Human Development

Human Development

I've got to say every time I cover these chapters in a class, and I've covered them a lot, I am dumbfounded humbled and amazed.  Our bodies are simply amazing!  Honestly, it's difficult for me to even write a post, because this stuff leaves me speechless.  

One thing the text looks at is how nature (our genes) and nurture (our environment) influence our development.  Clearly, you can see how our genes affect our growth and development: if your parents have a slow metabolism, perhaps you will have a slower metabolism, too.  And, we can see how our environment shapes our development: if not given proper nutrition, such as in some underdeveloped countries, certain diseases and illness may develop, inhibiting their growth.  Also note, not only does our environment and genes affect our development, but our genes can also affect our environment.  Confused yet?  Here's what I mean:

Let's look at temperament.  Temperament is our natural way of responding and is evident very early on, perhaps prior to birth (so we would attribute that to genetics).  Some babies are easy, some may seem to act like Satan's spawn perhaps a bit more difficult.  For the easy babies, everyone wants to hold them, their mothers probably sleep better and are therefore more refreshed to care for the babies needs (the way people interact with the baby would be attributed to the environment).  People want to feed them, play with them, rock them, etc.  A difficult baby, on the other hand,  may be less likely to be held or played with.  I think we can all agree, a happy baby is much more enjoyable to be around than a difficult baby.  While adults will certainly attend to the baby's needs, those interactions may look a lot different, perhaps less nurturing.  These differences of interactions can certainly affect a child's level of attachment and how they perceive the world.  Easy babies may perceive the world as nurturing and dependable.  Difficult babies may perceive the world as more harsh and frustrating.  

The Harlow studies on attachment were really ground breaking.  Simply providing basic survival needs isn't enough.  Babies NEED to be nurtured.  As someone who has worked with adults in a counseling setting for several years, I can attest that individuals who have weak attachments as children grow up to have difficulties in relationships.  You can read of those affects here: http://richardbrown81.hubpages.com/hub/Effects-of-Insecure-Attachment-in-Childhood-on-Adult-Relationships