Assignment:
In order to better comprehend how nature and nurture (heredity and environment) interact to influence development, you will examine both sides of the issue by defining both biological inheritance and environmental influences as they pertain to an organism. Apply the concepts of the interactions and influences of heredity and environment to each lesson throughout the course in order to consider how they affect the different areas of development.
A part of the overall assignment will be included in each lesson, as follows:
Begin your paper with definitions of nature and nurture (heredity and environment). Describe the influences of heredity and environment on human development, as explained by advocates of both sides of the issue. Explain why the nature-nurture issue is important in the overall study of child development.
In order to better comprehend how nature and nurture (heredity and environment) interact to influence development, you will examine both sides of the issue by defining both biological inheritance and environmental influences as they pertain to an organism. Apply the concepts of the interactions and influences of heredity and environment to each lesson throughout the course in order to consider how they affect the different areas of development.
Lesson-Child pyschology- History and Developmental Theory: How is child development research affected by the nature-nurture issue? Explain where each theory of development examined in this lesson stands on the issues of heredity and environment and incorporate that information into your literature review paper.
Lesson-Child pyschology-Evolutionary perspectives on Development: What is behavior genetics? What are some of the ways that heredity and environment interact to produce individual differences in development? List and discuss heredity-environment correlations, and define and compare the Heredity-Environment Correlation View and the Epigenetic View (to be incorporated into your literature review paper).
Lesson-Child pyschology-prenatal Development and Birth: How can a woman's beliefs and attitudes affect the approach of health-care workers to the physical care of the woman and/or her fetus? Discuss teratogens and the prenatal environment. What are some of the factors that influence the severity and type of defects that occur? (To be incorporated into your literature review paper.)
Lesson-Child pyschology-Physical Development: Discuss how physical growth can be affected by heredity and environment. What is growth hormone deficiency? How does heredity affect puberty? Discuss how early and late maturation can interact with the environment to produce possible long-term effects on development. (To be incorporated into your literature review paper.)
Lesson-Child pyschology-Emotional Development,the Self and Identity,and Gender: Explain how self-esteem in children is influenced by nature and nurture. Discuss biology and environment in terms of gender, sex, gender role, gender typing, estrogens, and androgens. What is gender, and how does biology influence it? Discuss gender differences in terms of heredity and environment. (Incorporate into your literature review paper.).
Lesson-Child pyschology-Cognitive Development : Discuss the role of heredity and environment in cognitive development. How do theorists Piaget and Vygotsky approach the issue? Analyze both theories in terms of their focus on nature and/or nurture and incorporate into your literature review paper.
Lesson-Child pyschology-Intelligence and language: Discuss some key issues regarding the influence of heredity and environment on IQ scores. What does the evidence suggest about both genetic and environmental influences on IQ? Discuss the biological and environmental contributions to language skills. Is there a critical period for learning language, and can environment mediate language learning when the critical period is over? (Incorporate your response into your literature review paper.)
In the conclusion of your paper, include your explanation of whether nature and nurture are contradictory or complementary concepts. Remember that the conclusion section of your paper should sum up the main findings of the literature review and give suggestions as to the focus of future research.