广东外语外贸大学普通心理学课件第三章 Human Development.ppt

Chapter 3Human Development Heredity and Genes Developmental Psychology: The study of progressive changes in behavior and abilities Heredity (Nature): Transmission of physical and psychological characteristics from parents to their children through genes DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid): Molecular structure, shaped like a double helix that contains coded genetic information Genes: Specific areas on a strand of DNA that carry hereditary information Dominant: The gene’s feature will appear each time the gene is present Recessive: The gene’s feature will appear only if it is paired with another recessive gene Temperament and Environment Temperament: The physical “core” of personality Easy Children: 40%; relaxed and agreeable Difficult Children: 10%; moody, intense, easily angered Slow-to-Warm-Up Children: 15%; restrained, unexpressive, shy Remaining Children: Do not fit into any specific category Environment Environment (“Nurture”): All external conditions that affect development Sensitive Periods: A period of increased sensitivity to environmental influences; also, a time when certain events must occur for normal development to take place Congenital Problem: A problem or defect that occurs during prenatal development; “birth defect”; becomes apparent at birth Environment (contd) Genetic Disorder: Problem caused by inherited characteristics Anything capable of causing birth defects (e.g., narcotics, radiation, cigarette smoke, lead, and cocaine) Deprivation: Lack of normal stimulation, nutrition, comfort, or love Enrichment: When an environment is deliberately made more complex and intellectually stimulating Enriched Environments: Environments deliberately made more novel, complex, and stimulating The Mozart Effect: Real or Rubbish? Rauscher Shaw (1998) claimed that after college students listened to Mozart they scored higher on a spatial reasoning test Original experiment done with adults; tells us nothing about infants What effect would listening to other styles of