in the day this was an either/or question
● Nature; development is primarily driven by inborn biologically inherited traits
● Nurture: we learn via our environmental experiences
Active or passive:
● Are people like machines that are responsive to the world; biologically
embedded/programmed ways to respond in a certain way to the environment around
us.
OR
● Are they active drivers? We’re in the driver seat; WE make decisions
Nature or nurture = big q while active or passive is more of a subset question.
Stability vs change:
● Core of who you are does not change; you’re born with your core personality; if I met
you at 10 and I met you at 18, you wouldn't change; your core being would stay the
same.
● Change would say personalities are modified by interactions with family, peers,
experiences at school and broader cultural and social influences.
Specifically refers to your personality; stability assumes there’s a biological component to
stability whereas change is a lot of our nurture that makes those changes within us.
● Core = what you find funny, what’s important to you, your values
Continuity and discontinuity:
Does change occur smoothly or in stages of abrupt change?
Tree like or ladybug like
● Continuous theorists: Development = gradual; we build upon our knowledge and
understanding as we develop e.g. vocabulary; we initially start with small broken words
which grow more sophisticated with age, especially bilingual children. Continuous = the
world is an oyster. Eg a child growing in a height,
● Stages/discontinuous theorists = limitations to learning and understanding; Piaget was
a big stage theorist; young children cannot be expected to understand things.
HOWEVER, there’s children that demonstrate things like phenomenal abstract thought
(which Piaget said doesn’t happen till 12) BUT this doesn’t mean we throw out the
theory entirely, it just means there’s exceptions to the theory. SUDDEN changes at age
periods eg caterpillar becoming a totally different creature.
The primary environment for a child is the family. If we live with siblings, grandparents,
partners fighting, it’s going to impact how we grow.
Theories help us frame some of our conversations and answer the whys.
Epigenetics; we could be born with the same makeup but depending on the environment it
may shape the expression of said genes.
11th Sep 2023
Theories help us understand WHY; when we see children, their parents, their behavior, esp
patterns, it helps us understand why.
Moreover, it can help contextualize our understanding.
Thirdly, they can be applied.
We’ll use this to apply to our very first assignment; 20% of our final grade; 3 developmental
theorists that you’ll apply to your memory from early or middle childhood or even adolescence;
use these 3 theories to make sense of this memory.
As we’re learning about these theories, see which theory you want to use and memories it
applies to.
Choose a memory you were actively involved in, and had a long-term, long lasting, durable
impact on your life.
● Introduce and use 3 theorists to analyze that theory
● How do these theorists compare or if they don’t at all
● At the end, which theorist makes best sense of that memory
● APA formatting
● Rubrik will be used to GRADE the assignment; it’s the secret formula for the
assignment; read over it before writing; after completion just tick off the components
and make sure everything is included
● Introduction; of memory
● Two examples
● You don’t need to use all of that theory, just use components of that stage eg the stage
you fell into at that age
● Cite class slides; use as few citations as possible; make the words your own; minimize
direct quotes
● Quizzes will not test these theorists and theories
● Cites doesn’t just have to be scholarly articles
● 4-5 pages
Child development: periods of development
1. Prenatal = conception to birth
2. infancy/toddlerhood (birth to 1 and 1-2)
3. Early childhood (2-5 or 6 years old)
4. Middle childhood (6-12); typically when a child begins school
5. Adolescence (12 or 13 to 18 years old)
Psychodynamic Theories
● Freud was incredibly big about understanding processes we may not be entirely
consciously aware of. Freud was a medical doctor who saw patterns in his adult
patients that made him wonder what may have happened during that childhood that’s
influencing them now.
● Freud laid the foundation for the idea that our early experiences (that we may not even
necessarily remember) shape our future experiences; an idea that continues to be
prevalent today
● We may not even be aware of some of the things driving us because they lay in our
subconscious psyche
● He argued parents highly influence child development; these experiences are highly
crucial to understand our adult self
● He is also incredibly sexist due to his argument that women who don’t accept their
inferior position are psychologically flawed
Psychosocial theories
● Erik Erikson was a German American psychologist who together with his wife Joan,
became known for his work in psychosocial development. He was influenced by
Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud and became famous for coining the word “identity
crisis”. Although he lacked a bachelor's degree, he became a professor at Harvard and
Yale.
● Erikson, too, drew the connection between our previous self influencing our future self;
how the people around us develop our sense of self and identities.
● Erikson is often seen as the grandfather of developmental psychology
● He also proposed that development is a lifelong process that doesn’t just stop in
childhood but continues throughout adulthood
● He was a stage theorist that argued that everyone goes through 8 universal
developmental stages; he further argued that during each stage we face a crisis that
the people in our life (family, friends, teachers etc) help us resolve; if we successfully
resolve these crises we will move to the next stage and develop the primary virtue of
that stage.
1. Infancy (0-1 years): trust vs mistrust
● Pivotal moment to develop trust caregivers provide
● As infants we ask ourselves if we can trust the world and if it’s safe.
● We learn if we can trust someone now we can trust them in the future
2. Toddlerhood (1-3 years old): autonomy vs shame/doubt
● Toddlers demonstrate their ability to do things on their own
● This is hugely dependent on the adults around them giving them the ability to display
their ability
● The ability to display autonomy leads to self-confidence
● Lack of opportunities to display this autonomy will lead to crises as well as feelings of
shame and doubt
3. Preschooler (3-5): initiative vs guilt
● In preschool, we take initiative and try out things. If we are encouraged, we follow our
interests.
● If we are held back, we can develop guilt
4. Grade Schooler (5-12): industry vs inferiority
● We discover our interests and uniqueness
● We want to show we can do things right
● If we receive recognition from our teachers and peers, we become industrious (hard
working)
● Too much negative feedback leads to feelings of inferiority
5. Adolescent (13-19): identity vs role confusion
● We learn we have different social roles; we are friends, students, citizens
● If our parents allow us to explore, we can find identity
● If they push us to conform to their views, we can feel role confusion and feel lost
● Key to our learning are our peers and role models
6. Young adults (20-40): intimacy vs isolation
● We understand who we are and let go of relationships we developed to fit in
● We ask ourselves if we can love
● Failure to form intimate relationships may end up in feelings of loneliness
7. Adulthood (40-60): generativity vs stagnation
● We become comfortable
● Begin contributing to society
● If we think we are able to lead the next generation into this world, we are happy
● We may experience stagnation if we failed to do so
8. Maturity (65+) Ego Integrity vs despair
● As we grow older we begin to slow down on our lives
● We ask: how have i done
● We feel content if we feel we have done
● We may become grumpy and bitter if we fail to do so
Age Crisis Virtue Negative
Outcome
Infancy 0-1 years Trust vs mistrust Hope Failure to
acquire hope
Babies are uncertain Once infants can lead to fear,
about the world have trust, they suspicion and
they live in; they have hope that lack of trust.
look towards their when crises
primary caregiver for arrive, they have
stability, which people as a
leads to them source of
developing trust and support.
a sense of security.
Toddlerhood 1-3 years Autonomy vs doubt Sense of Low
Children begin independence self-esteem and
asserting feelings of
independence and inadequacy, as
making choices well as shame
about what to wear, and doubt in
eat etc. It’s critical their abilities.
parents are patient
in allowing and
encouraging their
children to make
choices whilst also
protecting the child
so that failure is
avoided as well as
teaching them how
to ask for help.
Preschooler 3-5 years Initiative vs guilt Sense of Feelings of
The child regularly purpose in their guilt and
interacts with other choices and inadequacy
kids at school. At decisions If children are
this stage, they’ll overly criticized
ask questions. by their parents’
and teachers,
they may feel as
though they’re
annoying, and
therefore start
to act as
followers rather
than taking
initiative
themselves.
This can also
inhibit their
creativity.
Grade 5-12 years Industry vs Sense of pride Inferiority
School inferiority in their
Teachers teach skills competence If their initiative
to children. is discouraged,
If the child is they may feel
encouraged in inferior, doubt
their initiatives, their abilities
they will feel and may not
industrious and reach their full
gain confidence potential.
to achieve their
goals.
Adolescent 13-19 Identity vs role Fidelity Role confusion
confusion The ability to Feelings of
Child tries to learn see oneself as discontentment,
the role they occupy unique and an rebellion and
as an adult; they try integrated unhappiness
to discover who they person
really are via
exploration.
Young adults 20-40 Intimacy vs Love Isolation,
isolation loneliness and
We share ourself depression
intimately with other
people and try to
find love.
Adulthood 40 - 60 Generativity vs Care for others Feeling
stagnation (feeling Adults feel they stagnant and
stuck) give back to unproductive
society by
raising children,
being
productive at
work, becoming
involved in
community
activities.
Maturity 65+ Integrity vs despair Wisdom Despair and
Our productivity The ability to dissatisfaction
starts to slow down. look back on life If we feel we
Now we explore life with a sense of haven’t
as a retired person. closure and accomplished
completeness what we
as well as the wanted to in life
ability to accept and we feel
death without unproductive.
fear.
13th Sept 2023
Piaget saw children as little scientists.
1. Sensorimotor stage (0-2)
Birth to about 2 years; rapid change is seen throughout
The child will:
● Explore the world through senses & motor activity
● Begin to understand cause & effect
● Development of object permanence by 8 -12 months old eg I have a phone, I put it out of
sight, the child below 8 months will initially not know it exists. “Out of sight” is truly “out of
mind” BUT a child beyond the age of 8 months will look for the phone
2. Preoperational stage (2-7)
● Increase in communication
● Start to understand the idea of past and future BUT everything in the past may be yesterday
and everything in the future may be tomorrow
● SUPER egocentric; the world revolves around them; struggle to take someone else's POV. In
daycares we throw children in a daycare and expect them to share
● Lack the ability to conserve (understanding that the properties remain the same despite a
change in appearance)
3. Concrete operational stage (7-11)
● Have the ability conserve
● Generalize from concrete ideas
4. Formal operations stage (12+)
● Be able to think about hypothetical situations
● Form & test hypotheses
● Reason scientifically
Challenges to Piaget:
● Children can grasp ideas earlier than what Piaget found
● Cognitive development across domains is inconsistent (eg better at reading than math)
● Studies have shown that development can be accelerated)
Vygotsky (1896 -1934)
● Born same year as Piaget but died earlier
● NOT a stage theorist
● He proposed learning happens in a social environment; without being in a social context
(other people around)
● He also argued that where we grow up (community and culture) is going to determine the
kinds of things we learn and how we learn (he was big on that sociocultural aspect of
learning and development)
● He also thought children play an active role in how they develop BUT that learning happens
with guidance; guidance is pivotal.
● Learning occurs within the ZPD; difference between what a child can do independently and
what a child needs help from a more knowledgeable person to do (in order to learn); it’s the
sweet spot where you can learn but need a little help
● Philosophy of environment elective; did not know enough to understand the material. Same
with my GRSJ course
● Scaffolding; we slowly build the complexity of the skills; eg soccer camp
● Vygotsky saw it as world of teachers, parents, older siblings
● There are some people that are innately good at certain skills
● Young children often take months/years to master certain types of skill even with social
support eg a young child’s ability to solve abstract problems.
September 18-24
● Monday, September 18: Human development theories: Ecological
● Wednesday, September 20: Family structures and functions
● Friday, September 22: Milestones in pregnancy and prenatal (expecting) module review
● Sunday, September 24: Assignment Due: Applying Developmental Theories
Complete for September 18:
● None
Complete for September 20:
● Review websites listed under Week 3: Pregnancy and Prenatal (Family Structures and
Functions)
Complete for September 22:
● Online learning module FMST 210 - Pregnancy and Prenatal (Expecting)
Work on:
● Complete and hand in your assignment before Sunday, September 24 at 11:59 p.m.!
● Complete online learning module FMST 210 - Pregnancy and Prenatal (Expecting)
Sibling relations
● Likely to last longer than any other relationship in one’s lifetime
● Little attention given to siblings and impact on development
● Shift in research from examining structure to process
● Approximately 80% of people in North America have siblings
Characteristics:
● Emotionally charged; positive, negative or ambivalence
● Defined by time spent together
● Large differences in quality of relations
● Age differences between siblings; issues of power and control
● Competition for parents and resources
● Together during milestones
● Impact of birth order
First born children are more likely to engage in leadership + self-discipline; rule following
Second born are more likely to be learners, elicit care and help.
1st born common traits: goal setting, achievement, responsibility, perfection, rule keeping.
1st born child have 3 point IQ advantage
Younger sibling temperament: extroverted, funny, lighthearted, creative, flexible
● More manipulative and rebellious
● All tactics contribute to get parental attention and work around older siblings
Influence on sibling rs:
● Siblings can support, emphasize or interrupt development
1. 0-2; trust, security, attachment
2. 3-5: language, autonomy
3. 5+ problem solving, social skills, individual interests
● If children are in the same developmental period, if there’s one focus, you can put your time and effort
on that.
● Chelsea’s children are 16 months apart; the older son was getting books, and the younger son picked up
the book and started reading to her. He fell into that place where he became interested in language and
learning etc.
● If a child is in the first trust and attachment stage, and a new child comes along, it can also impact a
child’s attachment
● How parents choose to parent also has a huge impact on rs. How they resolve conflict, consistency etc;
comparison is such a big deal for children where they think parenting approach varies between children.
● There’s a big impact based on the amount of empathy and consistency the parent provides.
In terms of patterns, if the parent is older, they tend to have less energy, youthful enthusiasm BUT may have
wisdom and understanding. Sometimes that can give calmness to the relationship but sometimes it can lead to a
decrease in the ability to engage.
Siblings and early childhood
● Individual traits (temperament, birth order etc)
● Developmental period
● Family dynamics
● Child’s disposition towards siblings
Sibling rivalry:
● Has a lot to do with competing for parental attention and resources. Key word here is perception.
● Most common with siblings of the same gender and when children are in close age.
● Occurs during the early childhood development period.
● Siblings between ages 3-7 have on average 3.5 conflicts per hour
If parents use rivalry to encourage problem solving and conflict resolution skills, it can lead to the development
of social skills that could be directly applicable to their other social relationships.
● Younger children learn faster by observing older siblings. Older siblings, in their teaching role, can also
grow and understand better.
● When we’re in conflicts outside sibling relationships, we can use the skills we learnt with our siblings to
navigate the situation better.
Without siblings:
● Very strong relationship with yourself; can rely on yourself.
● Solitude is different from loneliness; there’s strength that comes from solitude
● Advantage of parent’s full resources; number of words spoken to only child is twice as much as two
siblings
Canadian education system:
● 13 provinces run their own education system and ensure high quality public education across the
country
● Mandatory from 6-18 years old AFTER = college and uni ki choice; both prepare for future
● College = hands on, practical and technical skills for a specific career. Often work with employers to
develop latest curriculum; 1-3 years studying; graduation ke baad diploma
● Uni = in depth theoretical subjects eg law, eng etc; 3-7 years. Graduation = bachelors/masters/ or phd.
● Quebec = CEGEP = 3 yr technical program to prepare for a job or 2 yr program to prepare u for
continued studies.
● What u choose depends on interests and goals
● Offer flexibility; transferring mein credit milta hai
● Appear on well-known uni lists
● Some offer co-ops; alternate between studying in class and working in their field of study.
Noam Chomsky, on being truly educated
● Retired prof at MIT; been for 65 years
● Founder of the modern higher education system, Wilhelm Von Humboldt, leading humanist figure of
the Enlightenment, wrote extensively on education and human development.
● Argued that the core principle of a fulfilled human being is the ability to inquire and create
independently without external controls.
● Leading physicist; not important what you cover but what you discover; to be in a position to inquire
and create on the basis of resources available to you. To know where to look, formulate serious
questions, to find your own way, shape qs worth pursuing, develop the path to pursue them. To know
where to look, how to question, how to challenge.
● 2015, 1.3 million canadians lived in families considered working poor
● One in three families = lone parent family
● Overall poverty rate = 26%, child poverty rate is 41.1%
● Ryan = 2, Jack = 5
● Stacy is a single mum living in Crescent mum. Vehicle nahi hota toh job nahi milti cus buses run once
an hour. I really want this but dont have money for it; maybeee i can borrow
● Budgeting = so important
● Minimum wage w no benefits and no assistance makes it difficult for them to afford things
● If she didn’t have coverage/benefits she’d be in mad debt
● Daycare = $1000
● Being lonely is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!!!
● Loneliness = a stigmatized condition; getting people to admit to it = something social scientists struggle
with
● Friendship recession = ppl barely have shoulders to cry on, have convos w them
● Society changing technologically, socially etc
● Friendships come in all shapes and sizes and are also formed in very different ways and places; by being
in the same school, growing up in the same place, through work, voluntary activity, sports, athletics
● Across human history there’s always been a tribal size to friendship groups; 12-15 and then there’s close
friends. Most ppl say ideal = 3-4 close friends
● Ancient philosophers say friendship is the ideal rs; relationship of genuine and radical equality; no sense
of dependency; not transactional. Nothing in it for u other than the relationship
● Ppl marry later.
● Ppl moving away from their homes (big cities/career opportunities), parenting squeezes out time from
friendships, workism; identity wrapped up in work, breakdown of relationships; e.g. breakup ke baad
friendship group shattered.
● Without friends = lack of access to opportunities, protective of mental + physical health; makes u sad
which is bad for physical + emotional health.
● Today 15% of young men say they don’t have a close friend :(; 3% in 1990s.
● Back in 1990 half of young men said if they had to turn to someone in trouble it would be to a close
friend; now it’s 22%. 36% say parents; transformation in social networks
● Pandemic has been a stress test for friendship networks; half of women lost touch with some of their
friends. Female friendships are based on face to face whilst male = mediated by activities or technology.
Women = in need of regular physical contact than male friendships.
● We’re wired to be social creatures; harder in circumstances of pressure, segregated or opportunities to
cultivate friendships aren’t there.
● Necessary step = being open, vulnerability, revealing need/desire. Older = shame. I need a friend =
hardest sentence a human being can utter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCtm0FSGZus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYCBdZLCDBQ
https://www.verywellmind.com/freud-and-erikson-compared-2795959
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128093245235694?via%3Dihub
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxkaLQwl34c
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-reciprocal-determinism-2795907
https://www.verywellmind.com/bronfenbrenner-ecological-model-7643403
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV4E05BnoI8
